We hung off the side of the Connection Service Administration's central building hub. Inside sat the main components to Connection's government, especially its administrator: Strelok Antrikanas. His main office was near the top of the building, and he seemed to watch over the city with a watchful eye.

From how high up I was, the building had a view of everything. In most cases, when you got high enough anywhere, clouds would obscure your view, but on Interspace, that didn't seem to apply. The clouds seemed to mostly act as decoration here, simulating a sky, rather than following rules to what a sky does.

Ships of all sizes were seen off in the distance. Some were so small that they looked to be the size of a sewing needle, but some were as large as a cruise ship they could be seen clearly enough. They kept their distance from the tall buildings in the district, probably by order of the Connection Service Administration to follow certain flight paths.

The rain showered as I watched the ships. It was the first time I had seen weather changes over here, but it certainly fit the mood.

I looked down and saw airships float by the wreckage of last night's events. Smoke still loomed over it as a reminder of what once was there.

And watching all of it, I wondered if any of this could have been prevented.

Miku and I stayed put at the top of the tower, hanging from a support beam that held a landing pad on top of it. We started climbing about an hour ago and ended up here. The others, Gumi, Luka, and Meiko, were still on their way when we started climbing. We figured we would wait up here where there was less of a chance that the C.S.F. would catch us.

Miku looked down, wearing her still damaged helmet. She hadn't uttered a word since we both woke up and got moving. Since she said it hurt to talk, I didn't push her into it. She knew how to communicate in other ways.

My helmet was off, though. I couldn't see through it at all with the cracks in the visor it had.

"Hey," Gumi opened up on the radio, "figured I'd start seeing your signal once we got high up enough."

"Fancy seeing you here," I quipped. "Been enjoying the view."

"You two climb okay?" Luka asked.

"Both of us are here," I said, giving the thumbs up to Miku, who simply nodded.

"Seems like you missed it all today," Gumi informed us. "Antrikanas has been out of his office all day on a media tour. He's been delivering speeches about 'solidarity' and 'unity' and something about 'keeping the people safe and secure.'"

"Sounds like a real leader," Meiko said. "Acting only after the incident happened and only with words."

"That's why we're here today, ain't it?" I said.

"If only for that reason," said Gumi. "Antrikanas wanted to start a conflict, I say we give him something to be conflicted about. Once we're through here, we should try and find a way out of this city."

I adjusted myself on the support beam and waited for the other three to finally meet with us.

Another question had hit me. "Any idea how we'll leave? Seems like once we go after the biggest name in this city, he's going to go after us."

"We'll think of something," Gumi answered. "We've got a pilot after all."

I looked over at Miku and let out a smile. She nodded again, and gave me a thumbs up in return.

"Hey, once we're back home, we can get Miku repaired, right?"

"Of course," Gumi said. "How bad is it? I haven't had a chance to see."

"Her left cheek was torn open," I explained. "She really can't talk at the moment, said it hurts when she does."

"I'd probably advise against it, too," Gumi said. "She might cause more tears trying to talk. Sorry, Miku."

Miku shrugged, and nodded.

Once the others had finally caught up with us, an airship flew by us. It was small, and seemed to be big enough to carry six people.

"Looks like our guest of honor has arrived already," Gumi observed. "It's got the C.S.A. logo on the side of it."

I caught a quick glimpse of the ship as it left our view, noting the C.S.A. acronym next to a diamond with a star in the middle of it.

Gumi climbed up the side of the wall and met up with Miku, and started inspecting the damage.

"Hey, can you take your helmet off?" Gumi motioned at Miku.

Miku lifted her helmet, and exposed her face, though she didn't look too happy about it.

"Ooh," Gumi said, sounding a little grossed out. Miku rolled her eyes. "Looks bad. Lucky for you, I have plenty of equipment back at the base that we can use to seal it right up."

Miku nodded.

"Now," Gumi continued. "At least there's nothing permanent. I'll be able to make you look good as new once we get back. So hold on, okay?"

Miku nodded while Gumi moved across one of the supports and helped Luka and Meiko up.

"Antrikanas is landing now, he'll be helped by a couple of escorts. His office is right about… here."

Gumi pointed to an area below us, and a marker flashed on my display.

"For us, we have a way inside. See that over there?"

Gumi pointed to a small slit that sat next to the support structure we were standing on. It looked just big enough for us to squeeze through.

"That's our way in?" I asked.

"Only way in, but once we're in there, we can get to his office easily. Getting out, well, we've got windows and wingsuits. I think that'll work well enough."

"Seems to be," Meiko said. "By the way, I got a gift for you two."

Meiko handed Miku and I a pair of handguns.

"Figured you'd need something to defend yourself with."

"Thanks for the gift," I said, locking the pistol to my side.

"Well, no time like the present," Luka said, "best we get inside and keep our administrator waiting."

Luka took point and crawled inside. I followed behind her, and then Miku, Gumi, and Meiko followed behind me.

The slit was still big enough to fit all of us, but it was cramped nonetheless. Cables ran all around and into small spaces, supplying power and a stable network throughout the facility.

We shimmied around in the walls, doing our best not to make too much noise. It sounded like from the broken communications that there was a sizable amount of people within the building, especially the floor we were on.

Continuing on, Luka found a ladder and climbed down. I followed right behind her and moved down it. The narrow space opened up as we climbed down the ladder, freeing the feeling of claustrophobia.

Meiko sighed in relief as we all climbed down further. I couldn't blame her, the space was tight, and Meiko already hated tight spaces to begin with.

"Almost there," Luka announced, "we're getting close to his office. If we're lucky, he might have limited security."

"If anything," Gumi said, "I can try to tap into the network in the building and take what I can, but I'd rather we gain some info from the source."

"Right," Luka said. "We'll improvise. Now come on, we're close."

We crawled further until we met with a small vent, and heard a voice on the other side. It sounded like whoever was talking was making plans for something.

"I'll be leaving shortly," it said. "I had a few things I needed to have set up before I left again. Two of you can wait in my office while the others prepare the airship for Sector 3. We'll have to make an appearance everywhere today it seems."

"Understood, sir," a reply came.

Luka observed who was inside.

"Looks like Antrikanas just has two security officers inside. We can sneak around and get the drop on them."

"Sounds good," I said, "MAG-gloves ready?"

"Ready," Luka answered, and popped the vent off, sliding it back inside. She placed her hands outside on the wall, and climbed along it. I followed along and noticed just how big Antrikanas' office actually was. With four pillars of light shielded behind glass, and large video portraits that showed advertising of "Life With Connection."

