And here we are at the end; an epilogue of sorts. The last big battle was handled, so now, we see the results.

I normally try to plus reviews at the end, but as reviews this time have been more modest, I'll just stick them up here.

nexusknight2: Glad you enjoyed the inner workings of that whole battle, my dude! It took a while to really put all that together, so I'm glad it all worked out and made sense.

Tank Nobu: Ahh, My favroite Nobu aside from Nobunaga herself! Put's a smile on my face.

Guest (1): I currently have no big plans for a second mecha-crossover story. But on teh Index x Fate side... stay tuned!

dog: Good boy!

Guest (2): That... makes sense and makes me feel dumb. Thank you for the clarification.

And with that done... enjoy, my friends!

About a month had gone by since the war had officially been declared over. VIRM had left the system, and while it was unknown if they were gone for good, the tidal wave of soldiers it had advertised where nowhere close to planet Earth. Similarly, the Invaders that had snuck around the warring sides had been eradicated, even if there were some casualties taken by the repulsing forces. In that time, circumstances of uncertainty had rose up, such as the state of APE, especially with the revelation that the remains of the Japanese Government had been transferred in full to this world, and appeared to be the only government superpower left with any kind of authority. While how these two sides would interact was a mystery, the future looked a lot better than it did before.

The Klaxosaurs returned to the Earth, burrowing underground and vanishing without a trace. In their place, plant life appeared to begin to sprout. It was almost as if they were becoming one with the planet to replace the energy that had been stolen from it. This gave way to the possibility of planting and harvesting crops, something that'd be necessary with so few people capable of running APE's hydroponic farms left, and the high energy demands those took up. They had about two years of food left, maybe three if they rationed it off, so starting some more regular agricultural development was a must. Thankfully, they still had time before the coldness of fall and winter to do just that. With everything happening to the Earth, it was as if time was reversing itself to before humanity harvested energy from beneath its crust.

One thing that couldn't be reversed however were the lives lost. In the stalwart defense of their home, thousands perished. Both young and old, some didn't return home with their friends and loved ones, even in their victory. A necessary evil to war, but that didn't make it hit any less hard. Squads were left in tatters, sometimes with just one or two survivors among them. And of course, even with VIRM's defeat, those who had their minds whisked away didn't return, piling on more bodies.

They dug graves for whom they could. In their honor, and the hopes that humanity wouldn't repeat their past mistakes, a simple concrete wall was erected to overlook the gravesite chose for the men, women, and children who had given their lives so that the survivors could have a future. Inscribed upon it were the names and codes of those who had passed on, many of which couldn't be given a proper funeral. A memorial piece to remember those who once lived and breathed right next them all.

Before this site, a lone adult and a single Parasite stood.

"So… the normal thing to do is put flowers down… right?" The teenager asked.

"That's right. A token of your gratitude, and a small prayer. It doesn't matter if you believe in a god or not; it's more to utter a hope that they can rest in peace." The adult answered.

The teen knelt and left a humble bouquet of flowers in front of the memorial. "It's hard to believe… there were so many of us, and now…"

"Yeah… we almost died too. We very easily could be in this plaque ourselves."

"And there were even more people before all of this, weren't there?"

The adult nodded. "A lot of people died… and some of them for no reason, too. It'd be too hard to go through every place on the planet and find every trace of those who kicked the bucket… all we can do is hope that the spirits can rest easy knowing that the worst is over."

"You never really struck me as the spiritual type, you know?"

"Yeah, well… there's a time and place for everything. The least I can do is hope that the dead can be at peace."

"I suppose your right," The teen clasped his hands together briefly, just as he had prayed to Papa many times before. It was a little odd to do it for someone else, but it also felt right at the same time. The dead had done their part, and now it was time for the living to do theirs. Then he stood up, dusted himself off, and moved to stand next to the adult. "Thanks for helping me with this, I appreciate it."

"It's no problem. You kids were basically bred to die, anyway, so it's not like I can expect you to know how to honor the fallen too much."

"Yeah… there was a lot of messed up stuff with us… that only really seems twisted now in retrospect. I guess we were really tightly wound up, huh?"

"It's what happens when you get sucked up into a cult." The adult crossed his hands behind his head.

"H-hey, cut me some slack. I was born into it! And didn't exactly have a whole lot of people telling me it was a bad thing, either!"

"I was more speaking in general; cults make bad governments. But what's done is done… all you can do is try not to repeat the mistakes of the past."

"We still have no clue what will happen with the Japanese, do we?"

"Not in the slightest, and I am Japanese, so that's really saying something," The man stretched. "They could go imperialistic and decide they rule the world now… or they could work in tandem with what's left of APE to fix up this mess of a planet. We really won't know until they make their first move, and they've been awfully quiet since everything went down."

"It's one mystery after another…" The teen shook his head. "I'm glad I'm not involved with the political side of things…"

"Same; I feel for Hayato and Hachi on that, you know? They got a lot of ground to cover." The man stated. "Well… it's getting to be about that time, you know?"

"Dinner, right?"

"Yeah; let's go stuff our faces and sleep. We'll have a lot of work in the morning, so we better rest up."

The two walked back to the small personnel ship they had taken out for a ride and stepped on. After a few safety checks, the duo were up in the air and on their way back home.

The current agreement with the Klaxosaur princess was that humanity would be allowed to keep the Magma Energy they had already harvested, but once that ran dry, they were on their own. Thankfully, most of the plantations were gathered relatively close by, so collecting the residents to live under one roof to cut energy demands was easy. Moreover, they could syphon off fuel from the inactive plantations if they ran low, too. Eventually, they would have to work on a different kind of energy source, but for now, they could live comfortably with some mild restrictions on consumption.

The ship they both rode on bypassed the Bird's Nest though. They had other plans in a familiar place. It was abandoned by now, but those that had lived there remembered it fondly. They wanted to have one last night within its walls before they officially took up residence in APE's central hub. It was something they were working on for a while, and finally got approval for it.

Therefore, the ship flew through the shattered glass dome that covered the top of a tower, landing in a clearing surrounded by a lush forest. There was a path through here once, but it seemed like vegetation had taken over a fair amount of the area. It didn't bother their transport any, so they waved it off with a shrug.

