Alright, I'm back on the fanfiction grind. I'm going to try to finish this fic for those who stuck around. Sorry I haven't really updated...in two years. I feel like I just lost interest in this fic and real life has been really hard. But now that I want to get back into writing, I figured I will finish all these old fics because I still have the ending and final battle planned out. I just need the inspiration to write. So those who loved this fic and managed to stick around, enjoy these final few chapters!

two-hit hypothesis

Daryl stood in the middle of an abandoned lot, waiting for his aggressor to come to him. He brought his truck with him, which contained his command pod and Steiner 2.0. In his eyes, this feud between him and a little kid has gone far enough. He was decked out in his Endlave suit, ready for what may be his final battle...nah, he was going to beat the shit out of this kid. Ryo was a treasured pawn for Pallbearers, but he wasn't in it for them. He was in it for Daryl. So what if Daryl just handed the kid what he want on a silver plate, he'll run and abandon Pallbearer. Also, Inori and Arisa were now their treasured pawns, which left Ryo up for grabs and easy to "convince" to leave the playing field.

That's right. Daryl was determined to force Ryo out of this battle.

And he was pulling out all the stops. Right by his side was Tsugumi, who will be there to witness and to push the bail out button. And if she can, hack into Ryo's system and bail him out. Daryl knew Ryo had a soft spot around Tsugumi so she came to better convince him.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" A worried Tsugumi she also suited up.

"Yes. I hope so. Strategically, this would benefit us in the long run." Daryl muttered, but his eyes wandered towards Tsugumi's cute curves and nice tush in that skin tight suit. "You know, you should keep that after all this is over."

"Hmm…?" Tsugumi smirked as she walked over to him, very close, very personal. "And you should definitely keep this after all this...but first, you should try not to lose your life now. As in, you should probably concentrate on your upcoming battle instead of staring at my ass."

Daryl got the hint and backed off. Right. This was serious.

And so they waited until a large truck rolled up around the corner. The little boy, dressed in black and wearing a cap to conceal his identity, got out of the driver's seat and into the back of his truck. Daryl did the same.

And so, two gigantic Endlaves stood opposite of each other. They were both ready.

"This ends now, Daryl Yan!" Ryo proclaimed.

"Go ahead, you little brat." Daryl egged on with a smirk. "Hit me with your best shot."

And that was enough to push Ryo over the edge. He bolted towards Daryl, ready to land his first punch. Daryl simply dodged and pulled out his gun. Bang! Bang! Two shots were aimed for the control panel on Ryo's back. Luckily, the boy dodged and activated his wings.

"You can't shoot me from down there! Face it! I have the upperhand!" Ryo gloated as he took out his gun and fired multiple shots down at Daryl.

"I know I can't." Daryl smirked. "But it's time to do something about your pesky wings!"

"Aye!" Tsugumi grinned as she tapped away at her control panel. "Hacking almost complete!" She pressed a final button. "Done! Disabling wings right now. Thanks for distracting him."

"What?" Ryo's Endlave dropped to the ground. However, he landed easily on his feet and barrelled towards Daryl, intending to fight him hand to hand. "You had help! This ain't a fair fight!"

Daryl dodged and landed his own hits. "This fight hasn't been fair when you can fly." His Steiner swooped down and knocked Ryo's legs. "Now, we're even!"

Ryo didn't give up. He fired bullets, took punches, landed kicks, dodged any attacks that came his way.

"Give it up." Daryl could see it. A few stray wires, bent and battered metal, and cracked glass showed that Ryo's Endlave was getting all the damage from their battle. His Endlave could only stand so much before collapsing on itself.

"I won't give up!" Ryo launched forward. "I will never give up! Not after what you did to my mom!"

"Your mom this. Your mom that. You keep fighting in the name of your mother…" Daryl simply stepped aside from the charge and punched down on the Endlave's head. "But have you ever considered what she would have wanted?" He severed it completely, which would have killed Ryo had it not been for Tsugumi bailing him out.

