God Eater 3: The Twin Devils

by E2Moto

God Eater 3 AU story. Instead of one main protagonist, what will happen if there are two protagonists who are brother and sister instead? How will this twist affect the original story of God Eater 3? Rated 'M' for violence, and possible slight profanity.

17. Chapter 17: Conundrum

Disclaimer: I do not own God Eater, and any contents already in the game.

---

Chapter 17: Conundrum

Two days ago.

"Did you read Ricardo's message this morning, captain?" Shin asked.

"Yeah, they'll be arriving back here soon," Trista replied. "That means it's time to clean house, and that also means making our Port squared away."

"Yep," Shin nodded. "I'll order everyone to start making our place more presentable."

"Sounds great," Trista smiled. "And let's bring a couple more with us. We gotta start thinning the herd in the south where the owner will be passing through."

Then Shin chuckled, "You got it."

---

"Hnn," Phym slowly opened her eyes, and slowly lifted her head. "Mommy..? Daddy..?"

Then she looked around, and found a wrapped bowl on a table beside her. It had a written note, and still struggling a bit to read, she read:

'For you, Phym. -Mommy.'

She can start smelling it from where she was, and her stomach grumbled, 'Hungry…'

Then she grabbed it from the table, unwrapped it, and found a spoon and fork already set inside the bowl for her. She took a quick sniff, and paused, remembering Jerad's lesson for her, but nevertheless, the meal smelled too good for her.

Phym carefully set the food on her lap, and ate it the way Jerad taught her to. After several minutes, she set the empty bowl on the table, and folded her blanket before she stood from her bed. It was quiet, and she heard nothing but the hums of the refrigerant system. Missing Claire's warm hugs for her whenever they slept together, she shuddered a bit before she left the Medical Ward.

---

Once in the Laboratory Block.

Phym walked across the hallway clutching her arms, and right before she entered the elevator to find Jerad and Claire, the door suddenly slid open and saw Hilda.

"G-good morning..Hilda," Phym stuttered.

"Oh..Good morning, Phym," Hilda greeted back with surprise. "How are you?"

"I'm..OK," Phym murmured, shivering a bit.

"Are you cold?" Hilda concernedly asked.

"Mm," Phym nodded, still shivering.

"I'm sorry, but this is also perfect timing," Hilda bent down and smiled.

'That only made sense. We have been heading north towards my Port, and it's cold there. I should have thought of this…'

"I just finished sewing something for you, and it will keep you warm. Come with me to the office."

"Okay," Phym nodded before she entered the elevator with her. After the door slid shut, Hilda pressed a button, and wrapped her arm around the little girl.

"I'm so sorry, Phym. I knew it was going to get cold, but I forgot to adjust the air conditioning system," Hilda said. "Your mommy and daddy visited you this morning before they went to the training room to practice together, and I thought I should check on you to make sure you're OK."

"Training room?" Phym murmured while still clutching on Hilda's leg.

"Yes," Hilda nodded. "But first, I'll give you something to keep you warm before you can see them, OK?"

"Mm," Phym smiled before the elevator opened, and they walked across the Residential Hall.

Once they arrived in Hilda office.

"Just sit here, and wait," Hilda smiled before she opened a closet, and pulled a small cape out.

"Here you go," Hilda showed her an indigo cape. "It's yours, and I'll put it on for you. Just relax."

Then she wrapped it around Phym's shoulder, and tied a knot on her chest.

"There. You look very cute with it," Hilda smiled. "Glad I made it for you."

"Wow, I don't feel..cold anymore," Phym smiled.

"Show it to your mommy and daddy, and I'm sure they'll love it," Hilda giggled.

"I will," Phym cheered. "And..thank you, Hilda!"

"You're welcome," Hilda giggled before Phym latched on to her. "You're such a sweet child. Go see your mommy and daddy now, and I'm sure they've been worried about you."

"Okay," Phym nodded before she left her office, and closed the door.

After watching Phym leave, Hilda slowly frowned.

---

Meanwhile in the Training Room.

"Haa!" Claire swung her wooden staff at Jerad, but he blocked it.

"You're a lot more aggressive than before," Jerad snickered. "But I like it."

Then Claire blushed, "I-I have more from where that came from. I'll show you!"

Jerad chuckled, "Then please do."

"Haaa!"

He shoved her away, and went on the offensive. Claire was able to defend Jerad's quick and aggressive attacks better than before, and can even retaliate after defending herself time to time.

"Heh, and you've even gotten braver," Jerad grinned while holding his staff against Claire's. "It's almost like I've been fighting against myself. Have you been watching me?"

"No!" Claire shot at him. "I've only been fighting the way I've always been...as far as I'm concerned!"

"Oh?" Jerad raised his eyes with amusement. "Fair enough, but that makes it more interesting."

"W-what do you mean?" Claire stuttered.

"Nothing," Jerad plainly replied with a smirk.

"Haa!" Claire shoved him back, and moved in to strike, but just in time, he blocked her attack.

Jerad suddenly laughed, "Yep. Keep it up."

"Enough talking," Claire yelled.

"Fiiine then," Jerad smiled. "Let's finish this."

"Haaa!" Jerad shoved Claire back, and started clashing their wooden staves at each other. For several more minutes, they went on both offensive and defensive against each other until Claire started tiring out, and unbeknownst to them, Phym just entered the room.

"You're slowing down, Claire!" Jerad cried. "You getting tired?"

Claire did not reply as she kept defending herself against Jerad's barrage of attacks, and eventually…

"Haa!" Jerad knocked her down, and paused. "I guess this is it. Nice work."

"Hmm," Claire frowned, and closed her eyes. "I guess I still have a long way to go…"

"You've definitely gotten better, and to be honest, I barely even got time to play around," Jerad rested his staff on his shoulder before he reached his hand out to her. Claire stared at his hand before she shyly held it, and he helped her stand up.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Phym ran, and hugged them both, pulling them closer which made both of them gasped with embarrassment. Jerad was amazed how tight her hug is considering that she is hugging two people close together at the same time, and to make matters worse, he can almost feel her…

"Why are you fighting?! Please no fight!"

"H-huh?!" Jerad stuttered while still stiffening himself for being too close to Claire. "W-we are not fighting, Phym...We're just practicing together."

"Hm?" Phym looked up.

"Y-yes," Claire nodded, and was also stiff, wanting Phym to release her hug so she can escape her embarrassment from being too close to him.

"Y-your mommy..just wants to get stronger so she practices with me," Jerad stifly continued explaining. "We're fine, so please…"

"Okay..," Phym finally released them, and the two made deep relieving sighs from their embarrassment.

"So, how are you feeling?" Claire asked. "Did you eat the food we left for you?"

"Yeah," Phym replied. "Food taste good."

"That's great," Jerad smiled. "...And where did you get your cape from?"

"Hilda made it for me," Phym fluttered her cape from her shoulder. "Makes me super warm."

"It's cute," Claire grinned.

"Yeah, it looks really good on you," Jerad also grinned.

"Yay," Phym cheered. "Hilda told me you'll like it."

"We do," Jerad chuckled. "I'll thank her later."

"So daddy..can I practice with you, too?" Phym asked.

"Huh..?" Jerad raised his eyes. "Hmm…"

"What's wrong?" Claire whispered to him.

"It's just that..she's a kid, and I don't want to risk being too hard on her," Jerad whispered back.

"Oh, jeez," Claire murmured. "You trained Marr and Lil a few weeks ago, right? I think you did fine with them."

"OK, OK fine..," Jerad shrugged. "I'll try not to be too hard on her then."

"You're also thinking a bit too little of her," Claire whispered again. "Do you remember how physically strong she was?"

"Hm, good point," Jerad finally agreed. "OK, then. Let's have a little practice together. I'll get you a training weapon, and then we'll start."

"Okay," Phym excitedly nodded before Jerad walked to the training rack, and grabbed a wooden weapon that looked similar to her God Arc. He noticed that this dummy weapon was beaten hard, having many dents and nicks around the edges. Just what kind of a God Eater would have this thing beaten so bad?

Then he walked back to the sparring area.

"Here you go," He gave it to Phym before she grabbed it.

"Not stick?" Phym murmured.

"It's meant as a practice for your God Arc, Phym," Jerad smiled. "What you were using yesterday is called a Heavy Moon, and your mommy and I both use Charge Spears, so we use sticks to get better with them. You use a completely different God Arc."

