"Wait!"

Ai blinked. Before she could move the controls forward, she heard Ruby's pained plea. It was like Ruby's heart wanted to jump out of her throat.

Turning around, relaxing her hands from the handles, she gave Ruby a surprised look through the monitor.

"What's wrong, Ruby?" Aqua said, also through the screen, "We can't hesitate now, not in face of our enemies."

"I want to ask her about mom." She held both hands together, as if in a prayer. She probably wasn't doing it consciously.

"Ruby, they're the enemy. They're monsters that kill. Mom was just a piece of nothing for them, just like we were before we entered these giant robots." The star in his eye turned darker and darker. "The only thing that exists between us and them is hatred and the means to put it in practice. You're wasting your time."

Ai never understood hatred. She never understood the hatred from some of her bandmates and all those people with way too much free time in the internet. She always struggled to be loved, to be happy, to give everyone a solace at the end of the day, including to her worse haters. She knew that those kids underwent through a tragedy that will change her lives forever, but…even here, she couldn't understand hatred.

There was a potential event that could make her understand hatred. But, if that was its price, then she'd gladly be ignorant for the rest of her life.

"Aqua, focus." She said. He didn't reply.

"Where is the speaker button? Noriko, where is it?"

"Noriko, please," Ai said, "It might buy more time for potential evacuations."

She could hear Aqua grunting.

"Got it."

"Hello?" The speakers in Getter-3 boomed to life. Around the entire area, Ruby's pained voice. "Are you listening? I want to speak with you!"

The enemy force stood still. They all had their weapons in hand and the Jellyfish floated above them, its tentacles fluttering in the air.

All the getter machines' screens warned of an unknown message. Ai nodded to her personal communications officer.

The channel opened.

Finally, Ai could take a good look at her enemy, in this moment of the calm before a new storm. For a moment, she thought a human had just betrayed humanity and joined the alien invaders. She was beautiful, indeed. The shape of her face, the size of her nose, her long white hair hiding her ears – she would've been an amazing idol by her looks alone. It didn't even look Ai blasted that pretty face twice.

However, after the initial amazement subsided, the more she looked at the pilot of the Jellyfish, the more she felt there was something wrong, that she didn't notice the first time she saw her. The eyes were red, a deep red that she thought to be only possible with computers. She had something behind her back, resembling a jellyfish; small tentacles were linked to many ports in the walls of her mecha's cockpit. It looked so humid and viscous inside it; the panels she could see looked fleshy and mucous. Her gaze looked down on them.

She looked at Ruby and she also seemed disturbed. Aqua, on the other hand, was too angry for that.

"Defenders of humanity, I am the Priestess of Shinkai. The Council of the Seven Emperors has decreed your death. If you surrender now, I will intercede for your life in front of them."

The enemy stated, in perfect Japanese.

"Hey, we have a comedian here." Aqua said.

Ai remained silent. It was Ruby who requested that, and she would let her handle it.

"I have one question, Priestess of Shinkai," Ruby took a deep breath, "Why did you kill my mother?"

She didn't reply.

There was an eerie silence for a few seconds. Ruby's eyes gleamed; either she expected something that could explain why that happen.

But answer never came.

"Hey, jellyfish," Aqua said; the priestess' gaze turned to him, "Not gonna reply. Are you that big of a coward?"

She still refused to reply.

"I'm going to kill you until there's nothing left. I'll make sure all pain you inflicted on us will hurt a thousand times worse."

"Is that so?"

Aqua growled.

"When I was crowned Priestess of Shinkai, your ancestors were learning how to climb trees. Your grudge is a waste of your small and precious time."

"Shut up, you bitch! I'll never forgive you!"

"Then why? Why do you come from so far just to kill us?" Ruby asked.

The Priestess didn't reply for a moment.

Then, she opened her mouth:

"For years, we have warned your kind to stop researching getter beams. You will become a threat to the universe if you continue do that."

Ruby narrowed her eyes, "Who fired the first shot?"

"I have seen a future," the Priestess promptly ignored her, "You will tear apart the fabric of the universe. The needs of many must be secured-"

"Go to hell!" Aqua cried, slamming his fist on the panel. The Priestess stopped.

Ai remained silent, not just because it was the twins' moment to speak, but also to pay attention to the alien priestess communicating with them. Of course, she had to consider that they weren't talking to a human now. And, yet, she was much more human-like than the other aliens.