Man's in love with himself, I thought, or maybe just the city.

We shifted little by little, trying to keep from making any noise, and kept ourselves low enough to jump down from. If it turned into a gun fight, there would be no doubt that the security would rush this place. We had to maintain distance but still keep a good position in case things changed.

I looked up and saw Meiko crawled up to the ceiling and made her way over to one of the light pillars, and climbed alongside it. She positioned herself over one of the security officers.

Luka, who saw what Meiko was doing, crawled over further and placed herself on top of the other security guard.

They both looked at each other and nodded. Both of them jumped down, and landed on the security guards with a loud thump.

Antrikanas stood up from his desk and panicked.

"What's the meaning of this!? Who are you!?"

I jumped off the wall and pulled out my pistol, and put it right up to Strelok's head.

"Step away from the desk," I ordered him, "we're just here to have a conversation."

Antrikanas put up his hands. "Ah, I see now. Looks like instead of running away you decide to bring yourself right to me after you knock down one of my buildings."

I tilted my head.

"Oh, come now, I watched the entire situation unfold on my intellicams. You can play dumb, but I saw you there."

Meiko and Luka walked over to the desk, and kept their guns pointed at him. Miku and Gumi showed up behind them.

"Ah, so there's more of you," he said. "I can see the other one as well. How's that knife wound?"

Miku just shook her head.

"Not talkative is she?" Antrikanas asked me. "It's fine. I've seen your handiwork. It's a little scary if I'm being honest, but at least you managed to take care of the perpetrator."

"So you knew?" Meiko asked.

"Of course I knew. There may have been a jammer in place but when you've got everything connected to your building, it's not so hard."

"That explains the cables," I thought aloud. "So, you saw everything. Even us."

"I did. Interesting to finally meet an actual human, but I didn't think it would be this way. If you wouldn't mind putting the gun down, I can answer your questions."

"How do we know you won't just call security?" Meiko stepped closer. "You're nearby your desk."

"Because my security will be back soon anyways, and if you were going to shoot me, you would have done it already."

I holstered my pistol, and everyone rested their guns.

"Honestly," Antrikanas started, "I figured you'd come here eventually. While you have been able to elude my security for some time, there had to be something you were after. Once I noticed that some records were swiped from the archive building, it was only a matter of time."

"So," Gumi said, "you knew about us?"

"Eventually, though, not as quickly as I would have liked. There was record of your existence out there when my collaborators looked into it. I can show you."

Antrikanas motioned over to his desk, and Meiko aimed her gun back up, ensuring that if he did try to call security, he'd be blasted the moment he pushed the button.

"I understand your skepticism," he said, "but not to worry, I've already made plans to give away my information."

"You have?" Luka asked. "Why? Weren't you trying to fund an entire conflict out of this?"

Antrikanas tapped away on his terminal. "Because having extra pieces on the board makes things interesting."

He pulled up a familiar image. It was an image of a cliffside, covered in snow, with a dropship and two figures approaching it.

"Look familiar?"

"Yeah, that's me, and there's Miku," I said, pointing to it. "So we were being watched?"

"Of course," Antrikanas said. "The Hands of Unity, or, my collaborators as I call them, have made it important to know every detail of things that are happening. Of course, I also try to play the game myself."

"And you wanted a war for what reason?" Meiko asked. "Financial, power, or something else?"

"Why not everything?" He answered. "I wanted a conflict to get my people involved. Things have been too peaceful, too relaxed. I needed something to get them motivated."

He pulled up another image of the burning building as it collapsed. "And it just so happens that last night proved to be a perfect excuse to rile them up."

"Then what about the Rangers?" I asked. "You needed an enemy, so why wipe them all out?"

Antrikanas sat back in his chair, and let out a sigh of frustration before answering. "That was the handiwork of the Lord Admiral Estradamus. He heads Unity's Hand. They've been very successful at occupying colonies all around the other sectors. Only reason they aren't as prevalent here is because of me."

"Because of you?" I tilted my head. "Why?"

"Because I run trade with them, that's why. The last thing they want is to disrupt what already works. But I know my time is limited, and they'll probably come for me next."

"So that's why you built an army," Meiko concluded. "You wanted to play both sides."

"I had to. If I could have the Hands of Unity fight with the Rangers, there would be opportunity at every corner, and having my own forces to join in, well, I could play both sides if I really wanted to. Even pick one when it was finally necessary for survival."

I glared at Antrikanas, and he laughed.

"What? It's just business. Nothing more."

"Disgusting," Luka sneered. "You really are a politician."

"And a good politician at that," Antrikanas said, pointing at Luka. "I care about my city and my people, as much as you might not see it that way. But I don't want to have to end this meeting on a sour note. In fact, I wanted to offer you something in exchange for something you managed to do for me."

Antrikanas flipped through his records and pulled something else up.

"I pay the debts I owe. You helped save my research staff, so I figure I should pay back that much. In this case, I believe you will find this information in particular of use to you."

The data Strelok pulled up was information regarding Duodecim's main drone hub: A massive Interspace station that had been the root cause of Duodecim's occupation here.

"We managed to track the ships that it would send back and forth for resources. I'm sure you're aware of it, but I bet you didn't know where it was."

Gumi looked it over, and walked up to the terminal herself, and looked over everything.

"That's definitely Duodecim's drone hub," Gumi noted, and looked further through the documentation.

"Surprised the Hands of Unity haven't struck it," Meiko commented.

"Not that they care to, until they present a threat to them, they won't attack. Unity's Hand has control out in the further sectors, though that doesn't mean they won't come out here skulking for secrets. I'm sure you've met a few of them."

"I have," Meiko said. "Didn't end very well."

"I think I remember hearing about that."

Meiko and I looked at each other, and then back at Antrikanas.

"Alright," Gumi said. "I've pulled all of the relevant information, but I don't think you're going to let us walk on out of here, are you?"

Antrikanas threw up his hands. "I only paid what I owed with that information. You're on your own from here on. Though, I will offer one last piece of crucial information."

Antrikanas leaned over on his desk, and looked at all of us before continuing.

"Lord Admiral Estradamus is a force to be reckoned with. He didn't build his legion on kindness, but he won't go after you until you give him a reason to. And something tells me that the more you poke into things, he will take notice."

"We'll keep that in mind," Meiko said.

"Hey, guys," Gumi panicked, "I think there's a bunch of security heading our way."

I looked at Antrikanas.

