As usual, insert the normal disclaimer information here... these arenât my characters, donât use these characters, donât take this story, please donât sue me, Square...

Anyway, this fiction was very fun to write, and I purposely went in and inserted many subtle things. There are hundreds of spoilers in this fiction, and youâll probably not understand all of the references unless youâve beaten the game, so I recommend that you go do that before reading.

Iâd like to dedicate this to the readers of my other three fiction works. Without an audience to write for, I wouldnât be writing Xenogears Fanfics. This one goes out to you guys.

• Chapter 1: Too Small Pieces
  
• Chapter 2: Bonds Eternal
  
• Chapter 3: Lady of the Nation
  
• Chapter 4: Proposition
  
• Chapter 5: Jaws of Ice
  
• Chapter 6: Mother's Work
  
• Chapter 7: Shattering Egg of Dreams
  
• Chapter 8: Life... Fades Away
  
• Chapter 9: Human Shield
  
• Chapter 10: The Treasures That Can Be Stolen
  
• Chapter 11: Meant to Be
  
• Chapter 12: Demon of Eros
  
• Chapter 13: June Mermaid
  
• Chapter 14: Love Will Grow
  
• Chapter 15: Only Human
  
• Chapter 16: Emotions
  
• Chapter 17: Perfect Works - The Treasures That Can Never Be Stolen
  

• Interlude I
  
• Interlude II

• Chapter 1: Created From Struggle, Borne From Love
  
• Chapter 2: Can't You Share?
  
• Chapter 3: The Dreams of the Strong
  
• Chapter 4: Stand Tall
  
• Chapter 5: Bonds of Sea and Fire
  
• Chapter 6: Heart
  
• Chapter 7: Deus Ex Machina: God From the Machine
  
• Chapter 8: The Wounded Will Advance Into Light
  
• Chapter 9: Ease The Pain
  
• Chapter 10: Echoes Fade
  
• Chapter 11: Run to the End
  

• Epilogue

The nurse sat outside of the classroom door, occasionally turning her head, overhearing the lecture through the open door. She checked her watch. After their history lesson, she would be giving the children a quick course on how to do C.P.R.

She could hear the teacher address her students. "And on this section of the map, what do we have, kids? Lindsay, you can answer this one. That is the province of..."

"Loveh," Lindsay promptly replied.

"Three years ago, Zeboim used to be one country. It was split up into three major provinces. The three provinces were Valeria, Trewth, and Loveh. But now, because of the wars with Loveh and Trewth, Zeboim is now divided. We live in Zeboim-Valeria, which controls most of Zeboim's rivers, forests, and mountains. Trewth has a lot of deserts, where they can mine minerals. Loveh, on the other hand, has access to the seas, where they can trade with other countries." She lowered her pointer.

"In the past, Loveh's premier wanted to remove many of its poor and sick people from its streets, so they began to kill them. Zeboim-Valeria issued trade blocks against them. We refused to give metals to them because they were being so mean to their people. But one day, Zeboim-Loveh decided to attack us with their ground forces. To defend ourselves, we launched missiles at them. This is called a war, when two countries get their people to fight each other. Right now, we are at war with Loveh."

The waiting woman outside of the classroom sighed deeply. War. They were at war for three years, and she had already seen so much pain, so much suffering, so much death. Her hand swept a free wisp of auburn hair behind her ears.

"We cannot let Loveh win the war. They launched nuclear weapons at us. If we let them win, then we will all be killed because Loveh kills anyone who is sick or is poor." The kids nodded at the teacher's words. She inclined her head gravely. "Trewth is no better than Loveh. They did not kill their people, but they supported Loveh. When Loveh launched nuclear weapons, they destroyed the Valerian cities of Reibata and Teibon, and the radiation spread into Trewth, infecting their water and making their people very sick. Trewth did not like this, so they attacked Loveh. But when Valeria wanted to join forces with Trewth, they accused Valeria of being an evil country for provoking war, and attacked us, too. So now, we must defend ourselves from the two evils of Zeboim, Loveh, and Trewth."

One of the kids, who had blue spots over his arms raised a hand. The nurse noticed the defects. They were cells mutated by radiation. She saw the teacher point at him. "Yes, Jeffery?"

"Why are nuclear weapons so bad?" he asked.

The teacher was quick to answer this one, and her eyes flickered viciously as she snapped her reply. "Because they spread radiation! They toss up so much dust and dirt in the atmosphere, they block out the sun. Radiation kills humans! If nuclear weapons don't kill people right away, then they make all the people ill. Hundreds of thousands die immediately because of the blast. Millions more get sick and die. Loveh launched nuclear missiles at us! And for that, they must be punished! Look, you've all seen the bombs explode. The fallout it causes. The destruction they spread." The teacher wiped a finger under her round spectacles, moving a drop of sudden moisture.

The nurse's lips twitched.

"I think the mushroom clouds are pretty," one kid said.

"Irony! It's all irony!" the teacher exploded, slamming her hands on her desk loudly, causing more than one young child to jump in surprise. "It's so ironic. A beautiful thing like a mushroom cloud causes the most devastating wave of death on the earth. Radiation poisoning is worse than a disease. Do you remember Alfred, Milly, and Jenna? They all died because of radiation sickness. Who knows how many of you have it in you too... how many will... eventually..."

And suddenly, at the back corner of the room, a child began a drawn-out scream, but her lips were locked frozen as the muscles began to spasm. She shook uncontrollably, clutching the side of her desk with an iron grip.

It was like a direct reaction to the teacher's words.

The kids started to murmur in panic. The girl began to foam at the mouth and spit up white fluid. Her eyes rolled back into her head, showing only the large, gaping whites. One of the kids, taking initiative, tried to move the child onto the floor and to keep her from moving so violently, but the sheer strength of the seiz