The events that occurred on Altair haven't been spoken about to anyone who didn't come. As far as the others know, it was successful and our alliance with Izumo has been made. Of course, that is true, but nobody knows anything else. Commander Donar and the other staff have been discussing over the last few days their plans for this war with Mykage.

When we returned, I was sent to the Nurse's office to get checked out. After a little while, my sore throat went away and my foul language disappeared along with it. The curse must wear off once you leave Altair's atmosphere.

I haven't seen Amata as much. I only ever get to see him in class or in a simulation, so I barely get to talk to him. He hasn't answered my calls or texts. Ever since Altair, he's been avoiding most people.

I'm worried about him. Why is he being so distant?

"Hey, I never see you with Amata anymore. Everything okay?" Andy asks me at lunch one day. "He doesn't even come to eat with us anymore. Where is he?"

"To be honest, I wouldn't know," I tell him. "He hasn't spoken to me in a while."

Zessica raises an eyebrow. "That's not good. Did something happen between you two?"

Hoping that I'm convincing enough, I lie, "Not really. I don't know. Have any of you guys talked to him?"

"Not much. Only a little in the dorm. But most of the time it's because I wake up from him screaming and throwing up," Andy says.

Amata. You're still having those nightmares. Has he had one single night of peace since everything that's happened?

Another couple of days pass without talking to him. This is starting to get painful.

In class, I decide to toss him a note.

Hey. You okay? I miss you. Where have you been this whole time?

I crumple it up into a paper ball as quietly as possible and then toss it next to me towards his desk. He takes notice and opens the note.

When he finishes reading, he looks over at me and gives a small smile before writing something and tossing the note back to me.

I'm fine. Just been busy lately. I miss you, too. There's a little smiley face drawn next to his words.

We don't interact for another few days.

"What's the deal with him?" Kagura mutters to me one day. "Where the hell has he been all this time? Don't tell me he's been holing himself up in the dorms crying this whole time?!"

I shake my head. "According to everyone else, he hasn't been in the dorms except for sleeping."

He blows his hair out of his face. "Well, something's obviously up."

It's about a week and a half after Altair before I finally see him again.

I'm eating lunch with Andy, MIX, Yunoha, and Zessica, when he walks over to the table and smiles down at me.

"Hey," he says cheerily.

"Amata!" I jump out of my seat and fling myself around him. "Where have you been?! I've missed you! Are you okay?"

Surprised, he puts his arms around me in return. "Yeah! I'm fine! I'm good!"

"Bro! You're back! What the hell have you been doing?" Andy questions.

"Oh. Just planning with the staff about strategies to defeat Mykage and win the war. Sorry I haven't seen you guys in a while."

Amata's lying. I can feel him nudge my legs with his foot, and his voice, while very convincing, wavers. That's not what he's been doing at all.

"Hey, Amata! Why don't we go talk about those strategies for a little while? Hm?" I ask, trying to get him to talk to me in private. "I'd love to hear them!"

He automatically takes the hint. "Oh! Sure!"

We leave everyone in the cafeteria and head to the boys' dorms. There's no one in there but us. I turn and face him.

"Okay, spill it. Where have you been this whole time?!"

Amata's cheerful demeanor fades. "Well, I-" He cuts himself off and shakes his head. "I can't say."

"Why not?! You don't just disappear for over a week and then not tell me what you've been doing! What's the deal?!"

He looks away. "I-I've been receiving therapy..."

"So? That's a good thing! That means you're gonna get better!"

"Yeah... I'm sorry I was forced away from you. I've been dying to see you again..."

He sits down on the bed and I sit next to him. Placing an arm around his shoulders, I say, "It's okay. I understand. This is good. We're gonna get you back to your old self." I lean and allow my lips to part. He's reluctant at first, but then he allows himself to give in. His mouth presses onto mine. It's been quite some time since we kissed last. I can almost feel his emotions being transferred to me. I can feel his pained kiss and his arms tightening around me.

His lips detach from mine and he rests his forehead against my chest. I stroke his hair and say gently, "I love you, Amata. You're gonna be fine. Is therapy helping so far?"

"I guess," he mutters. "They've been watching me non-stop, making sure I don't try and kill myself again. They gave me exercises and stuff to calm me down during panic attacks. It's been hard. But I'm gonna make things right. I'm getting my shit together and I'm gonna try and put all of this behind me, for you."

"Amata..."

He looks up at me and smiles confidently. "I'm gonna win this battle with myself and make sure that what happened to me isn't going to hold me back anymore. And we're gonna win this war with Mykage. Together." He takes my hand. "Starting today, the dork you fell for is returning." He laughs. "Is that good enough for you?"

I wrap my arms around him and hug him. "Sounds fantastic." That makes me unbelievably happy. He's back.

Bzzzzt. Bzzzzt.

Amata and I both pull out our phones.

"We're wanted in Crea's office," he says. "We should go."

I nod.

We leave the dorms and head straight to Crea's office. My brother and the staff, minus Fudo, are in there already along with Andy and MIX. Zessica, Yunoha, Malloy, and Shrade enter after us, and Sazanka stumbles in several minutes later, followed by Kagura.

"What did you call us in here for?" Malloy questions.

Commander Donar stands before us and begins, "We've received word from Izumo Kamurogi that there has been some strange energy activity circling Altair. There is reason to believe that Towano Mykage is behind this. He's making a move. This could be the big battle we've been waiting for. I want everyone to prepare themselves. We're going tonight to check it out. All of you need to be in this. Every person counts. Got it?"

We all nod.

Zessica speaks up. "Will you be coming with us, Commander?"

Donar shakes his head. "No. Fill up each Vector with one of yourselves. I'll be on standby, ready to jump in just in case."

"How exactly are we supposed to get through?" Kagura asks. "Last time we went, Mykage closed the teleport gate. It's gonna take ages to get to Altair."

"That's where I come in," Crea says as she stands up and walks around to the front of her desk. "I will be offering teleportation."

"What?!" we all exclaim in unison.

"Y-you had a teleportation power and you never said anything?!" Cayenne seems utterly shocked. "That would've been nice to know sooner!"

"It's harder to use with so many people. But I've come up with an idea to get all of you across dimensions." Crea turns to me. "Mikono."

"Huh?" I'm taken aback. "M-me?"

"Your power is Unification," Ms. Suomi begins to explain. "Using the Chairwoman's teleportation with your ability to connect everyone, you may be able to get everyone across at once."

"S-seriously?" I stammer. "But, am I that powerful enough to do that?"

"Mikono, you have to have confidence," Cayenne says to me. "You have to try and believe that this could work. Otherwise, we don't have any other options."

I look at all the expectant faces staring at me. They're all looking to me for this mission. It's up to me if we make it to Altair or not.

"That's-that's a big task for me to do... I-I don't know if I can do it. I don't know the limits to my power-"

"Mikono," Amata says firmly and turns to me. "Remember in the battle against Izumo when you encouraged me to fight? You told me I was everyone's last hope, and that even though I wasn't ready, I had to give the fight my all." He smiles confidently, a determined look in his eyes. "I'm gonna do the same thing you did. You're our only hope. You can do it. I believe in you, just like you believed in me. You have to try. I know you're scared, and to be honest, I'm scared, too. But you can do this. Trust me."

I smile and nod, turning back to Crea. "Alright. I'll do it. Just tell me everything I need to know."