Disclaimer: I don't anything that doesn't belong to me.

Also, my good friend kivathedcwizard has made more fanart for the story, featuring Apista and Parasitica! Check it out on his deviantART page.

…

Goro looked on in disgust as the staff and clientele of the trafficking ring he and the rest of Katsutoshi Squad had just broken up, many of the city's most wealthy and powerful elites, were ignominiously shoved into the back of a police van, flinching and scowling as they were bombarded by dozens of flashes from the cameras of the paparazzi barely kept at bay by local law enforcement. Not too far away, the zyumans who had been about to be sold into slavery were huddled together, flinching and cringing as medical professionals gently and carefully looked them over for signs of injury and abuse.

There were no shortage of those to be found.

Goro's blood boiled when he saw a malnourished bear who looked like he'd barely passed puberty cough up blood, his fur doing little to hide the scars and bruises from various beatings and whippings and branding, and it took all of his self-control to not march right over to the police van and put a bullet in the heads of every one of the bastards responsible for this.

"We did good work today," Captain Kazuta announced, abruptly appearing at his side. "We managed to catch every last one of the auctiongoers and staff before a single zyuman could be sold. And with the records we managed to collect, several dozen more arrests should be made before the end of the day, and we should be able to locate just about every other zyuman who has already been sold. This trafficking ring will soon be a thing of the past."

"Too bad half a dozen more will probably spring up soon enough," Goro said bitterly. "How many of the guys we caught do you think are ever going to see the inside of a courtroom?"

"More than you think," Kazuta said firmly. "The evidence we got is ironclad, and even the most corrupt judge in the country will have no choice but to give them the sentencing they deserve… Especially since quite a few of them are also implicated in this mess." He gave his protégé a firm nod. "This is a win, Lieutenant."

"Then why doesn't it feel like one?" Goro complained. "Day in and day out, we fight the worst this world has to offer, but there's always more scum to replace them. Where does it end?"

Kazuta sighed. "As I once told you… We're soldiers. It's not our job to change the world, but to protect as much of it as we can, for the sake of our loved ones."

Goro wasn't sure he could accept that any more. "Well, maybe it should be-"

"Lieutenant Aori!"

Fukiyami approached them, followed by a white cat zyuman with a heated blanket wrapped around her. Goro remembered her instantly, she'd been on the block when they barged in to interrupt the auction, and he'd personally escorted her out after shooting the auctioneer, who had the bright idea to try and hold her as a hostage.

She had beautiful eyes.

"Sergeant Fukiyami. What's the meaning of this?" He asked, nodding at the zyuman.

"She insisted she speak with you," Fukiyami explained. "And she wouldn't take no for an answer."

Goro noticed that there were claw marks on the sergeant's uniform and couldn't resist a chuckle. "No, I suppose she didn't. Is there anything I can do to help you, Miss…?"

"Kari," the feline replied, voice like velvet. "My name is Kari, and… and I need your help. You already helped me once, so… So I was hoping…"

Goro frowned, immediately standing to attention. "What's wrong?"

"It's my daughter," Kari blurted out. "Mira. She, she's not here. I think she must be at the other auction-"

"What other auction?" Kazuta demanded in alarm.

Kari recoiled, tufted ears pressed back against her head. Goro shot his contrite mentor a glare, then, more gently, asked, "What other auction?"

"They have a second site where they sell off kids," Kari explained to the growing horror of the JSDF officers. "Mira isn't here, so she has to be there."

"A second… Sir, did we-" a stunned Goro stammered.

Kazuta shook his head, shocked turning outrage. "No, we didn't know about this. We didn't have any Intel… Miss Kari, do you know where it is?"

Kari bit her lip, but shook her head visibly. "No, no I don't. But… The auction master does, I've heard her talking about it with someone else on the phone on more than one occasion."

Kazuta's face turned to stone. "I see. One moment, please, I need to have a talk with her."