"Alright! Daryl, I'm bailing you out now too. Settle this." Tsugumi bailed him out and stretched her arms. Her job was almost done.

Ryo laid there, motionlessly staring up at the ceiling of his truck. He should have died. But here he was, breathing and alive. Why did Daryl spare his life? And what did he say about his mother? What would his mother think of him now?

She would probably come up to him and cradle his head. In her soft voice, she would tell him to rest up for the new day. This day was over. He had to prepare for the next. She would bring him up to his room and tuck him in. Then, she would kiss him, tell him she loved her little boy very much, and she would sing a song till he drifted off to sleep. His mom was his everything because she was all he had left. And she was gone thanks to that bastard. But if she saw him now…she would tell him the same thing. She would tell him to forget this day because it was over. She would tell him to rest up for the new day.

That was his mother.

Daryl cautiously entered the truck with his gun drawn. The boy didn't move. He didn't let his guard down as he ventured closer. The boy could have concealed weapons.

Ryo didn't care anymore. "Why did you let me live?"

"You're still young. Death is not something you should look forwards to." Daryl said as he helped the boy up. He immediately cuffed the boy and led him out to the car.

"Tsugumi…" Ryo noticed the cat-eared woman pulling up in a car. Of course, she was in on this as well.

"Look kid, I spared your life because I don't want you to commit the same sin as me." Daryl knelt down to him. "I'm not heartless. I now know what I did was wrong. I know now that I'm here because I killed a lot of good people. People during the apocalypse, innocent bystanders, your mother… Every night, I'm haunted by their deaths. Do you know why I now know this? Because I killed Jessica's father and my closest friend. Every night, Rolan haunts me in my dreams. I don't want you to go through that. You are becoming me."

"I haven't killed anyone." Ryo flatly replied.

"You say that." Darly pushed him into the car. "Until you see it for yourself."

"Buckle up Ryo-chan!"

And Tsugumi floored it all the way back to their headquarters. She parked the car in front of a certain building, a building meant to house infectious patients. Daryl dragged Ryo out and into the building, passing by the service desk completely. He brought the kid to a hallway, where they could see each patient in their own room. There was only one patient in this entire infectious ward. Her crystals engulfed half of her face now and it was starting to take over her arm. She breathed shallow breaths as she weakly tried to sleep.

"You remember her right?"

"Jessica…" This girl didn't have that much longer to live.

"She's dying because of you." Daryl bitterly said. "I have every right to kill you now...but I'm not going to. It's not going to cure her. It's not going to solve our problems. So I hope you realize killing me won't solve your problem."

"Ryo-chan…" Tsugumi tried to run up to the frozen boy, but Daryl stopped her. "Daryl! I don't think he can witness this anymore."

"He can handle it."

Ryo slowly placed his hand on the glass. That snipe was meant to destroy GHQ technology. He never meant for anyone to get hurt. He didn't think she was going to die. But here she was, the only infected person of this entire incident. And he was the one behind it.

Suddenly, the crystals on her arm extended even more. And it was fast too. The crystals appeared out of nowhere. She managed to let out a weak groan as she painfully tossed in her bed.

Ryo backed away once the purple crystals appeared. He was lucky to not catch it as a kid.

"She's on the highest dosage. Any more of our antidote and we'll kill her before this disease does. We don't have a choice but to leave her in this state" Daryl explained. "Now this is where you can make a choice and turn your life around. I'm giving you a safety line. You're the only person who can save her life. Give us what we need to know so that doesn't happen to everyone on this planet and she can be saved."

Ryo let out a sigh. "They're going to unleash a machine to restart the Apocalypse Virus to get rid of every human on earth. Inori and the Angels will combine together in order to kickstart the machine. However, the Angels and all of Pallbearer resources will be used to bring it up Mt. Fuji."

"Good. Now tell me their entire plan. I want to know positions. I want to know timeframes."

