AN: Well, this is the last chapter for "Dark Skies". Don't worry, though. Soon I'll be releasing a sequel called "Last Goodbyes", and you can expect that sometime in April (which isn't too far away right now).

I really had fun writing this story. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoy this last chapter. I also hope you'll keep an eye out for the sequel.

The other angeloids stared at Achos, confused by what he just said.

"Achos, what are you talking about?" Astraea asked, worry evident in her voice. Achos looked back down at the ground for a moment, before looking back at the group of angeloids standing behind Aegis Mark II.

"Before, if Tycho was overcharged, there was a chance of it destroying its target as well as damaging the user in the process," he explained. "But now that it's been upgraded, it'll destroy its target for good, but..." Achos paused and swallowed hard.

"It may also destroy the user as well," he finished, his voice slightly shaky. The other angeloids almost immediately widened their eyes in shock, realizing what Achos was going to do.

"That's crazy!" Astraea exclaimed. "You promised me you wouldn't die!" Nymph raced up to Aegis Mark II and pressed her palms hard against it, tears welling in her eyes.

"No, Omega, you can't do this!" she screamed, her tears now flowing down her cheeks. Ikaros, however, said nothing. She only looked at Achos with an expression that displayed both sadness and understanding. Although she didn't want Achos to potentially sacrifice his own life to eliminate the threat, she knew that it had to be done.

"I have to," Achos responded to Nymph, trying to keep his voice steady. "There isn't any other way to stop Alkaios." Nymph shook her head in denial.

"No, it doesn't have to end like this!" Nymph pleaded desperately. "We can work together to defeat him!" Achos said nothing in response, the electrical hum of Tycho Mark II being the only sound at that moment.

"Please," Nymph said quietly. "I'm begging you." Achos closed his eyes and sighed through his nose.

"When I came here," he said, his eyes now opening as he looked off to the side, "I didn't know what to do. I only wanted to carry out the one order I was given after waking up. But then I met you and Tomoki and the others, and..." There was a crackling sound as a long, orange strand of electricity sparked outside of the cannon.

"You guys made my life worth living," Achos finished. Tears welled in Astraea's eyes as she watched and listened to Achos.

"Don't do this..." Nymph pleaded silently.

"I wasn't here long, but..." Achos continued, "I really enjoyed the time that I was here." Two more strands of orange electricity sparked around the cannon, and a warning began to sound off in Achos' head that indicated that it was reaching a complete overcharge.

"Omega, stop it!" Nymph shouted, sobbing uncontrollably. Achos then looked at the other angeloids and smiled at them.

"Take care of yourselves and our human friends, alright?" Achos said, as several strands of electricity began to spark all at once. The other angeloids knew that the moment was coming.

"Stop!" Nymph screamed. Achos didn't stop smiling, nor did he stop charging the cannon.

"Thank you. All of you," he said, as the cannon glowed a bright orange. Ikaros approached Nymph and grabbed her under the arms, flying backward from Achos' Aegis Mark II.

"NO!" Nymph screamed, just as the cannon fired. Rather than a beam, a massive explosion erupted inside the crater, which was contained by the upgraded shield. The other angeloids looked on in horror as they watched the scene in front of them. After a few more seconds, the explosion finally settled into a cloud of smoke, and Aegis Mark II was disabled as Achos' severely damaged body was flung out of the crater, spinning in mid-air and then impacting the ground face-first. The angeloids descended and quickly rushed over to Achos' body. His leg armor was damaged, his jacket was torn in several places and he was covered in dirt. Ikaros turned Achos over so that he was now facing up, and the angeloids looked at him with deep concern. They saw that there were two gashes on either side of his face. Nymph placed a hand to his forehead, her face gracing a blank look.

"System damage..." she said shakily, "is 87%... Self-restoration program is inoperable... Condition deteriorating..." Ikaros and Astraea now had looks of dismay that replaced their initial looks of hope. Then, suddenly Astraea's look of hope returned.

"Wait a minute!" she said, looking at Nymph. "Oregano's a Medical Class angeloid, isn't she? Doesn't that mean she can repair Achos' system?" Nymph thought about this for a moment.

"I'm not sure," she responded, "but it's worth a shot. Get her here, but hurry. His system will shut down if we take too long." Astraea nodded, and skyrocketed upwards, heading to Mikako's house in hopes of finding the medical angeloid. Meanwhile, Ikaros and Nymph were knelt by his sides, hoping that he could be saved in time.

Several minutes later, Tomoki, Sohara, Daedalus and Chaos had arrived at the scene, looking over Achos' body. The condition of his system had gotten worse and was nearing a permanent shut-down. However, Astraea then arrived with Oregano descending with her. The crowd of people cleared the way for Oregano as she knelt by Achos' side, placing two hands over his chest and activating her advanced medical system.

"Scanning affected area," she said aloud, beginning her examination. "Multiple lung injuries. Heart injury. System functionality has been decreased." She then got to work with her medical tools, repairing the damage done to Achos.

"Regenerating chest. Beginning cellular reconstruction. Removing dead cells. Advanced resuscitation complete." Nymph, despite her detest for Oregano, was currently grateful for her presence.

Oregano deactivated her medical system and stood up, taking a step back. The others moved a bit closer, looking intently at Achos. It wasn't long before he slowly opened his eyes, greeted by the sight of his friends watching over him. With the exceptions of Ikaros and Oregano, they all smiled with joy in knowing that Achos had survived. He blinked once, groaned and slowly sat up, surveying the group of people around him. There was a moment of silence before he spoke.

"Did I survive...?" he asked. Tomoki nodded.

"Yeah... you did," he answered. Once again Achos looked at his friends, and nodded in acknowledgement.

"I've already said this, but... Thank you. All of you," he said, repeating exactly what he said before. The gray clouds above the group began to part as the sun shone through the clouds, revealing the bright blue skies above.

Peace had returned once more in Sorami City.

"Hey! Wake up, you dumbass! We'll be late for school!" Tomoki sleepily opened his eyes and turned his head to the side, seeing a blank-faced Ikaros and a frustrated looking Achos. Sixteen days had passed since Achos' resuscitation, and everyone was resuming their regular routine.

"Okay, okay, I'm getting up," Tomoki said, upset that his dream was interrupted. Achos sighed noisily.

"Everything you dream about seems to be perverted," he mumbled, standing up from his position. "Breakfast has already been made. The others are eating right now."

After they had breakfast and after everyone got ready, the group headed off for school and were joined by Hiyori Kazane. After school, that same group headed back with the additions of Sugata, Mikako, Daedalus, Chaos, Oregano, and Yoshitsune Hououin. As they stopped when Oregano and Nymph got into a (rather routine) fight, Achos examined the group before him.

These are some crazy people I'm with, he thought, taking another look at them with his hands locked behind his head as usual. Then he smiled.

But they're my people.

AN: I'd like to give a shout-out to the following people (in order of date):

Matthew42 (reviewed and followed)
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FF Guest Winky Keaton (frequent reviewer, although I deleted many of his reviews due to either being long or not needed)
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FF Guest Ryan (reviewed)
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Thank you to the people listed above, and anyone who read the entire story. Make sure to keep an eye out for the sequel.