They tried to go their separate ways, really they did.

Newton returned to his work with research in artificial tissue replication, and working part time with the Worldwide Health and Disease Center that had sprung up a few years back to combat illness born from the decaying Kaiju bodies.

Hermann had forgone finding work to spend the last remaining months of his wife's pregnancy with her in their home in berlin.

The first sign that something was wrong was four months after leaving the Shatterdome. After starting work Newton's pills stopped working and his bipolar disorder reared its ugly head so hard he had to take time off work or risk stabbing his new lab partner in the leg after an afternoon arguing about DNA sequencing.

He felt it like a volcano about to erupt. Anger, hot and painful, bubbling just below the suface.

He needed out.

He slammed out of his lab and out of the building with no word to anyone where he was going (he would call later to apologize).

Thousands of miles away Hermann Gottlieb paused; midsentence, when the feeling of overwhelming anger flooded the spot in his mine reserved for his exuberant friend when he wasn't near him (and that, his mind liked to scream, was wrong).

"Hermann?" Vanessa looked at him with a mix of worry and silent knowing.

"The fool- Newton, is mad about something." He explains, rubbing at his temple in frustration. He would have to call him and ask about his medicine no matter how much the other man hates that.

"Are you taking your pill's Newton?" Hermann asks later that night; after Vanessa has gone to bed.

"Yes Mother!" Newton snaps then cringes at himself over the video feed on Hermann's computer. "Sorry Herm, not getting much sleep lately." He admits.

"I too have been getting very little sleep lately Newton, it's just a side effect i'm sure it will pass in time." Hermann tells him and that's the end of it, they don't want to talk about it anymore than they have to. The memories they share are still too fresh.

They talk about little things that have been going on in their lives. Hermann's baby, Newton's failed dating life being so busy all the time.

That night Newton dreams for the first time in weeks.

"I have been working for twenty-seven straight hours and I have had little in the way of food or water, I have an angry craving for some good tea; which is unfortunate considering I can't find any in this blasted place and to top it all off I have to deal with you two behind me all day giggling and flirting with each other. Now would you both shut up!?" He's yelling at two startled techs bringing his cane down atop the desk (he doesn't remember screaming this, or; for that matter, having a cane). He's silently gleeful when their mouths shut simultaneously with audible clicks. Sweet sweet silence.

He's four more hours in when bickering starts up behind him. Getting louder and louder until they are shouting at each other in Swedish.

" . .God!" He yell's spinning around. He grabs the first thing to his immediate right (a small chalk board) and hurls it with all his might towards the two bickering science techs. It whiz's between their face's so fast that they are momentarily speechless as it smashes apart on the wall next to them.

" !" He snarls. The two women stare at him in shock before sharing a look and sprinting towards the doors faster than they had fifteen hours before when he had kicked them out the first time.

He feels strangely calm after that.