1 Chapter One: Back Home

  It took Zia and Siran a couple days to finally make it back to Seeira. On May 11th, 2195, early in the morning, a knock was heard on Vivi's door. When Vivi answered it, she was shocked. At first, she thought she was imagining it. It had been three years since Siran and Zia vanished in front of the entire crew. Even Vivi had troubles composing her usual tough attitude as her body clung onto both Siran and Zia against her own will, as if her body naturally reacted to such a shock by hugging her two friends whom she hadn't seen in so long. Both Siran and Zia were surprised. They knew they were gone for a while, but to those two, it hadn't felt like very long. When Vivi finally unburied her face from between Zia and Siran, finally let go of the hug, and finally looked up at their faces, Siran and Zia could see tears coming down her face. "You idiot!" Vivi says as she looks at Siran, "You had all of us worried sick! We thought you two were never coming back!".

  Vivi raises one fist into the air, and Siran immediately flinches. "Gah!" Siran says as he prepares to block with his eyes closed. However, he only felt a light hit on his chest when Vivi brought her fist down.

  "We're sorry, Vivi" Zia says softly. "We meant to come back sooner... we're not even sure how long we've been gone. How much time has passed?".

  Vivi was silent. It was as if she couldn't bring herself to answer the question. As if, if she had tried to answer, she'd only begin to cry more. After a long awkward pause, Siran finally laughs gently and says "Man, you really smell like alcohol, Vivi. Did you drink last night?".

  Vivi starts to snicker, then starts laughing softly and says "Geez... you still can't read the atmosphere, can you Siran?". After that, Vivi takes out her phone and starts messaging everyone else in the crew that's still in Seeira. Rose and Finn were the first ones to arrive, then Zia and Siran learned that those two had married and Rose was now pregnant. Then Alex came by, then the rest of the crew. The Six Guns spent the entire day catching up together and telling each other what had been missed. Later that night, Zia and Siran were sitting outside of Vivi's house together.

  Siran lets out a loud sigh, then says "After some thought... I thought I wanted to come and get the crew back together... but now I just...".

  "It seems so peaceful now, doesn't it?" Zia asks.

  "Yeah..." Siran says. "They seem so happy... they said the crew disbanded, but everyone is still together. I guess if it's what they really wanted, I can't really stop 'em".

  "What about what you want, Syr?" Zia asks.

  "I already mentioned that before..." Siran says. "I wanted a family... and that's what I got when we made The Six Guns. It's not any less of a family now".

  "And the library?" Zia asks.

  "We need these documents collected, and held somewhere safe" Siran replies. "That much I'm sure about... but-".

  "Syr, you've done enough" Zia says as she throws one arm around Siran's shoulders. "We'll find someone else to take care of it... maybe someone we know".

  "If you've still got work to do" Vivi says as she stands between the front door and the doorway, the door barely cracked open, "then you should know that we don't plan on getting the crew back together as The Six Guns anymore".

  "How long have you been there?" Siran asks.

  "Long enough" Vivi says. "We still have those bikes, if you've gotta run somewhere. Just promise you'll be back... in less than three years this time".

  "Thanks, Vivi" Zia says as the two of them stand up. "We'll definitely be back soon. Don't worry".

  Vivi pulls out a wrench from her pocket and points it at Siran. "You better be" She says.

  Siran and Zia spend the night in Vivi's house. When they wake up in the morning, they say goodbye to their friends before they leave. "You're really going so soon?" Rose asks.

  "Heh heh, we'll be back" Siran says. "Promise! It won't be long. Just gotta run for something".

  "B-but!" Rose begins to pout.

  "Rose, try not to worry yourself so much" Zia says. Zia lightly places her hand on Rose's swollen stomach, and says "It's not good for the baby. We'll be right back! We're not doing anything dangerous... okay?".

  "O-oh... kay" Rose says as she takes a deep breath.

  "Good luck then... I guess" Blake says.

  As Zia and Siran take two of the bikes that they got from Don a long time ago, Zia looks at Siran and asks "So... any ideas on who might be able to take on this job for us?".