And so, Ryo told him everything. Daryl now had enough information to present towards the group so they could make a better, informed decision. Daryl proposed an impromptu, midnight meeting which consisted of waking up everybody and dragging them to the meeting room. Tsugumi was quick to wake up Ayase and wheel her there. Everyone else was not as lucky.

"What the hell do you want?" Argo grumbled.

"You better have a good reason to wake us." Shibungi strictly said.

Daryl nodded. "I do." He threw out papers highlighting battle strategy and formations. "What I have for you is the entire Pallbearer strategy for their Mt. Fuji mission."

"Eh!" Shu exclaimed. "H-How did you get this?"

"Daryl decided to lure out the boy soldier." Tsugumi explained with a knowing smirk. She was proud of him. "He got the boy to spill all his secrets and take out Pallbearers strongest soldier." Now that's killing two birds with one stone!

The boy soldier? Ryo? Ayase found herself lost in this entire meeting. Argo and Shibungi congratulated Daryl and started to formulate their next plan of attack, now knowing more information. Tsugumi and Yahiro got involved with disabling Pallbearer's system and Endlaves. Shu was to be informed with what he needed to do with his Void in order to properly rescue Inori. Ayase merely moved her hand towards the controls of her wheelchair and backed away.

"Aya-nee? Where are you going?" Tsugumi asked once she noticed her friend was leaving.

"I'm going to sleep. I need to be ready to train tomorrow with Beine 1.0. Keep me informed about my role." Ayase wheeled out. She was going to go to bed, but first, she was going to make a quick stop at the hospital's Infectious Ward. The one that housed Jessica as its only patient. She was sure he was going to be there.

And he was. Ryo sat on a wooden chair, facing the window that allowed people to see the patients. He was watching Jessica and the crystals slowly engulfing her. The purple crystals now covered her entire arm. The crystallization was proceeding even quicker now. And she was dying quicker.

"It's scary to watch." Ayase murmured, getting his attention. "Just two days ago, she was able to talk to us and she could even move. Now she's like this. That's what the Apocalypse Virus does to you. It crystallizes you to the point you feel like you're encased in a chrysalis, then it crushes you, and then you're nothing."

Ryo said nothing in return.

"So...why are you on our side now?"

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone." Ryo softly said. "I just wanted Daryl. But I got her instead."

"I see. All those times you fought, you've only fought against Daryl. You've actually never killed anyone. Well...this is how it feels like. It doesn't feel good, does it? I don't know how Daryl can carry himself after all the people he murdered."

"I don't think she will forgive me…"

"Well...she did shoot you in the legs. Three times. I think her revenge is satisfied." Ayase placed her hand on his shoulder. "I don't think you should worry about what you could have done or what you should have done or what you regret. You should worry about how to fix it now. It's your decisions that shape you as a person. Look at Daryl now. He used to be quite a jackass. Now, he's still a jackass but he's a good guy."

"It's not going to be enough. Those Angels are strong."

"But we know how to fight them now thanks to you. Don't be so hard on yourself. And you can help us fight now."

"No." Ryo shook his head. "I'm not on anyone's side. And I'm out of this damn conflict. I don't want any more blood on my hands."

"Right. A battle is not a place for a kid like you. But I can tell you this, your decision now is setting you on the right path."

Ryo merely kept his eyes on Jessica.

"You should get some rest. You can't stay up all night."

"You're not the boss of me."

"I'm not." Ayase smirked and forced Ryo onto her lap. "But I'm stronger than you."

"Hey! Let go!" Ryo squirmed around, trying to get Ayase to let him go.

"If you want to make this up to her and us, how about I give you your own mission?" Ayase asked. "Protect her. When we're all gone, you're going to be her shield."

"Can you even authorize that?"

"No." Ayase shrugged. "But you were going to do it regardless."

"Fine."

"Heh." Ayase suddenly ruffled Ryo's hair and hugged him. "Aww! You're so cute! No wonder Tsugumi has a soft spot for you."

"Agh! Stop it!"

