Aki was surprised not to be stopped by any guards while they crept quickly out of the detention area. In fact, she was surprised not to meet anyone at all. Even if the city was under attack, surely they would leave someone to guard the prisoners. They didn't see another human being until they reached the main reception area of the brig, and the sight that greeted them was. . .

'My god. . .' she whispered, unable to say anything else. The sight before her seemed to have sucked any reaction she might have had right out of her. All she could do was stand there and cast her eyes around the room, taking in more than she wished to. There were bodies everywhere; techs and guards and prisoners all littering the expanse between her and the exit. Some lay as if they hadn't been expecting their sudden deaths, others had their weapons still smoking by their sides. But most had been trying to escape; trying and failing.

'Aki, here,' Gray said quietly, handing her a headset. It took her a good few moments to realise that it was her headset, the one that had been taken and confiscated only hours ago.

'I don't think they got round to sorting our equipment after we were arrested,' Gray explained, pointing to a pile of armour that lay behind the desk. Ryan was putting on his gloves and boots, casting a nervous glance around him as he did.

'I don't like this. We're pretty far from the barrier and it can't have been that long since they got in. How'd they get here so fast?' Aki thought that over for a moment, idly watching as Gray took his sword from the pile behind the desk. Ryan had a point. They were in sector 17, about as far from the edge of the city as you could be. It took several minutes to fly from the nearest border of the city to here. To have walked on foot would probably take an hour at least; mainly because the sectors were separated by huge steel dividers, which in turn were protected by hordes of soldiers. The only thing that linked all the sectors together were the bioetheric pipes, but they were all so sure that nothing could survive in there, much less use them as a form of transportation. How did the phantoms get here so fast? She shrugged slightly, slipping on her headset.

'I've no idea,' she said, taking a look around the room; as if to check if there were anyone left alive. Her brow furrowed, and she gasped.

'What's wrong?' Gray asked, at her side immediately. 'I don't see any phantoms,' Aki was already making her way over to a corner of the room where a group of soldiers lay sprawled over each other.

'It's. . . There's someone alive and he's. . .' She couldn't quite believe it herself, but she silently thanked Sid for having the foresight to configure her gear to recognise all eight compatible spirits. It meant that if she stumbled across one by accident on a mission, then she wouldn't have to go back. Through her eyepiece she could just see the faint spirit of one of the soldiers. She was now digging through the heap of soldiers, trying to find the one that was still with them.

'What is it?'

'He's the fifth spirit,'

By the time she found the soldier, Sid had already picked his way through the carnage to join her.

'We don't have the equipment to collect it. . .' he mused, checking the vitals of the soldier. 'And he won't be with us for long. We'll channel the spirit directly into your chest-plate and hope it works,' Aki nodded, her eyes on the unconscious guard. He was young; probably only just out of the Academy. And he was dying; beyond even her help. She could cure fairly severe injuries over time, but the gaping wound in his stomach was too much for her abilities. It looked like he had been caught by friendly fire; no doubt he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time when the phantoms appeared.

'Poor kid,' she whispered, brushing a strand of hair out of his face. The soldiers must have been caught off guard; most of them weren't wearing their armour. The soldier stirred suddenly, opening bloodshot eyes to gaze blearily at her.

'The. . . The p-phantoms,' he stuttered, barely audible. 'B-barrier. . . failed,' Aki shushed him gently, smiling as best she could. Just like San Francisco, she thought. Countless cities had fallen and been lost in the years since the phantoms arrived, but none had hurt her more than San Francisco. She had never visited the other cities, but she had lived in San Francisco for most of her childhood. To think that she might have been there when it happened. . .

'N-no esca. . . escape. . .' the soldier rasped. He was slipping away, and he was taking the spirit with him.

'We have it,' Sid said quietly, backing off. Aki gave a preoccupied nod, her attention still on the soldier.

'Just close your eyes,' she said kindly. 'You'll find a way out,' He choked, coughing up a thin sheen of blood as he tried to shake his head.

'There's n-no wa. . .' He trailed off and spoke no more, unseeing eyes glazed and wide-open; still so full of fear. Aki sighed deeply, closing his eyes gently. She couldn't let herself break down now, but this was almost too much.

'We have company, sir,'

'Time to get going, Aki,' She was hauled to her feet and half dragged to the door before she glanced back and saw several alphas appear through the floor. To her surprise, they were almost entirely visible to the naked eye; every single feature highlighted to a detail she had only dreamed of before. She was left with no doubt that the creature in her dream had been a phantom; this proved it. But what did it mean?

The next five minutes passed like some kind of nightmare to her as they made their way to the hangar. Neil had hijacked an abandoned vehicle and was keeping himself occupied with driving it. Everyone else was completely silent, not even looking out at the carnage around them. They were all shocked; after all, how could this happen? You almost expected it in other barrier cities, but not New York. It and Houston were considered the two safest cities in the world. This was more than a shock. It was a catastrophe.

