Welcome back again everyone, I hope you didn't need to wait too long for the next chapter. Last time, our heroes got their romantic confession interrupted and now they have to save the Union in question. Speaking of which here's a little bio on Ren Kaito, an OC made for the story.

Ren Kaito

Age: 20

Blood Type: B+

Height: 175 cm

Weight: 60 kg

Likes: Family and Martial Arts

Dislikes: Death and Wars

Hobbies: Anime and Video Games

Drive Ability: Shadow Vortex

Hope this is good. Now, let's continue the story.

Restricted Ward

As Es, Touya, Mei and Nu surrounded the Union, known as Ren Kaito, they made sure to keep their guard up as Ren charged up a Shadow Vortex in his hand. Ren didn't known where these teenagers came from, but he didn't want their blood on his hands and as the voices from his crystal kept yelling at him to cause chaos, he snapped.

"Sh-SHUT UPPPPPPPPP!" Ren yelled in tears as he unleashed the Shadow Vortex he had at Mei, who was able to roll out of the way as it flew by her while Touya, Es and Nu proceeded to charge him. At this point, Ren couldn't tell it was them as his mind projected them as those horrible voices began to take a physical form in his mind. Instead of the two teens and the robot, he saw shadowed monsters who continuously urged him to 'kill' everything.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Ren yelled as he threw another vortex at the three. They managed to avoid it as Nu slashed his arm, sucking some of the seithr with her blade from him.

"ARGH!" Ren shouted as that attack hurt him. It wasn't lethal, but it clearly stung.

"You homicidal voice! Go away!" Ren said in a pained tone as he tried to futility punch Nu as she swerved left and right out of his attacks, but than another slash struck his back.

"Ugh..." Ren let out as he dropped to his knees. Es stood over him as she managed to deliver another attack to him from behind. Like Nu's attack, it wasn't lethal, but it was enough to get him to stop.

"I-is it over?" Touya asked with some hope. Ren was still in Phase Three, but it seemed he couldn't take much pain to begin with as two light slashes were enough to wear him down.

"I don't know." Mei said as she got one of her Shikagami Raven charms ready to incapacitate Ren, so he can be transported, but then...

"S-s-s-s-STAY AWAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Ren shouted as a violent torrent of dark energy erupted from around him, causing Mei and Touya to back away, while also blowing away the only Shikagami Raven she had ready. Unfortunately, Es and Nu were both close by him and were blasted away as a result.

"ACK!" Nu let out as the screen in her visor became filled with static momentarily when she crashed into some random junk lying around in the ward.

"AAHH!" Es let out as she slammed into a stone wall sticking out of the ground, before falling onto her knees with her vision blurring and her ears ringing.

"NU!" Mei shouted as she ran to help her robotic friend.

"ES!" Touya also shouted as he ran over to help his friend.

"I... have received... only minor... damage..." Nu replied as the static in her visor began to clear, bringing relief to Mei. However, she was still worried about Es as compared to Nu, the former is more fragile than the latter.

"I... I can keep going...!" Es said with determination as she accepted Touya's hand to get up with her vision clearing up and her hearing coming back.

As Touya took another look at Ren, he was still in Phase Three despite using a good chunk of his powers.

"Kagari?" Mei questioned, wondering what Phase he is currently at.

"Still Phase Three. On one hand, I'm relieved he hasn't progressed further, but at the same time..." Touya said as he was surprised and baffled at the unchanged phase before him. This also caused Es and Mei to question this bizarre phenomenon as well.

"Hopefully, he'll stay that way long enough for us to pacify him. Keep him busy for me!" Mei said as she jumped back to charge up one of her lighting spells. With a nod from all three of them, Touya, Es and Nu immediately began their attack on Ren.

Ren still saw them as evil looking shadows with the dark voices as he began fighting them with Shadow Vortex as the three sword fighters kept dodging and occasionally hitting him with their blades, causing him to wear down over time as Mei began to charge up a powerful lighting spell to knock him out in one quick stroke.

"Why you!?" Ren yelled as he delivered a strong punch to Touya's gut, knocking the wind out of him before using a leg sweep on Nu, knocking her off her non-existent feet. As soon as Nu hit the ground, she rolled herself away as Ren stomped the soot she was lying at.

Ren then noticed a shadow covering him as Es jumped up and was about to deliver an overhead kick. Ren quickly grabbed her foot and slammed her face first onto the ground. Mei could only wince as she saw her friends getting hurt badly like this. He was apparently becoming more aggressive as he started using physical attacks along with his Drive, which surprised Mei as Unions exclusively used their Drives primarily. Granted, Sechs, Acht and Freaks had other means of fighting outside of thier Drives, but they were exceptions.