Both of them knew the way regardless; some plant problems weren't going to impede them. So, they walked down where their memory pulled them, eventually coming to a wooden building. The plants had tried to reclaim this place too, as numerous vines could be seen along its exterior, but the inside remained untouched, albeit a little dusty. Despite the hostile takeover, there was one girl out front trying to clean the front porch off a little bit.

The teen picked up the pace, running forward to the individual. The girl looked up briefly before a warm smile overtook her face.

"Welcome home, Darling!"

"I'm back, Zero Two!"

Hiro stepped up and embraced his partner, earning a kiss on the cheek for his affection.

The adult called out. "Don't go getting romantic on the porch."

"Oh? Is that jealousy I hear, Ryoma?" Zero Two held one hand behind her ear.

"Piss off," The trench coat man grumbled. "I'm more saying if you want to get dirty, do it in private. Never know who might swing by."

"…How dare you actually have a point," The pink haired girl sighed, but smiled and turned her attention to her lover. "Wasn't that hard, was it?"

Hiro shook his head. "It was more… unnerving if I'm being honest. But I'm glad I went and paid them all a visit."

"So, where is everyone else?" Ryoma walked up the steps and approached the front door.

"Inside getting things ready, I think they all agreed that we're going to have dinner out, but they wanted to clean the place up one last time." Zero Two remarked.

"Makes sense; a lot of important things happened while you lot lived here," The man commented. "It is a shame though… this place was really well built… even if it was monitored out the ass. Too bad you can't just scoop it up and stick it on ground level. That'd wreck the foundation for sure."

"We're thinking of coming back once in a while and maintaining it a little here and there, but who knows how that plan will go with the energy conservation efforts. Plus, there's the availability for everyone; we all have different jobs these days."

"I suppose that's just life," Ryoma shrugged. "You about done out here?"

"Eh, I got the vines off the flooring; I'm willing to call that good enough for now."

Hiro nodded. "Then let's see if anyone inside needs our help."

They both opened the front door, revealing the interior they remembered. It appeared no worse for wear than how they had left it. The floor wasn't as clean as before, but it had at least been dusted. The pictures were still there, although sadly the various plants had died due to lack of being maintained. It looked like the others were in the process of replacing the flowers though, as some of those looked new.

A smell was coming from the dining area; it appeared as though it had been hastily converted to a makeshift kitchen.

"Hey, hey, who's in charge of the grub?" Ryoma waltzed on in.

Making use of a pan over a portable stove was Futoshi. "That's me! I think I got a good hang on this cooking stuff these days!"

"Just you? Alone?" Hiro asked. He took a look around and found a few other makeshift kitchen appliances running. "Doesn't seem like you were…"

"Well… Kokoro was helping me with the prep, but Mitsuru whisked her off somewhere to help someplace else. It's fine though; the prep is done, so it's just about seeing everything through! Besides; the main course is being cooked over a fire pit outside."

"That so? What you get your hands on?" Ryoma crossed his arms.

"We managed to pull a few strings and got our hands on some premium pork! The kind they saved for the higher ups! We have it setup out back roasting!"

"Fire cooked pig, huh? Not bad…"

"Well, it's probably not going to be as the stuff you served us that one time, but we can't sit behind your shadow forever, you know?"

"Good mentality; keep with it," Ryoma nodded. "By the way, who's keeping an eye on the meat then?"

"Zorome was, last I checked. I can't exactly leave this all unattended, so could you make sure everything is ok back there?" Futoshi asked. Even if he could keep all the dishes going, it was a little too much work for him to be in two places at once.

So, the group took a step out back to see how the area was coming along. As they said, Zorome was making use of a BBQ spit, rotating several sections of meat over an open flame. Meanwhile, Miku and Ichigo were helping set up tables, chairs, and some mild decorations.

"…Surprised the midget hasn't fucked shit up yet." Ryoma blinked.

Zorome turned sharply. "Who are you calling a midget!?"

"Three guesses, and one of them just talked." The adult snickered.

"Oh, screw you!" The hyperactive teen scoffed. "I've been doing this just fine! Though… I'm not too sure how much longer I need to do this…"

"Well, they're not done, I can tell you that," Ryoma walked up to inspect Zorome's handiwork. "Still got a ways… I'd say about… five to seven more minutes before they're done? Damn, this is a lot though, twenty huge pieces."

"Making sure everyone is nice and full! The idea is to make even Futoshi feel stuffed."

"Well, with all the other stuff inside… damn; talk about a spread."

As the two conversed over the fire pit, Ichigo stepped down from a ladder to greet Zero Two and Hiro. "Hey, how was the trip?"

"It was fine; I think they'll like the flowers everyone picked out." The blue horned boy nodded.

"They better, I picked those out myself!" Miku finished her work on the tables, leaving only the chairs left to be set-up. It looked like they were expecting extra company.

"Where is everyone else?" Zero Two asked.

Ichigo jabbed her thumb behind her. "Goro is out seeing if any of our lakes have clean water left. I Think Mitsuru and Kokoro are cleaning the bedrooms upstairs. Ikuno is taking a nap though…"

"She still not feeling well?"

"No, and it's gotten worse. I think she pushed herself too hard with everything that was going on. Found more grey hairs than the rest of us too…"

"Yeah, that'll happen…" Zero Two frowned. "Not to mention the company she's keeping… working with the old man can't be easy."

"What's she doing with him again?" Ryoma called out over his shoulder. He had taken over for Zorome for a little bit to give him a break.

"They're trying to fix that Parasite-aging problem caused by our FRANXX piloting. Probably won't be able to reverse it, but might be able to do something about the damage already done so they can live something of a normal life."

"Really?"

"Yeah; apparently he had all the decommissioned Parasites put on ice in a cryo-vault. Said he wanted it done quickly just in case they needed it when they wake them all back up. They're waiting to thaw them out until we have a stable food system, I think."

"…Huh, evil doctor ended up not being so evil after all, huh?"

"Well, when you compare it to all the things he's done in the past…" Hiro crossed his arms.

Slowly, Ryoma began to frown before nodding. "Yeah, you're right. It's more like a green checkmark in a sea of red. Noticeable, but that's about it."

