It was the only topic news outlets would talk about these days. It was predictable; politics and crime paled in comparison to death and there was money to make in fear mongering. But did they need to discuss it all the time? After all, one only had to look outside to see what they now saw daily on their screens. Almost everyone knew what was coming - they did not need reminding.

"Daddy, why is everyone so scared?"

Shigeru turned to the little girl on the sofa beside him. She stared at the television with her wide brown eyes, clutching her school bag to her chest.

He smiled and turned it off.

"It's nothing, Rin-chan. Now why don't we hurry up and get you to school? Daddy has a lot of work these days."

"Okay!" The five year old sprang from her seat and flipped the bag onto her back. She bounced from foot to foot before -

"Oh! I'll get my shoes on!"

- she ran from the room.

He smiled again.

The rest of us just don't understand.

He walked to the window and peered through the curtains. The red invader was as large as ever. It would only get closer.

But at least I can do something about it.

He studied the marred surface of that foreboding celestial body.

"The race is on."

He was well known for his work ethic and speed, so it was easy for him to secure funding for his new research. His colleagues prayed for his success but left him to his own devices. They were too busy exploring other avenues to save the world.

Save one.

Shut in his lab, Shigeru remembered the words of his American friend. Michael wasn't the smartest scientist but compensated with his optimism and enthusiasm.

But this same friend had cornered him on his way home and pressed his palms together in prayer.

I trust you to save us, Shigeru-san. Please.

He still wove English into everyday speech.

"I will," he had promised him.

How easy the lie was.

Who knew how much time they had left. Shigeru had worked several months of it with only the shell of his ark to show for it.

The red planet had grown closer all the while, though you could not tell how close with the naked eye. Rin had finished her dinner and was busy sketching on the floor of the living room. The only sounds in their closed space were of her pencils and the odd breeze of wind beyond the closed curtains.

"You'll be going on a trip very soon."

Rin perked up. "Really? When?"

"I'm not sure, but you'll love it there."

"Oh! ...are you coming too?"

He bit his lip.

A moment's pause.

"I don't know, Rin-chan."

"Why? Is it a school trip?"

"It's not. It's a secret trip!" He winked, the grin back on his face.

"But why can't you come with me?" Rin glanced at the picture of her mother by the television.

He was sure she didn't mean anything by it.

"It's a wonderful place, Rin," he began. "A place where you can do what you want, where you can play without ever getting hurt or having to come inside or sleep unless you want to." He took three soft steps and knelt before her. "Believe me, as soon as you get there you'll forget all about me." He smiled again as he pat her head.

Rin kept looking at him with those wide eyes. "Please can you come with me?"

He looked away.

"...I'll try."

"Maybe..." Maybe I could add extend the cockpit?

It was night. Rin had gone to sleep clutching her new bear and now his work could resume. He could still see Rin's brown eyes in his mind as he examined a wireframe model of his work.

She wants me to come with her.

But construction had already begun. Changes were possible, but wouldn't the resources to accommodate him be better spent improving Rin's environment? Speaking of which...

"That might be unhygienic..."

Perhaps he could squeeze along the side, or the back? But no. Adding to the sides could destabilize it. Bulking up the rear might cause it to break apart under pressure.

It's not important, anyway.

He grit his teeth and started moving the model with his stylus. At this rate the final product would fly on a wing and a prayer anyway. He had no right to think of anything other than Rin's safety until the probability of his success was 100%.

His hand cramped and with a sharp gasp he dropped the pen. He bent over to pick it up and caught a flash of brown in the corner of his eye.

"Rin?"

The brown came from the bear held tight in his daughter's arms. She stared at his silhouette in the blue light of his screen, eyes wide open.

"I'm sorry..." she mumbled.

He walked to her as spoke "Why? What's wrong? What happened?"

"I can't sleep..." she rubbed her eye "but you're busy..."

Shigeru chuckled and rubbed her head. "I'm never too busy for a bedtime story." He picked his daughter up.

"Besides, I'm not doing anything important right now anyway."

"Wow...that's amazing!"

Rin was in his arms, legs dangling past his chest as they stood in his workshop. It was a giant warehouse near their home and they were gazing at the object that occupied most of it.

It was a black mechanical beast, cylindrical in shape and supported by scaffolding.