"What's Charge Spear," Phym murmured.

"It's a type of spear where you can..charge it to do bigger damage," Jerad explained.

"Hn," Phym frowned.

"You can charge your heavy moon, too," Jerad said. "Did you remember sawing that Ashborn's shoulder?"

"Hn," Phym shuddered. "Yeah…"

"OK, you probably didn't remember much, but that's what you did while we're fighting that thing," Jerad explained.

"Okay," Phym murmured again.

"You surprisingly know so much about heavy moons," Claire murmured.

"I used to know someone who did," Jerad replied.

"Hm, really..?" Claire raised her eyes with intrigue.

"Yeah, and she's crazy with that thing," Jerad chuckled. "She used hers to the limit, so I've seen just about everything those big God Arcs can do, and depending who's using it, they can be brutal. Quite gruesome, even."

"She?" Claire said. "D-do you..?"

"Yep," Jerad nodded. "She was like a big sister to us..kinda like Hugo right now, heh."

"Oh..I see," Claire sighed with relief. "But I hope..she won't turn out like that."

"I can't imagine," Jerad chuckled while they watched Phym examine her dummy weapon. "The girl I knew using that was..a bit rough on the edge, I'd best say, hehe. Phym's personality doesn't fit with that..but who knows?"

"I really hope not," Claire whispered.

Jerad chuckled, "We'll see. Anyway, we're almost out of time, and we might get called into breakfast soon, so I gotta finish this."

Then he walked into the sparring area.

"Ready, Phym?" Jerad swung his staff off his shoulder.

"Um, yes, daddy," Phym stopped examining her dummy heavy moon, and posed into a ready.

"This is your first time, so show me what you got," Jerad assumed a battle stance. "You first."

"Go!"

"Okay!" Phym smiled, and rushed at him. "Hiyah!"

CLANK!

"Nghh!" Jerad gritted his teeth as he held his staff against Phym. 'She hits so hard! No wonder why that stupid Ashborn whined when she first struck it.'

"Are you okay?!" Claire gasped with worry.

"I'm alright," Jerad quickly replied while still holding his staff against Phym. "She hits so hard..."

Then Phym stepped back, "Should I stop, daddy?"

"No, don't stop until I tell you," Jerad resumed his stance. "I wanna see everything you can do. Don't hold back!"

"Okay!" Then Phym rushed in again, and swung. Jerad blocked her swing again, and grunted, barely able to withstand the immense force from her before he parried it off.

"Hah!"

"Heeh!"

"Hiyah!"

Phym continued swinging as Jerad dodged them, and as her swings intensified further, Jerad's agility could no longer keep up, and he blocked her swing again.

"Ngh!" Jerad grunted. 'I'm better off dodging her, but even the speed of her attacks is a bit faster than me. Dammit!'

"Nice hits so far," Jerad complimented, not even smiling. "But, I'm about to get more serious."

"J-Jerad!" Claire cried.

"It will be OK," Jerad murmured before Claire decided to keep watching.

"You ready, Phym?" Jerad asked with a serious tone.

"Mm," Phym firmly nodded, and resumed her fighting stance, which made him proud knowing that she started feeling more confident.

"Then here I come," Jerad also assumed his battle stance. "Haa!"

He swung at her, but she blocked his attack. Copying Jerad's move earlier, she parried his staff off and then swung at him, but she missed. They continued swinging and defending against each other's attacks until Jerad jumped away from Phym's downswing, setting a good distance between them.

"Good, Phym," Jerad complimented again. "But I'm going 100% offense now. Get ready."

Like last time, Phym quietly assumed her stance.

"HAA!" Jerad swiftly leapt towards her, and started barraging her with swings. Phym blocked and parried his attacks, and remembering his quick movements, she also started evading his attacks before she began seeing openings to retaliate.

Alarmed by this, Jerad's barrages became more cautious, and also started evading and parrying her swings until they started swinging at each other. Their spar dragged on like this until...

"You're open!" Jerad swung, and knocked Phym down. "Ow!"

"Phym!" Claire cried.

He pointed his staff at her, panting. "We're done. You're OK, right?"

"Mm," Phym nodded before Jerad smiled, and reached his hand out to her. She took his hand, and stood up before picking her dummy heavy moon.

"You can't be serious!" Hugo suddenly spoke.

"Sparring with..Phym?!" Misha gasped. "What were you thinking, brother?!"

Jerad turned to them, and slowly shook his head, "She badly wanted to spar with me so I did, but you guys have no idea…You should have seen the whole thing."

"What do you mean?" Misha asked.

"She hits so hard," Jerad replied. "And she learned to fight pretty fast just by seeing me and Claire earlier."

"Does that mean I did good, daddy?" Phym asked.

"Definitely," Jerad patted her head. "Good job today."

"Yay, candy?" Phym grinned.

"Yeah, after breakfast," Jerad kept stroking her head.

"Jeez, I was worried the whole time," Claire sighed. "But I'm glad none of you got hurt."

"I said we'll be fine," Jerad shrugged. "Plus, I really don't want to hurt our little girl."

"Our little girl..," Misha snickered at Claire, and grinned after seeing her blush.

"Anyway, you know why we came here," Hugo smiled. "Breakfast is almost ready."

"Oh yeah," Jerad replied. "But, mind if we catch on a bit later? I want to talk to Phym about her God Arc."

"Sounds fine to me," Hugo nodded. "But we might as well as come along. We got time."

"Sure," Jerad nodded.

Then he took Phym's training weapon before he went with Claire to store them back to the rack.

After they stowed them, Jerad looked at his hand.

"Is something wrong?" Claire whispered.

"I think I'm going to have blisters for this," Jerad grimaced. "But it should be fine so far. It doesn't hurt much."

"But they can cause an infection, if not treated properly," Claire whispered again. "Just let me know if you need it."

"Sure," Jerad murmured before he closed the rack, and they went back to Hugo.

---

Once in the Laboratory Block.

"Let's go, Phym. I'll show your God Arc, and tell you more about it," Jerad smiled.

"Hn..," Phym shuddered, and clung to him before everyone stopped.

"Uh, Phym?" Jerad raised his eyes. "You OK?"

"Ghost..Isn't there a ghost in there?" Phym asked, shuddering.

Then Jerad and Claire glanced at each other before everyone laughed.

"What's..so funny?" Phym frowned.

"Sorry, but it's nothing bad," Jerad let out a few more laughs. "But just to let you know, Daddy doesn't believe in ghosts."

"Why?" Phym asked with curiosity.

"Because they're just mere superstitions," Jerad replied. "They're not real, and if I don't see one, then I won't believe in it."

"Okay..," Phym nodded.

"The reason Ricardo told you a ghost story in this room is so you won't come in there, and touch our God Arcs. He did this all for your own good. These things are dangerous, and you can't just touch any of them, or else they'll either hurt you or even kill you. This is why I wanted to bring you in this room so we can tell you about these things, since you own a God Arc now," Jerad explained.

"Okay," Phym nodded.

"I don't believe in ghosts, either," Hugo added. "Like your daddy, I won't believe it until I see one."

"Me, too," Misha smiled at her. "No one should be believing in ghosts these days, haha!"

'I-I still do,' Claire frowned. 'You don't have to say it like that, Misha. Ugh!'

"See? Jeez..," Then Jerad pinched her cheeks.

"Hwah?!" Phym widened her eyes.

"You're not scared of fighting an Ash Aragami, but you're scared of something that isn't real? You silly girl!" Jerad laughed as he continued pinching and wiggling her cheeks while Hugo and Misha laughed. Claire only watched, giggling.

"D-daddy, my fwace huwts. Pwease stop!" Phym begged him while she held his wrists.

"There," Jerad let go of her cheeks.. "Let's get in there, so I could show you."

"Okay," Phym nodded, and followed them inside.

However, once they entered, she grasped Jerad's hand, and looked around the room before he rolled his eyes. Seeing this, Claire giggled.

"Here's your God Arc, Phym," Jerad pointed up, and she saw her heavy moon latched on a mechanical swingarm. "Do you know how to get it?"

"Mm," Phym shook her head.

"OK, just put your hand in that slot, and that arm will move to you," Jerad instructed. "Try it."

"Okay," Phym inserted her hand, and as he said, the arm did move itself toward her, surprising her a bit.

"And that's when you can pick up your God Arc," Jerad further instructed.

Then Phym picked up her God Arc, and then set it back before she jumped in surprise when the arm suddenly moved itself back.