Ichigo began speaking again. "Either way, she's napping. She wanted us to wake her when it was time, so you'll see her for sure."

"Sounds like a plan…" Ryoma turned the spit back over to Zorome when he was ready. "Hope you don't mind, but I invited some friends. You can probably guess who."

"As long as you don't mind that we did the same."

"…Wait, who did you invite?"

"Nana and Hachi," The blue haired girl answered. "They've been with us since we started here; it'd feel weird to at least ask if they were interested."

"…Can I get my meal to go then?"

"No, you can't! You'll sit there, eat, and be merry with the rest of us!"

Ryoma began to mumble something before frowning and shoving his hands in his pockets. Sure seemed like things were still spotty between him and the teen's commanding officers.

"Alright! Meat's done!" Zorome called out. "We got the dishes for these to rest on ready?"

"Yeah, right here. I'll give you a hand." Miku went over to help deal out the prepared pork. Seemed like their goal was to have a spread across the entire arrangement rather than a buffet style. Before long, Goro walked up carrying two large jugs of water, but seemed to be wet and covered in mud.

"First filling was fine, but on the second I slipped off the riverbank and fell in…" Thankfully, the dirty blond's glasses were fine. "Do we have any of that spare bathwater left?"

"The low quality stuff? I think so; just be sure to use lots of soap if you use it." Ichigo directed.

Goro nodded and set the jugs down on the back porch before moving to clean himself up. "Thanks, I shouldn't be too long."

"Careful! Foods coming out!" Futoshi walked out just as Goro pulled open the door, carrying a platter of baked goods. Some bread based, but others were clearly sweets. Seemed like he was going to shoot for multiple trips too. Ichigo ran over to give him a hand in setting up as Goro slipped inside. As he did, both Mitsuru and Kokoro stepped out to join the group.

"What happened to Goro?" Mitsuru raised an eyebrow.

"Water run turned into a mud-slide," Hiro shrugged. "How are things upstairs?"

"Fine, it was better up there than the ground level. Ikuno is still sleeping though." Kokoro stated before moving to help with the set-up too.

"We still have some time before we get to eating, so that's fine!" Futoshi finished setting his baked goods out. "I got two more runs and then I'll get her, sound good?"

"If you got a spare platter, we can do it in one." Mitsuru suggested. The chubby teen agreed and they both went back to their makeshift kitchen.

Ryoma blinked a few times, observing the scene unfold. "…Man, if only you kids could move this smoothly all the time."

"I think we do good work when we put our minds to it." Ichigo put her hands on her hips.

"I'm just saying if you did it more often, it'd be a good thing."

"Listen here, you-!"

"Oh man, look at that spread!" A new voice entered the scene. The group turned to see Gai popping his head out of the doorframe with his jaw dropped, eyeing the food. He attempted to run out and dive in, but Kei's arm shot out and grabbed him by his collar, pulling him back.

"Sorry about him, he smelled food and came running…" Kei remarked. "We sort of just let ourselves in, hope you don't mind." She stepped out, dragging Gai along as Benkei joined them. Danroku and Furuta weren't in attendance, so they must have been tied up with something for the Japanese.

"It's alright, it's not like we're strangers or anything," Hiro asked. "Any idea where Gō is though?"

"Up top," Benkei remarked. Seeing the confused look for a response, he simply pointed up, highlighting that Gō had taken a perch at the top of the building. "The guy is more cat than man sometimes, I swear."

"He's always liked those sweeping landscape views… eh, I'm sure he'll be down in a bit." Kei remarked.

"Are Hachi and Nana with you?" Ichigo walked up to them, slightly bypassing Futoshi and Mitsuru as they came out with more platters of food.

"They were in another vehicle behind us; a helicopter I think," Benkei answered. "I believe some of the soldiers have been going diving into abandoned military bases looking for stuff. It didn't look like it belonged to APE anyway."

"I guess if no one else is using it, we might as well put it to work." Ryoma shrugged.

Eventually, they heard more footsteps follow up the newcomers.

"…You didn't need to invite us, you know?" Hachi seemed nervous as he stepped out. It looked like a few people were starting to get seated now that all the food was laid out.

"We wanted to, that's all," Ichigo stated. "You've been with us since we started… and we've known Nana since back in the Garden. I don't think we could imagine it any other way."

"Even so… this feels… strange…" Nana stated.

"Guess it must be odd to be treated to dinner by a bunch of kids, huh?" Ryoma remarked.

"That's putting it mildly…"

"Hey! Nana, come sit with us!" Zorome and Miku were waving to the woman from the far end of the table.

Ryoma snickered. "They're calling for you. Guess you're good with kids; who knew?"

"Oh, bite me." Nana sighed and gave in, moving to sit next to the two.

Eventually, Goro came on out, looking much cleaner than before and took his spot. Kokoro waited until Mitsuru was done and took a seat next to him rather quickly. After the second table-filling trip, Futoshi had gone inside and came out with Ikuno, helping her to the table. She wasn't so bad that she needed a cane or anything, but was feeling a little woozy. The grey hairs stuck out like a sore thumb though, making the Parasites wonder if that was what they were in for eventually. However, a quick jab at Zorome let them put that fear into the back of their minds, as things quickly returned to normal.

"…Nope, one of my guests is still missing." Ryoma crossed his arms. "Lazy bastard would run late…"

"I don't see how that's possible; he flew us here. We had no idea how to use a Helicopter." Hachi remarked.

After a moment, a certain scarred man stepped into the area. "Sorry… discovered that we had a stowaway." Hayato grumbled a little as he stepped out, followed by a certain someone.

"I was curious where you were going. It's not my fault you couldn't detect someone latched to the bottom of your aircraft." Shuten remarked, walking in behind the scarred man.

"Shuten?" Hiro tilted his head. "Well… I guess she did end up rather attached to Hayato, huh?"

"I guess…" Zero Two crossed her arms, mildly irritated. It was quite clear that she and the blue horned girl still didn't get along.

"I'm more surprised that Ryoma invited him, though…"

The trench coat man shrugged. "I'm just at that point of wanting to bury the hatchet. Better to do that over a meal instead of doing it by flinging one into his skull, I guess."

