A week and a half passes, and the crew is gathered in Seeira. Most of the crew were spread out around the city, taking care of personal business like shopping. Tanya was at home with her daughter, Satomi and Mikoto went back home to Japan and Ying was about to leave in a few days as well. Blake and Finn were healed by Demetri, or at least as much as they could be healed, and kept in the back of Vivi's house. Vivi and Demetri worked together in Vivi's shop, since Demetri was good with cybernetics and prosthetics. Demetri also didn't have a place to go. His previous home was destroyed when Predator attacked in Seeira. When the home was rebuilt, he gave it up for someone else who was homeless. Vivi and Demetri were working on projects in the front of Vivi's house, but Demetri was having problems understanding Vivi's weapon mechanics. Vivi was quieter than usual however, and didn't really snap or get angry at all towards Demetri. She seemed too calm, and it began to bother Demetri.
"Are you okay?" Demetri asks Vivi.
"I'm... fine" Vivi says. "Don't worry about it". Suddenly, the door opens and Alex slowly walks in the door. Alex sits on the couch quietly and takes Ruby's calling card out of his pocket.
"I know I wasn't biggest talker in group" Demetri says, "but even I can tell something is still bothering you two".
"Is it Ruby?" Vivi asks Alex. Alex doesn't respond, and remains silent on the couch. Vivi walks up to Alex and sits next to him. "I'm sorry" she says.
"Look" Demetri says, "I know it's tough time for everybody. I'm sorry I'm not a good replacement for Siran. I know he helped lots in store, and I'm not as good at this kind of thing".
Vivi holds up her hand to get Demetri to stop talking and says softly "It's alright, Demetri. You've been a big help, and I already know that Siran probably won't be coming back. No one person can replace someone we've lost, so you don't have to try to replace Siran. You're fine just being you... and Alex, I know the same goes for Ruby. No one can replace her, and she did a lot for us. I'm not going to tell you that moving on is what she would've wanted... but... ah... er-". Vivi begins to laugh softly then says "I think Siran was actually better at talking about these things...".
Alex laughs really quickly, then says "God... he was so awful at motivational speeches". Vivi and Alex begin laughing together for a while, with tears beginning to form in their eyes. Demetri begins to smile, and it seemed like everyone was finally cheering up, even if only a little bit. After a while of sharing a laugh, Rose walks in through Vivi's front door silently. She was holding a bright red rose in her hand.
"Is it finished?" Rose asks Demetri.
"Oh... yeah" Demetri says. "His prosthetic arm is finished and fully functional. But he's a little... bummed out about it". Demetri points his thumb towards the back room of the house and Rose walks down the hallway. When she enters the room, Blake's bed was empty and Finn was sitting up in his bed, looking at his prosthetic arm.
"Ah, Rose!" Finn says.
"I brought you something" Rose says quietly as she puts the rose down on the nightstand next to him.
The room was silent for a while and eventually, Finn says with a laugh "Did Rose just bring me a rose?". The room fell silent until Finn spoke again, saying "Still... I can't believe we lost Ruby like that. Then they're saying Siran and Zia might not be coming back. It's almost impossible to believe what I've heard about what happened".
"Yeah..." Rose says, looking down at her feet.
"You're not mad... are you?" Finn asks.
"Why would I be mad?" Rose asks.
"I couldn't do much" Finn says. "If I could've stayed on my feet, then maybe-".
"It's not your fault!" Rose interrupts. "We've already lost enough people in that fight. We can't afford to play the blame game and start losing what we have left".
"What do we have left, after all that happened?" Finn asks. "The Six Guns disbanded... someone died... and Siran's missing as well as Zia".
"We still have our date" Rose says, looking down at her feet again.
"You mean..." Finn says in amazement, "even after all of this, you'd still give me a chance? Are you sure this... arm won't bother you or put you off?". Finn waves his mechanical arm around, worrying that Rose might hate him for losing his arm.
"It doesn't bother me" Rose says, "as long as my goggles don't bother you".
"I've gotta say" Finn says, "I'm a little disappointed I won't be able to see your eyes anymore... but I don't think your goggles would be a reason to not like you. I wanted to take you on a date before you lost your eyesight, and I still want to date you now".
"You sure?" Rose asks, looking up at Finn.
Finn smiles and says "I was sure when I said I would stick with Siran no matter what, and I'm sure when I say that I'd still like to take you out on a date".
Suddenly, the toilet from the bathroom next door flushed. Shortly after, Blake walks into the room and sits on his bed. "Am I... interrupting something?" Blake asks.
"Oh, uh... no" Finn says, "you're fine. Hey Rose? Can I see you tonight? I just need to make sure everything is set for me to finally be out on my own again with doc".
"Yeah, sure" Rose says with a smile.
Rose leaves the room and Blake turns to Finn and says "You sure I wasn't interrupting? That sounded important".
Finn sighs and says "I'm sure about most things I say. Anyways, what do you plan to do when you're ready to leave? Are you sticking around?".