"That's it," Jerad smiled. "That's how you pick up your God Arc when you need it. Easy enough?"

"Yeah," Phym nodded with a smile.

"But like your daddy said, don't try touching other people's God Arcs. These things only like their owners," Hugo said.

"Now I'm curious," Jerad rubbed his chin. "Phym, how did you..'claim' this God Arc? Hehe."

"I just..grabbed it in that room," Phym pointed at the Salvage God Arc room. "It felt..tingy-tingy at first, but I only held it until it stopped being tingy-tingy."

"Tingy-tingy..? OK." Jerad chuckled.

"So, she did reprogram that God Arc into hers," Hugo also chuckled.

"Ooh, like Amy said," Misha started giggling. "Big sis probably won't be happy with this, haha!"

Then the three laughed while Claire grimaced and crossed her arms, not feeling impressed at all.

"Hm?" Phym looked at them, puzzled. "Did I do something..wrong?"

"No, not really," Jerad said. "But this God Arc was already owned by someone."

"Really..?" Phym gasped. "Am I..a bad girl for stealing?"

"No, no. Not at all," Jerad shook his head. "You saved us with this during an emergency, so I won't blame it on you, and don't worry, daddy and his friends will take care of it. Plus the owner is daddy's old friend, too. We got you."

"Okay," Phym nodded, smiling.

"OK, this is it," Jerad shrugged. "Now you know how to get your God Arc..and take care of it. It's yours."

"Okay," Phym smiled.

They left the God Arc Storage Vault, and halfway to the elevator, Jerad stared at his hand and winced slightly.

"Claire, I think I'll need to get this treated," Jerad whispered.

"Understand," Claire nodded.

"Phym, could you go on ahead, and eat with them? Mommy and daddy have something to take care of real quick, and we'll catch up," Jerad said.

"Huh?" Claire murmured but Jerad gestured to her to wait.

"Okay," Phym quickly nodded.

"Good girl," Jerad stroked her head.

"Yeah, come with us, Phym," Misha smiled. "Zeke and Lulu are cooking a delicious meal, and I bet you'll like it."

"Okay," Phym cheered. "I can't wait to try it."

Then the two watched them enter the elevator before they walked into the Medical Ward, and after they entered, Jerad sat down and removed his gloves.

"Ooh," He grimaced. "This is actually a bit worse than I thought…"

"It is," Claire slightly gasped before she took a roll of bandage and an ointment out of a cabinet.

"This is why I sent her ahead," Jerad murmured. "I don't want her to see this."

"She would have definitely felt bad about this," Claire replied. "But thanks for being considerate about her. Is she really that strong?"

"Oh, definitely," Jerad nodded as Claire applied ointment to each of his blisters. "She could have seriously hurt me, if I wasn't careful, and was almost on the edge despite pushing her to give me everything she got."

"You probably should not have done this," Claire replied as she started wrapping bandages on his left palm.

"I don't think it needs much, but please add a bit more just in case we have to go out there today," Jerad said.

"Alright," Claire replied.

"Anyway, it was worth it," Jerad continued. "I'm glad I got to see what she's capable of. That girl would just never cease to amaze me."

Claire giggled, "Me, too. But would you start bringing her into missions with us..?"

"I've been thinking about that, actually." Jerad murmured. "I'm honestly feeling a bit apprehensive, but I don't think she'll be happy if we don't let her go with us at this point, and she worries about us each time we go out there. She also knows she can fight now, and it will be hard to refuse her."

"I agree," Claire murmured as she finished bandaging his right palm. "I don't think there's really anything we can do, so we just have to let her be…"

"Hm, how about this? I'll tell her to stay close to us," Jerad proposed. "And if she doesn't follow that enough, then we'll ground her for the next mission or two until she learns."

"That's..pretty strict," Claire slightly gasped. "But I guess it's only fair."

"Yeah, I'd hate to do that, but that's only for her own good," Jerad frowned. "But to be honest, I don't feel too worried about that, and I'm sure she'll follow."

Claire giggled, "You know how to be both strict and warm to her at the same time. You're really a good dad to her."

"U-um, yeah..," Jerad stuttered. "You're..a good mom, too."

"What?" Claire blushed. "H-how?"

"You read stories for her, and started teaching her how to read while I was out," Jerad explained. "You were doing your part, too…"

"T-that's true, but..," Claire paused, remembering Misha once told her that she would be a good mother someday. "I-I guess you're right..Anyway, let's go to the kitchen now, and dine with everyone. We can't keep them waiting."

"Yeah," Jerad stood up. "And thanks for the bandaging me up."

"Don't worry about it," Claire shook her head. "I'm just glad you told me."

Then Jerad turned to the table beside Phym's bed, "Oh, here's her bowl. We better bring it back to the kitchen."

"Right," Claire nodded.

Jerad chuckled, "Wow, she finished the whole thing, not even a crumb, and she made her bed before leaving, too. Did you teach her?"

"No, not yet," Claire shook her head. "But I guess she learned it by watching someone, likely Lulu."

"Heh, of course," Jerad grinned.

"W-what do you mean?" Claire glared at him.

"I meant, Misha," Jerad laughed. "She never makes her bed whenever she wakes up."

"Oh," Claire paused. "I also make my bed, just so you know."

"I figured you do," Jerad smiled. "Teacher's Pet."

"Ooh, stop calling me that!" Claire pouted before she swatted his arm.

"Ow," Jerad let out a few more laughs. "I was just kidding, jeez."

Then they left the Medical Ward.

---

Once they arrived in the Galley.

"Hey, it's about time," Hugo forced a smile while Jerad laid an empty bowl beside the sink. "Come sit down, and eat up. We saved them for you."

Seeing this, Jerad narrowed his eyes, "...OK."

Then the two sat down, and started eating.

"Daddy, this food taste good," Phym smiled after swallowing her meal.

"I bet," He nodded before he took his spoon and fork, and started eating.

"What did you do in the Medical Ward?" Misha asked.

"We just..took care of things," Jerad slipped his glove to show her a bit of bandage without letting Phym see it. Misha raised her eyes, and did not further ask, understanding his hint.

"And we also had to pick up Phym's bowl," He finished.

"Did she finish it?" Lulu curiously asked.

"Not even a crumb left," Jerad proudly smiled.

"Glad to hear that," Lulu also smiled before she turned to Phym. "I promise I will keep cooking you meals that you'll love."

"Really..?" Phym beamed a smile. "Thank you..Lulu."

She latched onto her, and snuggled. Jerad and Claire chuckled seeing Phym's excitement.
'Haaa, is this..the first time she hugged me?' Lulu mused while stroking Phym's head. 'I have to keep this up for you, and I'll make sure to never let you down.'

"You outdid it again, Lulu," Hilda said. "My most sincere compliments."

"Thank you, ma'am," Lulu smiled.

"I guess we should wrap this up," Ricardo stood up.

"Wait, Claire and I haven't finished yet," Jerad objected.

"Nah, don't worry, kid," Ricardo assured. "Just finish it up, and we'll take care of the rest."

"OK..," Jerad nodded before him and Claire hurriedly finished their meal.

Once they finished, they passed their dishes to the sink.

"Hey, buddy. Can you take over the dishwashing?" Hugo plainly asked.

"Sure, but what's up?" Jerad nodded.

"...Hilda wants to talk to me," Hugo grimly replied.

"...OK, then. I got you." Jerad smiled, and did an armlet bang with Hugo before he left.

"...I'll go ahead, and finish wiping the tables," Claire said.

"Sure," Jerad nodded to her. "And Phym, go ahead and help finish the rest."

"Yes, daddy," Phym nodded with a smile, and followed Claire.

Then Jerad wore his dishwashing gloves, and started washing.

"So..what's up with Hugo?" Jerad murmured. "He looks pretty down."

Misha frowned, "Hilda told him she needs to see him after we ate."

"Must be something important, then," Jerad continued washing. "Do you have any idea what it is?"

"I don't know," Misha shook her head. "He wouldn't tell me."

"OK, that's fine," Jerad said. "I'll talk to him after this. Hopefully he's done with her by then."

"Please ask him," Misha begged. "I don't know why he won't tell me, but I'm sure he'll tell you."

"Yeah," Jerad nodded. "I'll ask him."

Then they continued washing dishes until they finished.

"There. We done," Jerad sighed. "I'll head over, and see him. Hang around with everyone else for now."