"You'd miss." Hayato mocked in passing.

"Miss my ass! You know I can aim just fine!"

Ryoma ended up joining the princess in following the dark haired man in find a place to sit. Ichigo, now that everyone else had arrived, finally took a seat herself, finding an open spot over by Goro, who didn't complain about it one bit. Seeing everyone else take a seat and start digging in, Hiro and Zero Two decided to do the same. Gō kept to himself, but eventually did wander down to join in on the festivities… before being roped in by some of the males in some post-meal shenanigans.

Dinner was rather calm for the most part, but as people started finishing up, things got a little rowdier as folks began talking amongst themselves and looking for things to do.

"So…" Miku began as she cut into some of her pork. "Decided on a name for the baby, yet?"

"T-that's…!" Kokoro flushed red paused. "We've been talking… we aren't so good at names, sadly…"

"Well, I mean…" Mitsuru rubbed the back of his head. "I had something… but it's dumb, I think."

Miku raised an eyebrow. "It can't be any dumber than what Zorome pulls off on a daily basis, so spill it."

"I ugh… fine…" Mitsuru crossed his arms. "You know how Hiro named us all… right? Japanese words and stuff like that? I've been trying to learn a little… the word 'Ai' means… well, love."

"You're going for a super fluffy name like that, huh?"

"Y-yeah? Is that a problem?" He flushed red and remarked quickly, though his defense caused his partner to giggle.

"It sounds like to me that you're wanting a baby girl." Kokoro remarked. Mitsuru's blush deepened and he looked away, but the fluffy haired girl grabbing his arm lovingly brought him back around. "That's perfectly fine with me. If you want a girl, then let's have a girl!"

Mitsuru's flushed look didn't fade, but he gradually began to smile. Having his little hope found out wasn't that big of a deal after all.

Towards the other end of the table, the boys were arm wrestling, similar to how they were the night Ryoma had cooked dinner prior to the Grand Crevasse invasion. Unlike before though, the group had a new champion.

"…How the hell is Gō even stronger than Gai!?" Zorome remarked, holding his aching arm.

"You expect me to know?" Futoshi wasn't fairing much better. "Seriously, no matter how you slice it, he's half the guy's size, and at least three or five as times as strong! Just how is that possible!?"

Indeed, their new champion of arm wrestling was none other than Gō, who sat undefeated. He was originally hesitant to step in, but was basically forced into it by the teenagers, who quickly regretted the decision upon discovering that he was much, much stronger than how he looked. Both Zorome and Futoshi lost easily, but even Goro decided to give it a shot only to lose just as fast as he stood up to bat. The most recent one was Gai, a much stronger opponent, but he too was soundly defeated.

This was getting Gō quite a bit of attention, but…

"…I don't like this," He thought. "All their attention is focused on me, and only me. The only distraction is when I'm actually competing, but right now everyone else is too scared or amazed to give it a shot themselves! So now they're all looking and talking about me, and I can't stand it! I don't care if their words are compliments; is the nonstop focus that's messing with my mind! Come on, someone else; please stand up!"

He was in quite the pickle. Despite his more reclusive nature, he did have something of a competitive streak like the other males, which is what convinced him to compete in the first place. Despite that, he actually didn't like being the center of attention at all, and the more people that focused on him, the worse it got. One or two people was fine, and he could ignore it if he had a distraction, but in-between matches? Not a chance. He passively knew their general thoughts on him with his logic, and the constant appearances of himself in his own thoughts psyched him out… although his face wouldn't show it. Inside, he was pleading and begging to be left alone, but outside, he was the same stone-faced man he always was. Not even a hint of his internal turmoil was on display on his face, and it was both a blessing and a curse.

Then, someone took a seat across from him, interrupting his thoughts.

Zero Two did not speak, and simply sat down with a smirk, holding up her left arm expectantly. Gō waited for a moment before meeting her challenge with his own hand. The moment they grasped each other's palms, a shockwave seemed to ripple out, sending a gust of wind in all directions.

"…Oh no, the superhumans are going to duke it out…!" Zorome whispered.

"…I'm scared…" Futoshi gulped.

Before long, the match started. Zero Two took first blood, nearly ending it in one push, but Gō managed to stop her at the last minute. Slowly, he brought them both back to a neutral position, but neither side seemed to waver. It appeared as though the friction between their hands was causing sparks, making little bolts of electricity waft off from their palms.

After about two solid minutes of competition, a creek came from the table. It looked like Zero Two was starting to push forward again, but another loud sound came from the platform where they wrestled. After a few moments, the table gave way and caused the two to crash down with it. But when they landed…

…They were both still wrestling, with Gō having gained the lead.

"Man… they're still going at it!?" Futoshi shouted.

"This is why I'm glad I retired from games like this…" Benkei rubbed his head. "Seriously, the kids get stronger with every generation…"

"And here I thought we could have a nice friendly arm-wrestling competition…" Zorome frowned. "…Time for plan B then."

"Plan B?"

The hyperactive teen nodded. "That's right! I'm not done with fun and games yet! I found something in one of the adult's rooms." He then went around the building and came back with circular board. It had various numbers and colors within an imprinted white circle and had a small red dot in the middle.

"…? What do you got there, Zorome?" Goro asked.

"Dartboard," He answered. "Not one of those magnetic ones like back in the garden; a hard one with actual sharp darts!"

"…That sounds way too dangerous for you to have." This seemed to get Miku's attention, who immediately began to doubt her partner's ability to not hurt himself.

"Agreed; he's going get poked in the eyes." Ikuno chimed in.

"I-I am not! Look, I can hang it right here!" Zorome fumed and set it up on one of the nails used for decorations. "I got five darts, who wants to give it a try?"

"I think everyone is still pretty entranced by the arm wrestling… maybe wait until their done?" Goro suggested, but Zorome wasn't having any of it.

"Eh, we just need a good start to get the blood flowing…" He looked around for someone not already engaged with someone, and eventually found his supposed victim. "Alright, yeah! You'll do just fine!"

"…What do you want from me?" Hayato raised an eyebrow.

"Darts! You and me! Come on, it'll be fun!"

"I'll pass, thanks."