With that, he did an about-face and marched over to the van where all the auctiongoers were still being loaded into.

Goro did not envy the auction master.

He was startled when Kari gripped his hands, a look of naked desperation in her beautiful blue eyes. "Please… Please, you have to save her," she pleaded. "She, she's all I have, I'll do anything, I'll even be your slave-"

"That won't be necessary," Goro said immediately. "You said her name was Mira?"

Kari nodded rapidly. "Yes, she looks like me, but younger, and with black fur. And…" she hesitated, and then reluctantly admitted, "They'd probably be keeping her with… With the boys."

Goro blinked. "With the boys? Why would-"

"Oh," Fukiyami murmured, clearly figuring something out that still eluded Goro.

"She… Gaia cursed her with the wrong body…" Kari murmured, glancing away.

"Oh." Goro blinked. "Oh."

Kari cringed. "Yeah."

Much to her surprise, Goro grasped her hands and smiled at her. "Don't worry, I'll save your daughter. You have my word of honor as a soldier. You will see her again."

Kari stared at him in awe, eyes shimmering with wonder.

And then she smiled, and it had to be the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"You know… When you say that… I can't help but believe you, Mr. soldier…"

"Aori," he told her, smiling back. "My name is Lieutenant Goro Aori."

He didn't know it at the time, but looking back Goro would later realize that was the moment he fell in love.

…

When Goro got home, it took him a few seconds – and Formic doing the mental equivalent of clearing his throat – for him to realize his daughter had greeted him back to the apartment. "Oh, hey, Mira," he replied, giving her an apologetic grin. "Sorry, I was…"

His eldest daughter offered him a sad, sympathetic smile. "Worried about uncle Kazuta and the others?"

Goro nodded. She'd always been very insightful, even when they weren't connected to the Buzzing. "Yeah."

Mira gently placed a paw on his hand and offered him a dazzling smile. "Don't worry, dad. If anyone can save them, it's you."

He couldn't help smiling back. She'd always been able to cheer him up, much like her mother. "Thanks, Mira."

Not for the first time, he couldn't help admiring the strong, confident teenager his daughter had become. After fully completing her transition – yet another thing to thank Hive science for – she'd grown into a tall, beautiful young woman the spitting image of her mother when she was younger, but with black fur. Presently, she was wearing her favorite faux leather jacket over a tank top which had perhaps a bit more exposed decolletage then he liked with one of the commemorative pins/temporal homing beacons from Shin's time travel train service pinned to her left breast along with a number of beads, trinkets, and other sparkling items that had caught her eye during her sojourns into Hive City. The back of the jacket had the emblem of her favorite Bugball team, the Five-Star Beauties, and the front of her shirt had a signed picture of her favorite player on it. Her shapely legs were barely contained in rather tight jeans with a hole in the back to let out her tail, which had a number of bangles wrapped around it. She wore fingerless gloves with studded knuckles on her paws, and there were a number of piercings in one ear and a few studs under one eye. Her look practically screamed "big-tittied sexy goth kitty," and while he didn't entirely approve, she was clearly so comfortable and happy he couldn't say no.

She'd really come into her own. She was finally comfortable in her own skin, another of the many blessings Apista's arrival had indirectly bestowed upon his family.

His expression faltered for a moment at that thought.

"You're not letting what that crooked politician said get to you, are you?" Mira asked in alarm, blue eyes gleaming with concern. "I'd have thought all the other voices in your head would have told you he's dumb and you shouldn't listen to what he said. Formic, that's practically your job!"

"Well, I tried telling him that, but he's still worried for some reason," Formic grumbled.

"Everyone is telling me what Hino said is wrong, but…" Goro hesitated, then looked his daughter in the eye. "Mira, have… Have I changed since I joined the Buzzing?"

"Well, yeah, duh," Mira said immediately, wrinkling up her nose. "Figured that was obvious." When Goro grimaced, she quickly said, "That's not a bad thing, though."