"*Cough* *Cough*" Touya let out as he was trying to get his breath back after stepping away from Ren.

"Hmpf..." Es grunted as she pushed herself off the ground, shaking her head as she stood up.

At this point, Ren noticed a surge of crackling sounds as Mei is halfway in charging her spell. Instead of seeing the Shrine Maiden, he saw a dark purple nightmarish face looking at him in her place, laughing evilly as it talked to him in a haunting voice, goading him to attack...

"Kill them! Kill them! Kill them all!" The dark face laughed as it was trying to get him to attack Mei as the crystal's influence desired to preserve itself in any means necessary.

"You monstrous voice! GO AWAY!" Ren shouted as he sent a Shadow Vortex at Mei. Before the attack can hit her, Nu jumped in and blocked the attack with her sword.

"Nu... Thank you!" Mei said in awe and gratitude for the robot's assistance.

"You are... welcome Mei..." Nu replied back with genuine sincerity to the Shrine Maiden. She turned her attention back to Ren who continuously kept firing Shadow Vortexes in an attempt to harm Mei, but Nu kept blocking the attacks with her sword, which continued to upset the Union as he kept up the pace of attacks.

"*Deep Breathing* *Deep Breathing*" Touya let out as he recovered from that painful punch and he looked on as Nu continued to block every Shadow Vortex with her sword to keep Mei safe. He was in awe of the robot's developing humanity, which reminded him of how Es grew herself.

"Just... a little... bit... longer...!" Mei said as she's nearly finished charging her spell, now at 75%. At that point, Ren got annoyed at Nu's protection of Mei.

"Take this... you demonic voice!" Ren shouted as he threw at Shadow Vortex at Nu's 'feet', sending the robotic protector flying away before landing onto the ground.

"NU!" Mei cried out as Nu laid on the ground on her back, her visor flickering on and off as she's trying to keep herself from passing out. Mei than turned back as Ren was trying to get his breath back as the repeated barrage of attacks left him winded and open. Unfortunately for Mei, she's now vulnerable to attack as well.

"N-no! He's entered Phase 4!" Touya shouted as he got up, much to everyone's surprise. They all guessed that his constant spamming of his Drive must have made him progress a Phase. Es didn't like the sound of that and knew she had to act fast, especially since Ren began to charge another Shadow Vortex to strike Mei down. Mei can't stop the spell unless she shot it elsewhere and she knew she won't get another chance if she let go now.

"No! I won't let this happen! I won't let this man die, but I can't let him hurt Mei either!" Es shouted as she ran toward Ren and began swinging her sword at Ren, who barely dodged the attack and did the unthinkable. He grabbed the blade by the sharp edge, suffering a cut on his hand, surprising Es and everyone present, including Nu, who managed to avoid losing consciousness. Than Ren prepared to unleash the Shadow Vortex he wrapped around his hand like a dark gauntlet at Es...

"DIE, YOU AWFUL VOICE!" Ren cried with tears of sadness and rage as he punched Es point blank into her stomach.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Es cried out as she was struck hard and sent flying into the air, losing consciousness the moment she was sent upward while dropping her sword.

"ES!" Touya shouted as he looked on in disbelief at his dear friend getting knocked away. Mei could only gasp in horror at the terrible sight and even Nu looked troubled at seeing the Azure Maiden's defeat.

Time slowed down for everyone present as Es fell back to the ground with a loud thud. Time returned to normal as Touya looked on in complete shock and sadness as he saw Es lying on the ground motionless. It was that he had enough of seeing not only Nu getting hurt and Mei being put in danger, but now Es being severely injured and possibly dead too. He couldn't take it anymore...

"Hgnnn... ARGHHHHHHHH!" Touya cried out in complete rage and sorrow as the Original Grimoire began to surge and spike out of control, creating a red and black spiral around himself. As Ren looked at him, he no longer saw an evil figure looking at him, but instead he saw Touya himself. Ren began to feel scared, wondering what he did to make this boy, who was sympathetic to him earlier, so angry. Even the voices that was driving him mad went silent as the crystal 'itself' didn't know what to make of this.

