I'm done! I'm done! Life is done! No more Biology! It can go die in a hole! To celebrate, here's another chapter I typed on my laptop in between studying at cafes and stuff like that. But I'm done! I'm done! Actually I have to thank Guilty Crown for helping me study for genetics. GC=guanine and cytosine. Remembering that alone helped me figure out the entire DNA structure alone. Thus, this anime helped in the end! Yay!

epigenome

"We are the Pallbearers!"

'Pallbearers? What the hell? If I didn't know better, these guys are just copying Funeral Parlor.' Daryl glared at the now-unmasked leader. There was nothing interesting about him. He had no aesthetic like Gai Tsutsugami. His black and grey clothes mixed with his short raven hair only made him look depressing. The cloak and hood that covered his body made him look childish as if this ordeal was a sick game to him. And his hair was ridiculously short and messy so to not fit his narrow jaw line.

Daryl readied to move his Endlave. He knew that guy hurt Tsugumi and he was going to make him pay...dearly! The wheels at his Endlave's feet spun from average to full speed. A shaft of gray and white spun out from the back of his Endlave, ready to shoot and kill. Naturally, at that time, a sudden lust for blood returned to his twisted mind. Right now, he wanted to see nothing but their blood and guts strewn on the floor.

"Boss! Hold your fire!" Jessica screamed.

It was no use. He was not listening. Daryl continued charging and fired. "Die!"

The idle black Endlave suddenly spurred forward, spinning the huge missile to aim up to the roof. Its black arm covered the leader as he was repeatedly bombarded with bullets. Just as Daryl was finally nearing close, the enemy Endlave sprang up and suddenly pushed him off the path. Daryl angrily tried resisting, but ultimately failed as pain shot up from his back and his Endlave was rammed into a wall.

"Don't touch him." A voice warned from the other Endlave. It was a premature voice, soft and light, like whip cream on cake. This voice did not sound like a man or a young male after puberty. This was a kid! This wasn't a soldier! It was a kid piloting a craft twenty times bigger than him! What the hell was he doing?

"Back off kid!" Daryl tried to shove him away, but the Endlave only rammed into him again. This time, an uncomfortable pain shot from his chest.

"Call me that and I'll really kill you." He threatened whilst suffocating Daryl's armor. "This is between you and me, Major General Yan."

"Who are you?" Daryl managed to spat out in his fits of coughing.

"Someone you met eight years ago!"

The black Endlave angrily clutched the neck of his Endlave. In one swoop, he caused both to fly up and out of the hole made by a missile. Daryl felt nothing but pain in those moments. Over and over again, his heartbeat dropped in frequency and steadiness, and an unbearable pain shot up repeatedly in his chest. Daryl coughed, feeling a taste of iron in his mouth. That was not good. As much as he wanted a bail out right then and there, at the same time, he didn't want to lose to this punk.

"Major General Yan! Keep that guy away for as long as you can. Argo and the rest of your troops are closing in." Jessica's voice rang in his numb ears.

Daryl bit his jaw and he violently swung to make the other Endlave drop him. "I would've even if you didn't ask!" He screamed.

Daryl found himself landing on the roof of another building from a good thousand feet in the air. He looked up and found the black Endlave still hovering around. So that guy had jets built into the machine. Daryl made no such improvement to his own model. This was proving to be a disadvantage. Now, the enemy was going to always have the upper hand. In vain, Daryl launched another missile up at his opponent. It was no use. That guy dodged it as if it were a harmless ball in dodge ball. That person was skilled in navigating, even in the air.

But, alas, he was not out of options...yet. Daryl prepared another missile to fire from his back. This missile was noticeably larger than the small ones built into his arm. He immediately pointed and fire, not caring about the aim. It didn't matter; this missile was going to hit either way. The sleek, white metal flew right by the Endlave, but suddenly, a hatch dislocated from the body. In an instance, a large flurry of small missiles disconnected from the main body and aimed back at the black Endlave! All of it came in every cardinal direction. Left, right, up, and down; there was no way of dodging it! Daryl smirked as a huge ball of fire and smoke exploded in midair. That should finish him for sure!

"Jessica! What's his reading?"

"He's...he's... He's still there!"

"What!" Daryl diverted his attention back to the destruction. He was sure he shot down that guy! Nobody can survive that!

