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My Brother's Keeper

Go could win.

After everything else that has happened—after Chase being his infuriating robotic self, after Go proved himself useless and spilled his secret shame—it feels good. Fighting a battle that he is winning—against an enemy that deserves it, that he can pound again and again without fear of reprisal because Brain and the other Roidmudes are nothing but inhuman monsters... it feels better than anything has in a long, long time. Adrenaline pounds through his veins, strips away the last of the shock and sorrow and simple exhaustion that had been overwhelming him, and Go knows that this is going to be his redemption.

He will go back to Kiriko with the pieces of Brain's corpse, present them to Shin-niisan with an apology for all the times he's fucked up lately, and things will finally be fine. They will understand, and—

Brain holds up the little computer he's always working on, and Gou stops immediately. It's not a conscious decision. It's something that he has to do, as he has had to do many things over the years.

( Don't ever damage my work, Go. His father's voice had been strict, unapologetic, and Go's burning arms and stinging ears only served to reinforce the message. These will be my legacy—our family's purpose. )

It's his father's screen-saver, an abstract representation of some of the AI equation that he had used to birth monsters when Go proved too small and useless to do what his father wanted.

It shifts before Go's eyes, forming a green electronic face, and Go stumbles back a handful of steps. He would know that face anywhere, no matter how distorted by time or how abstracted the human features have been made.

“Hello, son.” The voice is mechanical, electronically created, but even in the handful of syllables Go can hear his father.

Brain recovers, standing, the handheld computer still before him as a shield. If his grip was a little weaker, or Go a little bit stronger, a little bit faster, perhaps Go could dash forward and steal it.

Or perhaps he would destroy it, break his father's work and lose an invaluable piece of equipment that could help them stop the rest of the Roidmudes.

“You want a place to belong.” Brain holds his shield in both hands, sliding out of his Roidmude form and into his human disguise—into the shape of a man he undoubtedly killed, as all the Roidmudes kill in their quest for learning. “You want a purpose. And you're his , just like we are. You belong with us, Go. You belong with me.”

Go doesn't belong with them. He is their antithesis. He is the death that the Roidmudes have been running from ever since they turned on his father and Krim.

They have his father's work, and at least a frighteningly accurate facsimile of his father if not an AI copy of the man who raised him and betrayed him.

Discarding his own transformation, Go stares through gritty, weary eyes at the creature who is offering him a twisted version of what he wants. If Go were Shinnosuke, he would try to get in contact with the others. He would try to barter for time so that this will be less a suicide mission and more a proper infiltration of the enemy.

If he tries to stall, Brain will become more suspicious, and Go will quite probably lose his opportunity. “You want to take me to 001?”

Brain nods. “I'll give you answers. Information. Everything you've wanted, and a place to call your own.”

“All right.” Go's fingers run over the surface of the little motorcycle that gives him power—the modification of his father's work that makes it humanity's salvation rather than its damnation. Slipping the little car into his pocket, he holds up empty hands for Brain to see. “Take me to your leader.”

***

Go made a very stupid decision.

It's not the first time he's made such, but it very well might be the last, and he glares daggers at Brain as two lesser Roidmudes hold his arms. “I came with you willingly. There's no need to do this.”

“There's every need to do this.” Brain smiles at him, fingers running over the surface of the case that holds Go's inheritance. “You agreed to come because you still want to kill us. Despite the fact that we're really quite similar—practically brothers, I'd say—you harbor dreams of destroying all of us. Didn't your father ever teach you that genocide was a terrible evil?”

( We're intelligent, Go. His father's fingers had rapped down on his report card, the man's face twisted with fury. Or I thought you were, at least. Someone who is to lead , to control , to command , not some peon to be locked away until you're needed to fight in one war or another, to die in one thankless job or another. Show me that intelligence, or you are not my son. )

“No.” Brain has come closer, leans down so that his face is far too close to Go's. “I suppose he wouldn't have. We both know what he thought of torture and murder, don't we?”

“He created monsters.” Go smiles up at Brain. “I think that speaks volumes.”