  "I have one" Siran says. "Although, it's kind of a long shot". The two of them ride to Vega. When they get inside, they head back to their old hideout. The bar Don had set up for them seemed to be empty now, as Don's men took everything back. They found a nearby bar and began drinking separately from the other patrons, deep in Shark City. Eventually, a man quietly came up to the bar and sat next to them. He looked at Siran and Zia, first in surprise, then in contempt.

  "I heard your crew disbanded" Don says as he sits next to Siran and Zia. Don orders a drink then says "What are my two least favorite people doing back in Vega?".

  "Hey, we missed you too" Siran says in a sarcastic tone.

  "Pfft" Don scoffs, "don't push it... although, I saw some of what happened back there... three years ago. From the edge of the city... I imagine it'd be rather hard for anyone in all of Omnia to not see that giant black beam sent into the sky as the city seemed to... well, crumble. I guess it was just natural you two went into hiding after that".

  "Whaddya mean?" Siran asks.

  "Seems like the whole world blames you for war crimes against Omnia. Nobody saw Naris's return... they just saw you guys and the end result of the war. You were pretty sloppy, to be honest... however, you did stop the world from being destroyed... kinda again. So for that, I guess a thanks is in order". Siran waited for a few seconds, then Don says "Oh, I'm not thanking you... I just thought you'd like to know that someone should thank you... I'm just not doing it".

  "Right... thanks" Siran replies.

  "Anyhow, what brings you two to Vega?" Don asks.

  "Well, I was thinking of thanking you for your help, but now-" Siran says before he's interrupted by Zia elbowing him in the side. "Ow!" Siran says. "What I mean is, I've got a job. A rather important job that isn't for me, but for the world".

  "I'll pass" Don says. Siran pulls out the large heavy folder full of the documents from The Naris Catastrophe and slams them on the bar counter. "What's that?" Don asks.

  "The records The Ly'Lum was supposed to be keeping safe" Siran replies. "However, the ones from the other nations are missing, and we only have the one from America which was carried over to Omnia, as the nation was starting out. These are important, because these records can be used to help teach the world what really happened in the past, as well as prevent the past from repeating itself, if at all possible. The Six Guns aren't here to protect the world anymore, Don. I need you to build the library, and collect all of these records. It should be easy for an organization like yours to pull off".

  "Why would we keep the records?" Don asks. "How would we be the ones protecting the world? We're a mafia!".

  "You don't have to do that part" Siran says as he slides the folder over to Don. "Find the documents for me, and I'll take care of protecting the library".

  "What's this about a library?" Tanya asks as she walks up to the bar counter next to Siran and Zia. "What are you two doing here? Don't you have a lot of catching up to do with the rest?".

  "What about you, Tanya?" Zia asks. "I thought you left last night to go watch your daughter?".

  "Ah, yeah... I did" Tanya says. "But... you see... hm- how do I explain this?". Tanya thinks for a minute, then says "I'm moving to Seeira, closer to the rest of you. Of course, my daughter is coming with, but I just have her... well, I have her here... in Vega... being protected".

  "What!?" Zia panics.

  "Y-Yeah, I know it sounds crazy" Tanya says. "B-but Ali is... she's a smart girl. She already knows... about my ties with The Six Guns... and it's now too hard to keep her safe, in Omnia... or what's left of it. E-especially now that the world is so uneasy about what the crew did, so... against my better judgement, I did the only thing I could think of to keep Ali safe. Right now, she's being protected by Don's men while I move everything to a new home close to the rest of you guys".

  "She doesn't... hate you for it... does she?" Zia asks.

  Tanya shakes her head, then says "If anything, I think she looks up to me more now, being a Six Gun and all... but I just didn't want to set an example like that for her".

  "Like I told you before" Siran says. "A bond between a mother and her child is hard to break. Of course she's not going to hate you for this. Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be just fine".

  "Speaking of Six Gun members" Don says, "I'm sure you haven't heard".

  "Heard what?" Siran asks.

  "Well, how about a job offer for a job offer?" Don says. "I'm at least a little interested in the importance behind these documents, and I'll accept finding the rest of these. In exchange, I will read all of them, and you can not stop me from doing so".