But still, through the mass of debris, fire, and smoke, there stood a damaged, but still functional, Endlave. Although it was alive, it still suffered major damages. The black armor was well torn open to reveal the whitemechanics underneath. Some joints and parts had wires exposed to the frosty air. Electrical shortages were bound to happen to this unit and he could well plunge to the ground if he kept using his jets. But still, that guy looked intent on fighting. The black Endlave held dearly onto its body as it flew to a landing spot.

"I'll kill you!" the voice of the person behind the Endlave threatened. "After what you did to me and everyone I love, I'll kill you!" He began to stagger forward, but a sudden ring stopped them both.

"Comrade Ryo! We're pulling out! Our mission objective is complete!" A jet flew by the both of them and a ladder of steel and iron dropped.

"Maybe next time..." The pilot, Ryo, smirked and latched onto the ladder. A glow of green emitted around the Endlave and started to make him float. But in that instance, he rose up his arm and fired his own missile. "Here's a present for the rest of your friends!"

Daryl darted between choosing to go after Pallbearers or having to redirect the missile. It's not like he could fly there! His Endlave had no jets! But he was the only one on higher ground...and Tsugumi was still there. Daryl took one last look, cursed his luck, and sped at full speed to jump roofs. This was a gamble, a huge gamble. Even he wasn't sure he'll make it out alive. But this was the only way to save everyone.

Jessica widened her eyes as the graphs and charts flew out of whack! "Is he going to use that?"

Argo finally loaded Tsugumi into the back of his van. She was pretty scratched up and injured in the hostage situation, but she would be okay after a visit to the hospital. After they invaded the station, those terrorists pretty much gave up and high-tailed it out of there. But why would they put up such an elaborate crisis only to give up and run off with their tails between their legs? It made no sense.

"Sir! Incoming missile!"

"What?" Argo watched an incoming dot from above. Shit! They were done for!

A shaded over figure suddenly jumped out from the sidelines. It was an Endlave. It glittered in the sunlight but it also shone with a deathly glare from the chest. A sudden array of energy exploded out of this Endlave, covering the entirety of the hole. That's when the missile made contact. A rainbow of hexagonal shields lit up with intense frequency, shattering the missile to pieces and the fragments being reflected out. Everything vanished, disappeared, as if the shield sucked every potential explosion in. Only then, did Argo hear the pieces crashing outside, miles away, and an anguished cry erupting from inside the Endlave.

"Bail out!" Jessica huffed as she slammed down on that button. She quickly abandoned her post and ran to the pod next to her. Her fingers scrambled to get that thing open.

Daryl could be dead!

Once it opened, Daryl literally threw himself out, clutching dearly to his chest. A trickle of blood ran down the corner of his mouth. He sweated profusely; his hair grew damp as well. Suddenly, Jessica heard an emergent beep from her headset. It was from the graph monitoring his heart rate.

Jessica clutched her headset and yelled, "I need a medic. Now!"

-GC-

Hair of beautiful deep blue and purple strewn out over blades of grass. Her eyes welded shut, never to be open. Even so, a trickle of tears managed to escape the corner of her eye. Daryl found himself picking her up, trying in vain to shake her awake. Again and again, he called her name. She did not awaken. Her limp body sagged in his caress. Her heaving chest slowed down little by little. She was dying...and there was nothing he could do. For once, tears formed in his eyes and he tightly held onto her. He hugged onto her, intent of never letting her go.

"Sprout...Daryl..." He heard a squeak in her poignant voice, but alas, she was still.

"Runt! Runt! Tsugumi!"

Daryl quickly opened his eyes and he immediately sat up. This was not a field...it was a hospital. He was in a hospital bed. Daryl darted his eyes around his private hospital room, making sure everything was truly real. Sighing in relief, he sat down at the side of his bed and planted his head in his cupped hands. What a huge headache he was having! And that dream...it felt so real. He didn't want that to happen. Knowing Tsugumi died in his arms...that would be the worst feeling he ever experienced. His care for her was too great; he would not be able to live if she was gone. He wished, wherever she was, she was alright.

Suddenly, the door of his hospital room opened, and in walked his trusted comrade. She had in her hands, a plate of food and a glass of water. She set those aside at a nearby side dresser and sat down in a chair. "You recovered fast."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm your personal Intel Officer. It's my job to check up on you." Jessica scoffed, "That was a shitty move you pulled back there. You could have died."

