Coexistence

...That's the last of them.

Merci, mon ami. Repairing ze synth humans from both Eeza and ze Xeno-Domain must have been a great burden for you.

Don't worry about it. I'm just keeping the promise I made.

I'm going to head out now.

Already?

What can I say? I'm a busy woman. If you're ever interested in my research feel free to stop by the lab.

Ngh... Where am I?

Oh, good. You're awake.

...You bastards!

Whoa! Hold on! We're not here to fight you!

Just calm down and take a good look around. This isn't the Xeno-Domain.

The riftbreaker? Now I remember... We were defeated by you after we traveled back in time.

That's right. One of my allies put you back together.

Why? We're enemies.

Because I'm fighting for a better world for everyone. I wouldn't exclude you from zat just because of our ideological differences.

Just don't expect any leniency from me if you try something like zat again.

I'll have ze Synth Hydra take you home. After zat, you're free to do as you please.

This might sound weird coming from me, but...take care of yourself.

......

It's hard to believe we really got rid of the rebellion circuit...

Are you surprised?

Yeah. Before we never could have had a rational conversation with the rebels.

You really did save them, Helena.

Zat doesn't mean what I did was right...

I know. Changing history is never the right answer. But I also know you wouldn't have done it if you'd been thinking straight.

But what's done is done, and we really did come one step closer to understanding one another. There's nothing wrong with being happy about that.

Merci, mon ami...

Hey... I was thinking I'd like to visit Eeza after this. Would zat be alright?

I want to check how ze city is recovering from ze uprising.

Yeah, I'm curious about that myself. I hope everyone's doing okay.

Ze reconstruction is coming along nicely.

Yeah. We're lucky no one was killed with how bad things got there at the end.

Hey, isn't that...

Lemme know if you need help with anything else! I can be there at a moment's notice!

What's up, Oboro?

Oh, hey, Aldo! We were just helping out with the reconstruction work.

With those two? Are the residents okay with that?

There were some people who got scared and ran away when they saw us, but it's mostly okay, yeah.

Master Oboro believes the rift between us will only grow deeper if we keep avoiding one another.

Yep. Fear's the kind of emotion that'll only get worse if you don't face up to it, so we're on, like, a PR campaign, you know? We gotta get people used to interacting with the synth humans again.

Didn't the division head force you to do this as punishment for trespassing on company property?

Man, who cares what he says? I love doing this kinda stuff.

Oboro... Why are the synth humans here again?

Didn't they smash up the town? They're scary...

......

Don't worry, these two aren't like them. Synth humans all have different personalities, just like us. Sometimes we can be get along, and sometimes we can't. It's as simple as that.

I dunno...

It's okay if you're still scared, but just remember one thing, , You don't have to be friends, but you should always try and be nice. As long as you don't act like a bully, it's all good.

If you say so, Oboro.

Sorry. Maybe I should've just said we all need to be friends.

No, it's fine. I know how hard it can be to change people's minds, believe me.

We'll do our best to befriend the citizens as well.

Don't you hate the humans for what they tried to do to you? They were going to reset you.

Hrmm... Well, we were made to serve humans. I would feel bad that I couldn't be of use to them, but I wouldn't hate them for it.

...This is exactly why ze original Helena created the opposition circuit. She didn't want them to have to just accept being hurt.

By the way, where's Onsa?

I heard they're with Kikyo. You planning to head down there?

Oui, I'd like to check in on zem. Let's be off to Angal.

Here, please take this.

No, you keep it. I know how tough things have been lately.

Yeah, you don't need to treat us any differently from the other settlers.

No, no, I insist. Our lives have improved greatly thanks to you two. Please allow us to show our appreciation once in a while.

Oh? I remember you...

Hey, Kikyo. Hey, Rin, Um, I mean...

His name's Shobu!

The kids decided to make a name for him since he didn't have one.

Looks like they've already accepted him as one of their own, then.

Of course. Our population is growing smaller every year. We're always happy to welcome newcomers.

I admit we were a little surprised to find out he was a clone of Rindo, though.

There's lotsa stuff Shobu doesn't know about even though he's an adult, so we've been teaching him!

Yes, and I'm very grateful for that.

I'm sorry I couldn't be more like the original Rindo...

You're your own person. You don't need to try and fill my father's shoes.

...Yes, you've said that many times.

It was ze same for me and ze original Helena. We may have shared a common origin, but our lives were totally different. It's only natural zat we would become our own people.

So, what brings you two to Angal?

As leader of ze pacifist faction, I thought it was important to check in on everyone now zat things have calmed down.