"What you just done was the lowest of the low! She was just trying to help you, save you from yourself and this is what you did to her!? You DARE hurt my friend!? You DARE hurt someone important to ME!?" Touya shouted in complete rage as hot tears poured down his face as his Bloodedge sword turned into a massive scythe as the Original Grimoire's powers turned his eyes black and red. Mei hadn't seen Touya lose control of the Grimoire ever since Freaks' attempt on Hinata's life back when he was Ripper.

"Kagari! Snap out of it!" Mei shouted as she was holding the charge for the spell, now at 90%, that she was going to fire at Ren. She didn't want to have to put Touya down just because he went berserk, not just because of the threat of the Grimoire posed, but because she only had one charge to fire and she can't handle both Ren AND a berserk Touya at the same time. It also didn't help that Touya is her friend. The thought of killing a dear friend was something Mei never wanted to go through or experience.

Ren, on the other hand, began to feel terrified and tried to use Shadow Vortex to defend himself, but Touya swung the scythe down, narrowly missing his arm as it dispersed Ren's Drive. He didn't know what to do as Touya shouted louder, his power growing more fiercer, but before he could attack, Es suddenly grabbed and tackled him.

"COME BACK TOUYA! I'M ALRIGHT! I'M ALRIGHT!" Es shouted as Touya's eyes returned to normal and the bloodstained scythe vanished as the two fell onto the ground, with the young man losing consciousness from all the stress the battle put him through.

Ren, who witnessed the whole thing, was touched by this act of friendship that Es showed Touya, but as soon as he tried to make sense of what was happening, the the voices suddenly came back in full force trying to cover Es and Touya in dark voices and faces. At this point, Ren finally realized that he was attacking them along with the other two girls this entire time and knew he that needed to stop himself.

"No! I won't listen to you anymore!" Ren said as he clutched the Drive Crystal on top of his right hand. He then saw Mei finish charging her spell and knew the only way to end the Crystal's control over him was to allow himself to be hit by whatever Mei was charging.

"C-come on! You need to stop me before I cause more harm! PLEASE!" Ren shouted in tears at Mei to end this awful experience once and for all. Mei shot a look of sympathy before steeling herself, knowing what she had to do.

"I'm sorry! This will only hurt for a moment! RISE THUNDER BEAST!" Mei shouted as she shot a ball of condensed lightning at Ren, with the man letting go of his crystal and letting his hand take the brunt of the attack, sending cracked crystal shards everywhere as he was blasted across the ground into a wall. With that, the battle was over. Mei saw Ren slumped up against the wall, worn out and beaten up, but alive.

"T-thank you... and I'm... sorry..." Ren said gratefully in a weak tone before passing out. Mei was surprised that not only did he go into Phase Four and became lucid for a moment, but he also fought against the Crystal's influence at the last second. The Shrine Maiden closed her eyes and nodded in silence for the man's bravery in trying to stop his crystal's dark influence. Perhaps there are others like Akira after all. If people can fight their crystal's influence like this, it'll make finding a cure for the Drive Crystals that much more easy. With that, Mei turned to Es and Touya, with the former shaking the latter in an attempt to wake him.

"Touya! Touya! Wake up, please!" Es shouted at the comotose Touya, her eyes on the verge of tears. Upon looking at her, Mei noticed that Es wasn't as hurt as she should have been. Than again, there was no implosion when she was struck by Ren's Drive. Mei then recalled that the Shadow Vortex must have lost it's explosive charge when it wrapped around Ren's hand, turning it into a mean right hook punch instead, which explained why Es recovered as soon as she did.

"Ugh..." Touya groaned as he woke up to see Es looking at him. He than sat up immediately upon seeing his friend's face. He thought the worst had happened to her, but here she is, alive and well.

"Touya! A-are you okay-" Es was than cut off by Touya suddenly hugging the Azure Maiden.

"Es! Thank goodness! Thank goodness you're alive!" Touya said with tears clung to his eyes as he refused to let Es go after seeing her get hurt like that again. Es could only smile calmly as she returned the gesture and began to rub his back in an attempt to calm him down as she allowed her own tears to fall. Mei, who was watching the two, couldn't help but smile at her friends in relief at the scene before her as she silently cried a little herself.

"Have we... succeeded...?" Nu asked Mei as she floated up to her.

"Yes, we have. Keep an eye on them Nu, I need to call Yuki." Mei said as she got out her phone and proceeded to Yuki, hoping things on her end has been cleared up too.

Shin Yokosaki Mall [Parking Lot]

It was around 4:15 PM when everything calmed down. Yuki reflected back on everything as when Touya, Es and Mei left two hours ago to chase down the Union, she along with Hinata, Akira and Kiri immediately got to work in helping the civilians who were injured or separated by the explosions and the fire. The fire department came as fast as they could and helped put out the flames the explosion from the cars have caused.