"It had to be done. I had to save her." His gaze had stiffened and his hands clenched tighter onto his shirt.

"Bad dream, I presume?"

"Yeah..." His hand that previously held his chest now lingered to the IV in his arm.

But Jessica was quick, and she swatted his hand. "Don't do that. You're already half-dead as is."

"I have to see her!"

Jessica sighed and loosened her grip. There was no use. His resolve was too strong that he could not sit still. So she merely let him stand up on his two feet and watched him drag the IV pole behind him. In response, she shook her head and muttered, "Idiot. Using a wheelchair would be faster."

-GC-

Everyone surrounded her bed, anxious for her to awaken. An IV was attached to her short arms and her head was neatly propped up in the hospital bed. Everyone was there. Ayase sat faithfully near her bedside with Shu beside her. Argo and Shibungi sat down in chairs, waiting and discussing. Occasionally, Jessica would drop in while making rounds between Tsugumi and her boss. Everyone sat there, constantly, just waiting for her to open her eyes and gaze back at the world.

Suddenly, Tsugumi stirred a little. She gave out small whimpers, exciting everybody. Finally, the lids of her eyes lifted, revealing the violet iris of her eyes, and she tiredly began to lift herself up.

"Tsugumi!" Ayase tearfully hugged her friend. "Tsugumi! Don't you dare ever do that again!"

"Where am I?"

Shu stepped in. "You're in the hospital. Everyone was waiting for you to wake up."

"Really?" She looked upon her comrades. "Thanks Bungi, Argo."

Both of them nodded before walking up to Tsugumi. Argo simply patted her head and chuckled, earning a disgusted scoff from the latter.

Then, Shibungi spoke, "Tsugumi. When you recover, I'd like to speak to you about a certain matter. Is that alright?"

She nodded.

"Please recover soon." He softly said, ruffled her head as well, and began his departure. Argo followed after as well as he said his goodbyes.

Tsugumi turned to her friends again. "Shu. Aya-nee. What did he want from me?"

"Due to the new terrorist attack, he wants you to resume your position as a hacker."

"What? But we quit!" Tsugumi exclaimed.

"Tsugumi…I agreed. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to resume being an Endlave pilot." Ayase replied in remorse.

"Shibungi also recruited me into his operations. I don't know what I'll do, but I'll find something." Shu also said.

"You guys…" Tsugumi stared flabbergasted at her two friends before sighing in defeat. "I guess I'll have to do it. I can't just sit around and do nothing while my friends are putting everything on the line. Sure, I'll be a hacker again, but my skills are a little rusty."

"Everybody is." Ayase patted her on the back. "You know! I don't think I remember how to turn on an Endlave!"

"You turn it on using a power switch in the back panel."

Everybody swiveled their attention to the newcomer. Everyone had varied expressions. While Ayase was steaming mad, Shu still looked quite tranquil. Of course, Tsugumi shyly blushed and turned away, not wanting to continue looking at a person she ended on a bad note. Suddenly, Ayase quickly left Tsugumi's side and wheeled up to her enemy.

"What do you want?" Daryl glared down at her.

In retaliation, she reached up and yanked on the neck of his hospital gown, pulling him down to her height. "I saw your little performance there. I was right. You're still such a maniac! If Tsugumi was ever the brunt of your attack-"

"Aya-nee!" Tsugumi yelled, her cheeks growing red. It was obvious she was uncomfortable. "Aya-nee. He never hurt me, okay?"

Ayase scowled and released Daryl. "You remembered what I said. I'll forgive you this once, but I'm watching you." She haughtily wheeled out of the room.

Shu also bid his goodbyes and followed after Ayase outside. He quickly ran up to her and halted her wheelchair. "Ayase. Wasn't that a little bit harsh?"

"I don't trust him with Tsugumi."

"But you saw his performance today! He values her more than you think!"

"But still, I worry he'll do something to her."

"Ayase..."

"Shu is right." They heard a soft voice said and a young girl, about eighteen, appeared from the shadows. She walked right up to Shu and held out her hand for him. "Greetings, comrade. My name is Jessica, Junior Intel Officer."

"Ah! So you're the one handing me confidential information." Shu shook her hands.