"I'm glad you agree!" Shigeru smiled and cocked his head. "Why don't we get a closer look?"

He set a ladder in place and with Rin back in his arm he climbed it with the other. He set her down on a wooden platform in front of his creation and raised the glass door of the cockpit.

"Why don't you get in?"

"Me?" Rin asked, pointing to herself.

"I want to see if you fit, don't I?" He grinned.

"Oh, okay." It was dark in the room and she peered at the chair before sitting in it.

"Why are there all these holes around it?" she asked as he fastened the harness around her small waist and thighs. He nodded to himself: it was secure but also had room for her to grow.

"It's because it's not finished yet, Rin-chan." He kept tugging at the top of the harness, above her left shoulder. He couldn't look her in the eye, knowing what he had yet to add to the chair.

More months passed and each night he stared at the wireframe model. The craft would fly. The technology would work.

But there was only one way for Rin to interface with it.

There had to be another.

Time was running out. Gravity had already begun to weaken. He should have already started work on the side compartment.

But there had to be a way to spare her that pain.

Until he found it, anything else could wait.

"Rin, it's time to go."

"Hmm?"

The red planet was so close it felt as though you could play catch with anyone on it. Gravity was getting weaker every week. Everywhere you looked people were sick or frenzied. Tokyo was in chaos. It was all anyone would ever talk about. It was all anyone could ever talk about.

"Remember the trip I told you about? It's time to go."

"Oh! But...but I haven't packed! What should I take?"

"You don't need anything Rin-chan, just bring Mama with you."

She looked at the bear hanging from her arm and hugged it. She looked up and gave him a firm nod.

If she stayed any longer she might fall to the world's madness even before it was destroyed.

Carrying his tablet and research notes in one arm and Rin in the other, Shigeru ran to his workshop. He set her down at the door and fumbled for the key in his pocket.

"Daddy, are you scared?"

"What?" He blinked at her and felt the small drops of sweat fall from his brow.

"W - why are you so scared?" Rin hugged the bear she named after her mother to her chest. Her lips quivered.

"I'm not scared, Rin-chan" he breathed. "I just...I just lost track of time."

With a quick smile to reassure her, he threw the one of the giant doors open and ushered her in. With a quick look outside for witnesses he closed it behind them. Rin was already standing in front of his project when he turned back. The scaffolding was gone , leaving only the vessel. It glinted in the dim light with only a launch platform supporting it. Shigeru placed his notes on a mounted shelf by the door and clenched his fists for strength. With loose hands crossed the distance between father and daughter. Rin was still enraptured by the black giant and he placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

"Hmm?"

"I know this is a strange thing to ask, but I need you to take your clothes off. Everything."

Her cheeks reddened. "What?"

"Just pretend you're taking a bath," he smiled. "It's been a few years since I've given you one."

She clutched the bear tighter and scanned the room. She shook her head, her cheeks now a deep crimson. Shigeru closed his eyes for a moment, then knelt before her.

"Please Rin-chan, I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't important. No one's going to see you, no one gets in here without my permission."

Rin was still looking at the ground.

"Please, Rin?"

A pause.

"...okay."

Shigeru nodded and turned away. He waited with his back to her until she called him. He turned to see her holding her bear tight, slightly bending her torso over it with her clothes piled at her feet. He looked at the ship.

"...thank you, Rin."

Once more he carried Rin and the tablet with one arm as he climbed the ladder and once more he set her on a platform. She hugged the bear, shivering in the early morning chill. He slid his fingers under the latches of the cockpit door. He took a deep breath. Another.

Then he threw it open.

The new colors caught Rin's eye at once and she peered in, forgetting her predicament.

"What are those?"

Shigeru swallowed.

Where there had been holes before were now cables connected to the craft's innards. Most were the width a finger but two were the width of an adult fist. Rin's eyes flicked from the maroon wire at neck height to the maroon dangling by the center of the chair. His hands trembled until he took a deep breath.

"Rin. Could you...could you climb in, please?"

Her brow furrowed as she looked between him and the seat. She shivered again from the cold, then took two quick yet unsteady steps inside.

Perhaps the temperature had been the deciding factor?