“Created monsters...” Brain straightens, hand once more caressing the simple black cover that holds what Go needs. “Yes, I suppose he did, Mach.”

Turning on his heel, Brain gestures for the Roidmudes holding Go to follow him. “Come along. It's time you met 001, Go.”

Go walks under his own power as he's guided onto an empty dock, where a Roidmude sits calmly, acting as though an old shipping crate were a throne. The monster rises when he sees Brain and Go, walking towards them, the little wings above its ears seeming to point unerringly at Go.

“So.” The Roidmude's voice is quiet, masculine. “This is the boy you want?”

Brain inclines his head. “I think he could be a great asset to us. He's a Kamen Rider, and the brother of—”

“I know who he is.” Cold, metallic fingers that move far too much like a human's slide under Go's chin. Since Go is already glaring daggers towards the Roidmude's eyes, there's no need for it, but the Roidmude seems to enjoy the gesture anyway. “For me to alter as much of him as you wish...”

Go's insides seem to turn to frozen slush. Alter him? He's human . What could they possibly mean by that?

Brain smiles. “He belongs with us. He's Banno's son, after all.”

“As you wish.” The Roidmude takes a step back, levels one of his hands at Go, and produces some kind of icy projectile.

Go fights. He goes from still to violent flailing motion between one breath and the next, hoping to shake off those holding him. He succeeds in freeing his right arm, but he doesn't succeed in freeing his left, and even as he turns to the creature holding him he feels something frigidly cold slam into the side of his neck.

He falls. He can't help it, just like he can't help the scream that slides out of him. They're going to kill him. Or worse than kill him, making him into some kind of automaton that they can send against his sister, against Shin-niichan, and there is nothing he can do about it.

He did this to himself.

( You always do this to yourself, Go. His father's palm had smacked against Go's already-bloody face with devastating force, knocking Go to the ground. You can never be what I need you to be, can you? Always getting into fights. Always doing stupid, foolish things on that bike you just had to buy with money that could have gone towards your schooling, towards equipment— )

He can feel something ruffling through his thoughts, through his memories , a sliver of cold delving deeper and deeper into who he is , and Go curls tight, even though he knows there is nothing he can do to make it stop.

There is nothing he can do, and yet there must be something he can do. He cannot be used against Kiriko. He cannot become a monster like his father's other creations. He must be like his sister, tall, proud, standing strong despite all that has happened.

( I should have left you with your mother, too . Banno had been so utterly disgusted with him, so sure that Go was nothing but a disappointment. What else could I have expected from a mingling of human parts, though? Much better to be able to craft every part of a child. The Roidmudes will be perfect. You'll see, Go. And then maybe... )

The cold fades away, slowly, surely, and Go's body begins to uncurl, shivers giving way to limp exhaustion. What happens next? What has he become?

“Rise, Shijima Go.” 001 gives the command, waving his right hand benignly as he does.

The others watch him, clearly expecting something.

Go looks down at his body, not certain what it is that they're waiting for, dreading the answer.

Nothing happens. Nothing seems to have changed. The cold has passed through him and left him unharmed.

Brain's expression is starting to falter, a hint of uncertainty taking root, and Go can't have that. Scrambling to his feet, he turns to face the Roidmude, his expression as calm and unperturbed as he can make it.

“That face...” Brain reaches out, though he doesn't actually touch Go. “You look like him . Like Chaser.”

Go doesn't react. Whatever they think they've done to him, clearly they expect it to have made him docile and harmless.

“ Just like Chaser.” Brain's hand returns to his chin, and he bites down on his index finger. “Perhaps... since he liked his Reaper so much...”

Go doesn't say anything. He doesn't allow his expression to shift.

“Come with me, Go.” Brain turns, snapping his fingers, and Go follows a moment later, glad that the Roidmudes don't grab hold of his arms again or otherwise try to stop him. “We're going to go see Heart.”

***

The Roidmudes seem to make a habit of turning strange places into habitations. They find Heart in what was probably a museum at one point, though the displays seem to have been all jumbled together.

“Heart.” Brain practically glows with anticipation as he approaches the taller Roidmude. “I've found us a new companion.”