-GC-

Their final mission will occur in three days. In three days, Pallbearer will make their final move and scale Mt. Fuji. All the Angels will have their last mission. And everyone in GHQ will have their last mission as well. Daryl and Ayase were both diligently training with each other as they sparred their Endlaves. Argo and Shibungi were putting together strategies and fully utilizing the army. Yahiro will lead civilian protection. He was going to stay in Tokyo while everyone headed up Mt. Fuji. Tsugumi will stay in Tokyo as well, but she will be heading communications and she will be disconnecting the enemy's Endlaves.

However, the real problem will be the Angels. They were going to fight six of the Angels, who will be diligently guarding over Inori. The other six will fuse with Inori on the way there. Less Angels means that the battle will be easier to fight. However, it meant that Inori will be stronger. It was all a huge mess. No one knew how to fight them...not even Ryo.

And Daryl, as Major General, was stuck figuring out a way to defeat these Angels. So far, he had no ideas. This was the last day to plan.

"Man. Pallbearer really has nothing in their system." Tsugumi complained as she entered into his quarters. "It's like they wiped away everything. Do they not need any Endlaves or anything?"

"With those Angels running around, I doubt they have use for Endlaves." Daryl mumbled and glanced at her. "Don't you have your own quarters to sleep in?"

Ah! I gave that room up for Ryo-chan now that he's here." Tsugumi grinned and hugged him from the back. "Besides, I think I'm getting too used to this place here."

"You spend too much of your nights here." Daryl grumbled.

"Hey Grumpy Sprout, don't lie! You like that I'm here!" Tsugumi tightened her hug on him just to annoy him.

"Sh-Shut up! We have a huge mission tomorrow and we shouldn't be fooling around!"

"I know. I know. So let's just go to bed already."

Tsugumi ushered him away from his desk and right onto the bed. She was already in her pajamas, which consisted of shorts and a tshirt. Daryl, on the other hand, didn't have any pajamas. In fact, he looked like he slept in his work clothes, maybe his uniform as well. He was always such a workaholic.

"So what do you sleep in if you don't have any pajamas?" Tsugumi frowned.

"Uh…" Daryl blushed. "Nothing."

"Huh?"

"Guys don't sleep with their clothes on. That's why I don't have pajamas!"

"Eh! You're just in your underwear?"

"You've slept with me before. You should have known already!"

Now Tsugumi was blushing. "Th-That was after-Oh! Shut up!" She turned around and refused to look his direction.

She was embarrassed. He could clearly tell she was embarrassed. And when Tsugumi was embarrassed, she refused to act and she just pouted in the corner. So usually, it was up to him to diffuse the situation in that special way. Daryl suddenly lifted up little Tsugumi and carried her bridle style.

Her face turned cherry red as she struggled to formulate words. "Wha-What? Are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Daryl turned to gaze into her purple eyes. "I'm going to bed."

How long has she even been with him? And yet, he could still make her swoon from one gaze with his similar colored eyes. She bit her lip and managed to mumble, "O-Okay…"

Daryl smirked and fell down back first into the bed, clutching Tsugumi close to his chest. Her long violet hair splayed out on the bed and her legs curled up next to him. He wrapped his arm around her and allowed her head to rest on his chest. This was a sleeping position that worked for them and was very comfortable, so comfortable it put them to sleep in seconds. Tsugumi was about to close her eyes and doze off, but she heard his tired voice ask her something.

"Tsugumi, what are you thinking of doing after all this?"

She sighed and snuggled in further. "I'm going back into teaching. You?"

"I don't know...I'm thinking of staying in the military."

"Daryl...your heart…"

"I know. It's bad. But I haven't done anything besides the military. I don't know what else is there for me."

"So many things... you just have to get out there." Tsugumi hugged him. "How about you take a vacation? Just to figure yourself out."

"Yeah...that sounds like a good idea."

And they both drifted off to the land of dreams.

So next chapter will feature the final battle. It will be only action! There will be lots of fighting and lots of strat being thrown around. Review!