"I got her," Misha smiled.

Then he heard a tone in his earpiece.

"Jerad, can you hear me?" Hilda asked.

"Yeah," He plainly replied.

"Can you see me in the office? I have something important to tell you," Hilda said.

Jerad and Misha glanced at each other before he spoke, "Sure, I'm on my way there."

"Hm," Jerad hummed.

"What was that?" Misha asked.

"Hilda just called me to see her in her office," Jerad replied. 'And I don't like how she sounded.'

"Anyway, I gotta get going." He said before he started walking out of the kitchen.

"Daddy, where are you going?" Phym suddenly asked.

"I need to see Hilda," Jerad replied.

"Oh, can I go with you?" Phym begged.

"Uh..yeah, sure," Jerad hesitantly nodded before Phym ran to him and held his hand. Despite his grim feeling in this, Phym's smile while holding his hand somehow, gave him a bit of relief.

"We'll see you later, Claire," Jerad waved at her. "We'll go with you in the lobby afterwards."

"Alright," Claire nodded before the two left the kitchen.

---

In the Residential Block.

"Hm," Jerad stopped at Hilda's office door.

"Should I knock on the door for you, daddy?" Phym smiled.

Jerad chuckled, "Quit being a tease, but I got this."

Then he knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Hilda asked.

"It's me, Jerad, and Phym is also with me," He replied.

"Please come in," Hilda said.

He slowly opened the door, and then him and Phym entered.

"OK, we have something to talk about," Hilda murmured. "We'll soon be arriving at our Port, Chrysanthemum. It's only been a short while we've worked with you, but we appreciate your help. You'll be paid for your services, so don't worry."

"OK..?" Jerad slowly nodded. "...But what do you mean by this?"

"You are aware that your ownership rights remain in the possession of Port Pennywort?" Hilda asked.

Jerad raised his eyes, almost gasping before remembering what Hilda said when they first arrived in her ship.

Then he frowned, "Yeah."

"The Port may be gone, but that doesn't invalidate the contract," Hilda explained.

"...So I guess this is a good bye then?" Jerad plainly said, trying to keep his cool in front of her. However, deep inside, he felt his blood boiling.

Hilda sighed, "Friends are hard to come by, but if we're still alive, then we'll see each other again."

Jerad remained quiet.

"We just received an official request to return you from the governor of Pennywort," Hilda continued. "Gleipnir will be mediating the delivery from Port Chrysanthemum to Port Pennywort."

"I guess we have no choice..," Jerad murmured.

"Yes, that's right," Hilda closed her eyes. "It's the way of the times we're in. When things are chaotic, you need to stick to the rules."

"We will fulfill our contractual obligation to transport Phym to Gleipnir," Hilda continued before Jerad glanced at Phym, and then looked back at her. "I imagine your contracts will be revised, and you'll find work at new Ports. So this deal between us will only last until we reach Chrysanthemum...So, please, let's make it count."

"Alright," Jerad replied in monotone, not wanting to hear about this anymore.

"I guess that will be it for now," Hilda murmured. "But there's something I want to tell you. As long as you're alive...there is a way. I'm absolutely sure we'll meet again."

"Yeah," Then Jerad and Phym started walking out of the office, and closed the door.
"Daddy?" Phym tugged him.

"What is it, Phym?" Jerad asked in an almost whisper.

"What is Gleep-near? Am I going there?" Phym curiously asked.

"...Yeah," Jerad looked away from her, but before he started walking, he suddenly paused.

"Hugo..?" Jerad raised his eyes. "Where have you been..?"

"I just did a little face wash inside the bathroom," Hugo replied.

"Hm, so this is it, huh?" Jerad looked down. "Everything we did has been worthless in the first place…"

"Well, complaining won't change anything," Hugo said.

"And then, so what?" Jerad aggravatingly refuted. "Not complaining won't change a damn thing, either."

Then Hugo suddenly grabbed his shoulders. "You want a better life for your sister, right? Isn't that what you always wanted? Do you want to see her get insulted by the guards again?!"

Jerad froze before he narrowed his eyes, "There is nothing we could do, Hugo! It is what it is."

"It isn't! Listen!" Hugo cried. "If we get scattered after we get to Chrysanthemum, then we'll really have gotten nowhere, but we're not there yet so there's still hope. I need your help!"

"What. Help?" Jerad hissed. "What the hell do you have-?"

"We have an ace up our sleeve," Hugo glanced at Phym before turning back to him. "Phym is the ace up our sleeve."

"What?!" Jerad's eyes widened.

"If this caravan is carrying Phym, then they won't be able to ignore us for a start," Hugo explained. "With that, I'll cut a deal with Hilda."

"What..do you plan to do with her..?" Jerad glared at him, but understanding how he would feel about this, Hugo ignored his reaction.

"The reason behind it..," Hugo paused. "Should stay hidden for now. But in the meantime, just think about your sister. Think about all the fun times you've spent with Claire and Phym. Aren't you happy with where you are now? Do you want to lose them?"

Jerad froze for a moment, not knowing how to answer.

Then Hugo sighed, "That's fine. We're done talking for now, but please think hard about this. Our future rides on this, and I'm going to start preparing for negotiations. We'll talk more about the details later."

Then Hugo patted his shoulder before he left for the elevator. Jerad stood still for a few minutes before Phym tugged him.

"Daddy, what is nego-she-ashon? Is that like a card game?" Phym asked.

"Hm...yeah. You're going to be our trump card, Phym..," Jerad replied.

"Trump..card?" Phym asked again.

"Don't worry about it..," Jerad murmured before he held Phym's hand and walked to the elevator.

---

Once on the Bridge.

Jerad saw Marr, Lil, and Sho playing.

"Hey, guys," Jerad greeted in monotone. "What you three up to?"

"We'll be arriving at the Port soon, right?" Marr asked.

"Yeah," Jerad murmured.

"What will happen to us?" Marr asked before Jerad's eyes widened.

"Yeah, I can't stand being in this ship anymore," Lil whined. "It feels so confined in here. It's almost like being back in that prison, and I can't wait to live in our new Port."

'Live in our..new Port?' Jerad froze.

"I also can't wait to arrive in Hilda's Port," Sho added. "I don't want to have motion sickness, and get sick anymore."

Then Jerad stared at his hand before Marr interrupted him, "Hey, you feeling OK? Why you look so gloomy?"

Then Jerad shook his head, "No, it's...nothing."

"You should be excited," Marr said. "We'll finally get to our new home."

'A new home..,' Jerad mused. "Anyway, I gotta get going now. Phym, do you wanna play with them?"

"Sure, they playing tag, so I wanna play tag, too," Phym smiled.

"OK, go ahead, and I'll be at the lobby if you need me," Jerad faintly smiled.

"Okay," Phym smiled before she joined the kids playing. Jerad watched them for a few seconds, and smiled before he moved on, becoming lost in thought.

---

Once in the Lobby.

"Hey, man. You wanna join in?" Zeke asked as soon as Jerad arrived in the room.

"I think I'll pass..," Jerad murmured.

"Where's Phym?" Claire asked.

"She's playing with the kids on the bridge," Jerad replied. "Anyway, I'll need some shut eye."

"Huh?" Claire felt surprised, but decided not to press the situation further. Though, Misha also observed him, and knew that like Hugo, Jerad must have learned some grave news…

He laid on the couch for a few minutes, thinking about what he could do non-stop, but considering the noise everyone has been making while playing cards, he grunted and suddenly stood up.

"I'm going out." He murmured.

"Where are you going?" Misha asked.

"...Need some time alone," Jerad almost bitterly replied before he walked out of the room.

After a few seconds of silence, Hugo groaned.

"Hugo..," Misha turned a glare to him. "I know something happened between the owner, and both of you, and it's definitely not anything good, so could you tell us what that is?"

"Hm," Hugo murmured.

"And don't. EVEN. Try hiding this anymore!" Misha glared at him.

Then Hugo sighed, "Okay..okay. This is what Hilda told us this morning…"

---

In the Medical Ward.

Jerad sat alone in the room with his face buried in his hands. He tried to stop thinking about this draining situation, but could not shake it off.

'You still have a chance…'

'You think so?'

'Because despite going through hardships, you still held compassion for others. If you have that strength, then I believe you can still make a difference.'

'It's not too late.'

'Claire..,' Jerad gritted his teeth. 'Sis...Phym...the kids...they..we all just wanted to have normal lives. What should I do?'