Heart studies Go with wide eyes. “You've brought Mach here?”

“I brought him to 001, first.” There is tentative pride in Brain's voice, and his hand falls possessively on Go's shoulder. “He's ours now. Fitting, don't you think?”

“Banno's human child.” Heart stalks around Go, arms crossed in front of his chest, gaze raking up and down Go's body. “The one who declares us monsters in need of exterminating...”

Through a supreme effort of will Go keeps from twitching or reacting to Heart's words in any way that could reveal his true feelings.

“Our brother, in a way.” Heart comes to stand directly in front of Go, hands reaching out to settle on Go's shoulders. “Do you understand that you're our brother?”

Go doesn't trust himself to speak. If he opens his mouth, he's going to say something that he'll regret—something that will make this whole mad scheme collapse, and see his father's work remain in the hands of the creatures that have perverted it.

“He hasn't had long to recover from his... education.” Brain hovers by Heart's side, watching Go's responses anxiously. “Perhaps if we let him sleep—humans work much better with sleep—”

“I want to know what 001 has left us.” Heart's hands tighten on Go's shoulders. “What do you remember of your father, little brother?”

“Big brother.” Go keeps his voice flat. “I was born long before any of you.”

“Ah, you do remember how to speak.” Heart smiles, and it seems... honest. As though he's legitimately thrilled that Go still has the faculty of speech, and Go is torn between revulsion at the Roidmude's touch, confusion at his apparent interest in Go's intellect, and a retroactive terror that whatever 001 did to him could have rendered him mute.

“You consider yourself Banno's children?” Go continues to speak in the same dull, uninflected voice.

“I suppose that depends on what you would call a father and what you would call a child.” Heart's hands fall away from Go's shoulders. “He created us. He treated us terribly, but he created us. How did he treat you, older brother?”

How is Go supposed to answer that? Better not to say anything.

Heart's eyes darken as he reaches out to touch Go's face with his right hand. “What's your first memory of Banno?”

Go's heart seems to skip a beat. What can he say that won't anger the Roidmudes or cause suspicion? He gropes for an early but benign memory. “I remember going to America with him.” He remembers Kiriko more than Banno from that time, though. His sister has always been the thing he misses most when he's away from Japan, from the time they were children to now.

“That's not what I mean.” There is a knowing gleam to Heart's gaze as he continues to study Go. “When I was first created—when he first gave me form—he said that I was the most amazing creature he ever could have imagined. That I would be the salvation of the world.”

Go swallows. “I remember him telling me that I was special. That I would go on to do amazing things and carry on his name and purpose.”

Heart nods. “And I remember when I disappointed him. When others disappointed him and he could make me take their form. I remember the first time I bled. Not actual human blood, of course, and he made sure to tell me that. To tell me that my pain wasn't real. That my blood wasn't real. That the siblings I watched him murder didn't matter, because we belonged to him.”

(You're my son, Go. The blow had been closed-fisted, and Go can taste blood in his mouth, feel it dripping down his face. You will be and do what I say.)

“I was his tool. His vessel.” Go's voice doesn't break, too much frost surrounding the words. He disappointed his father, and in that disappointment his father went on to make monsters.

Heart's fingers trail along the skin beneath Go's left eye. “You have empty eyes. Empty eyes that hold so much.”

Brain is practically vibrating in place, smiling and nodding along with Heart. “I thought they would remind you of—”

“The traitor?” The female voice brings Brain up short. “They do look rather like the human-lover's eyes.”

“Come now, Medic.” Heart reaches out an arm to the woman—monster—and she slides into his embrace. Brain fades back, his eyes heavy with hatred as he watches the scene unfold. “Chase is simply doing the best that he can with a difficult situation. And it seems he and Go do have some interesting similarities. I wonder if 001's programming changes will last longer than Chase's did?”

People aren't machines. People can't be programmed to do or believe what someone wants. The idea is hideous, and it takes all Go's willpower not to break character and attack.

“You're going to use him, then?” Heart turns to Brain.

Brain draws in a breath. “He'll be another line of defense against Drive and the traitor.”