"I haven't thought about it very much" Blake says. "I haven't really known you guys for long, but you guys have really started to grow on me. I might stick around Seeira and get a job here, maybe hang around you guys for a while".
"I'm sure no one would mind that" Finn says. Then after a long period of silence, Finn says "Actually, I'm sure that everyone would need it. We took a big hit in that last fight, and lost people. I'm sure we all will need as much of a comforting presence that we can get".
Meanwhile, in the front of the house, Robin walks in trough the door. "I'm back from Cafeteria" he says. "As much as I think that restaurant needs a name change, the work there isn't so bad".
"You're already done with work?" Vivi asks.
"Yeah" Robin says, "there isn't a whole lot of business lately. You know, with everyone focused on rebuilding the town".
Tanya also comes inside after Robin finishes speaking. "Hey, how are you guys holding up?".
"Quiet..." Robin says, "sulky, depressed... you know, the usual".
"I'm sorry to hear that" Tanya says. "Oh yeah! I've got word from Don. He says he's impressed you guys pulled it off. They saw what happened to Omnium Guild. He says he was a little disappointed you guys didn't die, but at the same time, if we didn't pull it off then they wouldn't be here either. So for that, he thanks us. He also says it won't be necessary to thank him, as he looks forward to not having to see your faces again... you guys really pissed him off at some point, didn't you".
Vivi laughs but covers her mouth. After a short second, she says "You can tell him the feeling is mutual. We're thankful they helped us hold up the military for us, but we also look forward to not having to see him again".
Tanya laughs and says "You guys just can't get along, can you? Oh, by the way, have you guys seen the news?".
"Not really, no" Alex says.
"Rumors of Naris coming back are spreading throughout the world" Tanya says. "Everyone says it looked like Naris came back and that we defeated him".
"Well, that is what happened" Alex says.
"Yeah, but it gets better" Tanya says, "no one can confirm what happened since there weren't any witnesses. Since we were the only ones there, they want to talk to us about what went down in the battle".
"They want to interview us?" Vivi asks.
"That about sums it up" Tanya says.
Vivi pauses for a few seconds, then laughs. "Fat chance of that happening!" She says. "The Six Guns are over and I'm not getting off of my ass to talk to some TV people. They can bite me!".
Alex laughs and says "Agreed. I don't think any of us would want to talk to them about jack shit".
"I know I wouldn't" Rose says. "I'd rather bury the past. Put what happened behind me already".
"Yeah, that sounds like work with no benefit" Demetri says.
"I told you it got better, didn't I?" Tanya says as she laughs. "I could care less what the media thinks of the situation. Anyways, any updates on anything about... you know, Zia and Siran?".
"None" Vivi says as the room falls silent.
"Damn..." Tanya says, "I can't believe... they'll be back eventually. I know they will".
"That optimism is contagious" Vivi says as she looks up at Tanya with a short smile. "If you keep doing that, you're going to keep our hopes up".
"So where's Ying and Holly?" Tanya asks.
"Holly is shopping for food" Vivi says, "and Ying went with her".
"Finn and Blake should be done with surgery as well" Demetri says. "We can use them to run for groceries instead of having to send the girls to do all of work".
Tanya laughs for a little bit and then sighs. "I wonder where Siran and Zia are right now".
Meanwhile, in Valhalla, Siran is waking up in the endless white void. Traveling through the gate made him pass out, and he was still covered in his own blood. However, his wounds seemed to have already healed. Zia was still unconscious, but was still breathing lightly. Her life was declining rapidly.
"Remarkable" Gaia says. "You have little to no care about the role of gods and humans... and then you break into the realm of the gods, the Endo Realm, Valhalla. You never cease to amaze me, human".
"I thought I told you last time" Siran says, "you can stop calling me 'human'. It's Siran now".
"And this is?" Gaia asks.
"I guess you're not omnipotent after all" Siran says. "Just like I thought... her name is Zia".
"You brought another human in?" Gaia says. Gaia laughs, then says "you really are amusing. Do you ever stop surprising me?".
Siran gets down on his knees and bows. "Please" Siran says as he begins to cry. "Save her".
Gaia fell silent for a few seconds. "I guess that answers my question" she says. "I never imagined YOU groveling... why would I need to save the human girl?". Siran froze, for he did not have the answer. Naris was gone and their jobs were done, so it would appear that none of the gods would need her or Siran alive. "You love her, don't you?" Gaia asks. "I imagine that's why you'd go so far for the sake of one single human".
"If you can't save her" Siran says, "then just tell me already! I won't continue to beg for nothing".
"That's the Siran I once knew" Gaia says. "And if I do not save her?".
"We took down Naris for you" Siran says, his arms shaking, "we stopped him before he had a chance to cause a lot of damage. We saved billions of people... if you don't save her, then I'll be your next biggest problem on Earth".
Gaia was silent for a moment, then laughs. "You really are interesting" she says, "you've done an important job, and the first thing you ask is for saving someone else's life".