"What do you mean you pass!? This is a direct challenge from me to you!"

"I have a policy of not beating up small children, so run along, would you?"

"Y-you're just scared cause I'll win and make you look bad in front of your girlfriend!" Zorome started waving his arms around as Hayato's brow furrowed.

He was going to blow him off, but someone spoke up. "An adult? Scared of losing to a child? How sad… surely you can defeat such a tiny, insignificant human, right?" Shuten snickered. While Zorome went off on a new tangent about the obvious insult, the scarred man's neck snapped around with him glaring at the Klaxosaur princess.

Eventually, Hayato stood up, and took off his jacket and tossed it onto the blue girl before rolling up his sleeves. "Fine, if that's the way you want it. Suppose it can't hurt to break someone's pride over my knee once in a while…"

Miku stared at the man as he prepared for a fight before deadpanning and turning to Zorome. "You are going to die, and I'm going to laugh."

"No, I'm not; it's just darts!" The hyperactive boy defended. "I challenged, so I'm going first, got it!?"

"Do you worst." Hayato popped his fingers. To detail the dartboard, there were twenty segments in a circle, and some were cut into rectangles and colored a distinct orange. They all surrounded very small red one right in the center. Zorome threw his darts with two landing on black, two orange, and even managing to get one in the center.

"Alright! Here's how it goes! Normal spaces are worth ten, the orange ones are worth twenty-five, and the red circle is worth fifty! That means I have one hundred and seventy points!"

"So, we're playing standard? Alright." Hayato remarked as he plucked the darts and took position.

"Don't worry if my score intimidates you at all! I've been practicing and-!"

He heard five loud pings one after another, and when he turned, all five of Hayato's darts hit the board.

And they all hit the red dot.

"We done here?" The scarred man asked.

"…H-hold on, I missed it. C-could you do that again?" Zorome asked. Hayato rolled his eyes and grabbed the darts before walking back again. Once more, five pings could be hard from the board and all Hayato did was fling his hand seemingly randomly, but each one hit the red part of the board.

Afterward, the scarred man popped his neck. "You said red is fifty, right? Sounds like I just got two-hundred and fifty points."

"A-actually, I meant thirty!"

"I still beat your score, brat. That drops your score down, too."

"Wait, hold on just a second-!"

"Hey, kid…" Suddenly, Hayato was looming over the short teenager. "You're not trying to rig the game so you win, right?"

"M-me!? N-no! Never!"

"Good, cause if you were… there'd be… consequences…"

"L-like what!?"

Then, Hayato made Zorome scream.

"Gah!" The teen was suddenly rolling along the ground. "My eyes! He poked me in the eyes!"

"Told you." Ikuno calmly drank some water.

Miku sighed. "Zorome; you're a moron, you know that?"

"Seriously; if you want to do that, at least make the game interesting, would you?" The scarred man grumbled before grabbing his jacket from Shuten. "I'm going for a smoke, be back in a bit."

Then, Hayato wandered off to the front porch.

"…That man sometimes," The blue girl sighed. "Are all humans so easily controlled by their pride?"

"That doesn't look good when you're the one who egged him on," Hiro stated. "I saw you; that was a smirk on your face when you realized he caved, wasn't it?"

"Shut your mouth."

"That's just a fancy way of saying 'I'm right;' you know that, don't you?"

The princess grumbled. "You really should hold your tongue. You never know when it'll get you hurt." The tendrils on her back rose threateningly, as if they were aimed at the blue horned boy.

"I just don't like seeing one-sided stuff like that is all," He shrugged. "…You're not going to head after him? I mean, you followed him here, right?"

"I do as I please. If he wanted me to come, he would have given me an invitation."

"You keep looking toward the door though; are you waiting for him to come back?"

"Could you stop asking questions!?"

"I'm basically asking stuff I already know the answer for, so I guess I can if you'd like."

Shuten definitely didn't like that remark. "Keep talking high and mighty, and I'll rearrange your face, human."

"Consider this payback for the kidnapping at the Grand Crevasse then."

"You…" The princess frowned and stood up. "…Are lucky you've caught my eye."

She then walked off towards the front porch.

"Hiro… can I ask what you were just doing talking to her like that?" Ichigo looked scornful, but the shaggy haired teen wasn't fazed.

"Just instigating." He then proceeded to drink his water, appearing as pure as freshly fallen snow.

Hayato took a puff of his cigarette before breathing out a cloud of smoke. The sun was starting to set, giving everything a distinct orange hue that, before long, would be painted over with the light of the rising moon. A few clouds were out, but it was far from an overcast sky.

"Sure seems like it'll be a calm night. Wonder if it's an omen for weathering the storm… or if it's just the calm before it," He spoke to himself as he took out his cigarette. He was leaning on a railing and looking over the area. "…And I'm out here talking to myself. I was really out of place if I'd rather do that than try and mingle."

"You're right; it's quite sad."

"That so? Oh well; guess I'm a sad man then. Would explain why you came out to keep me company, even if all I was out for was a smoke."

"I don't fit in with their celebrations and revelry is all," Shuten took a seat on the railing next to Hayato. "I was their enemy for most of their lives; I shouldn't be in with them."

"Well, you tagged along anyway, so that's your fault."

"True, I suppose," She nodded. "Although, there is something I am curious about, human."

"Ask away."

"From the outside in, how did our conflict look? Between my brethren and APE, I mean."

"That all?" He took another hit. "Resource War; one side had a thing the other wanted, and so they fought over it. Happened to us all the time, and not always for the best reason. Wasn't until the past thirty years in my time that things began to ease up."

"Why was that?"

"Hard to say; there was a lot more of what everyone wanted going around, but also a lot of the bigger countries had plenty of big guns to keep everyone honest. Always felt a little on edge; it was an uneasy peace," He breathed out some smoke. "Things got better when Getter Energy was discovered… but it ended up leading to another resource war over it, and it was from outer space of all things."

"Those black monsters sniffed their favorite snack and came to feast, correct?"

"That's pretty much it. It might have been with a race of beasts, but it was just another conflict like all the others; they wanted something we had, and decided to take it and didn't care who or what got in their way."

"Sounds like it happens to humans a lot… primitive species."