"I suggest you leave my city. Maybe take that data and do what it is you need to do. And remember what I did for you the next time I may need a favor."

I couldn't tell for sure if Antrikanas was trying to help us or not, and what it was he was trying to ultimately gain out of it. But we accepted it regardless. With the new information we had, we at least now had an origin point for where Duodecim had been coming from. A critical element in pushing Duodecim off Interspace.

The C.S.F. were pinging up on our compass, with multiple red dots showing up on the motion trackers.

Meiko, thinking fast, smashed the window open, and waved for us all to jump out.

Antrikanas just watched, not seeming to have a care on his gray-skinned face.

We jumped out, deploying our wingsuits, and followed in formation.

"There's no way we're going to be able to make it out of the city with just our wingsuits," Gumi said, deploying the signal jammer. "They'll have their defenses ready on the outskirts looking for us. We need a faster way out."

"I think I have a suggestion," I said. "There's a vehicle hub for one of the major trading outposts, right?"

"Guess we're putting that pilot training to use today, Miku!" Gumi said.

Miku didn't reply, but instead sent out two pings from her location, indicating some sort of affirmation.

"Sorry, forgot you don't want to talk right now. Once we're back, I'll see about fixing you right up. I think you deserve that much. Heck, we all deserve a nice break after this!"

We descended further, aiming close to the trading outpost where all of the ships flew past. The closer we got, more ships appeared, and all varying in size. We had to land further away so as to not end up in a mid-air collision, but once we did land, we looked over the top of another building, and started planning our next move. If we could get to a ship and fly out of here, it would be smooth sailing.

All we had to do was get there, and that was the challenge.

----------------------------------------

I walked into class and sat at my desk waiting for the morning lectures to start. All of my other classmates were chatting with one another and making small-talk before the teacher came in. There were still a few minutes left before class actually started.

I grabbed my phone and checked things a little bit before things started, and checked my messages, wondering if there was anything new going on.

Griff still hadn't messaged me. It seemed he meant what he said when he would "disappear for a while." I wondered if that was my fault, because I told those two agents about him.

It was such a weird situation, but I didn't really feel like Griff was doing anything bad, but I didn't know for sure. The agents seemed more concerned about his safety, and not because he had done anything criminal.

So, why then, did he disappear? And where? And how? Surely they'd have to catch up to him eventually right? No one could just disappear like that.

But, how would I know? He didn't contact me afterwards, and I couldn't help but wonder if his life was in danger or he was overreacting.

I laid back in my chair for a second, and looked up at the ceiling.

Then who were those two he was with…?

I pondered on that for a second. The first one, Miku, was his girlfriend. But why were they running from Duodecim? I kept that in my head for a while.

Then those agents came by to question me, and I had to answer them. They still hadn't contacted us. Did everything get sorted out? Was Griff detained? Were Miku and Meiko detained?

If that were the case, maybe that's why he stopped talking. He'd have no way to.

And if so, then Duodecim made him disappear. That's what he meant by it.

I shook my head.

And it would be my fault if that were the case.

I had to find out what happened, and soon. Maybe there would be a way to ask about Griff at the front office.

And right as Mr. O'Connor stepped into class, the school's page system dinged, as if to read morning announcements.

Instead, it summoned me.

"Akira Fujita! Please come to the office! Akira Fujita, please come to the office! Thank you!"

Everyone in class looked at me, and I stood up.

"Sorry," I said apologetically, looking at Mr. O'Connor.

"It's no trouble. I'll see you later."

I stepped out and headed to the front office as I was told, making no delay to get there.

Once I arrived, the receptionist looked up at me, and pointed at the principal's office.

"Mr. Leonard is expecting you," she said, sternly. She didn't seem as friendly as the last time I saw her. Something was up. The air felt tense.

I walked up to the door that read "Francis E. Leonard, School Principal," and knocked on it.

Principal Leonard opened it. He was a balding man with a slight white beard on his face and glasses, with a somewhat round shape to his body.

And this was my first time meeting him.

"Ms. Fujita," he said, "come in. I know we haven't had time for introductions since you started here, but I wanted to talk to you."

He waved me inside and I sat down at a chair in front of his desk, and he closed the door.

His desk had a picture of him with what looked to be another woman, a young boy, and a dog. A regular happy family, from the looks of it. While four plaques sat on his wall with his achievements on them, along with a few trophies that sat on top of his bookshelf.

He sat down, and rolled his chair up to his desk.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I called you up to my office today."

"Yes," I said, rather directly. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"Oh, no," he said. "In fact, I've just been wanting to meet with you."

Meet with me? This isn't something that a principal does normally, is it?

I cocked my head.

"Well, more than that, there's been a recent development as of late and I've been asked to assist in any way I could."

I stared at him, still confused. He seemed to be dancing around the real matter at hand that he called me in here for.

"As of late, well, one of our students seems to have gone missing. It's become a concern of mine as well, and I want to be sure he's safe and give the proper authorities all relevant information."

This was about Griff. I guess he really did disappear and hadn't used it as a means to cut me off after what happened. Was it because of those two agents? It couldn't have been, right?

"I have nothing I can tell you," I answered, rather straightforward. "Griff stopped talking to me around the time he stopped showing up for school."

"Is that all you can say?"

"That's all I know," I said.

"Are you by chance in any contact with Mr. Darhen?"

I hesitated to answer.

"Please," Principal Leonard said, "if you have any way of getting in contact with him, it would help greatly."

I almost wanted to say, "why don't you do it yourself," but I relented. If I wanted to get in trouble, maybe, but I didn't want to stir anything.

Instead, I just complied.

"Fine," I said. "I'll see about messaging him."

Leonard, instead of excusing me to leave, looked at me as if waiting for me to message Griff now right in front of him.

I pulled out my phone, and sent a message to Griff.

"Hey, some people have been asking about you. Is everything alright?"

Sent.

Principal Leonard excused me back to class. Once I arrived back, class was already halfway over.

I sat in my chair, and got lost in thought about all of this.

First it was about Griff, then the two girls he was working with and how they were avoiding Duodecim's agents and any marked vehicles. And then the part about trying to keep me in the dark about all of this. About how I was "putting a target on my back" by even associating with them. And maybe now that was becoming clear.

Someone wanted answers, and I think they saw me as a way to get to them.

I pulled out my phone on my way back to class, and sent another message to Griff.

"I think they're going to keep trying to get answers out of me. The agents, I mean. I think we need to talk. Please reply as soon as you get this."

