Standing on one of the empty buildings that had been destroyed during the fight, Ailee hoped that the future would be markedly different. What her people had gone through...she would never really know. Possibly, the horrors brought about by the war were too horrible for even her imagination, and she didn't want to think about that. It was the least she could do: make them forget the pain and just remember the joy, and lead them to a better future where both her brother and her father had failed.

Footsteps came from the stairwell behind her, and a familiar voice flitted into her ears.

"So this is where you've been," he said.

She nodded. "It's the most quiet place I could find," she replied. "What brings you here, Dongwoo?"

"Same as you," he replied.

The two of them stood in silence, absorbing the events that had occurred as well as to ponder the things that lay ahead of them.

"Still a long way to go, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah," he shrugged. "But now we know we're a step closer to getting there."

"What are you going to do from here?"

He opened his mouth and closed it again. "Now that I think about it, I don't really know. I've never thought of this as a possible future for me, and when I finally realized that that's where I was headed, there was no longer any time to think."

She hummed in agreement.

"Do you know where you're going?" he asked.

"I guess I have to stay here," she said. "Stay here and rebuild my country."

"Good idea."

Awkward silence followed his comment.

"Good luck with clean up," she said.

He hummed in agreement and said, "You too."

"Ah!"

"Yeah?" Dongwoo prompted.

"Even though we won't be in the same city anymore, we'll still be friends, right?" she asked.

"Friends?" he asked. "More than friends. Even if there's still a long way to go, I have your back. So let's strive towards that peaceful world without fear," he said as he wrapped his hand around hers.

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze and said, "Yes, let's do that."

~°~

"So what happens to the Aegis now?" Allelujah asked.

"Reserved," Lockon replied. "We may have need for its strength again."

Sumeragi nodded in agreement.

"And to the rest of us?" Allelujah asked.

"We go back to where we were and wait," she said. "These things do take time."

"I'm going to miss that butterfly," Lockon commented as the Ptolemaios began to gain altitude.