When he opened his eyes, he expected to be back in that place. The verdant green fields filled with flowers of all different colors. He thought he'd be greeted by the six heroes of the last war and then spend eternity talking about all manner of subjects ranging from what type of tea you like to what was your most embarrassing memory.

But when he opened his eyes, he found that he was not in that place. Instead, he was in a hospital. The plain colored ceiling and smell of medicine were enough of an indicator.

"Hey," said a voice, as he rose up "he's awake, he's awake."

He turned around and saw a man darting to the door. The young doctor flung the door open and ran out, to call someone else, someone more experienced. When an older looking man in a white lab coat and three pens in his front pocket, appeared, all his doubts were cleared.

According to what they said, as he was leaving the base, a disgruntled ex-soldier detonated a bomb near him, intending to get back at the navy for discharging him. He was unfortunately caught up in the blast, lost his left arm and was in a coma for six months. It was strange, considering that more than a few seasons passed, but in reality, it seemed as though only half a year passed.

In the time that he was unconscious, much had happened in the Navy. For starters, many of his squadmates came to him on their day off, spending the day with him and keeping an eye on him in the hopes he woke up. Additionally, the corrupt Sergeant that got him discharged in the first place was busted for abusing his power on many occasions.

After the doctor explained this to him, he was greeted by his squadmates and friends. As much as he was happy to see them and talk to them after so long, there was one prevailing thought running through his mind?

'Was it a dream?'

On one side everything that happened to him did indeed feel like a dream. A world filled with human manifestations of famous ships, an invading alien force, being the leader of one group, meeting everyone, the war; all of it did sound like something that was the product of a few too many good drinks. It is entirely possible that his mind, in an attempt to cope with what had happened with him could concoct an insane dream in order to placate him.

It was a thought he wrestled with, while he was slowly recovering. Another plus point for him was the Navy had agreed to reward him with a mechanical arm. It wasn't as fancy as the types seen in movies and took a while to get used to, but he was able to adapt to it in time, learning how to maintain it and repair it as well.

After an unknown amount of time passed, he was discharged from the hospital. Instead of having a big party and celebrating his new life, he had another idea in mind.

Finding a way to get back to that world.

As much as he wanted to dismiss everything that happened to him in that world, he could not do it. The memories, the experiences, the emotions he felt when all that happened was too vivid for him to write off as 'just a dream.'

This was why he began looking for a way to get back to that world.

Three months later

The door to a café in some part of the world opened, the sound of the ringing bell alerting the waiter at the table.

"Hey there honey," she said, greeting the lady at the door "take a seat anywhere and I'll be with you shortly to take your order."

The lady nodded and took a seat next to a man dressed in a fake leather jacket with a cap on his head. She eyed him scarfing down his bread and eggs then drank the glass of juice. She then saw him digging into his pocket and taking out the money needed to pay for the meal.

"That was a pretty heavy meal," she said to him, but he did not respond. Instead, he got up from his seat and headed out the door.

"Now that's not very nice," she said turning her chair and addressing him "I spent a pretty long time searching for you and you're just going to brush me off? Where are your manners, Commander?"

Hearing those words, the man immediately stopped. He turned around and the woman saw him do his best to hold back the anger inside him.

"What the hell are you doing here," he said, his fists shaking "Omega?"

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In a land similar to what is known, yet ever so slightly different, two females, dressed in the country's traditional attire stood at a memorial. Together, they bowed and prayed to the spirits of those lost to guide them through their life and watch over them from up above.

When that was done, the two women departed the cemetery and made their way to the entrance of the shrine.

"It's a pretty nice memorial you built," said the woman on the left

"He'd probably hate it," said the woman on the right "say something about how his jaw doesn't look that bad."

"No, he wouldn't,"

"Yes, he would. Plus he'd probably not like being in the same category as Amagi and the others. He'd say something like 'I was just finishing what they started.'"

The woman on the left chuckled a little at the idea.

"You're coming for the party right?" asked the woman on the left "please don't say no or anything."

"I'm not sure if I should," said the other woman "seeing everyone else there, Belfast, Z23, Yorktown, it might just ruin the mood."

"Well if we're going to be miserable," said the woman on the left "let's all be miserable together."

"Enterprise," said the fox-eared woman on the right "when did you know….. that you liked him?"

"Ah well, that was something I felt almost right off the bat," replied Enterprise to Akagi "when I was brought back to this world, I said that I was going to help him. His first response was not to worry about him but to go help Z23."

"Here he was getting his ass kicked by Hornet and when his first chance of help comes, the only thing he can think about is protecting his other teammate."

"After that, he was able to talk Hornet down and keep me from killing my sister. As I saw him hold my sister so sweetly, I thought to myself 'he's the sort of guy I'd happily fight for.'"

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"There ya go," said the waitress, placing two plates of bread and eggs on the table. One for the man with the leather jacket and one for the woman that recently entered.

"Please don't use that fork to stab me in the eye," said Omega, addressing how much he was eyeing the fork on the table.

"How? How are you here?" he asked, while she started eating her food.

"The same way that you're here I guess," she replied "oh and please, no Omega alright? I go by Alice now."