She had to work with the information she had. What could be the thing this priestess wanted most? She didn't reply when confronted with the death of the twins' mother. She still insisted in her mission, as if detaching what she wanted from what she wanted from her mission.

Could she be like her? A pretty face forced to play a role. Then, using herself as reference, what could she want? To be safe, right? To survive and make people happy. Then, she must be a liar…but she died and came back to life twice. Would she lie when she said she was that old? Plus, if she was doing that against her true wishes, it means Ai could potentially leverage that in the future – since, it was safe to assume that, no matter how hard she hit her, the Priestess would stand still while Ai would fall.

Then, she needed to take a risk. What would be something, in her previous life, that could make her mask slip, even for a smidgen of a moment?

I got it.

"Hey, you," Ai called the priestess attention; the white-haired alien woman turned her gaze to her. She herself form a small grin in the corner of her mouth. "You're a giant liar."

"Huh?" the priestess raised an eyebrow; she could see some of its tentacles shifting in the screen, "You dare to call me a liar? Would you doom the universe by not realizing the dangers of getter energy?"

"I'm not talking about that."

Ai let herself end with a giggle, placing a hand over mouth. Both the twins and the staff gave her strange looks, probably thinking of how uncharacteristic that was. As an idol, she knew the power a single giggle had in changing the mood of a room.

The priestess left brow twitched.

She caught the bait.

The screen turned off.

"Sapphire, what was that?" Ruby asked.

"Negotiations would collapse anyway, so better end with a bang." Ai replied.

"Seeing that bitch run away was pretty funny, gotta admit." Aqua said.

"Attention, the enemies are starting to move." Ai's officer said.

"What do we do, Sapphire?" Ruby asked.

"We're going to have combine."

"But...but…my brother…" Ruby said, but couldn't finish the phrase. Aqua, just glanced aside.

She had been disabled during the time Aqua was under the influence of the getter energy. Knowing the schematics and theory, she had a clear idea of what happened.

"Getter energy is wild, but it's our only hope at the moment."

"Then what do we do?"

Seeing the enemy force advancing put their hearts in turmoil.

"Sapphire, you need to combine into the Ultimate form!" this time it was the general's voice booming through the comms channel. His tone sounded urgent

Ai had to think of something. She could hear the rumbling of enemy mecha: they would all attack at once. There would be no way to survive without combining.

And yet, those kids saw what happened when the getter energy went haywire. She needed to choose her words carefully. As the rumbling became louder, she had to act.

She knew the expression Ruby had. Even if it wasn't her Ruby, the Ruby she was so scared of dancing. It was fair that she was scared of falling, but unless she didn't face her fear, she couldn't dance.

Dance…!

"Dance."

"What?"

"Did you go crazy?"

"Aqua, Ruby, you have to understand one thing: getter energy is wild and will eat you if you aren't careful. This is why you have to use it as if you're dancing. The wilder and chaotic the flow is, the more dangerous it might become. You have to feel where it has a path, where it's gentle, as if it were the steps of a dancing routine. It doesn't matter the type of dance, only that you need to dance around the getter."

"…I…don't get it." Aqua said.

"Me neither," Ruby added, "But…we have no option, we need to try." Aqua nodded.

Ai's heart started to pump more blood. The same sensation welled up inside her – the feeling of home. She didn't know if the twins were also feeling it, but she knew the energy was coming for her, to bring them to victory.

In their panels, a message requesting authorization popped up and, under it, a large red button appeared in the LCD screen. Just like the first time, Ai grinned.

"Follow my lead." She said, raising her fist.

The twins nodded and so they raised their fists.

"Getteeeer…" Ai said, after taking a deep breath.

"CHHHAAAAAANGGGEEEEEEE!" And, just like the first, it felt appropriate scream out loud.

"CHANGE!" the twins were a bit a confused, but screamed as well.

[BGM: HEATS]

The getter energy expanded into a massive wave of energy. The wind became stronger and stronger and soon the enemy mecha started to feel it. They stopped, as the energy overwhelmed them, some even kneeled to the ground. Many put their hands or appendages in front of their cockpits, including the Jellyfish.

"Crud! The getter energy is shooting up like a kite in a storm!" Noriko said. "No leaks detected, keep it up!"

"Sapphire, is this the true power of the getter?" Ruby asked.