They were passing through half the city, and not once did Aki see another live human being. There were countless corpses; mostly civilians now who had been caught while trying to flee to the escape ships. She felt strangely hollow as her eyes settled on another mound of bodies, their limbs lay splayed out at odd angles. It was almost as though she had been detached from the situation and was watching through the eyes of someone else. She almost couldn't believe it, but a brief look up at the barrier confirmed her fears. When they had first got out of the detention area, the entire barrier had been glowing an unhealthy pale yellow, but now it had degraded even further. There were panels missing now, huge gaping holes through which she could see the moon staring back down at her. It had been years since she had seen the moonlight like this, but right now she was too worried to think about its beauty.

'We'll take your ship, Aki,' Gray said, snapping her out of her trance. Aki nodded vaguely, casting another glance about her. They hadn't met too many phantoms on their trip either, something that was secretly worrying her. It reminded her a lot of Tucson; of the calm before the storm there. But now they had reached the hangar – thank god. Only a few minutes more and they would be out of this nightmare.

'Hey, you guys!' Aki blinked and looked up to see a fully armoured soldier waving frantically at them. 'Hurry up! The last transport's ready to go!' About a hundred feet away, Aki could see the craft already firing up its engines, even though there were several people still trying to board. Far above the hangar, between the roof and the closest gap in the barrier, several metas were circling. It was as if they were daring the transport to try and get past.

'We've got our own ride,' Gray called back firmly. Aki didn't blame him; she didn't trust this soldier either. 'But good luck to you anyway,' The soldier waved a hand almost in exasperation and began the sprint back to the ship.

'Your ship should be somewhere on the south side, right?' Neil piped up, straining his eyes to try and find the Black Boa. There were heaps of wreckage all over the place, filling the hangar with smoke and making it considerably difficult to see anything too far away. Aki nodded vaguely, her eyes still on the transport. It hadn't moved, even though it looked more than prepped for take-off. That struck her as odd, but a sudden scream of anger soon told her why.

'They've got no chance,' she murmured, taking a reflexive step forwards. 'It's a gamma,' Gammas were the largest and slowest class of phantoms; huge insectoid creatures with masses of deadly tentacles. Urban myth had it that it had only taken one gamma to destroy ten percent of the force sent to the Tucson battle. It usually took several highly trained squads to dispose of one – and even that was touch and go. An unarmed transport stood no chance.

'We have to – ' she started, trailing off as Gray put a hand on her shoulder.

'We can't help them now,' He was right; the meta had taken several swipes at the body of the ship, no doubt killing everyone inside.

'Shouldn't we get out of here, y'know, before it spots us?' Neil said, already walking off. Aki gave another dull nod, that empty numbness swallowing her again. She lived in a world where fallen cities were not uncommon, but she had never imagined it could be this bad. But she shouldn't dwell on those who had been lost; she had to get out so she could stop this from happening again. She turned her back on the fallen transport and nodded again, a little firmer now.

'Yeah,' she said, unable to hide the hollow ring to her voice. She glanced up at the row of ships still left in the hangar and spotted a familiar hull.

'I can see my ship from here. Let's go,'

Hein wasn't sure how he had gotten out of the city, let alone managed to get into space. How had he even got away from the phantom? He thought he had shot it, frightened it away, but as he stared blankly at the gun he could see that there were no bullets missing. How had he escaped? How had he evaded the hordes of phantoms as he staggered to the ship; barely able to keep himself upright? Why hadn't they taken advantage of his injury? Why had they just stood and stared at him, never making a move to take his life? He didn't know, and that scared him. He couldn't focus on what had happened after the generator had exploded. The time between then and now had passed in a swirl of pain and confusion; icy cold and warm blood combining to dull his senses. His arm had been so cold; so freezing cold, but that had soon faded to just a muted ache after a few minutes. What worried him most was that he could feel it moving through his body; up his arm and into his chest. He vaguely knew what that meant; the phantom particles inside him were centralising and it wouldn't be long until the pain started. He was done for.

And so, he lay on his back in the escape ship and tried to ignore the million confused thoughts that swarmed through his mind. New York had fallen. It was his fault. Millions of people had died as a result of his actions. He was infected, probably terminally. . . He was going to die, but he should have died back there in the barrier station with his men. Instead, he had run away, leaving them to die. He was the only one to survive, when he was the one who deserved to die. He had sacrificed them all and for what? To become infected and die up here, alone and scared on this solitary ship? He had left them there. . . He was a coward and a murderer. A murderer. . . A mass murderer. . .