"The same fake name you used back there"

"A fake name there is a real one here," she said, trying to lighten the mood, but found her joke did not land "at least don't let your food get cold."

"Why are you here?" he asked, having his second breakfast in the day "what do you want?"

"I came to give you a prize," she replied.

"What?"

"You heard me. It's only fair you get a prize after everything that happened. I mean seriously, saving the world and the only thing you got was a trip back to this place? That's pretty depressing if you ask me."

"Fine the, out with it. Give me your prize and be on your way."

At this Omega-Alice reached into her jacket. He held his fork and knife threateningly, ready to pounce on her if she showed even the slightest hint of hostility towards him.

Imagine his surprise when he saw her take out a glowing-blue cube with a white light in the center.

"A wisdom cube?"

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"Time passed and I saw him grow from a strong leader into an admirable Commander," she added "at times I'd often wonder how the two of us would live after the war was over. We'd probably just laze about all day or maybe I'd do that while he helped Yorktown in her classes."

"He really loved those kids didn't he?" said Enterprise's companion "I'd often get jealous of how much time he spent around Unicorn, Aulick and Kisaragi and not spend much time with us."

"He didn't just love the kids Akagi," countered Enterprise, "he loved this world and all of us on it."

"And in return, everyone loved him back, some more than others."

"I can imagine when it happened for Z, Cleveland and Belfast," said Enterprise "hell, I can imagine Roon fell for him the moment she saw him, but when did it happen for you Akagi?"

"Well it certainly wasn't a love at first sight deal," said Akagi "when I first saw him, I thought he was pretty plain and weak looking."

"It happened when our forces were fighting each other and that Siren attacked us. I thought for sure that it was the end for me and the Sakura Empire. Then I felt like fate was laughing at me when I saw him of all people appear."

"At first I was angry, I hurled abuses at him and cursed him to no end. Then, when I had no energy left, no options left, I begged him to save them, save everyone. As I saw him approach me, he put his hat on my head. It was in this miniscule moment, just as he was turning around and heading to the beach, I saw it."

"Saw what?"

"This look, this fierce, terrifying look in his eyes and it sent shivers down my spine. Partly because I didn't think he could ever look that scary and also because it reminded me so much of Amagi."

"I heard she was a beautiful woman," said Enterprise "hard to image that she could look menacing."

"That was what's so special about her. When she was with us, with her friends, she looked beautiful, perfect. I sometimes imagine that if she were alive, he'd probably ask her to marry him the moment he saw her."

Enterprise laughed a little, imagining that happening.

"But when it was time to fight, she was something else Enterprise. Her look alone was enough to scare anyone and when you see her coming at you, the only thing you could do was pray your affairs were in order."

"So he looked like her for a moment?" asked Enterprise.

"Yeah. And as I watched him leave, heading to the battle, I thought maybe, just maybe I could bet the future of my people on him. After seeing him defeat the Sirens, I made my decision and you know the rest."

"You entrusted the fate of everyone in the Sakura Empire to his hands and he didn't let you down."

"Not even once," added Akagi.

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"How do you have one of those?" he asked, eyeing the surroundings in case anyone saw the alien object.

"Perks of Siren tech," she replied "I kept one on me in the event something happened and I was sent to some other world."

"I don't understand, the cubes can only revive the dead. It's not like they're a wish granting tool or something."

Despite his statement, the look on Alice's face told him that they were indeed as he had stated.

"What?"

"Yep. They're Aladdin's lamp, the genie in a bottle. One of these means that you get a wish. At least, that's what I've found out when researching them. By the way, what made you think these things could only revive the dead?"

"When I was fighting Hornet, I got knocked into a stack of these things. At the time, I thought about how much we needed some help and when help did arrive, I figured that's what they could do."

"I can see how that works. And with the lack of wisdom cubes on the planet, you'd think they would only have that use and nothing else."

"How did you find out that they could grant wishes?"

"Remember that time I told you about rising to power only to be toppled by one of my own? during that time I had one of these things with me and I wished for strength. It gave me that and then some, which is why I kept on me at all times."

"If that's the case, why didn't you use it and win the war?"

"Because the cubes stopped listening to me," she replied "after becoming Omega, I poured all my waking hours into learning everything I could about the Wisdom cubes. Try as I might though, the cubes never responded to me after a certain point. I always chalked it up to becoming a half-machine half-human but it could be anything else."

"Point is, I'm giving it to you," she said, sliding it over to him.

"What? Why?"

"Its your prize, for winning the war," she replied "while our forces battled the hell out of each other, you and I fought to the death and despite my best efforts, you succeeded. Instead of being there, you're back here, in this drab and boring world."

"Don't get me wrong though, if I won the fight but still died, I'd have gone back to that world, recouped my losses and came back to finish the job."

"That brings me to another question," he said, "all this time, I've been wandering the globe trying to find any connection to the other world. I stuck to a paper money and didn't stay in one place for too long. How did you find me?"

"Sorry, but I can't answer that," she replied "I do need to have a certain air of mystery around me."

"Look you can either stay here eyeing me up and down till you get tired, or you can take this little gift and go back to that world. I mean, it's not like this place is all that interesting."