He blinked. "Huh?"

"You underwent a metamorphosis, so of course you're not the same person you were before you went into your chrysalis," Mira pointed out.

"There wasn't an actual chrysalis involved, I was submerged in honey-"

Mira rolled her eyes. "A metaphorical chrysalis, dad, keep up. Look, I was in one too, remember? Gaia cursed me with the wrong body when I was born, and I hated it, but then thanks to the Hive, I was able to painlessly and easily transition without years of hormones or other treatments, and now I have the perfect body. The body I was supposed to have." She hugged herself happily. "And now I'm the person I was always meant to be. Maybe you're becoming the person you were always meant to be, too."

Goro blinked. He had never thought of it like that. "I'm still changing, though," he said slowly, glancing down at his hand. "Nushi said that our DNA is slowly being rewritten. I'm becoming less human by the day, and more Hive."

"Does that scare you?" Mira asked curiously.

"No," Goro confessed. "But I feel like it should. Before, I would've been terrified at the thought. And now, there's a part of me that's… Kind of looking forward to it."

"But didn't you accept this was going to happen before you became a Bugranger? And did it anyway?" Mira pointed out.

"Yeah, but… I guess I assumed my mind wouldn't have been altered enough for that not to bother me anymore," Goro muttered. "But… It should be bothering me, but it's not, and that bothers me even more, if that makes any sense."

Mira nodded thoughtfully. "And now you're worried that maybe some of what Hino said was right? That you've been brainwashed?"

"Nushi's always half-joked that we had been, but I never really gave it much thought until now," Goro admitted.

"And what does Queen Apista say?" Mira inquired.

"That she hasn't knowingly brainwashed us, and the differences in how we think and feel are a consequence of spending weeks immersed in each other's minds and being connected to the Buzzing, of having our consciousnesses expanded to have a deeper awareness of other minds and peoples that we never could have before, trapped inside our own heads," Goro relayed. "And since so many of those minds trust and believe in her absolutely, a bit of that couldn't help rubbing off on us."

"And do you trust and believe in her?" Mira asked.

Goro grimaced. "I want to, but… After seeing what's been done to Katsutoshi Squad… Hino's done something to them, he must have, and-"

"You're worried that because he's abusing his connection to other minds, the same thing might have happened to you," Mira concluded.

"… Yes," Goro admitted.

"Didn't you trust Apista before?" Mira pointed out. "After the Hive helped me become who I was supposed to be? After they cured Junie's leukemia?"

"I did," Goro recalled.

"Then trust her now," Mira urged him. "Just like you trusted in Kazuta, and in your team."

"I'll… Try," Goro told her hesitantly. While he appreciated her attempt to help, her advice, while well-meaning, wasn't quite what he needed. They had very different experiences with the Buzzing, after all. She could join and disconnect whenever she wanted by simply putting on or removing a piece of tech. He didn't have that luxury.

Mira pouted. "Not entirely convinced, huh? Go talk to mom about this. She's been waiting for you."

"I fully intend to," he promised. "We need to finish the conversation we were having earlier, anyway."

Mira winced. "The one about trying to force her to wear a neural interface? Yeah, not your smartest move, dad."

"I know, I know," he grumbled.

"Well, I'll just let you get on with that, and planning out how to save my favorite uncles and aunts," Mira said cheerfully, heading for the door. "I've got a full evening planned with Kagami and Scarabella. Bella's got a game, and after that we're seeing a concert! Should be fun."

Not too long after the Aori family had moved to Hive City, Mira and Mibojin's daughter, Kagami, had struck up a friendship over their shared taste in music and the pressures of having a great hero for a parent, which eventually turned into something more. Then they'd encountered Scarabella, an up-and-coming player in the Hive City Bugball circuit, bonded over their shared love for the sport and the Five-Star Beauties – as it so happened, Scarabella also had a famous mother, the captain of the Beauties – and she soon formed the third in their throuple. The three of them were practically inseparable.