Hinata kept watch over six children she found separated from their parents while Akira and Kiri helped out the injured, bringing them to safety and gathering them to a single spot. Fortunately, none of the injuries were fatal as some only received bruises and minor cuts with the worse injuries only being a broken leg or arm. Fortunately, only twelve were injured and no one else. The kids Hinata kept watch over were reunited with their parents, who are among three of the injured while the other three parents are unharmed, bringing great joy and tears of relief to Hinata as the children reunited with their familes.

Three ambulances arrived some time after and the doctors began to help Yuki as she patched up the last of the injured. Once the six civilians with broken bones were safely brought on board the ambulances, the doctors suggested to the remaining six civilians to come to the hospital to get themselves checked up. A couple of police cars came by to escort them and to notify the other parent of the three children with thier injured parent to come pick them up or to meet them at the Hospital.

Hinata, Akira and Kiri gathered around Yuki at her car, relieved that no one died. Now, they just have to wait on Mei's group to call in in regards to the Union.

*RING* *RING* Yuki's phone went off as she took it out and answered.

"Mei? What's the situation?" Yuki asked Mei, awaiting a report on what happened.

"We managed to capture the Union, Ren Kaito, at the Restricted Ward. He's just entered Phase Four, but we are able to treat him, so we need an ambulance to come here and transport him immediately." Mei responded through the cell phone to Yuki.

"That's good to hear, I'm glad you guys were able to save him. Oh! Are the three of you okay!?" Yuki asked as Hinata, Akira and Kiri looked on in concern.

"Well, Kagari and Es got banged up, but we're alive and well. However, we'll need our daily check up with you earlier than planned." Mei replied as she noted the damage they took, while making an attempt at a medical joke. Yuki made sure to give the others a smile and a thumbs up letting them know that all three of them are okay, bringing relief to them, before she replied to Mei.

"Okay, I'll call up another ambulance and send them your way. We'll see you soon." Yuki replied to Mei.

"Got it. By the way, is everything over there okay?" Mei asked, wanting to know what happened over there.

"The fire department put all the fires out. None of them were big enough to spread and we confirmed that twelve were injured, six with broken arms or legs, three of the victims with children who are unharmed. No casualties." Yuki reported everything that occurred at the mall to Mei.

"I'm sure the Union will be happy to know no one was killed once he's treated. It turned out he managed to fight off the influence of his crystal somehow toward the end of the battle, but I'll explain everything when we meet at the Hospital. I'll see you then, Yuki." Mei said as she waited for a reply. This surprised Yuki as this is the second Union victim outside of Akira to resist his crystal's influence, but made her happy all the same.

"Okay, we'll see you soon Mei." Yuki replied as she and Mei hung up.

"I'm glad everything is okay in the end." Kiri said, relieved that all their efforts payed off.

"Yeah, we did good out here today. Even Touya and the others did great from what it sounds like too!" Akira said with confidence, despite being exhausted.

"Yup! All of you did a good job! Anyway, it's a good thing we didn't buy anything here today so we didn't forget anything, because now we need to get our butts to the Hospital." Yuki said, her personality now calm and carefree again.

"Why Yuki? It's still technically your day off." Hinata asked her big sister.

"Is it because I need to head back?" Kiri asked, still remembering the stern lecture Yuki gave him.

"Well, that and because I need to patch up Touya, Es and Mei. Not to mention I need to stabilize Ren's condition since they managed to incapacitate him at Phase Four." Yuki mentioned to Kiri, explaining why they need to head on over there.

"Ren?" Hinata asked in confusion, as she never heard that name before.

"That's the name of the Union they captured. For now, just get in the car, okay? I need to send one more ambulance over to where they are at." Yuki replied, before asking the three to buckle up in the car. As soon as they're set, Yuki dialed her phone to get an ambulance sent over to the Restricted Ward.

Restricted Ward

It was now 4:25 PM as Mei just hung up her phone and she walked back over to where Nu is.

"How are they doing?" Mei asked Nu, hoping that Touya has calmed down from the whole ordeal.

"They are... well..." Nu responded.

"Good. For now, just stay here for a while. Once you hear the ambulance, head back to the lab, okay?" Mei said to Nu.

"Understood..." Nu said as the two continued to watch over Touya and Es. While Mei wanted to say something, she thought it be best to see how it played out first.