  "That's fine, but-" Siran begins to say.

  "Now, on the other hand" Don interrupts, "I have a job for you. However, it's not something for me... it's definitely something you'd want to know about".

  "Like what?" Zia asks.

  "I'm sure you haven't heard about it, but- you remember that Chinese police officer that was with you?" Don asks.

  "Ying?" Zia asks.

  "Yeah, sure, why not?" Don replies. "Let's pretend for now that I know her name... so this Ying lady... I heard from my sources that one of The Six Guns members who came from China was courtmartialed as soon as they returned home".

  "Ying was imprisoned!?" Siran asks.

  "Yeah" Don says. "Apparently so. I thought you'd like to know in case you still have a sense of kinship with your crew, even though you've disbanded. What you do with this information is entirely up to you". Don picks up his drink, then the folder of documents, and walks away.

  "I-I didn't know!" Tanya says in shock. "None of us knew that happened to Ying. She seemed so happy before she left Seeira, all those years ago".

  "Tanya, it's alright..." Siran says. "It's not your fault".

  "What are you gonna do?" Tanya asks.

  "Well... it's not right being imprisoned for saving the world" Siran says. "So I'm going to do what I think is right".

  "Prison break?" Zia asks.

  "If that's what it takes" Siran says. "Let's head back to Seeira and see if we can get anyone else to help out with this".

  "Everyone already decided to settle down though" Tanya says. "We've all put in a lot of work... don't you think they deserve to retire?".

  "I'm not forcing anyone" Siran says. "I just want to get all the help I can to help a friend that helped us during a very critical time".

  "Then let's head back to Seeira!" Zia cheers.

  "No, we're not doing more work" Vivi says to Siran and Zia when they arrive.

  "Aw, come on" Siran complains. "Tanya already said she can't because of her business she's taking care of...".

  "Sorry, Siran" Vivi says. "I know it sounds mean, but we're trying to handle ourselves right now. Rose is pregnant, and the rest of us have to build a future for ourselves too. It's a delicate process, when coming out of an age of war. I know it sounds selfish, but I'm trying to be careful for Rose's sake too. If we stir up trouble, what's going to happen to the baby?".

  "Yeah... you're right" Siran says.

  Rose looks around the room, then says "I'll go".

  "Like hell you will!" Vivi shouts.

  "Then I'll go!" Finn says.

  "Neither of you are doing shit, unless it's being a healthy parent!" Vivi yells angrily.

  "Well... no one else is helping" Rose says. "I know you guys are trying to help me... but I'd feel bad if I were the one holding everyone back from doing their own thing. I'm honored, don't get me wrong, for everyone to be this considerate... but Ying is still a good friend. We can't leave friends behind, right?".

  "Well" Holly says in a calm tone, "everyone else has been rather hellbent on either one thing or another lately. However, Siran, you've left me hanging for three years. You still have to keep your promise of teaching me all about Endoindustria. Learning is currently my only goal".

  "Will you help out if I continue to teach you about magic?" Siran asks.

  "I don't remember saying I was ever going to settle down" Holly says. "I'll help, but mostly because I'm convinced that you're not competent enough to pull off a job like this. If we're going to both save Ying and keep Rose's baby safe, then you'll have to pull this off as efficiently as possible. Right?".

  "Thank you, Holly!" Siran cheers.

  "Right..." Holly replies calmly. "Just make sure you don't do your usual thing of blowing this job out of proportion, and starting another war".

  "Uh-huh, sure" Siran replies as he starts walking out of the front door.

  "He isn't listening, is he?" Holly asks, as the front door of Vivi's house slams shut.

  "I-uhh... I don't think so" Zia replies as she laughs nervously.

  "I hope he doesn't think we're going right now..." Holly says in a disappointed tone. "We should leave first thing in the morning tomorrow, that way we can actually make sure we can catch a flight to China and come up with a plan".

  "Are you guys coming or what!?" Siran shouts from outside of Vivi's house.

  Holly sighs and says "I can't believe we missed this idiot for three years...".