"Hey, you can't blame us for that war with the Invaders; the same shitty thing happened to you."

"I am aware," She crossed her arms. "I am speaking of before it; constantly fighting yourselves over things."

"Right; and your species was the definition of perfection since birth."

"I will admit; the Klaxo-sapien race went through a lot. I did not mean it as an insult; I was simply pointing out how young the human race is… by comparison, you're all still just a fledgling begging for room to fly."

"…That you might be right about," Hayato took one last puff before putting out his cigarette. "Right now, Japan is trying to assume control, which makes some sense considering that APE is now mostly just kids. They're being slow and nice about it, but I can read them like an open book. Problem is that the folks we already have here are hard against it. Hell; there's still a good number of men and women who feel that Japan was the cause of our whole incident, even if all they did was discover the energy source that brought the Invaders to us. Instead of being happy that we're all alive, people have to place blame."

"How impudent. With an attitude like that, this will be far from Humanity's last war."

"More than likely…" Hayato agreed. "Shin Getter is basically a pile of scrap parts at this point. Shin Dragon isn't much better considering we had to use that spare Getter Robo's reactor just to make it back to Earth… and that machine's core maxed out and died afterward; its core is still intact, but it's non-operable. I don't think anyone will be quick to start chucking bombs, but with technology like that lost, there's bound to be some folks demanding shit, especially without something to keep the other side honest. Oh well, eventually, the next generation will take over, and hopefully when the old war-hungry dogs retire and die, a milder, more understanding sort can take control. But I think humanity is a ways off from being a peaceful race."

"If you humans can endure the trials you create for yourselves, I think you will eventually reach the point of not needing those weapons you rely on just to have a civil conversation."

Hayato chuckled. "That's hard to say, but all we can do is hope that people wiser than us can take hold. Even if what's beyond the sunset is unknown, it sure is looking brighter than before, huh?"

Just as he spoke, the sun fully dipped below the horizon. Some bits of its light could be seen still, but they were quickly vanishing.

"…You had to say something, didn't you?" The Klaxosaur princess deadpanned.

"I didn't plan shit," The scarred man shrugged. "Besides; we can talk about that all we want, but no one really knows what will happen. This could all just be us being paranoid."

"I would certainly hope so; I'd rather not have another war on Earth. It might lead you humans to dig underground for the energy I just replenished."

"That brings up something I was wondering; I noticed that unlike your family, you're staying above ground. This going to be a permanent arrangement? Or are you just keeping an eye on us until you're satisfied?"

"I don't know," She looked off in the distance. "Part of me feels like I should return to the Earth as well… but another feels as though that's not right… its strange."

"Sounds like to me you're interested in just living a life now that you actually have a chance to."

"Perhaps… though I'm not on a timer like you humans."

"Rub it in, why don't you?"

"Death comes for us all, human. Even these who perceive their existence as immortality have invisible timers just waiting to tick down."

"All the more reason to get shit done now," Hayato took out another cigarette, but decided to put it back, thinking he had enough. "When all of this stuff between APE and the Japanese government is over… I'm going to find myself a nice secluded beach in the tropics and drop off the face of the Earth."

"I'll find you wherever you go, human."

"You're not the one I'm running from; it's everyone else."

The princess nodded. "Good, it'd be a shame if someone I had chosen was afraid of me."

"…? Chosen?"

"It will make sense in time," She eyed him. "You and that boy have piqued my interest… but I doubt that the half-breed will share. I suppose you will have to suffice."

"Good to know I'm the silver medal." Hayato deadpanned.

"Silver happens to be my favorite color."

"Doesn't make it any less insulting. And you still look like you're twelve."

She rolled her eyes. "Humans and their annoying focus on outward appearances…"

"Says the one who can supposedly shapeshift if she wants."

"Don't make me hurt you."

"Try your best."

The two stared at each other for a long time before someone interrupted.

"…You know, if you two are going to hate-fuck, we have spare beds upstairs." Ryoma blinked.

The two immediately shifted their gazes over to the intruding man.

"…What?" He blinked.

"You're interrupting our interspecies mingling. The hell do you want?" Hayato remarked.

"Need to talk to you about stuff. Shouldn't be a mystery what it's about." Ryoma shoved his hands into his pockets. Hayato narrowed his eyes but understood. Even if Ryoma was trying to bury his past, there were likely a few things he couldn't forgive. Settling the score was likely the reason he even invited him out.

"…Shuten, please stay out of this." Hayato remarked as he stood up straight. She seemed to get the message and backed away as Ryoma approached. For about half a minute, the two stared at each other as the last vestiges of the sun's light vanished.

It was an awkward standoff, and it seemed like neither one knew how to get started.

Eventually, Hayato began to speak. "…Listen, I-!"

Ryoma punched him across the face before he could make his case. The scarred man flew back, flipping over the railing and landed face first in the grass and dirt that surrounded the building.

He had expected that; he hoped that he could talk things out, but his trench coat wearing partner seemed to have other plans. As he pushed himself back up though, he could hear the man dusting off his hands.

"Alright; I feel better."

"…Eh?"

Hayato blinked. Was that it? After everything he did to him, a simple punch in the face and he's over it?

"You have no idea how long I wanted to do that," Ryoma popped his neck. "Holy shit that feels good!"

"Seriously…? You've got to be kidding me!" Perhaps due to pride, rather than walk up the steps, the scarred man chose to climb back up the railing he was knocked over. "A vengeful bastard like you being over it with just a slug!? Just that and you're satisfied!?"

"Like I said… better to bury the hatchet like this rather than in each other's skull," Ryoma shrugged. "Am I over it? Probably not; I doubt I will be… but it's not like I can't understand why you did what you did."

"…Saotome was holding what exactly happened to Michiru over my head, saying that it was necessary to save the world," Hayato eventually was back on the porch again. "I didn't even know it was Invaders again… I thought it was some kind of terrorist group; made sense because I was the one he was talking to. I had no idea they had made it to Earth until the night we were transferring his projects to him for a different lab."