"I hope you have a nice time," he told her, then paused, struck by a sudden thought. "Mira. Scarabella is on the Buzzing, but Kagami isn't."

Mira blinked. "Yeah, what of it?"

"Do you… Resent her for it all? Consistently refusing to so much as wear a neural interface, even for a little while?" Goro asked.

"A part of me wouldn't mind being able to share our minds," Mira admitted. "To truly know and love each other, inside and out. But… If she's not ready to take that step, I'm not going to push her. It's her decision, not mine."

Goro felt his eyes misting up. "When did you get so wise?"

She smiled. "I had a good teacher." There was a pause, and then she said, "just to be clear, I'm talking about uncle Kazuta-"

"I know," he cut her off. "Have fun on your date."

"Thanks!" She kissed him on the cheek and flitted out the door.

A moment later, he could feel her mind joining the Buzzing as she put on her neural interface, feeling her love. "You've got a good kid there," Formic observed.

"I did my best," Goro said fondly. He took a deep breath. "Time to talk to my wife."

She wasn't hard to find. At this time of day, Kari was usually out on the balcony, watching the sunset. As he stepped out onto the terrace, her ears twitched and she immediately pounced on him. "Darling!" She cried, hugging him tight and digging her claws into his back, a sensation he'd long since grown accustomed to. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

Goro smiled affectionately as he hugged her back. "Of course I am. I had to come back to you, didn't I?"

She glared up at him, tears welling up in her eyes. "Don't joke about that! Today was really close, even for you! If Kazuta hadn't shown up just in the nick of time…"

"I'd have found a way to survive," he assured her. "I always do. But…" He grimaced. "You're right. It was too close. I'll try not to make a mistake like that again."

"You better not!" She snapped, shaking him angrily. "We've talked about this before, Goro! I hate how you have to risk your life like this! I understand why you need to, I understand the necessity and that you can't stop doing it no more than you can stop breathing, I just…"

She gripped his arms, giving him a piteous look. "I need you, Goro. Without you, I…"

For a split second, her soft blue eyes glanced at her thick gloves. Or rather, what they were covering up.

"I'll come back to you," he vowed. "Kari, trust me. I will always come back. Not even death will stop me, if that's what it takes." He smiled. "After all, I think Ariel knows a thing or two about necromancy."

Kari frowned. "Isn't that illegal?"

"Surprisingly, no, not if done properly!" Ariel spoke up in his head. "You also need to get a license – which, of course, I happen to possess – and-"

"Ariel!" Everyone else shushed her.

"Oh, sorry. Carry on!"

Trying his best to ignore them, Goro looked back at his wife. "But speaking of Kazuta… He's not okay, Kari. None of the squad are."

Kari nodded gravely. "I heard. That… Monster Hino and Dr. X did something to them. They would never have drawn their weapons on you before! Mibojin, maybe, but never you!"

Goro nodded in agreement. "And the captain seemed perfectly okay with the squad being renamed. He would never do that if he were in his right mind. The name means too much to him, it's part of my father's legacy."

Kari gave him a sorrowful look. "Speaking of, are you okay with…?"

He shook his head. "No, not at all. But Katsutoshi Squad was resurrected once, and it will return again, I'm sure of it. Legends don't fade that easily."

"You will save them." It wasn't a question.

"I will," he agreed. He hesitated, and then, with discomfort, he asked, "Kari. Is… Is this why you're so against joining the Buzzing?"

She blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"This hive mind they've set up… It seems a lot like a makeshift, scaled-down version of the Buzzing," Goro explained. "They're even using neural interfaces much like Nushi's. But…"

He shuddered in revulsion. "The Buzzing is supposed to be a way to network minds, to bridge worlds, bring people together all across the universe in a single, prosperous whole without losing their individuality. But this… With someone like Hino in command, it's a tool for control. He's reshaping the minds of my friends, just like he's trying to reshape the narrative about his attempt to assassinate the Queen." He frowned, trembled. "Just like he's… Trying to make us doubt ourselves, question our own wills, our convictions. Our thoughts and our memories."