"Remember, dance. We're going to combine right now, believe it. Believe in the getter!"

"That's what I'm talking about." Aqua smirked and he grabbed his controls.

Just like the first time, the getter machines fused to each other.

"Ruby, Aqua, pay attention: this is the power of the Perfect Ultimate Getter. It is yours, too!"

The three of them jumped into the air. Getter-1 removed its legs sideways, allowing for Getter-2 to detach on them. Getter-3 landed on its back. Perfect Ultimate Getter formed

"Getter engine at 98%!" Margarita said, "It's sound and steady. Take them down!"

"Sapphire, I don't know how to explain this," Ruby said, holding a hand to her chest; she had a small smile in her face, "But…I just feel a power coming from the depths of my heart."

Aqua kept a stone face, but he had focus on the situation. If this Aqua had some of the quirks of her Aqua, he was trying to hide his feelings. She wondered if she had to tell him again to not try to hide them, to let his emotions flow.

He would have opportunity to do so soon.

"Aqua, Ruby," Ai said, as the enemies approached, a purple Beetle leading them, "Each getter machine has its own specialization based on combat range. I'm going first. Pay attention to my movements."

"Alright!"

Two axes emerged from each of its pauldrons. Getter grabbed them; green energy ran through their blades.

"Take this!"

Ai twisted the left handle diagonally; Getter slashed the incoming Beetle, slicing its face in half. Before the enemy could register what happen, Ai twisted right handle horizontally; Getter cut the Beetle's abdomen in half. Ai kicked forward with her right leg and Getter kicked the dying mecha right at a Centaur.

"That was amazing!" Ruby said and Aqua nodded.

"You'll be able to do that soon, as well."

Getter swung both its axes twice as it moved to the enemies. Slashing and dicing, three Beetles and one wingless Dragon already fell or were incapacitated in a rain of metal and chitin flying around. The getter-infused axes cut them through like a hot knife on butter, all while the efficiency of the getter engine didn't feel an iota.

The remaining enemies took a step back. Three Centaurs grabbed their guns and started shooting.

"Shoot, time to take cover!"

Hiding behind a dilapidated building. The noise of the energy weapons hitting the building meant that their cover would fall soon. Glancing in the panel, she saw Beetles and Dragons preparing to advance, under the Centaurs' cover fire.

Returning her axes to their sheathes behind its back, Ai turned to Ruby.

"Ruby, your time to shine, now."

"What?"

"You can knock down those three with your chakrams."

Ruby didn't reply. Her grip on her handles sagged.

"Ruby, it's time for you to fight for the world you mother loved. As I said, we're together in this."

Ai had to hold herself back from talking to her just like she would talk to her Ruby. She had to keep the mask of Sapphire, she had to sound like a soldier that followed orders. Being sweet wasn't an option, she had to be serious and business-like. Still, she could smuggle some small doses of sugar in her words…

"Remember: dance. Sometimes you'll fall, but as long as you can get up, you can fight for this world."

As the building started to give in and the energy shots became louder, Ruby tightened her grip on the handles. Hesitation gave place to determination in her eyes. From Getter's back, the chakrams' handles flew in Getter's hands. They unfurled in a circle, with spikes emerging out of it, also coated in getter energy.

"Aqua, we'll cover her, tagging the enemies the chakrams will hit. Now, launch, Ruby!"

"You'll pay for what you're doing to our world!" Ruby said, pulling her handles to the air and opening her arms, in a semi-circle. Getter released the chakrams in the air. Spinning around, glowing with green energy, they sliced through the Centaur assailants and some of the Beetles.

A trail of delayed explosions rocked the district, as the remains of enemies took up to the air. Just like boomerangs, the chakrams returned to Getter's hands.

"I can't believe it. I did it!"

"That's the spirit, Ruby." Ai said, identifying two wingless Dragons approaching. "Keep going."

"I can feel this power through veins," Ruby said, as she aimed the chakrams at each one. She tossed them and, while the enemies protected themselves this time, throwing themselves to ground, they didn't advance. In fact, they were just the first to be around.

"Sapphire, attention! Enemies are changing their tactics, they're surrounding you." Soraya called from the comms channel.

"Aqua, I need you to take charge now." Ai said, "Your getter polearm is the best to use in this situation."