"With orders from my bosses of course!" She laughed and held her hand to Ayase. "It's nice to meet you. I hope you're not pointing a gun at me this time."

"Oh, sorry about that…" Ayase sheepishly replied.

Jessica nodded and looked back at Shu. "I have orders from Argo. We found something for you to do, Shu. And Ayase can help. Come along." And she led them both away out of the hospital wing.

Back inside, it was silent between them two. Tsugumi had pulled up her sheets to her chin and she nestled her head in between her knees. She shyly looked away out a window, not wanting to make eye contact. But, even so, she wanted them to talk, to work everything out, to become friends again...she didn't want to start it though.

Even when she was not ready, Daryl was more than willing to start talking. He walked up to her bedside and sat down. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." Tsugumi felt her cheeks grow even hotter and she further tightened her grip of her sheets. She didn't know why she felt this awkward or flustered. Was it because this was the first time they talked after that mishap? Or was it because he saved her from death like a knight in shining armor? Or that he wore a hospital gown with a really low cut that showed his abs?

"Does anything still hurt? What did those punks do to you?"

"Nothing. They just pushed me around." Tsugumi replied and finally peeked at him. "I'm sorry you had to get hurt to save me."

"I don't mind. I got injured so much eight years ago that I practically lived at this hospital."

Tsugumi giggled. "Was it because Shu kept beating you up?"

A red blush rose to Daryl's cheeks. "No! He was just lucky!" He shouted back in embarrassment.

But Tsugumi only continued laughing. "Admit it! You can't lie to me! I've seen all your battles and you always got shot down by somebody!"

"You runt!" Daryl angrily snarled, but even so, something interested him. "You've seen all my battles?"

She nodded, "Yeah."

"How did you know it was me behind the Endlave?"

At that moment, Tsugumi suddenly blushed at his direct statement. "Well…it was…when…when around the first time you saved me?"

"I don't remember."

She mentally cursed him for making this so awkward! "Umm...Well, we were trying to get out of Loop 7 and then Gai was suddenly there. Then you suddenly came and stopped an Endlave from shooting us. Then you called me by my name...from then on, I recognized it was you..."

Finally, he got a notion of what she was talking about and he too blushed. That day, he ended up in prison for helping Funeral Parlor. He spent most of his time just thinking of how far he had dropped. He went from a Second Lieutenant of the entire GHQ army to a prisoner of insubordination. He laid there, wondering why he fell so far from grace. And, somehow, his sick twisted mind deduced that Tsugumi was the cause of everything and that he needed to eliminate her. What the hell was he thinking?

"Hey Daryl", she reached out to him, touching his clothed shoulder. "I'm sorry I tried to kill you when we met again. I guess I forgot you saved me."

"No, you had every right to...I tried to kill you."

"Even so, I came at you wanting to kill you first." Tsugumi sighed. "Even so...that's all in the past now. Truce?" She held out her hand for him.

"Truce." He reached for it, but she suddenly pulled away.

"I'm sorry", she chuckled to herself, "I forgot about your mysophobia."

"Yeah..." He awkwardly pulled away as well.

After that, they just sat there in silence. Neither knew when to move. Neither knew when to talk. Even when they wanted someone to rudely interrupt them, there was nobody. It was only the two of them until eternity in this room.

So, Tsugumi lit up and spoke again, "Hey! I got news for you. I decided to rejoin Shibungi as his hacker."

"That's good." He nodded. At least she won't be in the line of fire whenever a battle came along. He could rest easy now that he knew she was fiddling with computers.

"And Shu and Aya-nee rejoined as well."

"That's good-wait!" He grew frantic. "Ayase! As in Shinomiya Ayase? As in that girl in the wheelchair?"

"Yeah."

He grew stiff and he reached for the phone. "I'm calling headquarters right now."

"Hey! You are not going to drop her!" Tsugumi's hand flew out and swatted the phone away.

"Even you know that we do not get along!" He yelled, "That crazy girl might try to kill me on the job!"

"But that 'crazy girl' is my best friend. And you should try to get along. She's not bad once you get to know her."

He scoffed, "Not gonna happen! She already made me number one on her hit list before I even talked to her. What makes you think I'll get along like that?"

"Because I'm asking nicely?" She shyly batted her eyes, wanting to stir up a reaction.