As much as he did not want to trust Alice, what she said is true. Which was why, he came forward and took the cube. Then, he got up and made his way to the door.

"Thanks, Alice," he said, showing the slightest bit of gratitude to his enemy before leaving.

Alice watched him leave, heading to what looked like an alleyway, where he could not be seen. Once he was out of sight, the edges of her lips curled into the faintest hint of a smile.

She reached into her jacket and pulled out another cube. Unlike the one she first displayed, this one was black, with a purple glow coming from the center, giving it a very ominous vibe.

There was a large chunk of her story she didn't tell him. After finding out it's wish granting capabilities, she did indeed research them in order to understand how they worked and then, mass produce them.

It was around this time she became Omega and although the cubes responded to her, her other objective was fulfilled. The cube she had now may not be able to grant wishes, but it did have another use that was suited for the world she was in.

As she gazed at the cube, she touched the top of it and in response, the cube's ominous light started to glow bright and brighter, eventually enveloping the café.

"Go back to the world you love," she said, watching it's effects on the people inside "while I make plans for this world."

One thing 'Alice' realized after becoming the ruler of a planet was that she enjoyed it. She enjoyed having all that power and did not like returning to being a rich person in this world. She had every intention of turning this world into another Siren planet and now that her biggest opponent was gone, nothing would stop her.

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"Sorry," said Akagi, covering her face, not wanting to let Enterprise see how sad she was after reminiscing.

Enterprise understood her feelings. Everyone was hit hard upon hearing the news. Yorktown refused to speak to anyone for a week, Z23 couldn't stop crying, Belfast worked herself to death in order to not think about it, Roon went on a rampage, destroying a few islands and Friedrich well; the less said about her expressing her anger, the better.

Out of everyone in the fleet who mourned his loss, Akagi was hit by it the hardest. Losing her sister at a young age caused the girl to retreat into herself, acting like everything was fine on the surface, but hid her true emotions and feelings deep down. Then he came along and helped her revert back to her old self. Was she excessive? Overbearing? Difficult at times? Yes to all but that's just who she was.

"There, there Akagi," she said, rubbing her back in a rare show of friendship "it'll be tough, but we'll get over it."

"I don't want to get over it," she said, "I want him back."

"So do…."

Akagi continued covering her eyes, wiping her tears. Then she noticed Enterprise was silent. Curious, she asked "what's wrong? Nothing to say?"

Enterprise however continued to remain silent. Her attention was focused on what was ahead of her. Akagi turned in that direction to the entrance of the temple and froze.

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"Oh my god," he said, lying on the stone floor and looking up "that…. *gasp. That was, oh god that was tougher than I thought."

"who the hell puts so many stairs on a mountain?" he added, crawling to the top-most step and looking at the way back down "I seriously need to get a lift or a cable car or something because … *gasp…. No way am I doing that again."

Slowly rising to his feet and staggering a little, he held onto a nearby tree to keep from falling down, all the while having a tough time breathing. "How many steps were those? a hundred? five hundred maybe? You know what, if anyone asks I'll say it was a thousand."

"Sweet Jesus I am out of shape," he said, clutching his stomach "here's hoping I'm in the right place."

"Why'd I come here of all places though?" he asked looking up "I know I wanted to see them, I remembered thinking that when I came here."

"But…."

Then he stopped when he turned and saw a silver-haired woman and a fox-eared woman standing a little way away from him. He recognized their distinguishing characteristics almost immediately and froze.

"C-Commander?" asked Enterprise, her voice trembling.

He didn't say anything. Slowly and carefully, he came towards them, while they remained silent. When he was close, he reached up and gently touched their cheeks.

"Is this?" asked Akagi "is this a dream?"

"If it is," replied Enterprise "then I don't want to wake up."

"Enterprise, Akagi!," he shouted, pulling them in for a hug "Its you. It's really you."

All the emotions they kept inside. All the hurt and pain and devastation they felt could no longer be contained. Because of this, they started sobbing profusely, all the while embracing him as tightly as they could.

"Its you?" asked Enterprise, burying her head into his shoulder "it's really you?"

"Yep," he replied, crying as well.

"You jerk," shouted Akagi, angry at him, yet at the same time, refusing to let him go "do you know how much we cried? How much everyone in the fleet cried when you died?"

"I'm sorry,"

"You better be," added Enterprise.

"I promise I'll make it up to you. All of you."

"You'd better," said Akagi "you have a lot of making up to do Commander."

"I swear I'll never hurt you again. I finally found my place….." he said, pulling them in closer, as if that was possible.

Then, with tears rolling down his face, making him look like a sobbing mess, he moved his head back a little. Trying his best to form a smile, he looked at them and said "I'm home."

And with equally terrible smiles and sobbing faces Enterprise and Akagi said together "Welcome home, Commander."

(AN: sorry for that red herring but I'm not the type that ends things on tragedies, so please don't hate me for this ending. This chapter does mark the end to the official story, but, after questorimperialist102296 asked for, I started thinking of a few bonus chapters. So there'll be a few more chapters which will end the story on a happy note.

PS: I left that end with Alice in case I ever come back to this story to do a follow up.)