'Dammit.'

---

Back in the Lobby.

"I see," Misha frowned. "This is just…"

"Those bastards!" Zeke pounded the table, gritting his teeth. "They abandoned us from that Ash Storm, and now they want us back?!"

"I know," Hugo murmured. "Hilda told me that she did what she could to keep us away from that old man, but he still caught up to us."

"Then what the hell should we do?!" Zeke cried. "Is there a way?"

"There has to be," Hugo replied. "I'm trying to think of a plan to negotiate right now."

After a few minutes of silence, Hugo finally lifted his head.

"OK, let's start from here. How about we talk about our values?"

"Values?" Zeke raised.

"Yeah," Hugo nodded. "How useful we are."

Then Claire raised her eyes and stood up, "I'm going."

"Where to?" Misha murmured.

"I'll find your brother," Claire replied before she left the room.

"That's fine," Hugo said. "Anyway, we gotta talk about this…"

---

On the Bridge.

Claire walked across the area, and saw Phym still running with other kids.

"Hello, Phym," Claire smiled. "Have you seen daddy?"

"Yeah," Phym replied. "But he told me I could still play, and then he went to that elevator."

"Thank you," Claire stroked her head. "Please keep playing with them for now, OK? Enjoy yourself."
"Okay, mommy," Phym smiled, and started playing with them again.

Then Claire headed to the elevator.

---

In the Laboratory Block.

Claire left the elevator after spending several minutes looking for him in the Residential Block, and luckily, Ricardo happened to be cleaning in the Men's Cabin for her to ask if Jerad was there, but he said that he has never been there. She only hoped that Jerad was not in the Men's Bathroom, and there was no way he could be in Hilda's office at that time, so she took the chance to conclude that he is likely in the Laboratory Block.

After she walked across the hallway, she stared at the Medical Ward door, and somehow, felt that he was in there since most of their important conversations happened there. She entered, and to her surprise, she found Jerad sitting alone inside, his face buried in his hands.

"Jerad..?" Claire softly called.

"What is it..?" Jerad asked, his face still buried down, and she can feel that he is clearly distraught.

"I...heard about what's happening," Claire whispered. "Hugo told us."

"Then you know where this is going," Jerad bitterly said, shuddering. "Hugo told me that he needed my help to get out of this, but I don't know how I can be any help to him."

"But, you wanted to, right?" Claire murmured.

"He told me that if I wanted a better life for Misha, then I have to do something," Jerad shook his head. "Of course I always wanted what's best for her, but I don't know what to do! Negotiations? Bargaining? I know nothing of that. I did nothing in my whole life but fight and kill Aragami. That's all I knew!"

Then Claire paused for a moment before she slid a chair and sat in front of him.

"You know? During my second mission with you, if you didn't look after me at that time, I would not be here now, and you started training me to be a better God Eater and I became stronger because of that.

You also started training the kids, and since then, they've looked up to you.

You saved Phym's life from an Ashborn, and because of that, she chose you to be her dad."

Then Claire saw him raise his head, but decided to continue.

"You also saved us when we were being overwhelmed by Aragami despite your condition."

"And lastly," Claire paused. "You bravely brought down an Ash Aragami. Something no one has ever done before."

"I didn't do it alone," Jerad shook his head. "If it wasn't for Phym, we would have all been dead, and even I was almost killed by it."

"But she learned to be brave because of you," Claire replied. "She watched you face the odds and win over them, and she wanted to follow you because of that. What more could a child ask other than a dad who leads her by example? Someone who greatly cared for her?"

"You do have value," Claire continued. "Even just by fighting alone, you have already proven your value more than you think. When Hugo asked for your help, I don't think he expects you to know how to negotiate as well as he does, and all he asked for is your support. You don't have to know exactly what to do to be helpful, just put your best effort in, and then everything should fall into place. The reason why Hugo talked to you first before everyone else is because he trusts you, and I'm sure he always appreciated everything you have been doing for him."

Then after Claire finished, Jerad remained quiet with his face still in his hands, but he was not shivering anymore, making her believe that she finally came through him. She decided that perhaps he should be best left alone to have more time to think.

"I have to go," Claire sat up, and then held his shoulders. "I have to check on Phym, but please...give Hugo your best. He needs you."

Then she quietly left the room, and Jerad sat alone for several more minutes.

'What can I do..?' Jerad finally stood up, and also left the ward. Once he reached the hallway intersection, he paused when he faintly heard a faint conversation nearby, and learned that it was Zeke and Keith. It seemingly came from the God Arc Storage Vault, so he quietly walked close to the door to listen.

"If we don't do something, we're all going to end up back in prison," Zeke whined. "And Hugo told me to think of values to bargain with Hilda, but I'm not good at thinking."

Then he clutched his head, "Dammit! There's not much time! We all have to think fast!"

"We'll figure something out, bro," Keith assured him. "Let's see…"

'Values..,' Jerad thought as he stared at his hand.

'You bravely brought an Ash Aragami. Something no one has ever done before.'

'To be honest, I'm still shocked that you could defeat such a powerful creature with a single squad at that. That certainly is a first.'

'Defeating an Ashborn..,' Jerad clutched his hand before he walked into the vault.

"Keith," Jerad suddenly called him from the door.

"Whoa, man," Zeke jumped. "Where did you come from? I've been looking for you because I need help in coming with stuff to bargain with Hilda."

"That's what I'm here for," Jerad replied with a serious tone. "Keith, we're the only ones who fought an Ashborn and lived to tell about it, so I need you to compile as much information about them as you can, and I'll tell you everything I knew about the one we fought yesterday. Can you do that?"

"O-of course," Keith nodded. "I'll get this done overnight, if I have to."

"Thanks," Jerad faintly smiled. "We have a lot at stake, so do this like our lives depend on it, and hold nothing back."

"Roger that," Keith smiled.

"I'll also have Hugo, Claire, and Misha pitch in information since frankly..," Jerad scratched his head. "I didn't see much of the one in the cargo bay last week. I didn't 'live' to see much of that…"

Then Zeke and Keith laughed.

"Yeah, I remember that," Zeke laughed a bit more. "But we got you, and that was a great idea, though. How did you come up with that?"

"...Just something random," Jerad murmured. "OK, I'll start. Here's what I know…"

---

In the Lobby.

"Hello, Claire," Misha smiled. "How's..my brother?"

"I just talked to him," Claire faintly smiled. "I think he'll be fine now."

"Thanks...I really appreciate the consolation," Hugo smiled before he leaned back on the table. "So far, let's see...we opened routes for them, and then we can give Pennywort the information we had on those routes. We can also have Hilda not owe us anything for all the work we did for her..."

"This is definitely not enough. Far from it. Dammit!"

"I already said that we could use Phym to bargain with Hilda, but that will be our last resort."

"Hm, how about information on the acceleration trigger?" Lulu suggested before staring at her armlet. "This tech is still a prototype, and is still being worked on. It would be a good selling point to disclose what we know about it."

Then Hugo suddenly raised his head, "Yeah, you're right, and we can compile all the information we know about it: its capabilities, and a wide variety of things you want to do with it. It will also be a good idea to consult Keith about that because he's the one who fine tuned ours to be a lot less harmful to us, and still keep its performance."

"Something Baran couldn't be bothered to do," Lulu bitterly added.

"And the fact that it's still a prototype means that it hasn't hit the mainstream market yet," Hugo added. "Gleipnir likely still doesn't have this, and we can definitely use that as a high selling point."

"Absolutely," Lulu nodded.

"But..," Hugo scratched his head. "I know it's not a good thing to ask, but why are you helping us? You have been definitely free ever since Baran left you and Hilda took you in, so this isn't really your problem."

"I owed a lot to everyone here," Lulu plainly replied. "If I hadn't met you guys, I wouldn't be alive now so ever since then, I vowed to help you as much as I can."

"Huh," Hugo raised his eyes.

"And if anything on a personal level, this is my revenge on Baran for the hell they put me through," Lulu narrowed her eyes. "By spreading information on how to finalize this tech outside their own, they won't make as much profit as they would, and I just seized their chance to monopolize their capital gain with it."

"I see," Hugo murmured.

"I will go ahead, and start compiling information about the acceleration trigger in this tablet," Lulu smiled. "I would be more than happy to."

"Hugo?" Amy contacted him through radio. "We are very close to Chrysanthemum, but we hit a snag. Can you guys come to the bridge?"