Meanwhile, Touya has calmed down and looked at Es tenderly for a moment before looking back at the unconscious Ren. Touya remembered how angry he got, but he felt ashamed that he was going to kill Ren despite knowing that it was his crystal that made him act crazy and that Ren himself clearly didn't wish to hurt anyone. Touya felt he didn't deserve to be anywhere near Es after what he almost did...

"Es, I need to check on Ren..." Touya said as he tried to get up, but Es clung on to his sleeve, keeping him from leaving.

"No. I... I still want to finish my conversation from earlier with you..." Es said with a deep seriousness in her voice.

"But Es, I nearly killed that man over what he did to you! Why would you want to talk to me after what I almost done?" Touya responded in guilt and shame. Es stared at hims for a moment before letting go of his shirts sleeve to grasp both of his hands.

"I know Ren didn't wish to harm us. He was just a victim to his Drive Crystal. But, your reaction is understandable and I don't blame you for that. In the end, both Ren and all of us are alive and well. That's all that matters." Es said in a kind and reassuring tone. While Touya still felt bad, he felt better hearing that from her and he hoped he can apologize to Ren once he's treated and cured. Shortly after, he noticed Es' face get a little red...

"Touya, before all this happened... what I wanted to say earlier has do with the day we parted during the Embryo Incident..." Es said as she paused for a moment, just in case Touya had another question. Instead he nodded to let Es know she can continue. He wasn't going to back away now as his heart has decided that he wants to be with the Azure Maiden, through both good times and bad times.

"When we first met, I didn't think much of anything, but you and everyone kept an open mind in regards to me and tried to teach me so many new things and for that, I'm forever grateful." Es said as Touya looked at her in awe.

"However, my view of you became different, ever since I put Hinata's... life at risk. I realized back then that I was wrong to do that, because I view her, along with the others as family, including you. But... when you tried to send me away with an order, I couldn't bring myself to do so..." Es said as she and Touya recalled that sad moment.

"It was then I knew that I wanted to be a part of the family that all of us became a part of. Hinata, Yuki, Akira, Mei, Kuon, Elise... and you." Es continued as Touya continued to listen, deeply touched that Es felt this way back than.

"It was around that time, when I began to feel that I wanted to become someone... important to you. When you defended my right to live from Drei and Unomaru, it made me happy. Even though my hands are stained with blood, you held them as they were still clean. You treated me with so much kindness and you, along with everyone else, gave me a place to belong, a place to call home. I always appreciated that kindness, selflessness and your wish to protect people that makes up who you are." Es said as tender tears began to slide down her face.

"Es..." Touya barely said as he felt his eyes becoming misty from the Azure Maiden pouring her heart out to him.

"When we had to part ways, I truly wished that I didn't have to leave as I wanted to spend every day with everyone, including you. When you told me that you wished we could stay together forever, I finally realized why I felt so different around you, why you are important in a different way to me..." Es said as she looked at Touya with her tear laced eyes.

"Touya... I love you..." Es said to Touya, finally confessing her feelings at long last to him. Touya continued to look at her as tears started to go down his face. Es assumed he didn't feel the same based on that reaction alone.

"I... I understand if you don't feel the same way as I do, but I just wanted to tell you how I feel after so long..." Es said before Touya pulled her into another hug, surprising her.

"Es... I never knew you felt that way during the Embryo Incident. To be honest, you just keep amazing me. Sure, when I first met you, I was unsure how to interact with you, but you always keep surprising me in so many different ways." Touya said as he began his own confession to her.

"It's true you did things I wasn't happy with, but as I got to understand you and show you that there is more to life then just following orders, I knew that I couldn't leave you be. Then during that... awful falling out... when you came to save me from Akira and when you apologized for your actions, I realized that you've changed as a person because you wanted to and not because someone asked you to do so." Touya continued as he pulled away and gently cuped Es' face with both of his hands as they looked back at each other.

"Even when I learned that you were an artificial being, it didn't matter to me because you ARE human to me and everyone else. Even if you were still an artificial being now, you still have a right to live your life and we'd all still accept you for who you are. You proved to me that underneath your closed off heart, you are a kind, noble and strong girl. Someone I can look up to and stand by your side through thick and thin." Touya said, letting his heart choose his words for him.

"T-Touya..." Es choked out as tears continued to stream down her face as she held one of his hands.

"When you left that day, I too understood why I felt this this toward you..." Touya said as Es' eyes widened at what Touya was going to say.