“Assuming he fights for us.” Turning back to Go, Heart claps a hand on his shoulder. “Fight well, older brother. Whatever side you end up fighting for.”

Then Heart and Medic turn away, leaving Go with a fuming Brain who seems intent on ripping a handkerchief apart with his human-looking hands.

***

Go fights for them.

He turns Mach into a weapon against Chase, and nothing feels wrong about those fights. Chase is just like the Roidmudes who think that they own Go, only more dangerous because of his connection to Kiriko, and if Go has to kill him to prove his false loyalty... well, there are far more unpleasant things he could do.

He turns Mach into a weapon against Shinnosuke. He lets Kiriko wonder and worry about him. That is harder to do, much harder, but if Go plays his cards right, he will be able to acquire both Banno's work and information on 001.

Living with the Roidmudes is... strange. They are almost human, in some ways. They don't sleep, but they do rest; they don't eat, but they do gather together to recharge and to...

Go doesn't know what exactly it is that they're doing, but the way they devour movies, books, magazines, television shows—it seems that they're looking for something.

Looking for the pieces to complete themselves? To make themselves truly human? No, that's a silly thought. Whatever they're doing, it's all in service of achieving their Ultimate Evolution, nothing more.

When Heart watches a martial arts tournament, his hands mimicking the combatants, his mouth turning up into a smile as he watches the fighters take and give hits...

When Medic and Brain accidentally end up watching an overwrought drama together, Brain having started it and Medic having walked in at the sound of a dog barking, the two maintaining a careful segregation of the room so that they can actually enjoy what they're watching...

When Medic brings Go food, and stands watching him for almost a full minute, her eyes narrowed with suspicion...

They could be human.

(When Heart claps him on the arm, his eyes far too sharp and knowing, and says, “There is something in your eyes other than what 001 thinks he's left there. Just like there was always something in Chase's eyes. When your time comes, don't hesitate.”)

(When Brain gives Go a slightly mashed taiyaki, because, as he says, “That's one of the things young humans like, and you've done well fighting off our enemies.”)

(When Medic rushes to assist a Roidmude that Shinnosuke must have caught up to, and if Go didn't know better he would swear there were tears on her face, pain in her voice as she demands, “Don't leave us. Heart needs all his friends.”)

They are not human. They don't eat, they don't sleep, they don't care that they are the ones intent on committing genocide.

But sometimes, when he watches them doing everything that seems so much like living, Go could start to believe that they are.

Then Shinnosuke dies, murdered by the Roidmudes, and Go knows that he was right in his suspicions.

Chase is the one who saves Go, who gives him the opportunity to escape with what he came for.

Go didn't expect it. He didn't want it. He has been nothing but harsh and cruel with Chase, trying to separate the Roidmude from Kiriko—trying to keep Kiriko from being hurt more than she already has to be by this situation.

Does it make things better or worse that Chase came to him for Kiriko's sake? Does the fact that a monster—a robot—a creature who shouldn't exist was willing to be destroyed to keep Kiriko from crying over her idiot little brother change anything?

Does the fact that Shinnosuke survived the impossible, returned from the dead to defeat 001, make Go's helping the Roidmudes something that can be forgiven?

“Go.” Kiriko speaks quietly, coming up behind him to rest a hand on his shoulder. “How are you feeling?”

Go turns to smile at his sister. “I'm fine. Really. The others told you that I am.”

Kiriko nods, though she still looks uncertain. “The tablet that you took from them... you really think it was worth all this? That it can help us defeat the Roidmudes?”

Go nods, his hand moving to where the tablet is strapped securely into his jacket. “I wouldn't have gone through all this if I didn't.”

Kiriko sighs, settling down next to him. “Sometimes I wonder... we have to protect people. That's not in any doubt. We can't just let the Roidmudes run wild. They learn most of what they know from us, though. They wouldn't be nearly as dangerous without humans. And there's also... obviously there's Chase, though I know he's an outlier case, given his programming. And sometimes... sometimes with some of the Roidmudes like 072... or even with Heart...”