'Close, huh?' Hugo grimly thought, realizing that their time is running out. "Sure, Amy. We're on our way."

---

Back in the God Arc Storage Room.

"Oh, dammit! A mission?!" Zeke whined. "Talk about adding insult to injury."

"That's fine," Jerad nodded. "We already got a lot of information jotted down. So Keith, just refine all the notes you took from us while we're out."

"No problem, friend," Keith nodded with a grin while waving his tablet. "Consider it done by the time you guys get back."

"I really appreciate it," Jerad smiled. "You are the brain of this team, besides Hugo."

"Thanks, I won't let you down," Keith nodded.

Then Jerad tapped his radio, "Hugo, we're on our way there."

"I heard you," Hugo replied.

"Let's go, Zeke," Jerad said as they left the vault.

"Now, this is going to be really exciting," Keith smiled while looking at his notes. "But some info about these Ashborns? Scary."

---

On the Bridge.

"We're here," Jerad murmured.

"OK, so now everyone is here," Amy said. "We have to cross a nearby abandoned Frozen Plant before we can safely arrive at our Port, but the area is infested with Aragami right now."

"I see, so all we have to do is eliminate them?" Hugo asked.

"Yes, buut..," Amy looked at the resonance radar. "I'm already detecting...other God Eaters in the area and are currently in combat. It's faint, but because of the ash and distance, I could not get solid contact with them. I could not even reach them with radio."

"It's likely one of our patrol units," Hilda said. "Ricardo sent a message to our Port that we'll be arriving soon a few days ago, and they're likely working hard to make our trip easier for us. Could you provide assistance, if you run into them?"

"Will do," Hugo nodded. "Ready everyone? Let's move out."

"Daddy, can I go with you?" Phym tugged him.

"Hmm, I guess you can, now you can fight," Jerad smiled.

"Yay, I get to fight with mommy and daddy again," Phym beamed a smile.

"In one condition, though. Stay close to me or mommy, OK?" Jerad held her shoulder. "You can fight, but you're still new. You still have things to learn before I can trust that you can hold your own."

"Be careful, OK, Phym?" Claire smiled.

"Okay," Phym nodded before everyone hustled into the God Arc Storage Vault. After they grabbed their God Arcs, Jerad watched Phym do the process that he taught her to retrieve her God Arc, and as soon as the mechanical arm moved itself to her, she grabbed it carefully before she held it in a safe way before he smiled.

"Same drill, Zeke." Hugo said. "You're my navigator, and the rest hop in behind. Let's go."

"Roger," Everyone nodded before they left the vault and gathered in the loading dock.

"I wish you guys luck," Ricardo said before he opened the loading door. "Say hi to our guys once you see them."

"Will do," Hugo gave him a thumb up. "Starting up."

Their truck started as the loading door kept sliding up, and once it's completely open, Hugo set their truck into gear and drove off their vessel with a roar.

---

10 minutes during the trip.

"Hey, guys," Jerad murmured after looking around the compartment, and covered his mic. "Are your radios on? If it is, switch to a different channel that isn't Amy's, but don't turn it off. I don't want Amy or Hilda to hear this."

"OK," Misha nodded before everyone switched their channels.

"Good?" Jerad asked.

"Mm," Everyone nodded.

"OK, about this negotiation thing," Jerad murmured. "I don't know what Hugo already told you so far, but I already came up with my own."

Claire raised her eyes before she smiled, realizing that he finally came around.

"What is it?" Lulu asked.

"Information about the Ashborn," Jerad replied.

"Huh?" Misha raised her eyes. "You're right. No one has ever beaten those things, and we were the first."

"Which is why I want to use what we learned about them as value," Jerad explained. "We're the only ones who lived to tell about it."

"That does look sound," Claire said. "Even Gleipnir had scarce information about Ashborns."

"Zeke and I already started gathering information and having Keith take notes," Jerad said. "And we need the rest of you to pitch in after this mission is done, and I'll tell Hugo myself. Especially the one that knocked me out. You guys know better than me in that."

"Yeah," Misha nodded. "We'll take care of that."

"And be secretive about this," Jerad warned. "We are going to bargain with her, so I don't want those three to know what cards we're going to deal with them."

"Let alone, even negotiate. Watch out especially for Hilda because she can be anywhere, and I hate to do this to her, but right now, she's not..really our friend."

"Understood, brother." Misha nodded.

Lulu chuckled, "I know."

"Heh, you too, Lulu," Jerad grinned. "I couldn't tell your presence that it was scary sometimes."

"Thank you," Lulu grinned back. "I take pride in that."

The two chuckled while Claire grimaced.

"Anyway, from now on, start thinking about what you know about them before you see Keith," Jerad said. "Just...don't do it once we're fighting."

"Of course..," Misha playfully glared. "We know better than that."

"Ash..Aragami?" Phym shuddered. "I hate..Ashborns.."

"I know you don't like them," Jerad wrapped his arm around her. "But we need your help. Could you do that?"

"Anything for daddy," Phym nodded before she hugged him.

"So cute..," Misha teased with a whisper.

"So, anything else?" Jerad asked.

"I already started gathering information about the acceleration trigger," Lulu said. "I'll also see Keith about this, so it's a good thing you already got him involved."

"Ooh," Jerad raised his eyes. "That's a good catch, but yeah, he's the smart guy of the team. I already told him to organize all the info we'll gather for him, and he'll get it done in no time."

"I bet," Lulu agreed.

"So, anything else?" Jerad asked.

"Nothing further," Misha shook her head.

"OK, glad I'm finally on the same page. Open up your radios again before Amy starts getting suspicious," Jerad said. "No more discussions about this until later."

"Alright," Lulu nodded before they switched their radios to their channel again.

"Phym..you ready for another fight?" Jerad smiled.

"Yeah, as long as I'm with you and mommy, I'm always ready," Phym replied before everyone chuckled.

---

Outside the Frozen Plant.

They just dismounted from their truck, and grabbed their God Arcs.

"That's quite a big facility," Hugo starred up.

"Brrr, it's a bit chilly out here," Misha clutched her arms.

"M-me, too," Claire shuddered.

"Because you weren't wearing much," Jerad murmured.

Hugo chuckled, "Makes sense. We are farther up north."

"Don't worry, mommy," Phym dropped her God Arc, and hugged her. "I'll keep you warm."

"Thanks, but I'll be fine," Claire giggled.

"Amy, we are in the area," Hugo reported.

"Roger, commence mission." Amy replied.

"Jeez, look at all this," Zeke looked around the area. "Dead Aragami everywhere. Some of these were even…Just what kind of God Eaters would do this kind of brutality?"

"This Ogretail was even decapitated," Lulu added. "And a few more others, too."

"Mommy..?" Phym murmured.

"What is it, Phym?" Claire asked.

"I hear voices..inside," Phym replied. "I also hear..fighting."

Jerad raised his eyes, but remembering Hilda's speculation about her, he avoided asking.

"I see," Jerad nodded.

"I can confirm," Amy said. "I am having more positive detection of other God Eaters inside the facility, and are definitely in combat. There are about..four of them."

"Then let's head in," Hugo readied his sword. "Those guys might need our help."

"Right," Misha nodded before everyone ran to the entrance, and as soon as they entered, an Ogretail suddenly lunged at Hugo.

"Haa!"

Hugo sliced it in midair, and the Aragami fell to the side.

"Looks like an ambush. Everyone, ready up."

Other Aragami started appearing from all corners, mostly Ogretails, Axe Raiders, and Dreadpikes.

"Good," Jerad murmured. "Because I'm in a bad mood right now…"

"Haa!"

He dove to an Ogretail, and skewered it through its jaws.

"Haayah!"

Misha stretched her scythe in a wide arc, and sliced several of them in half.

"Phym, stay close to me, OK?" Claire readied her assault gun.

"Okay," Phym nodded before she rushed at a few Axe Raiders trying to charge at Claire while she gave her cover fire, and swiftly sliced two of them in one fell swoop, moving in an almost dancing motion as she sliced one Aragami after another, and brought each of them down in one hit.

Meanwhile, Jerad sidestepped from an Ogretail's bite.

"Haaa!" He retaliated by thrusting his spear against an Ogretail's side, crashing it against the wall, and causing a large crack. But to his surprise, the skewered Aragami is still alive.

"Phym, have you tried Burst?" Jerad kept his flailing prey pinned against the wall.