He did not say that he was worried it was working.

"Is that why you've refused to join the Buzzing?" Goro pressed. "Because you are afraid that your mind would be… Rewritten? Your memories edited, your feelings changed, your loyalties shifted?"

"… That was a bit of a concern at first," Kari admitted, causing his heart to sink. "After… What happened to me all those years ago, the thought of being… Violated again has always been one of my greatest fears, but… At least back then, they couldn't touch my mind. With a hive mind like the Buzzing, though… There would be no defense. No more sanctuary. No more freedom or hope of escape, ever again."

Goro wanted to tell her that could never happen.

Except, given what happened to his old squad, it clearly could happen, and wasn't he worried something similar had happened himself?

"However," she continued. "After meeting Queen Apista, and seeing how well you and the kids and everyone else seemed to have adjusted to being part of a hive mind… While I can't say my worries have completely gone away, they've certainly diminished somewhat, and I'm fairly certain your mind hasn't been… Defiled like I feared."

"… How can you be sure?" He asked hesitantly.

Kari blinked and gave him an annoyed look. "Are you...seriously? After all the arguments we've had about this subject, it's the words of an obviously evil man who's blatantly trying to gaslight you that are finally giving you second thoughts?"

"He… Made a number of good points," Goro admitted defensively. "And… Formic and the rest of the Hive say he's wrong, the Queen swears she hasn't done anything like he suggested, but…"

"But you still have some concerns," Kari finished for him.

He nodded unhappily. "Kari, after my metamorphosis into a Bugranger everything changed. I found myself immediately willing to place myself under the command of a young woman who has never seen active combat before or even completed college in the service of royalty not even from our galaxy without question or hesitation, serving alongside other civilians and, in Mibojin's case, someone who's practically a serial killer. I'm completely happy sharing the facts of my life down to the minutest detail with people I've never met before and will never meet face-to-face scattered across the universe to a degree that even the most social media-addicted teenager would think was excessive. People watch through my eyes when we make love, Kari!"

"Yeah, that took some getting used to," she admitted. "Especially when people started giving me tips and critiques…" She made a face. "Which was irritatingly useful, to boot."

"I have a few notes as well-" Ariel started, but everyone shushed her.

"To be fair, we did spend several weeks exploring each other's minds inside and out, so it's understandable you'd have forged a startlingly strong bond of trust with us in a relatively short period of time," Nushi pointed out. "Though… I suppose there could have been a certain level of subconscious mental reinforcement in place…"

"Nothing about the serial killer comment, Mibojin?" Shin asked.

"No, it's fairly accurate," she replied. "But I must agree with Nushi's assessment. Normally I do not trust easily, so… I cannot say how much of my bond with you all is due to our initial metamorphosis, and how much of it is due to other factors. Under other circumstances, I don't think we would've been friends."

"I'm glad we are, though," Ariel chirped.

"As am I," Mibojin admitted. "Even if I cannot say for certain how much of it is my own choice, I… Have grown fond of the lot of you, and that's not something I can say to many people."

"And I don't feel apprehensive about any of that! Not a damn thing!" Goro ranted. While he was somewhat pleased by Mibojin's confession, he also worried it might be proving his point. "But I feel like I should! Before, I would've been! Before, I would've been upset that my body is being rewritten on the cellular level, and every time I transform I lose a little more of what makes me human! But now… Now, Gaim willing, I'm looking forward to it!"

He gave her a desperate, pleading look. "Kari, I… I'm not sure I'm the man you married anymore."

She stared at him for a long moment. And then she slowly said, "Goro, I'm not going to lie. I think that you have, indeed, been brainwashed. Maybe not a lot, possibly not on purpose, and not with malicious intent, but… Brainwashed all the same."