"I love you too... Es... and I always will." Touya said, returning the love Es gave him. The Azure Maiden hugged him back tenfold, with Touya returning it.

"Oh, Touya!" Es said with happiness, overjoyed that Touya reciprocated her love for him.

"Es..." Touya said in happiness too. The two pulled away and smiled at each other for a few seconds before the two leaned in, closing their eyes and softly pressed thier lips together. This became their second kiss in their whole lives, but this time they had all the time in the world, with no one to interrupt and no tragic fate to pull them apart. The two eventually parted and they put their foreheads together as they continued to look each other in the eyes, each filled with love.

A few feet away, Mei and Nu observed the two confess their feelings to each other, with Mei smiling in joy as she wiped a tear from her eye.

*Sniff* "It's about time..." Mei said as she witnessed the beautiful heart-filled confession between her dearest friends right in front of her.

While Nu didn't understand what was going on herself, seeing Es and Touya like this made something move in that mechanical 'heart' of hers and, without anyone noticing, smiled softly herself.

Even Ren, who briefly regained consciousness and was now free of those terrible voices, smiled at the two before passing out again, faintly hearing the ambulances sirens while losing consciousness.

"Nu, you better get going." Mei said to Nu as the latter turned to face the former as she heard the sirens.

"Roger..." Nu said before returning to the lab.

"HEY! Over here!" Mei shouted to the medics as they escorted her, Es and Touya to the ambulance and carried Ren on a gurney to the same ambulance to treat the four for their injuries.

Mitsurugi Agency HQ [Laboratory]

Nu recently returned to the lab at the Mitsurugi HQ around 5:00 PM. Once she enters her capsule, she will be healed and repaired by the capsule's effects. She looked around the lab once more in wonder. While she worked with Touya, Es and Mei in the past, she never felt this way about them before, but she is... happy... to feel this way all the same.

"Ah, Nu! Good to see you returned!" Said a soldier of the Mitsurugi Agency. While he wore the standard uniform complete with a mask hiding his face, he was happy to see the robot's return as he is one of the few soldiers to interact with her and assist in her repairs.

"Did the mission go well?" He asked Nu as she climbed into the capsule.

"Yes... it was... successful and... illuminating..." Nu replied as she laid back in her capsule and her as her visor turned off...

"Sweet dreams, Nu..." The soldier said calmly as the robot fell 'asleep'.

Within the dark consciousness of her mind, Nu kept seeing that image of Touya and Es confessing their love for each other. In a sense, Nu is having sweet dreams and a wish began to form within her mechanical heart.

'Could I... become human... too...?' Nu thought as she drifted through her dream world.

Restricted Ward

Around 5:10 PM, the battlefield was empty, devoid of all combatants. The Metal Man showed up, surveying the aftermath of the battle around him. His equipment back at his secret lab at the Wharf alerted him to an on-going battle, but he just missed it. He noticed blood on the ground and his metal eyes detected it as Touya's blood and also detected it as a Drive.

"What's this?" The Metal Man replied as he didn't expect one of his targets to have a Drive Ability. He then noticed a faint glow of green energy left behind by Nu's sword. At this point, the Metal Man chuckled...

"So, you took the remaining Es-N Unit for yourself. Didn't you Mei?" The Metal Man responded darkly.

He then pulled out and used two test tubes to gain a sample of Touya's blood and a sample of the energy from Nu's sword before proceeding to walk away. He then felt a small thing crunch under his metal foot, before picking up what he stepped on.

"I-is this!?" The Metal Man said in surprise as he held a small fragment of Ren's Union Crystal as his cyan color 'eyes' glowed brightly, apparently in elation as he chuckled some more.

To Be Continued...

Another chapter done! Yes, Es and Touya finally admitted their love for each other, Nu is starting to become more human, Ren has been saved and no lives were lost.

However, the Metal Man has got his hands on some stuff that could be potentially dangerous. Hopefully Es and Touya will be able to handle this in addition to their newly formed relationship.

Anyway, I originally wanted the confession to occur later toward the end of the story, but I suppose it works and flows better to have it happen here. Feel free to tell me what you guys think of this and the previous five chapters in the reviews.

Also, without spoiling anything, Ren will not be the only OC in this story and it won't be too long until we learn the identity of the Metal Man. But his mannerisms should clue you in on who he is.

I'll see you next time as we deal with the aftermath of this encounter.

Reference Note: The part where Es gets injured by Ren with Touya going ballistic is based off a scene from Chrono Crusade.

Update: Grammer and spell check.