Hopefully, if Griff hadn't actually dropped off the face of the Earth by the time he would get my message, I'd be able to find a way out of this mess.

Or maybe I was inviting more trouble by talking to him. Only time would tell.

----------------------------------------

We managed to sneak into the vehicle bay that sat near the delivery ports. Ships of varying sizes sat near each other. The platforms they sat on would move around, sending them to much larger ships or hangar bays.

A large cavern sat between the platform delivery bays, sending deliveries to and from locations, while gantry cranes would secure crates, and send them elsewhere.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

And all of this was being done within one city. It made a lot more sense as to why trade was so necessary to this place: this entire area made up half the city's size with how much went through here. The train's that ran through only made a small portion of the deliveries. The real money was made from outside of Other-Earth's atmosphere.

"The good news is," Gumi said, "this area's so big that there's bound to be holes in the security. And, even better news, I've managed to potentially secure us a transport out of here."

I let out a sigh in relief. "That is good news. Do you have any idea what we're taking?"

"Yep," Gumi answered. "It's a small personal carrier. Capable of carrying six people on it. It's fueled up and ready to go. The problem? It's still incapable of fighting anyone. So if we get anti-air or have to fight off anyone…"

"We'll be sitting ducks," Meiko interjected. "Fun. Well, let's see if our flying ace can run circles around them."

Meiko looked over at Miku, who nodded and gave the thumbs up. She probably wasn't up to it, but her mood seemed to have improved a little. Maybe she was excited by the idea of flying.

"So," Luka said, "where is it?"

"Right here," Gumi lit up the transport vehicle on our displays. It sat on a transport that was about two-hundred meters and moving ahead.

"Guess we better fly," Gumi said. "It might be fueled up, but someone is going to be taking it soon if we don't."

"Should we worry about the air traffic control?" I said. "They'll probably know something's up once we take off."

"We make it far enough away, we won't have to worry, but that's all dependent on how this plays out."

Gumi took a look at the group, and nodded, before standing up from the platform we stood on, and jumped off.

We followed behind her, heading into the giant crevice below before deploying our wingsuits and heading right for our exit vehicle.

The platform was lowering down towards a nearby hangar bay. We flew in as fast as we could, and landed on it.

"This what we're looking for?" Meiko asked, looking at the only vehicle on the platform.

"The exact one," Gumi said. "That's the only one big enough to seat all of us, and still fast enough to get us out of here at a high speed."

The ship was fairly small compared to the carriers the Rangers would fly, but it would have to do. I trusted that Gumi looked into our options as best as she could, but we only had so much time before the C.S.F. would start looking here for us.

"Well," Luka said. "Our carriage awaits."

Gumi walked up to the vehicle, and used her Watcher to connect to the device remotely, and disengaged the lock. The rear entrance opened, and we crawled inside.

"Once we get to the runway," Gumi ordered, "ignore all of their requests. It might be dangerous, but they're going to send their security the moment they notice something's up. We have to go hard and fast."

Miku nodded, and moved up front to the cockpit. I looked at Gumi, who gave me a sign to head up there as well. I wanted to tag along, mostly because Miku might need moral support at the wheel more than anything.

The vehicle was picked up by a gantry crane as we left the vehicle in standby. Before long, it would be sent up to a hangar for a final check.

"I've managed to fool the system into thinking we're part of the next takeoff schedule. They're rushing to get us out there. With any luck, they won't notice that they sent the wrong vehicle."

"Are we still taking off before they clear us?" I asked.

"We're going to need to," Gumi said. "They'll catch us anyways, and we won't be able to move if that happens. The place is covered with anti-air. The best bet is to take off before they realize what's going on."

I looked at Miku, and nodded to her.

"We'll get through this," Miku said, "and once we do, I just want to lie down."

"You'll get to lie down when it's over, I promise," I assured her. "Maybe we can go on a date when we get back. A real one."

"I'd like that," Miku said, softly.

"Then I'll make plans for it. Just you and me. Hey, maybe we can watch a movie, or get dinner somewhere. I'd like to go somewhere nice."

"Heh," Miku laughed. "I can't wait to see what you have planned."

I smiled underneath my helmet, and sat back as Miku prepped the aircraft for takeoff.

"Flight 17166, we're sending you to the runway for pickup. You have a set of people in need of transport."

The control tower sent radio calls to us to get things on track.

Miku activated the engine and the vehicle shuffled forward towards the runway.

"Flight 17166, you are proceeding towards the runway," the control tower barked. "Reverse course and sit by until you are cleared for takeoff!"

"Looks like they're about to get suspicious."

"Hate to do this," I said. "But you better gun it!"

Miku flicked a couple of switches, and activated the thrusters. The ship picked up speed, zooming through the runway as other ships were aiming to leave as well. She bobbed and weaved between each of them, avoiding collision as best she could.

The craft pushed forward, and Miku pulled up into the sky.

"All security! We have a rogue aircraft. Flight 17166 has taken off without permission! Paint targets and open fire!"

"They don't hesitate, do they!?" Luka yelled.

"Guess not!" I said. "We'll keep flying! Just watch!"

Energy beams shot past the ship as the anti-air cannons took fire at us.

"Keep dodging," Gumi told Miku, "they shoot in a straight line, if you keep shifting around, you should be able to dodge each shot until we're out of range."

Miku didn't reply, but just nodded again, and kept her focus on the outside. I kept my eyes on the radar, seeing how many beams were being fired at us.

Overhead, a large carrier, looking to be the size of three football fields, flew right over us. Miku looked up, watching as another beam zipped by.

"Take cover near that ship!" Gumi said. "I have an idea!"

Miku charged our ship forward, and got dangerously close to the bottom of the carrier.

"I'm going to mask our signal to the one that the transport ship above us is carrying. With any luck, they won't know what happened to us."

"Good thinking," I said. "What would we do without you, Gumi!?"

"You'd probably be stuck without me, honestly! Might even not be here in any case. Now that I think about it, you might have never even been able to-"

"That's enough, Gumi!" Meiko shouted. "Just hide our signal and we'll sing you all of the praises!"

Gumi nodded, and got to work.

Before long, the cannons stopped firing, and we flew ahead, staying underneath the ship.

"Looks like that did it," Gumi announced. "They were about to scramble some fighters after us, but they'll be looking at our last known location before realizing where we went. We can head home safely."

Miku propelled the craft forward from underneath the carrier, and zipped past the undercarriage with ease. The carrier started pointing upwards and headed towards an exit funnel as we flew away, making its exit, and having done its job without any of the crew aboard knowing we had used it to escape.