Aqua looked at her. His face was, again, impassive. He was more statue than man at that point; the star in his eyes was immobile, like a picture. His hands held on the handles. Was he even breathing?

Ai knew that, in spite of that strong façade, Aqua was afraid. The more he hid it, the clearer it become to her. He knew that, thus if she said he was scared, he'd lose it. Ruby was starting to realize; in the corner of her panel, she could see Ruby's concerned expression.

"Aqua, now it's the time to tap in that power," Ai said, trying to think of a way to smuggle the love she'd show for her children under her military-like speech, "You did that once and it didn't quite work. This time, Ruby and I are supporting you. Have faith in us and follow my commands."

She heard a breath coming from him.

Like a statute coming to life, the stone cracking and giving place to flesh, Aqua moved the handles forward.

"You'll pay for what you did to mom." He said, lifting his arms as tall as the handles allowed.

Perfect Ultimate Getter grabbed a stick hanging from its left hip. It expanded to a polearm, metallic teeth emerging from its extremities. The getter energy infused every tooth; when revving it up, green sparkles flew away. It was enough to let the enemies hesitant.

And yet, they advanced, a Beetle and a wingless Dragon charged at once.

"Swing it downwards, making a half-moon." Ai said.

Aqua followed her commands and Getter let a green trail in the shape of a half-moon.

The Beetle lost two of its legs and the Dragon was defaced.

Ruby noticed something in her panel.

"Stab it backwards." Ai said.

Aqua followed again her command and stabbed a Beetle in the chest that tried to attack by behind. The teeth revved up, until it destroyed the enemy, letting out an explosion.

Five enemies decided to attack it at once.

"Go all out."

This time, Aqua let out a small smile. Moving Getter forward, Aqua let out a mighty scream. The sound of the ground cracking only was deafened by the loud revving noises coming from both ends of Getter's polearm.

The getter-infused teeth tore apart each of the assailants that approached too close, while Getter swung it around. The initial five ones were already destroyed or incapacitated, while others took their places, to stop it from reaching the Jellyfish. Metal and chitin flew over, along with a cacophony of destruction, as the red giant opened its way in direction to the Jellyfish.

"We're coming for you, you white devil!" Aqua said.

"Aqua, stop. Step back." Ai said, but Aqua was having none of that. "Get down!"

This time Aqua followed her commands and threw Getter to the ground. The Jellyfish slashed one of its tentacles horizontally. Again, another building was sliced off by the tentacle.

"Aqua, we don't know what this Jellyfish unit is capable of…Move out!"

Getter rolled over to the left, as the tentacle struck it down, leaving a massive cut on the ground.

"We need to step back!" Ai said, as Getter ran outside the Jellyfish range.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Aqua said.

"We have not enough data on that thing."

"If you wish to stay in the way of life…" the Priestess announced, through the speakers of the Jellyfish. The enemy mecha itself also changed: the stem retreated into the cap of the jellyfish; coming out of it was a humanoid shape. It had a pair of legs, but they weren't human-like – they were more like batons that ended in round extremities that touched the ground, but didn't exercise pressure. Its arms were folded on the sides of its chassis. The tentacles, however, converged into a straight form, forming a pair of scissors in each extremity. The jellyfish cap retracted its extremities, forming into what could be said to be a helmet around the head and covering the back of the mecha. It gained a face, its eyes shining red.

La Diabla Blanca – The White Devil from the Stars bared its blades.

"S-Sapphire," Ruby said, "That thing is…"

"You and Aqua take the support role," she let out a small grin flash, "Looks like the star of this show has arrived."

Perfect Ultimate Getter picked its ax up, getter energy seeping through its blade. Before it could move, the White Devil jumped at it.

"It disappeared from the rad-AH!"

If Ai hadn't moved the controls to swing the ax above its head, the White Devil's scissors would've cut its head off. With the swing, the Devil flew back.

"What the hell?" Aqua said, holding on to his seat. "How powerful is that thing?"

It disappeared again, emerging behind them.

Getter lifted an arm, but the Devil just cut it out, right at the forearm joints, cutting out the arm that held the ax.

Aqua and Ruby looked agape, while Ai quickly moved the controls. With its remaining free arm, Getter grabbed the bisected arm and slammed its hand, still holding the ax at the Devil.

The Devil was caught off guard, had to protect itself, putting its scissors in front of itself, flying backwards.