I heard from Kikyo that you're fighting for equality and coexistence. I think you'd like it here. We've got people from all sorts of different backgrounds working together as one community.

Despite their history of war, the people of Angal were able to reconcile with the humans and now welcome them with open arms. I hope one day it'll be the same for humans and synths.

Me, too.

So the people here don't mind having synth humans like us around? Now that I think about it, Industrial City Noah used to be like that...

Hi! What'cha doin'?

S-Stay away from me!

Ahh!

It's that synth human from before!

Hey! Drop your weapon!

What are you doing here? Did you follow us?

Yeah... I guess I did.

Don't tell me you still want to pay us back for interfering with your plans.

That's what you think this is about? Sigh... I guess I'll never live down being part of the rebel faction.

Huh?

Um... He wasn't doin' anything bad or nothin'. He was just standin' around.

I got scared and screamed when he pulled out his weapon, but he only did that 'cause I surprised him from behind.

Oh... We might've said some pretty hurtful stuff to him, then...

I'm gonna follow him!

Wait! I'm coming, too!

What am I even doing? What do I care what they think? They distrust me just for being a synth human. Nothing will ever change that.

Hey, isn't that...

Sensors have located a battery pack under the debris.

Excellent. Now we can get the equipment up and running again.

Okay... Me carry it...on back...

Who do you punks think you are stealin' stuff from our turf?

Uh oh... Imps...

Your turf? Since when?

Since forever! The entire surface belongs to the Imp Clan, and that includes the wasteland and Angal!

You beastfolk need to pack up and get the hell off our continent.

We don't have to do anything of the sort.

Bwahaha! Then you're about to be in for a world of pain!

Resorting to violence just like the humans... I'm so sick of hearing this kind of thing. Maybe I'll just have to shut you up myself.

We don't take orders from iron puppets.

Ngh...

Damn... I don't know if it's the terrain or what, but I can't seem to get my footing.

That's enough!

It's you...

Oui. We'll talk after sending zese two on zeir way.

Hey, I remember you...

I don't take kindly to people who hurt my comrades. En garde!

Bwargh, ! Sh-She's strong...

W-We'll let you off with just a warning this time, but I better not see you snoopin' around Imp territory again! Next time I'm gonna break your face! I-I'm serious!

That could have been a lot worse.

Why did you save me?

Do we need a reason? We just wanted to. You saved them, didn't you?

Thanks for the help, friend. That was close.

I didn't do it to save you. I just didn't like the tone of his voice.

Well you saved us either way, so I'm still grateful.

......

How about you stop by Angal for a while? We don't have top of the line equipment or anything, but I'll do my best to get you patched up.

Wait. Before you go there's something I needed to tell you.

I'm really sorry for accusing you back in Angal! That kid earlier told me what really happened. You were just caught by surprise.

It's not your fault. I'm the one who was brandishing a weapon in front of a child. ...But I've gotta say, I never thought I'd live to see the day a human would give me an apology.

Well that's just what you do when you make a mistake, right?

Huh... I guess you might be right.

Where are you going?

To the settlement that beast invited me to just now.

How about we tag along, then?

Thanks for your help earlier. We almost lost some precious materials to those imps.

Next time you head into dangerous territory you should hire some better guards.

Negative. We are not guards. We are friends.

Friends? A mechanical lifeform has organic friends?

Y-Yes... Everyone kind to us, so we help. Working together...is nice.

Ah, wait...for me... Bye bye...

Say, Helena... You think the world you're fighting for will look something like this?

Oui, mon ami. A place where people who were once enemies can come together as friends, Zat's my idea of paradise.

...I see. Do you think it'll be a place where we get to hear those words often?

What words?

"Thank you." There was a time when I lived my life to help humans. I didn't hate it, either. The majority of people treated me like a tool, it's true, but there were humans who thanked me as well. I was just reminded of that is all...

I guess even the rebels had that kind of life once...

Are you going?

I lost a lot of friends to human violence. I'm not going to be able to forgive them overnight.

......

...But I realized that hate doesn't have to be the only thing between us. I don't think I'll ever be able to live alongside them, but maybe I can at least learn to live and let be. It's something I'd at least like to discuss with my comrades.

...Merci.

You know... I wouldn't be surprised if we ended up finding paradise a lot sooner than you expect, Helena.

As much as I wish zat were true...ze wounds between us will take many, many years to heal.

However, we synth humans live far longer zan humans. I'll do everything I can to find it within my lifetime.

Maybe it won't be flawless, but zere will surely be a place for everyone in our warm, loving paradise of imperfections.