"Looks like we're in the clear; we are no longer within Connection's city limits," Gumi said, enthusiastically. "All we have to do now is get back to our base. I've got the hangar pinpointed for you, Miku. Just head there and we can all relax once we're home."

"Thanks, Gumi," Miku said, exhausted. "I'm happy to know we're close."

"You got it! Hangar landing should be easy. Do you need instruction?"

Miku shook her head. "I think I can do it. Once we're close, I should be able to guide us into the hangar."

Gumi adjusted her seat, and nodded.

We flew ahead, moving towards the mountain range of Other-Earth. I looked around and noticed the area looked more snowy than before. It seemed the changing weather wasn't just exclusive to Connection.

Miku started pressing a few buttons on the dashboard.

"We'll be landing shortly!" I announced.

Mikuu nodded. "Thanks, I don't want to raise my voice right now."

"Sure thing," I said, "happy to help."

The landing system activated, and began guiding us to the hangar using small arrows that directed us towards it.

"It's hidden, but at least we can find our way in," I said. "Just bring it in slow."

Miku decreased speed, and tilted the craft upwards as she pulled into the hangar. The ship slowly entered behind the camouflage rock layer, and hung in the air for a few seconds, moving towards the center of the hangar, and dropped on its landing gear.

The ship sat, and the engines died down, and we had landed.

Miku slumped backwards, and let out a heavy sigh.

"We're finally back," I said. "Now come on, let's get you fixed up."

I offered my shoulder to her, and she stood up next to me.

Gumi opened the rear door, and we all stepped out of the empty hangar.

Once we had returned home, Miku and I were inside of the repair bay waiting for Gumi to finally catch up to us. She was back in the Operating Room trying to set up all of the information for a debriefing.

And in all of that, David still wasn't around. What was he up to?

Miku laid on the repair table as I sat next to her. She hadn't said anything since we had gotten back home. In fact, she seemed so out of it, I wondered if she was going to fall asleep right there on the operating table.

Her eyes were still open, however. She kept her gaze fixed to the ceiling and the equipment that hung above.

"You alright?" I leaned over her.

"A little better," she shrugged. "Still hurts to talk, though."

"Well, don't worry about it too much. I'm sure it won't hurt once you're all fixed up."

I put my hand on Miku's shoulder, and rubbed it.

"It was a long night," I said, "but at least we're home now."

Miku rolled her head over to look at me, and closed her eyes.

"I'm exhausted," she said, sleepily. "Maybe I'll be all fixed up once I'm awake…"

Miku fell asleep, and I waited for Gumi to show up.

Eventually, Gumi would appear, wearing a labcoat.

"Sorry I took so long," Gumi apologized, "but, well, it took a little longer to set up a data stream from the Stargazer base back to here. Longer than I really wanted it to."

Gumi took a look at the repair table and saw Miku had fallen asleep.

"Tired out, is she?"

I nodded.

"Well, that will make it easier for us! I'll force her into sleep mode anyways, mostly because there's a chance she might wake up in the middle of it."

Gumi grabbed a pair of cables, and delicately linked them into the port in the back of Miku's neck, then walked over to a terminal, and clicked on a few settings.

Miku's body suddenly went limp, and I looked over at Gumi with concern.

"She's fine," Gumi said, "just had to put her into sleep mode. Weird, right? Not used to seeing someone almost drop dead at the flip of a switch?"

"When you put it that way, it feels a lot more grim."

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Gumi assured me. "Miku's going to be just fine. Might still be asleep when I power her back on, but this is so she doesn't wake up in the middle of it. Plus she won't feel a thing in this state."

"So, what do you need from me?"

"Well," Gumi said, "since you're going to be sticking with us, I should probably show you a thing or two about managing repairs. It might come in handy for you to be able to repair your girlfriend should she ever get in a state like this again. After all, you might not have me around when you need it."

"That's some good thinking," I said, "I never would have thought about it."

"Now, it's not going to be exactly easy, but I'll walk you through some basics here. Let me get a good look at her damage and I'll let you know what we'll need."

Gumi slipped on a pair of disposable gloves and walked over to Miku, putting her hands on her head and tilting it to the right to see how bad her wounds were. She kept her fingers far away from the damaged areas, but used her index finger to trace around the damaged areas as close as possible.

"Alright," Gumi straightened up, "looks like the damage inside isn't as bad as I thought it was. A few lacerations were made to her tongue, and her teeth were chipped a little, but the important bits aren't broken, and within a few days, the nanomachines that regulate repairs should be able to fix all of that."

"Nanomachines? They can just… fix those?"

"A good deal of repairs are handled by nanomachines within our systems. I theorize that Duodecim likely wanted us to be self-sufficient on the off chance we were in need of repairs. Of course, it can't work to repair severed limbs or something. But a wound like this is rather easy."

"Is that why it was so easy to repair Meiko?"

"Meiko took a lot more time. Her whole chest was ripped open, after all."

I nodded. "So how about Miku?"

"Half-hour. Tops."

"That little?" I raised an eyebrow.

"That little!"

Gumi reached for an instrument that was built into the ceiling. It was a large, cylindrical device, with an ocular lens at the end of it.

"This here makes everything simple. You won't have this in the field, of course, but it's essentially a regenerator. Allows skin to seal and doesn't leave any scarring. The wonders of modern technology."

"Did you build that?" I pointed to it.

"Nope. Found it in the medical bay. Though it needed some modifying to work in the repair bay instead. I brought it up here because, well, you know, you were the first human to step into this place. Didn't really have much use for the medical bay otherwise."

I watched as Gumi turned on the device, and she put it next to Miku's cheek. Within moments, the wound started to seal as a bright light emitted from it.

"Does that hurt?" I asked.

"Plenty," Gumi said bluntly, "it's essentially rebuilding her skin cells at a rapid rate. If she was awake, she'd probably be crying for us to stop."

"Better she's in sleep mode, then," I said, watching as a group of three small blue lasers shifted along her cheek, and a beam in the center would seal up the wound slowly, but it was noticeable.

"You said this was from the medical bay?"

"I did. This was intended for emergency surgeries initially. After testing it on myself, I can tell you, it's pretty painful."

"So, does that mean you have human skin?"

Gumi nodded, still keeping her sights set on Miku's wound.

"You all are just a marvel of modern technology."

Gumi blushed. "Now, I wouldn't go that far, but I will say it's nice to have someone acknowledge you for once."