"Burst?" Phym seemed puzzled.

"I'll show you, then," Jerad swung the pinned Ogretail off the wall, and used his devour. A large head formed around his God Arc, and crunched the Aragami in two. After it retracted back, he shone a fiery aura.

"This is what Burst is," Jerad explained. "We were all this when we fought that Ashborn, remember?"

"Tch!" He grimaced as an Axe Raider interrupted his lesson. He dodged its charge, and counterattacked with a Deathbringer, crashing it hard against the wall.

"Now, Phym," Jerad cried. "Devour it with your God Arc just like I showed you."

"Okay," Phym nodded, and yanked her heavy moon's shaft. A head formed from her God Arc, and he jumped away as it reached the weakened Axe Raider and crushed it with its jaws. The head returned to Phym, and like him, she also shone a bright fiery color.
"Good," Jerad smiled. "Time for you to learn your Burst Arts. Use them, and they'll grow in power."

"Okay, daddy," Phym smiled before she started hacking again while Jerad started picking off other Aragami with his sniper gun.

Meanwhile…

"Hiyahh!"

"Haah!"

Already in Burst mode, Misha has been hacking groups of Aragami in front of her with Inferno Rush, and feeling tired, she stopped to rest.

"I'll finish the rest," Lulu dashed past her.

"Go for it," Misha replied.

"Haah!"

"Hoo!"

"Hyah!"

With agility and finesse, Lulu sliced the rest of them in one swipe before all of them fell.

"Thanks, Lulu," Misha smiled. "Gosh, this cold temp could wear you out fast."

"I'm used to it," Lulu smiled back. "Plus, I'll always have your back."

"Heh," Misha smiled again.

"Hrah!" Hugo clashed with a pair of Ogretails.

"Hey, did you miss me?" Zeke rushed from the side. "That's too bad, because I'm about to smack you!"

Then he pounded one of them, and sent it flying against the wall, killing it. Hugo took the chance, and shoved the Ogretail back before he quickly struck its chest.

"I guess that's…" Hugo suddenly paused.

"Hah!" Claire bashed an Ogretail to the floor with her assault gun, and then shot its face down at almost point blank.

"Whew," She sighed. "Last one…"

"Everyone alright?" Hugo looked at everyone.

"Could have been better," Jerad said while resting his bloodied spear on his shoulder. "Good work so far, Phym. Make use of Burst, OK?"

"Yeah," Phym smiled. "I fell..so much stronger with it."

"Yep," He stroked her head.

"Just don't get too careless, OK?" Claire said.

"Yes, mommy," Phym smiled.

"Let's move in deeper," Hugo said.

"Be advised that I'm detecting multiple medium and large Aragami deeper in the facility, but mostly mediums," Amy warned.

"Mediums and large Aragami," Jerad smirked. "I think this is going to be a bit more fun."

"Jerad..," Claire murmured. "Please don't show these kinds of behavior to Phym…"

"I'll try..," Jerad replied. "I'm not planning to, but I can't help but feel the heat."

"OK..," Claire grimaced.

---

On the other side of the facility.

"Tch!" Trista shielded herself against several projectiles. "Damned, Sariel! Shin, swat this fly down! Garret! Amber! Move in once it's down!"

"Crush it!"

"You got it, captain," Shin shifted his Biting Edge to sniper gun.

"Roger, ma'am," Amber acknowledged as Shin started shooting at the flying Aragami. Each hit tore a piece off of Sariel before it finally fell down.

"Now, you two," Trista cried. "Let's tear this thing to pieces."

"Roger," Garret and Amber rushed in, and started hacking the grounded Aragami. Trista rushed in last, and hacked it a few times with her heavy moon in axe mode before she raised it.

"You pissed me off..," Trista hissed as her God Arc grew a saw blade with a loud screech. "Now you will rest..in pieces!"

"HAA!"

She swung her sawing God Arc at the Aragami's head as it started shrieking, but was unfazed as she continued mercilessly burying her spinning saw through its head until it was literally cut in half.

"Hmph!" Trista shifted her God Arc back to normal.

"Wolf 1, do you copy?" Mia said on the radio.

"Yeah?" Trista replied.

"All Aragami in this sector are eliminated, however..," Mia paused.

"What is it? Spit it out." Trista impatiently demanded.

"I've just started picking up...several other God Eaters entering this facility a few minutes ago," Mia replied. "They went through the same entrance as you guys did."

"Hm," Trista and Shin glanced at each other.

"Looks like we're not alone anymore," Shin rested his sword on his shoulder.

"Can you ID them?" Trista asked.

"I apologize, but I couldn't due to ash density," Mia replied.

"That's fine," Trista said. "They can't be bad."

"Wow, more God Eaters?" Amber excitedly asked.

"Definitely not one of ours," Trista murmured. "Because we ordered the rest of our unit to stay, and guard our Port. Could those guys be..?"

"They could probably use our help," Garret suggested.

"And the more, the merrier, right?" Amber smiled.

Trista chuckled, "I guess. Let's head over where they are, and-."

"Warning! Large Aragami approaching your location fast!" Mia warned, and then an icy, lizard like Aragami appeared from a cliff and roared.

"Dammit! A Caligula?!" Shin assumed a battle stance.

"Well, well. A worthy opponent," Trista snickered as she lifted her heavy moon off her shoulder, and let it crack the frozen floor. "Looks like our guests will have to wait a bit longer. Haha!"

---

Back on the other side.

"Warning! A large Aragami, and several small ones ahead," Amy warned.

"Could you identify that large Aragami?" Hugo asked while running.

"It's..a Vajra," Amy replied. "A swift Aragami that can easily outmaneuver its prey, and emit lightning."

"A Vajra, huh?" Jerad grinned. "I'm quick, too. So let's see who can outpace each other."

"Must be in that room after that corner," Hugo said.

"T-that's correct," Amy confirmed.

"Then let's get this party started," Jerad ran past Hugo.

"Hey, wait-!" Hugo tried to call him back but could not hear him as he slid around the corner before turning.

Just as Amy said, Jerad found Vajra idling in the middle of the room surrounded by other small Aragami.

"Hryyahh!" He dove over small Aragami, and as the Vajra turned, Jerad was closing in with his spear readied for a thrust.

"Surprise! You bored?" Jerad finally struck its face, and the large Aragami flinched with a roar. "Then let's play together, and have fun! Haa!" He leapt in for another strike.

"Spread out!" Hugo ordered before everyone spread their formation to confront small Aragami.

"Hiyah! Haah!" Misha struck first with her extended scythe, slicing several Ogretails and Dreadpikes in their way, and swung again and killed more. Then Lulu and Zeke rushed in to finish the rest for an opening to Vajra, where Jerad and the large Aragami continued fighting.

"Phym, help your daddy," Claire said. "I'll cover your approach!"

"Yes, mommy," Phym rushed in as Claire started mowing any Aragami that approached Phym. Once she got through the herd, Phym jumped up, and started spinning like a saw wheel, diving onto the unsuspecting Vajra.

"Too slow!" Jerad jumped away as Vajra tried to smash him with its paw, but before it could try pouncing at him, it was suddenly struck on its face by Phym's spinning attack. The large Aragami flinched after she bounced away from it and landed back, then it angrily turned to her. It quickly emitted a lightning orb, and launched at her, but Phym dodged it with ease. Then before Vajra could pounce at her, Jerad suddenly latched on its scalp.

"If you dare hurt her, you'll be in a world of hurt before I kill you," Jerad growled as stabbed its forehead before it shook him off but while in midair, he used his devour and bit its head. He restrained the Vajra until it shook itself out of its bite, and he entered Burst.

"Here, Phym," Jerad shot a Burst round at her.

"Huh?" Phym murmured with surprise after she entered Burst.

"It's another way to enter Burst," Jerad explained. "I'll explain more later."

"Okay," Phym nodded.

"Haaa!" Hugo finally caught up to them, and swung at Vajra, but it blocked his sword with its claw.

"Don't..hurt..Uncle!" Phym jumped, and struck the other claw that was about to strike Hugo. Then after landing, she shifted her God Arc into axe.

"Hiyah!"

"Hiyah!"

"Hiyah!"

Phym kept spinning with her axe, and made Vajra flinch each time. There is a green aura emitting from her axe as she kept battering the Aragami with it.

'Of all the Burst Arts she had to try first,' Jerad watched. 'It had to be something...cute.'