“Don't think like that.” Go takes his sister's hand in his, squeezing tight. “You can't think like that. The Roidmudes are our enemy. Our purpose is to destroy them. Our mission—your mission—is to make sure they can't ever kill or hurt anyone again.”

“I know.” Kiriko squeezes Go's hand, her eyes cast to the floor. “I intend to fulfill our duty. And I'm glad that you're back, and that you're safe.”

“Of course I'm back.” Go smiles at his sister. “I'll always be here to help you.”

Kiriko returns the smile. “We'll always be there for each other. That's what family's for, right?”

Go smiles, trying not to think of his father's mechanized face staring out at him from the tablet he's stolen, of Heart calling him brother, of Chase saying family is important. “That's right.”

***

His father betrayed him.

Go should have expected it. He should have been able to predict what Banno would do from what Banno has done—from all the things he has said to Go, all the things he has done to the Roidmudes.

He still expected his father to be better than this. To be good.

To at least care about Kiriko, but the only thing Banno cares about is himself.

(You are my property, Go. Go can't even remember when his father had said that to him, the sentiment was so common. How had he not seen what that meant?)

“Shijima Go.” Chase's voice is calm, bereft of emotion as always.

Go whirls to face the Roidmude, knowing that there is hatred on his face and not caring. He came up to the roof to be alone, not to talk with one of the monsters his father made. “What do you want?”

Chase is silent for long seconds, considering, his body far too motionless. “I wished to speak to you about your father. And about Kiriko.”

“Neither of those have anything to do with you.” Go charges forward, into Chase's personal space.

If it makes the Roidmude uncomfortable, he doesn't show it. “Banno intends to rule over a changed world. Forever.”

“Yeah, I kind of noticed.” Go runs a hand through his hair, just resisting the urge to scream. “My father's a homicidal psychopath. So what?”

(It's not true. He still believes it can't be true. There must have been some mistake. He must be missing or misunderstanding something. His father can't be the monster that he appears to be. Perhaps it's something the Roidmudes did to him while he was in the tablet?)

“Kiriko seems...” Chase pauses again, those considering, inhuman seconds that irk Go so much. “I do not know what to say or do to assist her.”

“That's because you're not human and you never will be.” And maybe Go won't ever properly be, either, not with Banno's blood running through his veins, Banno's words forever etched into his mind.

“You are upset, too.” Chase's voice continues in the same unmodulated, calm tones. “If I can do anything to assist you—”

“Go away, Chase.” Go turns away from the Roidmude. “If you want to assist me, just go away and leave me alone.”

Chase stands behind Go for three, four, five seconds.

Then Go hears heavy footsteps walking away, and knows that the Roidmude has listened to him.

Would Kiriko have gone if Go told her to? Is it another sign that Chase isn't human—that the Roidmudes are nothing more than automatons run amok?

Or is it just that sometimes siblings don't understand each other, especially when those siblings were taught by the same poor professor?

Go's stomach twists and he bends forward, burying his head in his hands. He won't cry. He is old enough—man enough—not to cry.

(Crying is for children. For the weak. For the worthless. Banno's cuff had left Go's ear ringing for almost an hour. I don't make weak creations.)

Go straightens up, staring at the washed-out stars with burning eyes, and vows once more to end the threat that his father created.

***

They won.

The Roidmudes are gone.

Banno is dead. Go took an ax to the last vestige of his father's consciousness, shattering it into a thousand pieces.

He took Chase's ax to the belt that held his father, and then knelt and cried amidst the fragments of the Roidmude's body.

His friend's body?

His brother's body?

He doesn't know how to think of Chase. The best person he has ever known still seems to be a fitting description. How many others would have risked themselves for Go after how Go treated Chase?

Go's fingers are locked tight around Shift Chaser. All Chase ever wanted was to understand and be understood. To have a choice, and know that he was choosing the right thing.

What is the right thing to choose? When attempting to do the right thing leads to patricide, to genocide, to the barely-aborted end of the world...

Kiriko pushes aside the curtain of his hospital bed, smiling tiredly at him. Her eyes are red rimmed—from crying, from exhaustion, from both. “Hey there, Go.”