"It's the most important thing to me" Siran says.
"You could finally rid yourself of your immortality" Gaia says.
"I don't care about me!" Siran yells. "I don't care if I have to suffer an eternity on Earth, or live with this... monstrous looking form forever!".
"Oh, about the form" Gaia says, "you could've fixed that long ago. Sure, the curse altered your appearance, but a curse can be broken".
"Just save her!" Siran yells.
"Wow..." Gaia says, "not even a little, huh? I expected more of a surprise, or even a little consideration about yourself. But the real question is, would she want to suffer the same fate you were previously given?".
"Previously?" Siran asks.
"You think you can hide it from me?" Gaia asks. "I know you've stolen even more energy from Naris. I can see it killing you. Did you plan on reviving her so you could die in front of her? Doesn't that seem a little selfish to you?".
"I don't..." Siran says as he thinks. "I didn't plan... I don't want to do that to her".
"And I don't think she would want that either" Gaia says. "So let's wake her up and see".
Suddenly, Zia takes a deep breath and sits up. Widely awake, she begins to panic. "Where!?" She asks. Zia looks around, amazed by the endless white void known as Valhalla. "What is this place?".
"Human girl named Zia" Gaia says.
"Where's that voice coming from?" Zia asks.
"You can not see me" Gaia says, "for the human mind can not comprehend my physical appearance. Now I have a question for you, or rather a deal".
"A deal?" Zia asks. "Who are you?".
"I am Gaia" Gaia says, "Source of all things of nature, also known as Mother Nature or Mother Earth. I am the mother of all natural beings, including the two of you. I would like to make a deal. Siran broke you two into the realm of the gods, but you have done us a service in ridding the universe of Naris. So for that, you may choose one of the following. You and Siran can die here. In exchange, your souls would live on in our realm where you would have the chance to become gods of your own making. Or, I save you two from dying. In exchange, you'll both live on agelessly. The marching of time will not kill you nor would you age. Because of this, you'll live extended lives on Earth. You'll continue to suffer living as humans for possibly forever. If you choose the second, you're likely to be given orders from myself and have to act as the sole protectors of Earth. Serving an ever-lasting life of service. Those are your choices. Move on and rest in peace, or risk suffering for eternity".
Zia thought for a moment and then says "Question... if we lived forever, what's stopping us from choosing how we live?".
Gaia laughs and says "I really like you two. You ask all of the right questions. Of course, you choose your role in life. You can do whatever you want, and there likely won't be generally anything I'd ask you to do since Naris is gone. However, you don't think you could live for longer than a hundred years without running into at least several thousand problems in life, do you?".
"That's true" Zia says. "But we could spend eternity side by side, isn't that right?".
"Of course" Gaia says.
"Then I'd choose the ladder" Zia says.
"That simple, huh?" Gaia asks. "May I ask why?".
"Because" Zia says, "living sucked. But I stopped seeing life that way after meeting Siran. He changed my world before long. I would give up anything to stay with Siran for a little bit longer".
"So then your feelings are reciprocated, Siran" Gaia says.
"What?" Zia asks.
"You love him, do you not?" Gaia asks. Zia looks down for a few seconds, her face turning red. "Siran tried to give up everything for you to be alive".
"He did?" Zia asks, suddenly looking up at Siran.
"I just..." Siran says, "thought you deserved another chance. Even if it meant letting myself die for that purpose".
"But Siran, I..." Zia says then pauses. After a while, Zia says "I wouldn't want to live a life if it meant you weren't there. Because I...". Zia pauses again.
"I'm sorry" Siran says, "I just couldn't bear the thought of letting you die before I had a chance to tell you... thanks for sticking around an idiot like me. Nothing I do could be enough for you, but... above all... I love you, Zia".
Zia grabs Siran by the shoulders and says "I love you too". Zia then hugs Siran. "I couldn't go on without you. I could lose anyone, but not you Siran".
"See?" Gaia says, "isn't this much better than your irrational thinking? You almost lost what was the most precious to you. Now, do you both accept the terms of this deal?".
"We accept" Siran says. Zia nods in agreement.
"Then I'll have to take some time to fix the Endoindustria in your bodies" Gaia says. "You'll be unconscious during this time. Oh, and before you fall asleep, I thought you might like to know. Naris's curse can still be broken. However, seeing as how you haven't figured out how to break it by now either means you no longer care, or you've come to terms with it and accepted it as a part of who you are".
"At first" Siran says, "I did care. I cared a lot. But when my friends accepted me even after knowing all about me and seeing my real form, I've come to accept it too".
"It's just another part of Siran" Zia says, "it doesn't change who he is. It just shows what he's gone through so far. Like a scar".
"And that is the correct answer" Gaia says. "Now it's time for you to sleep. Time passes differently in this realm, so the time you've spent here won't be accurate to the time that passes on Earth. It could be days, weeks, months, years or even decades on Earth before you return".
"As long as I still have Zia by my side" Siran says, "then I don't care how long it takes".