"Explains what Benkei told me; said his crew were armed to take out a military force, not deal with those bastards. They only brought a Getter with them as a backup plan," Ryoma crossed his arms. "So, he had us all duped…"

"Looks that way…" Hayato shook his head. "For what little it's worth, I didn't like what I had to do. I'm sorry, Ryoma. I don't expect any forgiveness."

"Then you're not getting any," His partner spoke. "But… I don't know. Now that it's all over, it feels like the fire in the pit of my gut is all gone. I'm having more trouble holding a grudge these days."

Shuten interrupted. "…Humans are rather interesting. Are conversations like this common in your society?"

"Not really; nine times out of ten it'd end with a fight. We're not the nicest people usually when we've been fucked over by someone." Ryoma answered.

"…Speaking of which," Hayato put a hand to his chin. "I just remembered something… I'm sure you read my bio when I was coerced into the military, right?"

"Yeah; tried to start up some kind of terrorist organization out of your high school. What's that got to do with this?"

"Just something I remembered… it was going off without a hitch; people who believed me were signing up, money was flowing in…" Hayato leaned against a support pillar. "But then, out of nowhere, someone from the slums area in the outskirts of Tokyo sweeps through and kicks the shit out of all my men. Didn't matter if they had knives, guns, or even bombs; the man was like an unstoppable force of destruction, putting the nail in the coffin for the whole operation before we could really even get started… you wouldn't happen to know who that was, would you?"

Ryoma coughed. "Erm… which high school?"

"You read the report; I know that you know which one."

"Y-you don't say?" The trench coat man turned. "W-well, I've been away for too long, and-!"

A hand clamped down on his shoulder. "Ryoma? You have no idea how far you set me back and how much trouble you put me through, do you?"

It was then Hayato's turn to slug Ryoma. However, the black haired man didn't take that lying down and punched back, causing the whole incident to turn into a brawl. All the while, all Shuten did was watch with a look of mild amusement on her face.

"At least humans can be an excellent source of entertainment." She remarked with a smirk.

"H-hey! What's going on out here!?" Hiro had opened the door casually, but raced out when he saw the fist fight. The two briefly stopped their brawl to look before starting at each other again, forcing the teen to force them both apart. "Knock it off, both of you!"

"Please; let them tire themselves out. It'll be easier." Shuten commented.

"You are NOT helping!"

It took a few tries before the two stopped trying to hit each other and backed off. They both had bruises on their face, but where otherwise fine.

Ryoma was grumbling something though. "Fucking… socking me…"

"You hit me first! Without warning, I might add!" Hayato fired back. "You said it helped you feel better, so I wanted to do the same and you suddenly lost it!"

"So what if I broke up your shitty organization!? It was a fucking terrorist cell! Besides; those fuckheads started it anyway; I just dished out what was coming to them!"

"Ok, you two need to calm down! Shuten, can you take Hayato back inside and cool him off or something!?" Hiro pleaded.

"I suppose if they were to fight to the death that it'd be rather inconvenient…" In the end, the princess shrugged. "Alright, come along now. You had your fun."

"H-hey! Let go!" Hayato struggled as Shuten wrapped her tendrils around Hayato's arms and legs before pulling him back inside. There were clear sounds of a struggle, but they faded into the background as the duo moved farther away.

Hiro wiped some sweat form his brow. "Settles that… you ok, Ryoma?"

"I was fine; I didn't need your help!" The black haired man was still grumpy about how the fight ended.

"I mean, how would you react if you saw me fighting with someone?"

"Would it be bad if my answer was to try and find some popcorn?"

"…I shouldn't be surprised by that, should I?"

"Probably not," Ryoma shrugged. "So, what's up? Sure didn't sound like you came out to stop a fight."

"I just saw you come out this way, that's all," The shaggy haired teen answered. "Honestly, they wanted me to help set up some lights out here to take a picture, but I think the natural moonlight would be better at this point."

"If you got a camera with a flash or a light, you should be fine, yeah," Ryoma agreed. "How are things back there?"

"Zero Two and Gō are still going at it… seems like it could go on for a while…"

"Guess so, huh?" Ryoma leaned back against the porch railing. "Why you kids want to take a picture this late at night? Wouldn't doing it in the morning be better?"

"With all the work everyone has in the morning, it'd make it a big hassle to get everything set up then. But since this might be the last time we can all gather up here like this, everyone wants to do something to commemorate it. If it wasn't for all the preparations, we would have done it already."

"Makes sense, I suppose… guess if you decided on just moonlight, you don't need any extra help, do you?"

"No, I think I'll be fine. It's just two lights and some power, anyway," Hiro remarked. "…Although, I do have something to say… can you hear me out?"

"I don't see why not. Nothing bad is happening, right?"

"It's nothing like that… honestly, I just wanted to thank you while I had the chance."

"Thank me?"

"Yeah… for everything you've done," Hiro nodded. "I don't know how to put it… but it feels like things would have ended very differently. I have no idea how exactly, but… you've been keeping a good eye on us, you know?"

"Eh, I've just been sensible, I guess… yeah, I know; strange to hear that word from me," Ryoma shrugged. "I've just been applying my standard to you kids… I guess you lot didn't have it too bad, but considering where it was all going…"

"I know, that's why I'm thanking you. I want to get around to the others too, but since you were the first from your side to enter our lives, I felt like it was necessary to say it to you first. So… thank you for everything you've done for us, Ryoma… even if you hit Zorome a few more times than what was probably needed."

That last joke earned him a smirk from the man. "I got to be honest… when we were in that rift with all the Getters and the Invaders… I was really temped to stay there."

"You were?"

"Yeah… I can't explain it; being there felt right in some way. But then I remembered I had some cargo to keep safe… and unlike with the trio in Shin Dragon, I couldn't exactly just jettison you back home."

"That was possible?"

"Totally; when we linked up, they gave us control privileges so we could run our energy to them. Could have saved the three and stayed behind for… whatever that was. But we didn't have that option for you; your girlfriend is pretty smart and locked us out of those commands right quick."

"Really…?" Hiro looked down. "I don't know what that was either… it seemed like the Invader's home dimension, but… sorry that we stopped you then."