He let out a choked gasp and rolled over onto his side, squeezing his eyes closed to try and force out all the images that floated before him. A thousand feelings hit him at the same time, adding to that sense of nausea that had settled in his stomach. He couldn't even distinguish between them all; he couldn't have named them all if his life depended on it. But he was afraid; that much he knew. He was so terrified of what was going to happen. Only his senses, dulled by shock and injury, kept that fear from consuming him completely. He was angry at himself for doing something so stupid. What was I thinking? And then there was the ball of guilt that was slowly growing in his throat. It was his fault; if not for him then the citizens of New York would still be alive and well. He was responsible for their deaths. I'm no better than the phantoms. . . I killed innocent people, just like they do. . . That was the worst thought; that he was just like they were. How could this have happened? How could he have turned into the one thing he hated more than anything else? He was just like them.

(You are one of us.)

He had nothing; nothing left. There wasn't even that thirst for vengeance anymore. Revenge was not sweet when you realised you had just murdered millions of the very people you were trying to save. If this was what it felt like, then he didn't want his revenge now; he had no goal. What was left of his life was useless.

A faint beeping tore through the pain, making him look up as best he could. The autopilot. It had brought him into space, safe from the phantoms, but where to now? He couldn't go back down to earth; he couldn't own up about what he had done. So would he float through space for evermore, letting his guilt and pain destroy him? Or would he try to do something; anything? What can I do now. . ? I'm nothing. . . He closed his eyes in defeat. He had his pride, but he knew he couldn't do anything; he was nothing more than a ghost just waiting to die. He would stay here and make sure he couldn't hurt anyone else. There was nothing he could. . .

(Destroy them.)

Hein reopened his eyes as he heard that, a voice not quite inside his own head yet not quite outside. He frowned, unsure of whether he himself had just spoken out-loud. He realised now that his head was fuzzy, slightly chaotic. It was as if someone had wrapped his whole head in cotton wool in an attempt to shield him from the outside world. One thing was certain; he couldn't think straight. Maybe it was the fact he hit his head in the escape. At least, I think I hit my head, he thought, reaching one hand up to gingerly feel for the broken flesh he was so sure was there. His fingers were soon coated in warm blood, a strangely comforting sight. He wasn't going crazy then, but maybe this voice had a point. He couldn't think of any argument against it; the logic was so infallible. There was one thing he could still do before he was consumed by the phantom within him.

(You can make it right again.)

He could rectify his mistake; he wouldn't be able to revive anyone, but he could make sure that they hadn't died in vain.

A new sense of calm washed over him as he reached to type four letters into the autopilot; his fingers trembling more than he wanted to admit. He had dropped the barrier for a purpose, and now he had to fulfil that purpose before he died. If not for himself, then for those he had killed.

It didn't take long for Aki to find her ship and discover that it was in a much better state than she had expected.

'It looks good, doc,' Neil mused, shouldering his rifle. 'Wonder why no-one tried to swipe it already,' Aki frowned slightly.

'I was wondering the same thing,' she said thoughtfully, tapping on the control panel just in front of her. It told her that no-one had tried tampering with it; to try and crack the security codes required to start the ship.

'No-one even tried it,' she said slowly, typing in the correct codes and frowning. Her ship was one of the largest and better equipped ones in the hangar; surely it would have seemed like a decent craft for someone to take and escape in. Cracking the codes wasn't all that hard; she had no doubt someone like Neil could do it in a matter of moments.

'All the better for us,' Gray said tersely. 'I think now's the time for us to leave,' Aki nodded, opening the hatch of the Boa. She had just taken her first step towards the ship when she was pushed out of the way and onto the ground. She glared up, ready to yell at whoever had decided to do that, but never quite got there. Now she could see the reason why no-one had chosen to take her ship. There was a group of phantoms stood on the roof, and more appearing. But they weren't attacking; they were strangely inattentive. They were just staring up at the sky, as if they longed to go up there themselves.

'Any ideas how to get rid of them?' Gray whispered; his voice almost drowned out by the distant cry of the gamma behind them. 'Something quick might be good,'

'We'll fight them,' Ryan continued. 'But it might take us some time to get shot of them all. And by then. . .' The gamma cried out again, reminding them all of what would happen if they weren't quick. Aki shot Sid a sideways glance. There was something she could try, but she had only ever done it once before. And back then it had almost killed her.

'I. . .' she said, looking to her mentor for help.

'It's your decision, Aki,' he replied quietly, as if he knew what her decision was going to be. Aki nodded. Like she had told herself in the council meeting, there was no point in hiding it all anymore

'It'll take a little time,' she warned, moving away from the ship. 'Distract them,' Gray opened his mouth to speak, raising a confused eyebrow as Aki closed her eyes and stood there; her hands clasped together.

'What. . .?' he said, looking towards Sid, who was watching Aki intently.

'I'd do as she says, captain. The last time she did this, the phantoms almost got her before she was finished. They tend to be drawn to this,' Indeed, the phantoms were already taking notice of them, peering down at them as if they'd only just noticed the humans stood there. One of them leapt down from the ship, snarling silently at Aki, which was when Gray snapped into action.

'Jane, Neil; you get the ones on the roof. Ryan and I'll keep them occupied on the ground,' There were a series of replies, and the Deep Eyes began their attack, all the while wondering what Aki was doing.