Authors Notes:
I was surprised by how many story ideas came to mind, but eventually the well started to run dry. Also, Michele and Kara really have been more characters whose stories are located in the Gunslinger Girl universe as opposed to really being Gunslinger Girl original characters and stories. Therefore, I decided that it was time to "retire" them, at least for awhile.
I first want to give a shootout to fellow Cyborg Central member Sophia Victoria for planting the idea of Franco, Franca and Cristiano surviving the crash. This helped create spark the idea which became the plot of this story.
This story was a tough one to write, and I'm still not completely satisfied with how it came out, but eventually I just had to get it done. It was, however, a story I knew I had to have completed before I published it because I could not afford to suffer writer's block and leave folks hanging. So that's why I published it as a complete project.
At first, I considered killing Kara, but decided that her almost dying provided the same level of incentive to Michele wanting to leave without having to do so alone. And the idea of making Claes older and giving her a future outside of the SWA appealed to me. I enjoy writing Claes because she's a bit of a "blank slate" and the idea of her spending her days as a lab rat didn't sit well with me.
While this story formally ends Michele and Kara's involvement with the SWA as an active fratello, it doesn't necessarily mean the end of them as characters since there are still stories that could be told earlier. I'm also considering developing a new fratello team with a 1st Generation Girl who arrived after Angelica and Triela and before Chiara and Silvia.
And I wish to express my thanks to all of you who have offered public (via reviews) and private (via PMs) support and critiques of my work.
Take care.
Chris Wallace