He swallowed, feeling a heavy weight on his chest. "… Yeah. I think so too."

"So, what do you want to do about it?"

He blinked. "What?"

"Can what's done to be undone?" Kari asked.

He shook his head. "No. This isn't like a neural interface. I can't just turn it on and off. It's permanent. Completely irreversible. And…" He hesitated, then admitted, "I'm not sure I'd want to. I don't know if it's the brainwashing talking, but… This isn't an experience I think I could ever give up. Especially since doing this to myself is the only way I can become a Bugranger. To protect the world, and you, and the kids. Even if the neural interfaces existed when we started, they wouldn't have given us a solid enough connection to the Buzzing to let us transform. This was the only way."

She frowned. "You're really sure there's no other way?"

Goro shrugged. "Apista isn't aware of any way."

"Which isn't the same as saying no way exists," she pointed out. "The Hive always thought any deep connection with the Buzzing has to be permanent, but Nushi was able to devise neural aligners that prove otherwise. And Ariel's a great sorceress, are you sure there isn't a magical solution?"

Goro blinked. The idea had never occurred to him.

It hadn't occurred to his friends, either. Was that pressure from the Buzzing, or just it never coming up?

"You know, now that she mentions it, I could probably come up with something," Nushi admitted. "Not necessarily to undo our changes - I for one LOVE what I've become, but I understand not everyone else might feel the same...maybe I could whip up a way to...I dunno, not disconnect us from the Buzzing but...dampen its subconscious effects on us? Make it so we can determine for ourselves how much of what we are now is us and how much isn't? Help us really decide how we feel about all this and what we want to do about it?"

"I...could probably come up with a spell," Ariel offered hesitantly. "I think...now that we're really discussing this...there's some things I want to be sure of too, without external mental influences."

"I'm not sure this is an immediate priority - we've kind of got other stuff to deal with right now - but...yeah, something like that might be worth looking into," Goro agreed.

"Would you be all right with this, Your Majesty?" Mibojin inquired.

"I...am not entirely comfortable with the idea," Apista confessed. "However...if this is truly what you wish to pursue, if it will help give you clarity of mind, I won't stop you, especially because now a part of me is concerned that I have affected your psyches far more than intended. I want you to be my friends, with your own opinions and feelings, not my puppets. I promise that it was never my intent to make you question or lose faith in yourself. I… As the leader of a hive mind, I have a great deal of difficulty comprehending the solitary minds of other species, or understanding why any of them would want to continue to live lonely lives locked up inside their own heads. I honestly thought that when I altered your neurochemistry to connect with the Buzzing, I was helping you, beyond simply making you compatible with the Divine Insects. If I have caused you or your loved ones any distress, I sincerely apologize."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," they all told her.

"If you do choose to investigate this, and you DO find a way to reverse your metamorphosis, I have one request: please wait until the Swarm has been defeated to do so. While I understand your faith in the Buzzing may have been shaken, you still need its power to fight at full strength," Apista begged.

"Oh, of course," Nushi promised. "It'll take me a while to come up with something like that anyway."

"Assuming you figure it out at all. Not to disparage you or anything, Nushi, it's just that I gave up ever being human again years ago, and doubt my luck would allow something like this to be undone as well," Shin said with heavy resignation. "But hey, go ahead and give it a shot. See what happens."

"And take your time," Ariel urged. "This isn't a super priority. At least, not right now. Something to keep in mind for the future."

Goro relayed the conversation to his wife, who smiled. "Well, that's one thing Hino got wrong. If Apista truly were the tyrant he painted her as, she'd have forcibly erased all hints of doubt from your mind and turned you into a windup doll mindlessly obeying all of her orders rather than letting you pursue this path.

"And yes, Goro, you have changed, and are still changing," Kari continued, directing him back to their original conversation. "But I just need to know: Do you still love me?"

"Of course," he replied instantly.