"It's exciting. I remember reading science fiction novels about this kind of stuff when I started high school, but I never thought it was that true. I didn't even know about Duodecim until after Miku disappeared."

"I'm shocked, frankly," Gumi said.

"I never really paid attention to the world," I shrugged. "Always just went to school, played video games, and watched a little bit of television to distract myself. I didn't really care about the world outside of that."

"That changed, didn't it?" Gumi asked, slyly.

"Yeah," I said with a soft but cheery smile on my face, "all because of this girl here."

Gumi let out a giggle. "Well, you can tell her all about how thankful you are when she wakes up."

"Actually," I said, "is there anything else you want to show me? I think I need to get some fresh air."

"Nothing more for now," Gumi said, "this was only the introductory lesson. At some point, I'll run you through how to fix more complicated damages."

"I'll wait for that, then," I said.

Gumi nodded, keeping her eyes fixed on fixing Miku's wounds, and I took my leave for my quarters to get changed.

I walked into my room, locked my door, and rummaged through my drawers for a change of clothes. Once I was out of my jumpsuit and back in my civilian clothes, I looked at my bed and debated on sitting down for a second. I felt a little exhausted.

I decided against it, however. If I sat down, I'd probably fall asleep in an instant. I may have been tired and worn out from today, but there was still plenty I needed to do.

I walked over to my terminal and grabbed my phone from where I left it. I figured I would check to see if I got any messages while I was back up on the surface. Even though I could check my terminal to see if I had anything sent to me, it would take longer to stick down here.

I picked up my black jacket and threw it on, and opened my door, only to be greeted by an unexpected visitor.

David stood in front of me, his hand about to knock on my door before I opened it.

"Fancy seeing you here," I said, "where have you been?"

"Out," David answered bluntly. "I heard from Lisa that we need to talk over some things. I figured I'd tell you in person."

"This about our operation?" I tilted my head.

"Kind of," he said, looking down the hall, "it's more about you two than anything. If you're heading back up, I think I need to talk to you and Miku before we meet for our debriefing tonight."

"She might not be up yet," I said. "Anything in particular she should know that I couldn't just tell her?"

"What," David grinned, "scared of me not approving of your relationship?"

I punched him playfully.

"Ow," he chuckled, "guess it's good to know you still have your sense of humor."

"I guess it's also good to know you haven't changed either," I said.

"I mean, I've been the same David you've known since you were a kid."

As we stepped into the elevator, I thought about that for a second.

"So, even when Mom and Dad died? You were…?"

David nodded. "Didn't think I was that cool as a kid, did you?"

"How did you even get involved in something like this?"

"Well, it's a long story," David said, "and I don't think I have all the time to tell it, at least not tonight. Just know, you weren't part of any mission, you were just family."

"Family, huh?" I thought aloud. "You mean, Mom and Dad…?"

"Trusted me with you. I'm not sure why, and to tell you the truth, I didn't think it would happen, but when it did, well, I guess it's hard to see it any different now."

I looked up at the elevator lights as we were pulled back up to the first floor of the facility.

"Look, Griff," David said as the elevator opened, "I regret a lot of things, but I don't regret taking you in. I just wish I could have been a better parent figure."

I shrugged. "You kept me out of trouble as long as you could. Just happens when I finally end up in trouble, you're part of it, too."

David thought about that for a second, and nodded in agreement. "Guess it's better I can still supervise you this way."

"Not what you had in mind when we talked about taking a vacation, though, huh?"

David glanced at me, and let out a hearty laugh. "No, I guess not!"

It was nice to see David in high spirits. Even if it wasn't the most ideal way to spend time with him, I was still glad he could be nearby, just in case I needed him.

We stepped into the repair bay, seeing Gumi had finished, with Miku still lying on the table, sleeping.

"Oh, David," Gumi said, standing up from her chair. "Nice to see you. You kind of disappeared for a little while there."

"I know, apologies. I was wondering if I could speak to Miku."

Gumi looked over at Miku, and then back at David. "I mean, you can speak to her, she's just, y'know, a little indisposed at the moment."

"Can you wake her up, please? It's important."

Gumi hesitated, and walked over to Miku.

"Hey, Miku, uh," she shook her a little, "David wanted to talk to you. Sorry to interrupt your naptime, but he says it's kind of urgent."

Miku's eyelids slowly opened, and she shook her head.

"Wha- Oh," she looked up, and noticed us. "You two are here."

"That we are," David said.

I raised my hand awkwardly.

Miku sat up, and moved her legs off the table. She seemed fatigued, but it was nice to see her awake, too.

"So," she said, "something the matter?"

David shook his head. "No, well, not immediately, but there was something I wanted to talk about with you. Something that was on my mind ever since we pulled you out of Duodecim months back, I never got the chance to talk things over with you."

Miku thought about that for a second.

"We never really actually met to begin with, you know that."

David threw his hands up. "You got me. Our group kept an eye on you, and that was all we were instructed to do."

"Right," Miku said, "so how come I was the only one you managed to pull out?"

"Because once things got bad, we had to scuttle our base and move away. That's why everyone was moved about the station we holed up in: we were trying to hide you the best we could with what little time we had."

"So you knew Duodecim was coming?" Gumi added. "How?"

"Dr. Rio, or as we called him, 'the Good Doctor.' He was your handler, wasn't he?"

Miku looked down at the floor, and back up at David. "Yes. Something tells me he was behind our escape."

"He was, and unfortunately, he didn't make it."

"Something told me that was the case," she said, though she looked somewhat mournful in her eyes.

"Looks like there's still plenty I'm in the dark about," I interjected. "I guess I'd like to know the importance Dr. Rio served in all of this."

"He's the father of the entire V.C.D. project," David answered. "Well, he was. I guess Duodecim wanted him to have no way to spill secrets out into the open if he managed an escape."

"What, he didn't ever leave the facility? How is that right?"

David shot me a dirty look, like I should have known that.

"Someone in his position was too valuable. They kept him in dormitories and had a close eye on him at all times. Every communication he made was monitored, and any social gatherings he attended would have people from all over keeping an eye on him."

"And you knew this how, exactly?" Gumi asked. "Because it's obvious Dr. Rio managed to get to you if you could plan out a way to break us all out at once."

"And he did. But he wasn't entirely careful. There was still a leak from within, and by the time we knew, everything had fallen apart."

"Inside people?" Gumi asked, her arms crossed.