Rin looked at him, her head now at the height of his chin. He placed his tablet by his feet. He took more breaths and reached for the bottle beside the chair, twisting the cap off to reveal a nozzle. He tested it in the cool air before returning his attention to her.

"Rin, could you give Mama to me for a minute?"

"Why? Isn't she coming with me?"

"She is, but I need to check you for something first."

Rin looked at the back of the bear's head and nodded. She held it out to him, cheeks turning red again.

"Thank you, Rin-chan. I'll put her right here." He set her down where the bottle had been. "See?"

Rin nodded.

Another deep breath. "Rin...could you lean forward, please? I need to have a look at your back." She frowned, but did as he asked. With a hand on the back of her head he started spraying her neck and back. One layer of fluid, two, three, she would have as much as she needed.

She hissed and he sprang back. Her face scrunched up as she flexed her shoulder blades.

"It should have felt very cold at first, yes?"

"Yes..."

"And now your back is starting to feel numb?"

"Very numb...I think you put too much. Daddy, it feels..." she writhed.

Shigeru grit his teeth at the sound. He closed the bottle and set it by his foot and waited until her shaking turned to shivers. He rubbed the top of her head.

"Rin. I'm sorry, but...but I needed to do that to make the next step easier."

"Wha - what next step?"

He couldn't bring himself to reply. Instead he let his hand wander between the wires behind her as he composed himself. He chose to start with the largest cable. Wouldn't inflicting the greatest pain first would be better in the end? He wrapped his hand around the red wire. Its tip seemed to taunt him with reflected light. He applied gentle pressure to the top of Rin's head to keep her still.

"Rin...this may hurt. P - please be strong."

"What are you - "

Her eyes went wide as he stabbed the needle between two discs of her spine. The skin around the point caved in with the metal, cracks torn in her body. Drops of blood began pooling in each. The rest of her sentence dissolved into gurgles. Then she screamed, tears spilling down her cheeks. He grit his teeth, trying not to join her as he continued pressing the tube into his daughter's spine until it held. He gasped as he stepped back. Rin's eyes were vacant, angled skyward.

"Rin." Nothing. "Rin?"

His breath caught in his throat.

"Rin!"

She gasped. Her eyes came to life and locked onto his. He could breathe again.

"Are you okay?" She was keeping her back stiff as possible but managed a quick nod. "Thank goodness."

"I'm scared..."

"I know." His hand clenched around the next wire, thankfully a normal one.

"I am too," he said at last.

Tears streamed down her cheeks but she only whimpered or gasped with each wire until the final cable. When Shigeru inserted it into the base of her neck she screamed and screamed and spasmed. He had to hold her tight to keep every wire from ripping itself out of her body, his own tears spilling onto her numb back. Her arms crushed his shoulders as her cries lessened. At last he eased the wire into her, his hand back on top of her head. He took Rin's hands in his own and stepped back to regard his handiwork.

Yesterday Rin had been full of life. She had had a hundred ideas for where they could go next, what he could cook for lunch and what she could draw. Now she was nude, hunched over because the wires from her back wouldn't let her sit upright. Her loose hair spilled over her face and he could only hear her ragged breaths.

"I'm sorry, Rin. You're safe now."

Her head twitched at the words and inched up. Through a gap in her hair he could see her eye, flickering yet so tired.

"...safe?"

"Yes."

That dim eye stared beyond him it brightened with realization.

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine."

"Please..." she moved forward an inch but sprang back to her hunch at once. Her face crumpled in pain as her hand ghosted over the wires. She opened her eyes regardless and looked straight at his. "Come with me."

Shigeru smiled, stepped forward and embraced her. "Right now you're all that matters to me," he murmured into her ear. "But as soon as I make sure you're safe I'll do my best to join you."

He brushed the blood from her back where he could and pulled back. He winked at her one last time.

"You promise?"

"I promise." Another easy lie. "Are you ready to go?"

Rin took a deep breath, then gave him another quick nod. He returned it, then leaned forward to brush the tears from her cheeks. He ran his hand along the base of the cockpit. When he found what he was looking for, he looked at his daughter again. She returned his gaze. He smiled.

"You make me so proud, Rin."

She frowned. Before she could object he flicked the switch, remembering the word he had pasted above it.

Transfer.