"And our children? Do you love them?"

"With all my heart," he promised.

"More than your duty?"

He hesitated.

And then, reluctantly, he admitted, "… No. I'm sorry, but…"

She gently put her paws on his cheeks and kissed him on the forehead. "Then you are still the man I married."

He blinked dumbly. "Kari?"

"The man I married is a soldier," she told him, staring right into his eyes. "Someone who will lay down his life for others. Someone who loves deeply, but doesn't let it stop him from doing what has to be done, no matter the cost. A man of honor and courage, a man who is quite literally giving up his humanity a bit at a time to save the world. In other words, a hero.

"And that… Is exactly the man I fell in love with."

"Kari…" He whispered.

She kissed him again. "And you're wrong," she said. "You're not losing what makes you human. If anything, you're becoming even more human. I won't lie, I'm not completely happy with all the changes your metamorphosis has brought into our lives – and I'm not exactly pleased with how you kept trying to push me to wear a neural interface – but neither of us is exactly the person we were when we first met, and that's fine. Change is a part of life. I'm not sure what you will look like when this metamorphosis is over, when you emerge from your chrysalis-"

"I don't think there's any actual chrysalises involved-"

"But you will still be the man I love, and that will never change," she promised.

Overcome with emotion, he embraced her, holding her tight to his chest. "I don't deserve you," he rasped, on the verge of tears.

"You do deserve me," she assured him, hugging him back. "Everything you have, you earned."

Drawing back, he offered her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for pushing the neural interface issue. I promise I'll stop. If you do it, it should be your own decision."

Kari sighed in relief. "Thank you, Goro. I appreciate that. And… I'm sorry too. I should have been clearer about why I keep rejecting your offers. Fear of my mind being altered without my permission is a part of it, yes, but I have… Other reasons too."

"Would you like to tell me what they are?" He asked gently.

She hesitated, then shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I… I'm not really sure I want to talk about it yet." She bit her lip, then confessed, "Like I said this morning, there are parts of me I… I don't feel comfortable sharing with you. I don't even feel comfortable sharing them with myself. And if I join the Buzzing, they'll be out there for everyone to see. Not just you, but billions of insects all over the universe, and your friends, and… The kids…"

Goro thought he was starting to get an inkling of what she meant. He didn't say anything, though. This was clearly something his wife needed to get off her chest.

"I know you and the others have more or less made peace with… With all of your everything being out there, but I don't know if I'm ready for that level of transparency," she said helplessly.

"That's okay," he assured her. "Your reasons are your own. Whatever your decision, I'll support you one hundred percent."

She smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you, Goro. And I promise, if – and only if – I decide to join the Buzzing one day… I want you know it'll be because I want to, not because I feel like I have to."

He gave her an adoring smile. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

They hugged again.

(Goro tried to ignore all the cooing and squealing going on inside his head, and the fact that quite a few pieces of fanart and fanfiction were being inspired by this moment. Philia was getting scarily good at it.)

"Kari," he said after a moment. "If we DO find a way to undo the metamorphosis, but...but I still want to remain part of the Buzzing...would you be okay with it?"

She nodded. "I think so. Like I said before… You're still the man I married, Goro. The man I trust, the man I love. There is nothing about you that I believe needs changing. What makes you happiest is good enough for me."

"You have a very good mate, partner," Formic commented, impressed.

"Don't I know it," he agreed, shooting his wife a fond smile.

The couple stayed there for a while, watching the sunset.

And for a moment in time, all was right in the world.

Goro knew it wasn't really all well, though. Despite his words, he still had doubts, and probably would for some time. All of them would.

How much of what they thought and felt was really their own?

Where did they end and the Buzzing begin?

There were no easy answers to these questions. Still, he had faith that they would figure it out in time, and everyone would be better off for it.

But for now, Goro reasoned as he continued to hold the woman he loved tightly to his side; perhaps, for the time being, this was enough.