"Something like that. We know someone is working within as a defector, we just don't know who, or why they're helping us. Our belief is that it's someone fairly high up on the pyramid who was able to pull some strings and line things up. Once we were ready to go, we moved in."

"I take it that things didn't go as planned," I said.

"It did for a little bit," David said. "Things seemed to be going too well, and you can guess how that pans out."

Miku stepped off the operating table, rubbing her cheek.

"So he's dead, then. Is that what you wanted to tell me?"

"I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. He seemed to want nothing more than for you to live a normal life. It was because of him you ended up inside of that apartment instead of being taken care of in a safehouse far away from all of this."

Miku looked away from all of us, lost in thought.

"Were you two close?" I asked.

"Somewhat," she said, making a sad laugh. "I remember telling him how much I wanted to go outside and see the world, and all he said in response was, 'like you, I'm a bird in this cage, too.' Now I get what he meant."

"Trapped inside of his own office and forced to work on you," Gumi said. "Wish my handlers engaged with me. All I got was a camera and a speaker to yell at me."

"Maybe I should count myself lucky," Miku said. "Thanks, David."

"One last thing," David said, "and I'll leave you alone."

"Sure," Miku nodded. "What is it?"

"The last thing Keiichi wrote in a message to us before we started our operation was a single sentence. It read, "this is the one thing I don't regret.' It seemed like letting you free was that one 'thing.'"

"I guess that makes me wonder," I said. "It was his last wish to let her live out in the open and to be free. Who exactly decided to put Miku into the apartment she was living in?"

"Our leader, Prometheus," David said. "At least, that's his codename."

Gumi looked over at me, then back at David.

"I wonder if Prometheus is the same person who contacted me once we had made our escape."

"If that were the case, we'd have found the underground base a helluva lot sooner."

"True," Gumi said. "Seems to be a lot of deceptive parties going on. But if you trust this 'Prometheus,' then I guess we have no choice but to follow suit."

David nodded.

"Well, since I've said my piece, is there anything else we should cover?"

"No," Miku said, "but thanks. I appreciate you telling me all of this after everything that's happened."

"Right," David said. "You're my responsibility, at least, that's what Prometheus said when I argued for your continuing existence in the real world."

David headed for the door, and turned around to say one last thing.

"We'll be meeting tonight for a debriefing in the Operating Room. As of right now, you're free to do what you want."

David left, and I looked at Miku

"How about you and I go up top and get some fresh air?"

Miku nodded. "I'd like that a lot, actually."

"Just be sure not to miss anything," Gumi said. "I'll ping your Watchers when we need to meet."

"Sounds good," I said, opening the door to the hallway. "We'll see you then."

----------------------------------------

"So it seems we cannot remain neutral after what happened in the City of Connection, can we?" Elder Malphus said. "Foreigners are here. And now the rest of the colonies will find out soon enough."

"We are aware, Elder Malphus," Elder Morel said. "It was unwise of us to think that this would remain a secret for long. The public of Connection is already aware of it. Soon enough, the other colonies will become knowledgeable of such things. We cannot delay any longer; we must take action."

"Action such as what?" General Vassen interjected. "If the foreigners are here, then we must do everything we can to sever their influence."

Lord Admiral Estradamus sat at the front of the meeting table listening to his subordinates speak. He listened intently, seeking their perspective before deciding what to do next himself. While he was acting leader of the Guiding Hand, he still wanted to make it a point that he would lead by example and listen to his people. But he would not allow their influence to corrupt his beliefs.

"We may have control over a large majority of influence over many of the major colonies, but who is to say that won't change tomorrow?"

"Then I say we mount our forces, occupy Connection. They can no longer serve as a neutral force!"

"Vassen," Elder Simil placed his hand on Vassen's shoulder, "I share in your concerns. I believe we all do, but a full-scale occupation of Connection would be ludicrous."

Vassen halted himself, and took Simil's words into account.

"But it may be wise to consider, seeing as we are reaching an apex of a brewing conflict. New pieces seem to be added to the board every day, it seems. And with the Rangers seeming to return, no telling who is going to be next at trying to take a stand against our legion."

Estradamus raised his left hand to the discussing crowd, and all turned in attention immediately.

"There is one thing that has been sitting with me for quite a while," he said, dimming the lights in the room, and flashed a holographic image across the screen. The image was of two figures moving through the snow as one was led in an orange jumpsuit, and had light blue long hair. The other's face was hidden by a helmet.

"It seems as if two separate foreigner groups were vying for one of their own. A human, even. The foreigners aren't like them; they possess more autonomy. And that makes them valuable. It seems they fought for this one in particular. For what reason, I'm not sure, but it is important."

"But, how could this be important?" General Vassen asked. "Surely it can't be nearly as important as the foreigners potentially invading our own colonies?"

"Because I believe they have a feud back on their own world," Estradamus answered. "If the humans are coming here, they are bringing their own armies with them to fight on our lands. I intend to find out what it is that made this one so special."

Estradamus stood up, and then made up his mind.

"I will rally our troops. It is up to us to deal with these foreigners. And deal with them we shall. I will dismiss all of you to deal with your own sects of our great unity."

Everyone in the meeting room clasped their hands, and nodded, and left.

Estradamus watched as the figures clad in their crimson and purple robes left the room. The elders, and the generals that followed behind them, all left without a word.

Estradamus watched as each figure left. Their gray skins and their crimson robes all worn in uniformity. Each high ranking member that had stood here was here because they had shown their dedication towards leading the legion towards unity. And Estradamus felt as if he could trust each of the Elder's judgments. The Generals, who served under the Elders, would listen to them. It was a hierarchy that relied on wisdom and rational thinking, rather than outright brute force. Though both would have their advantages, Estradamus saw strength in knowledge. Conflict was avoidable in his eyes, one just needed to be the stronger force to prevent it.

Estradamus looked at his left hand. The three claw-like fingers sat over his glove, and he clenched it into a fist.

It's the only way for peace, he thought, they must be removed.

----------------------------------------

Miku and I walked outside of the power station. It felt like we came up here a lot to get away. While I didn't mind the underground base, I could tell it bugged Miku to be down there at times. But after what we just went through, I think she just wanted things to be quiet. The only thing that actually made noise up here was the October wind that shook against the trees. It was peaceful, there was no doubt about it.

But Miku seemed to have this dreary, tired look in her eyes as she watched the sky. With how gray it was, I wondered if it would rain soon.

Miku just kept walking as the afternoon dragged on. It was a shame it wasn't sunnier out today, considering how this morning was spent in about the same weather.