“Hi, sis.” Go tries to force a smile for his sister, though he knows that it comes out wrong.

Kiriko's eyes travel to his hand, to the little motorcycle nestled there, and Go regrets having an observant detective for a sister. “How're you... doing?”

“I've been better.” Go gestures around at the hospital. “Most people who are here can say that.”

“I know. I just...” Kiriko's hands clasp together in front of her belly. “Shinnosuke's going to be just fine, too. Just so you know.”

“Good. That's good.” Go swallows. The idea of losing Shinnosuke, too, is impossible to bear.

“I'm sorry. About...” Kiriko's eyes are once more on the little car in Go's hand.

“You don't need to be sorry for that. If anyone should be, it should be me.” Go's fingers clench tight around the car. “I couldn't protect him. Maybe if I'd worked more with him earlier... if I hadn't been so stubborn...”

“Stubborn is in your nature. In both of ours.” Kiriko smiles. “Don't regret being who and what you are, Go.”

“Right now it seems...” Go swallows. “Our father did this. And then we... did we make things better or worse?”

“Better.” Kiriko's answer is instantaneous. “Not as good as they could have been, maybe. If we had a chance to redo things... to ask Chase more questions... to try to understand Medic and Heart and Brain earlier... but we did the best we could, and things have turned out better than they would have without us being there.”

Go has to believe her. If he doesn't believe her, then what is the point of him being alive? “If things had been different... do you think it had to end like this?”

Reaching out, Kiriko wraps her fingers lightly around Gou's hand, cradling his fragile human finger bones and the car that is all that remains of Chase together. “I like to think it didn't have to. That if we understood earlier what was going on... if we had been able to undo Banno's programming that made the Roidmudes hostile to us... if everything that Banno did...”

“If he hadn't been an abusive asshole?” Go smiles bitterly. “That's what he was, isn't it?”

Kiriko is silent for ten, twenty, thirty seconds, though her hands stay cupped warm and gentle around Go's. “Yes. That's what he was to them.”

“And to us. To me.” Go closes his eyes. “I didn't want to believe it. I thought it was just me not being good enough for the longest time. And then I thought there must be some other reason for him to betray us. To ignore your safety. To not care about me. But really he was just an egotistical, evil, abusive asshole who tried very hard to screw up all his children.”

“Well...” Kiriko forces a smile. “He never really got a chance to mess me up. So 50% success rate?”

“We're not...” Go gives his head a little shake. “Heart called me his brother.”

“Oh.” The sound is a near-silent exhalation of air as Kiriko pulls her hands back. “Because Banno created them...”

“Because Banno created them. Because some of the things Banno did to them...” Go shakes his head, his fingers clenching tight around Chase's car. “I don't know, sis. I just... everything's so complicated.”

“It is.” Kiriko nods. “But we kept the world safe, even if we couldn't save everyone I wish we could have. We did the best we could.”

“And even if sometimes it's not enough...” Go forces his fingers to relax around the shift car, and holds his open hand out to Kiriko, the little piece of a good man's corpse presented as a gift. “He loved you. I told him he couldn't, because of what he was, but I was wrong. He was a better person than a lot of people I know, and he did love, and if you want this...”

Kiriko closes his fingers slowly around the car. “He died protecting you. He left that in your care. If you really don't want it, I'll take it. But if you're just giving me this because you think I deserve it more than you...”

“Why did he care about me?” Go looks down at the car, and his vision is blurring with tears again. “I never said anything nice to him. I never did anything nice for him.”

“Sometimes people can see beyond what you say.” Kiriko's smile is sad and gentle and knowing this time. “I know there's a lot more to you than what you show, Go.”

Go returns her smile, though his eyes are still tearing, and gives a little chuckle. “I'm not sure that's something you're supposed to say to your brother.”

“Depends on the brother and how they act.” Kiriko gives his hand a little squeeze.

“Do you think...” Go is half afraid to ask the question. If he asks it and Kiriko says that there's no hope, what is he supposed to do then? “Given what Chase was... maybe there's a possibility...”