"…No, it's probably a good thing," Ryoma shook his head. "We could have died in there for all we know… not that we were intending to, mind you. It just felt like a good end for us; stop the bad guys and make sure they can't find us back… but now that I'm here… it feels right too. Honestly, I feel like I should be thanking you kids instead; at least you and your girl."

"That so?"

"Yeah… I've been a giant ball of hate and rage for a long time. Sure, there were good days, but I was always pissed off at something, and it was always enough to get me ready and willing to clobber whoever fucked with me. I got into a lot of trouble, and it felt like what I was angry at was the world itself. Dad pissed off early, mama Nagare did her best, but couldn't provide for me and herself all the time, kids always had a bone to pick because I was the poor kid. Fighting was pretty much my only real skill, which is why I went in and enlisted. The war happened, we won, and I felt better, but it never really felt… right, I guess. All I could really do was fix shit and break it, and it shouldn't be too hard to figure out which I did more of. But now with everything all nice and settled and I'm back here… it's weird; it feels like I did something important that made going through all that shit worth it, and I think it's tied to you lot."

"How do you figure?"

"Well… alright; I trust you. One of the things I wanted to be was a father, I guess."

"…Is it bad that I can't imagine you raising children?"

"Bleh, shut up," Ryoma waved him off. "What I'm saying is that I wanted a bunch of kids that I could set on the right path. I know what it's like to be piss-poor, and I know what it's like to have a nonexistent father, so I wanted to give a bunch of people a life I couldn't have. And looking around… it feels like I did that in some way. Sure, world's not perfect, but I'd at least say it's on the right track."

"Sounds like in helping us out, you helped yourself."

"Guess so… suppose that makes me a little selfish, huh?"

"Well, everyone won in the end, so I don't think anyone is going to split hairs over the small details."

"Good point." Ryoma smirked again. The moon was slowing rising up to replace the sun that had left, giving everything a blue glow. A cloud would cover it for a moment, but before long, it was bright again. The nighttime insects were starting come out, something that could be heard as crickets started popping up.

"…Hey Ryoma?" Hiro started again. "I didn't know her… but I think Michiru would have liked to help you with what you wanted. Jokes aside, I think you could have been a good papa to someone."

"Think so?"

"You've been looking after us for a while, after all."

"Since when was I adopted into your family?"

"Well… you're a better father-figure than our actual father-figure, so…"

"…I want to argue that, but that guy was a real piece of shit," Ryoma sighed. "I'm sitting here, trying to be modest, and you just deny me because you feel like it. Bastard."

"Then you'll just have to take the compliment, huh?"

"Yeah, you're lucky you're a good kid," Ryoma smiled. "Guess I ended up being drafted into being a dad for a family, huh?"

"You'll be a grandpa soon too with Kokoro and Mitsuru about to have a child."

"Eh… I guess. That makes me feel old. I want to be in my thirties for just a little while longer, damn it."

"And… well… me and Zero Two will probably try for one too, eventually," The blue horned boy remarked. "Not right now, obviously, but… someday."

"Thought your seed wasn't up to the challenge of impregnating the super-dino girl. That change?"

"The horns have a few perks; let's put it that way. The more like her I become, the better our chances."

Ryoma nodded a few times. "Well… keep me in the loop, I guess."

"We will; Darling is a pervert, after all. He'll probably brag about something like that for a while."

From behind, Zero Two had snuck up on them. And from the sound of it, she had been eavesdropping for some time.

Hiro immediately flushed red. "Z-Zero Two!? What are you doing here!?"

"Eh… I lost…" She frowned and rubbed her head. "Wind picked up and blew some dirt into my eye; the bastard capitalized on it. Though, I can't blame him I guess; we were at it for a while. Now they're trying to find that old camera; Miku misplaced it when she was cleaning earlier."

"…I guess it's time then, huh?"

"More or less. Our last gathering here for a long time."

This was their last thing. The celebrations were over, and that meant it would soon be time for bed. When they woke up, it'd be back to the grindstone to make something out of the new lease on life they had been given. There were a few gripes about the lighting, but eventually everyone eased off and agreed that the camera's flash would be enough.

The adults walked out to observe, with Benkei and his crew being encouraging of making some new memories. Hayato still seemed a little sore about the fight, but didn't raise a big stink about it. At first, it was just Squad Thirteen, but that didn't feel just right so they invited Nana and Hachi to take part. But still, something was missing.

"…I think I have an idea," Zero Two looked toward her partner. The two stared into each other's eyes for a moment before focusing on a certain someone.

"…What?" Ryoma blinked.

He resisted a little bit when the two walked out and dragged him over to the staging area, putting him right behind Zero Two and Hiro in the lineup. When they finally convinced him to stay for it, Hiro noticed someone else taking a spot behind him too.

"…Gō?" he blinked.

"We all survived the end of all things," He answered. "Though our circumstances and enemies differed, we still did our best to help each other. We all survived Armageddon… that's worth commemorating, is it not?"

In the end, the shaggy haired teen smiled. "That's right. You head him, everyone! Find a spot; this one's for all of us!"

Benkei's crew jumped in without a second thought. Gai fit right in with Futoshi and Zorome, but had Kei right next to him to keep the large man in line. Benkei took a spot to Ryoma's right, standing in-between him and Gō. Shuten was hesitant, but was caught off guard when Hayato abruptly grabbed her hand and pulled her in, setting her adjacent to her pink haired relative.

Once everyone was there, it finally felt just right.

The camera flashed, taking a picture of this strange little family that had come together in trying times. Each one fought with everything they had so they could have a future, and after so much time, they had finally earned that right.

It was just as they had said; the future was uncertain… but it was certainly looking bright in the eyes of these shooting stars.

And here we are! The bottom for one last time!

A bit of a more humble story, I think. Just a simple plot crossover of two series, with some changes ups to both sides to make things more interesting.

Not much else to say here; as it was much more humble, I don't have a whole lot of extra stuff to share. Those of you who follow my work more regularly will be happy to hear, however, I have in mind at least one more story before the year is up. Can't say when, but you'll see it when it drops!

I hope you all enjoyed. Please, review at your leisure; I still enjoy feedback.

Have a good day, my friends!

Sincerely,
ArmoredCoreNineBall, your friendly (not)robotic (not)overlord (possibly)person who occasionally writes things.