"Ruby, I think I can reattach the arm, look up getter usage, your PCO will help you. Aqua concentrate the radar in a 20 meters radio."

"Alright!" They both said.

Getter discarded the bisected socket, and a new one slid out of the opening. Using a carbon fiber rope, it connected the arm to the forearm. It opened the gun compartment in the leg and Getter took cover behind a building.

A glint appeared right in front of them. Before they could process what happened, their backs slammed against their seats.

After they opened their eyes, Getter was pinned against the building; a massive scissor was pressed against Getter's neck; the White Devil stood in its front, immobile, ready to end the battle.

"I'm asking once more: surrender now."

The voice of the Priestess reverberated through the Getter cabin. There was no video feed, but they could imagine her stern face demanding that.

"How polite you are." Ai said, while typing a written message to command, not risking the enemy listening to her.

Support EXO-01 NG

Danger position reveal

Please

Estimate 46s

"Did you care for the lives of the innocent people you ruined today?"

"Neither do you, making them rely on getter energy."

Man, she is really serious, Ai thought. She heard something about negative consequences of getter energy, but it didn't really matter to her. Her role was to fight for mankind. And now she needed to buy more time. Ruby and Aqua looked at her concerned; she smiled, hoping they understood everything was under control.

They needed that lie at that moment.

"I'm just a pretty soldier, Priestess. Were your soldiers expecting to die so far from their homes as well?"

If there was something she noticed about the Priestess was that, as much as her mecha might outclass hers, she wasn't a soldier.

"Why do you ask this?" Ai noticed that there was a pause before the Priestess replied, as the grip of the Devil's blades on Getter's neck became tighter.

"I don't know, just asking," Ai said, giving her words a bubbly tone, "It must be pretty awful traversing the vastness of space, just to die at some wet rock, right?"

While she said those words, she typed a command to overload the electric engine. Ruby and Aqua, again, looked as if the Getter would be torn apart; Aqua even pointed to a diagram in his screen, showing pressure on the mecha's neck.

Ai kept her smile. She made sure to make it look soothing, as if they were their own children hugging her while there was a storm outside.

"You…" the Priestess hesitated for a bit, even if she sounded more and more angry at Ai. "You will return to the Great Journey as rock."

The moment the Devil pressed forward the missiles impacted at the Devil's hull.

"What do you intend to achieve with this?" The Priestess said, the Devil budging, enough to release the grip on Getter's neck.

"Hey, Priestess," Ai activated the video feed, having delight in seeing the Priestess so confused and upset, "Here on Earth, we have a saying: all warfare is based on deception. Guess what I'm doing now."

With a quick movement of Getter's hand, it ripped the chest cage open with its right hand, exposing the getter engine.

"What are you trying to do?" The Priestess' façade crumbled when she saw the exposed engine.

"I wonder why do you fear so much this power," Ai said, letting herself be a bit smug; the Priestess was reacting just like she expected, "This is the power that will bring us victory."

With that, she loaded all the energy of the electric engine into the getter engine. The engine flared green and started cracking.

"Temperature has risen to 7018°C! It's hotter than the sun's surface." Soraya's voice almost screamed, "Sapphire, are you crazy?"

The reaction made the getter core reach critical levels soon. An explosion was imminent. Getter's right hand glowed; even with its reinforced alloy, it was reaching melting point.

"No, don't do that!" A cloud of green getter vapor went straight into the Devil's head, green gas invading the cockpit. "Don't kill yourself! AAAAAAHHHHH!"

The vapor entered the Devil's cockpit and, before she could see what happened, the video feed cut down.

She is really a terrible liar.

"It's too early for that. And there are some things I love that I want to protect."

The Overseer had been smiling during the entire ordeal. He knew the power of the Getter. He knew that Sapphire was engineered to the best pilot possible to explore that power.

"…things I love that…"

The Overseer's smile fell when he heard that. Like a rock in the ocean. He got up and grabbed a suitcase.

"Mr. Overseer," the general called his attention, "Our forces are still in battle."

"General, my mission here was to retrieve data concerning the Getter machine activation," the Overseer said, not even bothering to turn his face, "I have no reason to continue in the premises of the facility. I trust the battle is already decided."

With that, he walked away, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

As the Getter hand started melting, Ai moved the controls to put it over the getter engine and, then, detached it from its arm. Then, the cooling foam was activated.