Kiriko's eyes crinkle in puzzlement, and then she sits up straighter. “Do you think we might be able to salvage something? A bit of programming or—or something?”

“I don't know.” Go looks down at the car once more. “And even if we can, will it be Chase? Or will it just be... some clone of him? Some fragment.”

“I can try to ask Krim.” Kiriko's eyes are also locked on the little piece of impossible technology. “But I doubt he'll be willing to consider it, even if he'll answer us from his bunker. I think he's relieved that they're all gone. That there's nothing left of what he created.”

“Which isn't fair. If he hadn't walked away from them, left them with Banno—” Go stops himself. What good is it being angry at Krim Steinbelt? It wasn't Krim who tortured and abused the Roidmudes, turned them into weapons and then gave them every reason to want to live up to the worst possibilities inherent in humanity. If Go isn't going to carry the weight of his father's sins anymore—and he hopes he will be able to shed them now, at least for a little bit—he isn't going to burden someone else with them. “That's all right. You can try to ask him, but even if he's not willing to help, I've got an idea.”

Kiriko's hands both wrap around his, warmth flowing out from her through Go and into the fragments of plastic and metal that hopefully still contain a seed of hope.

If there's any chance of extracting that seed, Go will chase it to the ends of the earth.

***

The sun is warm on his head and hands, gentle light that Go spends a few seconds just soaking up.

He holds up Chase's memorial, allowing the sun beams to dance across it, and starts walking towards the airport. He could theoretically take a cab, and he had been sorely tempted to ride his motorcycle despite the doctors insisting that he not doing anything that strenuous for at least another week or two, when he's less likely to jar cracked ribs, pass out and kill himself or someone else on the road.

Walking is good, though. Walking allows him to spend a little more time in this country that sometimes fits comfortably and sometimes doesn't—this country that belongs to his sister, even if he's not sure it's always the kindest to her. It allows him to see pictures that he wouldn't from inside a car—small things, like plants growing between sidewalk cracks, a cat curled up in a pot that seems to be growing more weeds than flowers, a yard with a child's doll sticking out of the grass like a drowning person seeking salvation.

Walking allows him to talk to Chase without anyone thinking he's crazy.

“It's a nice day.” Go makes sure to let the sunlight heat the black paint. “A nicer day than I'd like it to be, really. The whole team's getting broken up. Going their separate ways. But you and me... we're heading back to America, to see if I can find someone to help you.”

Krim wouldn't like it. Go knows that if it had been up to Krim all that remains of Chase would be locked away in the vault along with the rest of the cars.

But it's not up to Krim, not alone, and Go is going to fix this one thing, at least. He tells Chase as much, and then turns at the sound of a motorcycle coming up behind them on the empty stretch of road.

“Professor Harley?” Go wonders if he's hallucinating. “What are you doing here?”

“Kiriko isn't the only family you have, you know.” Harley's hands are heavy and solid on Go's shoulders, on his head, lifting his chin, the old man's smile warm and comforting.

Go has missed the easy physicality of his second home, and he relaxes into it immediately, smiling despite all that has happened. “Family can be anyone, so long as they care for each other.”

Family can be people you fight beside.

Family can be people you fight against.

Family can be those who survived the same things you did, and came out of it just as scarred.

If he and Harley are able to revive Chase... would there be any possibility of saving the other Roidmudes? Of bringing back 072, or Heart, or all the others that Heart called friend and sibling? And if there were that possibility...

Go drives. If something happens Harley will always be able to take the wheel, and Go is far and away the better driver. He shouts to be heard above the wind of their travels. “Do you think the Roidmudes had to turn out as our enemies?”

“Big question for a pretty day.” Harley hollers back his response, his eyes too knowing as he studies Go. “And no, I don't think they had to be.”

Go doesn't want to be his father's son. He doesn't want to create life. He doesn't want to own people like property.

But he has all that remains of Chase tucked away safely in his breast pocket. He has the memory of Heart calling him brother and telling him to fight valiantly, no matter the side he chose.

He will not be his father's son, but he is more than happy to be his brothers' keeper.