Her round face and those violet eyes rose his body temperature up a good ten degrees. Her smile captivated his eyes and he found it a problem to tear himself away. Even when he desperately needed to, it was impossible to ignore her. Instead, he merely glanced away and muttered something unintelligible to himself. But, Tsugumi took that as a sign of agreement and she happily hugged onto his arm.

"H-Hey! Didn't I tell you not to touch me?" He tried to move away from her, but found her grip a bit too hard to resist.

Tsugumi chuckled and nestled her head onto the side of his arm. "Relax. I'm only touching your sleeve."

Daryl didn't say any words afterwards. He merely let this serene silence overtake the both of them. All she did was laid her head on his arm for who knows how long, and he could feel the effects from his sleeve; her warmth from her cheeks, her strong grip from her short arms, the locks of hair that strewn beautifully over the curves of his sleeve, he felt all that through a thin piece of fabric. But, far in his mind, he wondered what that felt like on naked skin. And for that matter, he wondered why he was mysophobic in the first place. If it was Tsugumi, then everything was fine...he dearly hoped so...

-GC-

Jessica drove up to the driveway of his huge mansion and she conveniently left her red car at the entrance. She only needed to be in his abode for work issues and the bathroom. Classes began at eight and she really needed to change out of her work clothes. Her GHQ officer uniform consisted of a long, white jacket that covered down to her knees. She also wore puffy pants and black boots. It looked really militaristic and not something that belonged in a classroom. The college student ventured to the elevator and down to the basement, where she was guessing Daryl hid himself. To be honest, the only places she had ever been in this huge mansion was the entrance, where she first entered, the kitchen, where she occasionally got food, the living room, her studying spot during dorm renovation, and the garage, where Daryl let her choose her own car from his very large collection. She knew the places that were off-limits were his bedroom and his basement. But this was work, so she allowed herself to breeze right in.

And she was right.

Daryl sat at his desk, hovered over his desk with blueprints, metalwork, and a cup of hot chocolate. He seemed to not have ventured out of this room since his release from the hospital.

"What are you working on?" Jessica curiously peeked.

"Ah!" Daryl stumbled at first, but then proceeded to give his grumpy glares. "Jessica. What do you want? Can't you see I'm working?"

"I'm well aware you're working. In fact, those look like propulsion jets. Did the other Endlave piss you off because it could fly?" Jessica cheekily teased, earning nothing but scorn from her close friend. But soon, her expression softened a little. "I keep asking you this… Why did you ever decide to reinstall the Void Genome Emulator back into your Endlave?"

"It's a powerful weapon. I don't put away weapons like that to waste. Besides, I didn't merely 'reinstall', I improved it." He scoffed as he rolled around his sketching pencil.

"You improved it to kill you even faster."

"Don't get so worked up. I only use it for emergencies. And that stupid metal contraption is not on my chest anymore, so I'm not in any real danger when not in my Endlave…"

"Who knows? You and your tampering may catch up to you someday." She shrugged and peeked at him. "You might have to leave me, GHQ, your comrades, and her early if you keep this up."

He huffed and turned back to work. "If you're only here to tease me, then you done your job. Get lost, brat!"

"Actually, that's not why I'm here." Jessica went through her numerous pockets and produced out a letter. "This is from Shibungi himself. He told me to give this to you."

He roughly snatched it from her. "Thanks. Now, scram brat! I got work to do."

Jessica frowned at his rudeness, shrugged, let it to, and began to walk away. "Alright Daryl, see you in the morning. And have fun retraining Ayase and Shu. And be on your best behavior because Tsugumi and I are watching."

"Wait! What?" Daryl turned around and saw she was missing now. He turned back to his work and groaned, holding his head which was now garnering a severe headache. Just thinking of working with Ayase was tiring! He wondered how long it'd take for him and Ayase to off each other during training. His guess: probably a millisecond.

Haha! So Daryl and Ayase still don't get along at all! That's expected. So there's an Endlave pilot that hates Daryl's guts and can match up to him in skills out there…who is this mysterious Comrade Ryo? Tsugumi and Daryl are growing closer together! If you liked that fluff, wait till next chapter when I bother to type it up. And Jessica's being…Jessica, just keep being a Rowan replacement. But she's going to go through major shit in the next chapter. I'll give you a hint about next chapter: It's at a school… Review my chapter! Pretty please?