"It's…getting stable?" Aqua said. "Margarita, what did Sapphire do?"

"I…let's see…I believe Sapphire overloaded the getter engine to liberate radiation, to the point of cracking the engine. If she didn't stop at the right time, the explosion would've engulfed a large area. But, then, she used the nearly melting hand to weld the cracked engine."

"I heard the general saying it was amazing, but you'll still get an earful after the battle is over." Soraya said.

The Devil flew backwards, disoriented. Not even its superior materials could fully resist the improvised getter beam.

With its still functioning hand, Getter grabbed the Devil.

"Aqua, Ruby! The engine still needs to release its overflowing energy. Prepare the Getter Beam."

Aqua and Ruby nodded and started typing on their terminals, following their PCOs instructions.

Meanwhile, Getter started to spin the Devil around; a large cloud of dust started to whip it up. The sounds of the massive mecha spinning around, dragging the White Devil along.

"Aqua, Ruby, remember one thing: you can fight a war with hate, you can create empires with hate, but you can't build a future with hate," Ai said, as the revolutions increased, "Your mom want you to build a future and that can only be made with love. So, remember that, remember the love your mother had for you and fight for the future."

They didn't seem to reply. But their eyes glowed.

The beam had charged. The moment the loading bar reached 100%, Getter let go of the Devil tossing it away in the sky, with nothing on its range.

A compartment at their panels appeared, letting a lever emerge. Aqua and Ruby looked at Ai and she nodded, placing a hand on the handle of the lever.

Full of determination, they both placed their hands on their handles. The Getter's belly opened, revealing a circular massive glass, aiming right at the airborne Devil.

"Geeettttteeeeeeer!" Both Aqua and Ruby cried, as the getter energy turned the glass green.

"This is your moment, kids." Ai let go of her handles. This was personal between them. Her attention, however, was directed to a small cloud of dust that turned into a firefly, and then into a…woman? A translucent woman, almost like a ghost.

No…that looked like the twins' mother; she placed a hand over her kids' hands as they pulled the handle forward.

"BEEEAAAAAMMMMM!"

A massive beam of pure getter energy fired at an incalculable speed and temperature. All people in Bogotá and for over kilometers could see the green beam cutting through the sky, deep into the depths of the space.

Whenever a human saw the beam, they felt compelled to cheer, to raise their hands, to have hope.

After it was done, the White Devil was nothing but a charred husk falling to the ground.

"We did it!"

"We avenged mom!"

Ai noticed the ghost wasn't there anymore. She just sighed in relief for the kids.

"Good work, Sapphire, Ruby and Aqua," Soyara called, "The main threat is eliminated. But, be careful: airborne intelligence detected four enemy mechas approaching in high speed. They're stragglers from the attack in Australia."

"The White Devil is gone, right? Why do we have to fight more?"

"Aqua, I hate to bring you bad news, but I don't think that Priestess is finished."

"What? What do you mean by that, Sapphire?"

"You will see. First, let's retrieve that carcass. I have an idea."

After the getter vapor invaded her cabin, Lumi felt her body cooking. Her eyes essentially melted first and all that remained was the black nothing, as her body boiled; the massive getter heat reduced her to atoms and even something smaller than that.

Then nothing.

Then the light pointing to the way home. She could feel the smells of the Never-Ending Sea, the smells of her kin; she could even hear the sounds of laughter and the beautiful songs her ancestors sang for millennia until there was nothing but their silence in the universe. Her kin waited for her.

It was the third time that day. She didn't remember the last time in her extremely long life that she felt that so many times in one single day.

She turned around. There was still work to do.

A pair of pure green eyes stared her down.

"Ksitigarbha," it said, mimicking her voice, quaking the universe, "If you return, you will make an enemy of me."

The Priestess didn't even bother replying. She walked far from the light, closing her eyes.

She was back at her mecha's cabin; her body restored as if it never melted to her seat. The panel was completely destroyed, melted into twisted shapes.

The getter energy is truly terrifying and awe-inducing.

Using her tentacles, she started looking for the black box under the panel; maybe it resisted the ordeal…no, she could hear the Universe whispering to her that it did.

She also heard the commotion outside.

A Centaur, two Beetles and a winged Dragon. It felt like a flashback. But, this time, Ai started with the upper hand.