Yet, Miku seemed fixated on the clouds above, and raised her hand to the sky, grabbing at it.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

Miku didn't answer. She was just lost in thought, with her eyes fixated on the clouds, staring off.

"Hey," I said, walking closer to her, and put my hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

Miku broke from her trance, and looked back at me. Her eyes were watery with a clear liquid dripping down her cheek. Her mouth was open a little, with her lips quivering. She ran her hand across her face and looked at it.

"Tears," Miku said. "I'm… Crying."

I reached to wipe away another tear on her cheek. "It's okay, Miku, you-"

"No! It's not okay!" She shouted, shoving my hand away.

I was pushed back, and then Miku looked at me, and cupped her mouth. "Oh no, I'm sorry Griff. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine," I said understandingly. "But it's clear you have a lot on your mind."

"I just- I have no idea what's going on with me anymore. I feel like my emotions have gone haywire, and I can't control myself anymore. Almost as if I'm overloading my systems every time I think about it."

"Think about what?"

"The fact I'm really not a human."

"But, Miku-"

She cut me off. "There's no getting around that. You saw underneath my skin, you know what I look like. There's nothing organic about me. Nothing about me is ever going to be human."

I couldn't even begin to imagine just what life would be like for someone who didn't have an upbringing like anyone else. Sure, there were kids who had adoptions, and even I barely remembered my parents, but Miku didn't have any of that. She was built on a factory floor with assembly equipment with her entire frame covered by skin that was almost human. But her organs were metallic, her heart was a central core within her chest.

But what about her brain? Even if it was built to mimic the human mind, it was perfect. Miku could talk, laugh, and even cry. She could dance and dream and desire to do things. Things that she put her mind to.

I wondered, then, who the real machine was. Considering I was the guy who did what people told him to do. I kept my head down and went to school. I didn't do anything to get in trouble or stick out to anyone. But Miku was different, she was a free spirit.

So then how could I judge her, let alone anyone else, because her body was synthetic? Her brain was real. She had lived through things, and she still kept a smile on her face through it all. Nothing seemed to stop her.

"And that is true," I said, "but that doesn't mean you aren't you. Underneath all that skin of yours, yes, there's a metallic body. It's not the same as an organic person."

I approached her, got up close, and grabbed her hand. "But that doesn't mean that inside of you there isn't a brain in there. I've seen you out there. Especially last night. I saw a girl who was so in love with the music and the world around her that she danced. And she danced so passionately, that she outdid everyone. I remember her smile, too, and how proud she was."

I put my other hand behind her hair, leaned into her, and kissed her on the forehead.

"That same girl is right here, and my view on her hasn't changed."

Miku sobbed uncontrollably, and wrapped her arms around me, squeezing tightly.

"It's not fair!" She cried. "I wish I could go to school with you, and live a normal life. Do what normal teenagers do. Go on dates, have friends. And I couldn't have that!"

"I'm sorry," I said as she dug her face into my chest. I tousled her hair as she cried.

Miku kept sobbing, and her tears soaked into my jacket.

"I just wanted a normal life," she sobbed. "I wanted to know what it was like to be a normal student. What being ordinary was like. Instead, I stayed in a lab all day, letting myself be looked at like I was some… Some alien creature!"

"But you're not," I said. "You're Miku."

Miku looked up at me, and a thought occurred to me.

"Where did you get your name?" I asked.

Miku, still crying, looked at me for a second, and thought about my question. She answered with: "Dr. Rio gave it to me. He said it was part of the program to have a name for our eventual release. It's how everyone got their names."

"Does it mean anything?"

"'The First Sound of the Future.' I think it's because I'm the first V.C.D. unit, but…"

"Regardless," I said, "whether that was his intent in the first place or it was never meant to mean anything at all, it's your name. It's up to you to make it mean something."

Miku's tears started clearing up, and she looked up at me.

"That's… Very poetic," she said, a smile crossing her face. "Make my name mean something…"

"Look, all I mean is that even if Duodecim built you and named you, that doesn't mean they get to decide who Miku is. That's for you, and you only."

"I'll remember that," she said, and pulled herself away from me. "Thank you, Griff."

I blushed a little, and looked away.

"Oh come on, you spent all this time talking about how great I am, but then you can't handle a little pushback?"

Miku tugged at my arm, and gave me another hug,

"I know, I know," I said, returning her embrace. "I'm just not used to it."

"Well get used to it," she said, playfully punching my arm. "You're getting compliments and you're going to like it."

"Ow, hey," I said, laughing, "not so hard, remember?"

"You're tough, it's okay."

I smiled at her, and she buried her face into my chest again.

I looked up at the sky and saw how much darker the clouds had gotten. It looked like it was going to rain, and I wondered if we should get back inside of the base. Then a thought occurred to me: I never turned my phone on once I got up here.

I grabbed it from my pocket and turned it on. I wondered, maybe, if Akira had messaged me while I was out. I know I told her I was going to have to disappear for a while. I wondered if I was being a little too dramatic when I sent it.

I took a quick look and then noticed a couple of messages I got from Akira.

"Hey, some people have been asking about you. Is everything alright?"

I opened my phone and saw the other message following it.

"I think they're going to keep trying to get answers out of me. The agents, I mean. I think we need to talk. Please reply as soon as you get this."

I looked at Miku, who was reading over my shoulder.

"That doesn't sound good."

"No," I said, "it doesn't. Hopefully it just stays that way. I'll talk it over with David and see what he plans to do with her to keep her safe."

"You think you should reply?"

I thought about it for a second.

I opened the message again and wrote back, "I'm okay. And pretty soon, I'll see about hanging with you again. I promise, we'll hang out again soon."

"This is tough," I said, sighing as I put my phone away. "But the more I think about it, the more I think I gave up a normal life to be with you. And I think that's pretty worth it."

Miku walked with me into the elevator and looked at me for a second.

"I'm sorry I'm the reason you can't have that."

I shook my head. "I made my choice. And that's that."

Even with everything that had happened, I could see Miku was still determined. And I was right there with her. It was just nice to see her with her spark back.

Miku was still human to me, and that was cemented by the fact she cared. Cared about me, cared about her friends, and cared about doing the right thing.

It felt like, even though so much had happened, we still had so much left to do. So much ground to cover, but I was willing to make the trip, if only for the fact that Miku would be right there to help guide me along. So no matter how long the road was, I was prepared to travel it.

Just as long as I didn't have to travel it alone.