The light left her eyes and her head lolled forward as they closed. Tears still clung to her eyelashes, but Shigeru stayed smiling. He secured her and her bear's harnesses. He leaned on the edge of the hatch. He gave her a hug, pressing their foreheads together.

It would be their last hug. The last time they would ever touch.

He straightened out of the cockpit. He picked up his tablet and closed the shuttle door. He placed his fingertips on the cold glass. He gazed at her unconscious form.

He had to tear himself back down the ladder.

Once his feet hit the ground he opened a new app on his tablet. After a few seconds of loading, a bird's eye view of a square room appeared.

And she was in it.

Rin was sitting up on a single, fluffy bed in a nightdress, staring at a tablet of her own. His heart jumped to his throat.

She made it.

As he surveyed the scene he noticed her hair had changed from her mother's brown to a sparkling red. Hair had been a challenge to render in his prototypes, but her new look was still beautiful. He was glad.

It wasn't the side effect that most concerned him anyway.

If anything, he thought as he gathered Rin's clothes, it's a blessing.

With Rin's clothes draped over his arm, he walked to the front of his workshop and flicked a switch by the door. With the quiet grinding of gears, the roof edged open and the shuttle angled skyward. He squinted at the sudden light and glanced at his daughter one last time. She had already found the stylus.

That's my girl.

Unless she had found it by accident, this meant she had started the tutorials. Each had simple steps with plenty of pictures and she would receive more over time. He hoped it was at a rate she could handle without getting bored.

At least she would still be getting an education.

He smiled at her form still studying the tablet as he pressed the final button. The room flickered and faded to black as the shuttle began to whine, taking her with it. He took a deep breath, retrieved his notes and stepped back through the giant door. A hiss echoed from the warehouse and a flame erupted at the base of the shuttle. A second hiss and it shot along the supports and into the air, trailing white smoke. He kept stepping back as Rin soared further and further away from him. At last he shot a glance at Earth.

That hill. He would get a better view of her from there.

He broke into a run. The tablet fell from his grip but he didn't care.

After all, soon she would be out of his sight forever.

They still didn't know what effects brain uploading had on memory.

Shigeru contemplated this as he watched the ark soar.

I hope you forget me, Rin. He smiled. I hope you forget all this. Your new world is the only one you need.

But what if she didn't forget? Most believed the probability of memory loss was near 0.

The smile froze on his face.

Then his body relaxed.

Then I hope you hate me for everything I did to you. If you do that, maybe you'll forget this world anyway.

But what if she wouldn't forget? Would it be better to let her stay angry, or would it be better for her to understand?

"Hmm..."

Perhaps he would write a letter. Sending it was easy and he could hide it until she was old enough to read it, whenever that may be.

But he would think about that later. Rin faded from sight and he moved his gaze to the red harbinger of his death, its ravaged face glaring down at him.

He stood tall and continued to smile at its red and white surface.

"I win."

To Rin

From: Dad

There was far too little time left after you were born.

I wonder how much love I was able to show after your mother passed...

Seeing you cheerful and well gave your old man courage. (^_^)

It really would have been better if we could have gone together, but I couldn't make it work.

I thought I wanted you to forget everything and move on...knowing you, you'll be okay.

But you'll realize your loneliness, and surely remember me.

I believe that you'll grow strong and read this letter someday.

I really wish we could have spent more time together. I'm sorry.

When you were little you probably didn't understand what they meant, but now you should.

So I'll repeat the words from that day once more.

Rin knelt in the grass as she read the last words of her first letter in over seven years.

For a moment, all was still as she clutched her tablet to her chest. Memories flooded her head. She saw her father. She saw Mars. She saw the shuttle. She remembered the pain of the tubes. She remembered the pain of separation. How could she have forgotten all that?

She felt joy and relief. She felt understanding.

At last she sank forward and pressed her forehead into the earth.

The wondrous earth her father had built for her.

She breathed it in.

"...Thank you."

Thank you, /u/Roughy and /u/japr88 of /r/anime for translating Shigeru's letter.

Thank you, Porter Robinson, Madison, A-1 Pictures and Crunchyroll for the masterpiece that is Shelter. I did a lot of research and did my best to write something that could fit in your somber yet beautiful world. I want that more than anything and can only hope I came close.

Thank you again for such a magnificent song and such a wondrous story!