The Centaur pointed a gun at Getter, which had the White Devil's carcass held with one arm against its chest. They were in an open part of the city, where negotiations would benefit her. Sure, Perfect Ultimate Getter wasn't in a good shape and, against Aqua's best wishes, Ai knew that the Priestess wouldn't be dead – either way, given the enemies' reactions, she was more valuable alive than dead.

"Hand over the Priestess! Or else…"

The voice coming from the Centaur demanded.

"Or else what?" Ai asked.

"Or else we will level this city to the ground." The Centaur replied, pointing upwards. They could see the shadow of a massive ship above them.

"A big sore loser, aren't you?"

"Do not tempt us."

"You do realize we will avoid the orbital strike and just destroy this city, achieving no tactical results. Wow, so evil…"

"Shut up! Just give us the Priestess!" The Centaur started to get shifty and its three companions were actually looking at each other awkwardly.

"Yumbarus?" A voice echoed through the area; Ai recognized it belonging to the Priestess.

"Lady Lumi!"

"Hold your fire. I wish to propose a deal with the humans: let me go and we promise to not attack further. Too much blood has been spilled for today."

"Are you going to believe them, Sapphire?" Aqua asked, his eyes narrowing.

The Getter tossed the carcass at one of the Beetles.

"Why?!"

"Military doctrine advises against total obliteration of our enemies, besides," she winked at no one in particular. "I can't let anything bad happen to my dearest rival."

Ruby and Aqua just stared weirdly at her. The enemy mechas remained silent. So did the Priestess, to which Ai imagined being completely flabbergasted. If everything played right, she would have more roles for the spectacle.

"I just leave you with a warning, human," after the intentionally awkward silence, the Priestess spoke, in that dreary tone of hers, "if you lose control of the getter energy and let the universe become the place I saw in my visions, what will you do?"

"We will fight it, like we always do."

"You know so little, oh, short-lived one."

With that, the enemy mechas took off and retreated to their ship.

Ai let go of her smile for a moment.

"Sapphire, what was she talking about?"

"Ah, nothing," her smile returned as instinctively, "Just sour grapes."

She lied. That warning was not made in spite. That spectacle might take a very different ending from what she had in mind.

"Gentlemen," General Forrester announced through all channels, "We successfully repealed the invaders. The Battle of Bogotá is over!"

Cheers erupted everywhere. They could rest, even if it was for a while.

The aliens fulfilled their promise and left; the command ship returned to its orbit, far from Bogotá. The city had a trail of destruction, but, even so, they could hear celebrations throughout it. Bogotá was saved and humanity accomplished its first meaningful victory against the Seven Emperors Council.

Ai shared a meal with Ruby and Aqua. The support team had brought some burgers and fries, and a plate of chuleta valluna, that resembled a pork schnitzel, that they got as gifts, with some slices of avocado and bread.

Now that the adrenaline had wore off, the twins had to deal with the fact that their mother was gone and that they were drafted into a war. Whatever innocence that their eyes had was gone.

That broke Ai's heart. She knew they weren't her Ruby and Aqua, but they deserved better than that; they deserved better than her.

Getting up from her seat, she bowed to them and said, "Please, allow me to be your guardian. I cannot even begin to understand…" I can, "neither do I have any experience," I have, "since I am merely a six-month old test tube experiment." A liar, a massive liar who's afraid of everything.

"That's…really a lot to take in," Aqua said, half-munching on a fry, "But…I guess."

Ruby on the other hand still hadn't touched her meal. She was still looking down, to the point Ai could almost see the dark clouds over her head.

"I will do everything in my power to protect you. You can trust me."

They still didn't show any reaction.

Turning around, she saw the sunset.

Ai Hoshino, genius idol of B-Komachi was dead, only Sapphire remained…

The ghost of the Ai of that world appeared in front of her. She smiled at her and let herself be carried by the wind again, in green sparkles. In her heart, she was sure she would never ever see her again. She could finally rest.

…but, a part of her would always be alive within her.

Turning around, she made the pose that the pose that had captivated those who loved her - the girl pointing upside-down peace signs over her eyes, sticking out her tongue playfully.

Both Aqua and Ruby looked dumbfounded, until Ruby erupted in laughter.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Aqua, it's just like mom used to do to us when we were kids."

At first Aqua seemed a bit offended, but even so he let out a chuckle.

If they could still smile after everything, maybe Ai herself could too.