"Haa!" Seeing an opening, Hugo made a clean strike at Vajra, and it was pushed back. Angered, Vajra growled and started emitting electricity.

"Warning! Large Aragami emitting an electric pulse," Amy warned. "Stay away!"

"Get clear everyone!" Hugo warned as he ran away from an electrically charging Aragami.

"Phym, RUN!" Jerad warned her, but could only see her staring blankly at the charging Aragami. He ran for her.

"MOVE!" Jerad clutched her in his arms, and threw her out of danger.

With a loud crackle, Vajra discharged its lightning, and shocked the area around it.

"AAARGHHHHHH!" Jerad cried before he collapsed, and his Burst faded.

"Daddy!" After rolling, Phym cried as Vajra started approaching an incapacitated Jerad, but right before she attacks it to save him, it was suddenly pelted on the face with bullets by Claire.

"I got him, Phym!" Misha cried as she shot a large healing bullet at Jerad. He was still conscious, but groaning as he struggled to get up.

"Phym, take care of your daddy," Claire said as she kept shooting. "I'll cover you."

"Mm," Phym nodded before running to Jerad, and Misha is already helping him.

"Are you OK, brother?" Misha helped him sit up.
"Yeah, thanks." Jerad grunted. "Just need to rest a bit."
"D-daddy..," Phym looked down, sobbing. "I'm..I'm so sorry…"

Then she suddenly felt a warm hand on her head, and looked up. He was smiling.

"It's OK," Jerad chuckled. "I'm just glad you didn't get hurt. You got no time to apologize when we're fighting, so just keep going until an Aragami is down, OK?"

"Okay..," Phym murmured.

"Alright," Jerad finally stood up, and picked up his spear. "I'm ready to party again. You got this, Phym?"

"Mm," Phym nodded with a smile.

"Alright, sis. Let's finish this," Jerad said.

"Right. Let's do this, brother," Misha smiled before the three rushed back into the fight.

"Ugh!" Hugo was knocked away from its body slam, but shortly after, Zeke approached it from the side.

"Hurryah!" In Burst, he pounded its face with his hammer, and stunned it. Then he started charging it. "Don't forget about me. How about a nice Grand Finale for you?"

Then he battered Vajra's face with his boosting hammer, and then, "Now eat this! Huryahh!"

Vajra recoiled from Zeke's impact, and shook its head.

---

Shing!

Shing!

Caligula swung its ice blades, but Garret shielded against it.

"You OK, Amber?!" Garret kept his shield up.

"Y-yeah," Amber nodded behind him.

"I got you!" In Burst, Shin dove against Caligula's face, and slashed it. Upon landing, he swiftly connected it with Seraphim's Edge.

"Huah!" He made two upper slices, and knocked it back.

"That's our vice captain..," Garret shifted his shield back to sword. "Quick as ever."

"Haah!

"Huryahh!"

Trista switched with Shin, and followed it with Supermoon before jumping up and shifting her heavy moon into an axe, landing a heavy hit with Twilight Moon. Caligula whimpered after parts of its head shattered off.

"Hahaha! Did that hurt?" Trista grinned.

The Aragami rubbed its head before it turned away and dashed off.

"It's running away!" Amber stopped her charge. "Aww, I was going to pound it!"

"You serious?!" Trista grimaced. "Don't let it escape. It's our prey!"

"Already on it!" Shin already shifted his dual blades to sniper gun, and started firing. However, the Aragami was too quick, and he did not have much time to compensate for his aim.

"Dammit! I missed!" Shin grimaced.

"After it! It's heading to a feeding ground to recover," Trista ordered. "I don't want all the wounds I've done on that thing be for nothing!"

"Understood, let's go!" Shin acknowledged, and they started running.

---

"Haa! You damn bastard!" Jerad struck Vajra's face with Spear Requiem, and multiple Oracle particles exploded, making the large Aragami flail in panic.

"Hugo! Finish this thing!"

"You got it," Hugo dashed in with his sword raised, and generated a large energy in its blades. He slashed the Vajra through its head with Swift Slash, almost cleaving it in half.

"Large Aragami eliminated," Amy reported. "Great job."

"Ooh, man," Zeke laid his hammer, and bent down. "That was a bit rough."

Hugo chuckled, "Yeah, we never had to kill a bunch of them in one mission..besides the one we had the other day, but this one still feels better."

"At least we're not fighting them in hordes this time," Misha took a deep sigh.

"Jerad, are you OK?" Claire asked.

"Oh yeah, thanks to sis' healing," Jerad set his spear down, and sat on the floor. "But that one healed me fast. What was that?"

"I used a custom bullet that Claire and I made," Misha smiled. "But we're still trying to make it better, maybe adding a spread effect in it but we have to try that first."

"Ooh," Hugo raised his eyes. "Good work on that. Keep it up."

"Thanks," Misha grinned. 'And my better one will be my love letter for you, tee hee. Just wait.'

"I'm sorry to interrupt your brief rest guys," Amy said. "But I recently detected another large Aragami not too far from here, and it's moving very fast."
"What? Is that an Ashborn?" Hugo gasped.

"No, not another one," Zeke shuddered.

"No, it isn't," Amy replied. "But it recently stopped at a feeding ground in a large compartment not too far from you."

"A feeding ground..?" Hugo mused.

"It's probably injured," Jerad stood up. "We have another group here, remember? It probably ran away from them, and is now trying to lick its own wounds. We gotta strike it down before it does."

"You're right. Let's go!" Hugo stood up before everyone did. They ran across several hallways before Hugo contacted Amy.

"Amy, how far are we to the target?"

"After two intersections through this hallway, turn left," Amy replied. "You'll see a large room, and that's where our target is according to our radar."

"Roger," Hugo nodded. They ran past two intersections and turned left. Just as Amy said, they found an icy, lizard Aragami feeding on a geyser.

"There it is!" Jerad cried. "Let's bring this bastard down!"

"Be careful. Injured Aragami are much more dangerous," Hugo warned.

"Haaa!" Jerad dove at the feeding Aragami.

In the room's opposite entrance.

"There's our prey, Shin!" Trista cried. "It won't get away this time."

"Just laid a few traps while running," Shin said. "It's bottled here this time. Let's go!"

"Haaa!" While diving towards the unsuspecting Aragami, he saw a black figure in his peripheral vision carrying a spear.

"What the-? J-Jerad?!"

Jerad also saw a white figure diving swiftly with a pair of blades, and his eyes widened, "Is that..Shin?!"

"Haaa!"

Both of them struck Caligula in different parts, and jumped back.

"Jerad, is that really you?!" Shin turned to him in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

"That's..my line." Jerad replied. "Been a damn long time."

"H-Hugo?" Trista widened her eyes. "Zeke? M-Misha?"

"B-big sis..?" Misha widened her eyes, almost bursting into tears.

However, their reunion was interrupted by Caligula's furious roar.

"Let's finish this job before our reunion talk," Jerad smiled.

"Right on, buddy," Shin smiled back.

"Let's rip this thing to shreds," Trista grinned. "Ready, big bro?"

Hugo chuckled, "Still calling me that...Alright, let's do this!"

"Wow, there's actually a lot of them," Amber stared in awe. "Lots of AGEs, too."

"Yeah," Garret nodded, and readied his buster blade. "But let's save the chit-chat for later."

"Haaaa!"

Jerad and Shin rushed together. Jerad started charging his spear while Shin leapt with his blades drawn.

"Can't let those two have all the fun," Trista yelled. "Let's charge in, too."

After taking damage from Jerad's charge attack, and Shin's double slash, Caligula shoved them back and started slicing

"It's coming for you, Shin!" Jerad warned.

"I got this," Shin started dodging Caligula's slices with ease, making acrobatic and wall jumps until it thrusted forward, but Shin parried it in time, bouncing him up, and Caligula's arm blade ended up stuck in a wall.

"A fool move..but I'm ahead of you," He murmured as he started spinning with his blades and sawed his way along its arm.

'Wow, he's both quick and aggressive,' Lulu mused with both interest and admiration. 'And I've never seen another AGE move like that before. I can't even imagine myself dodging all those quick attacks.'

"Hraaah!" Garret took the chance to strike its arm blade by jumping up, and severing it.

Enraged, Caligula started venting cold vapor from its back.

"Get back!" Trista warned. "It's going to freeze the area around it."

In the nick of time, everyone shielded themselves, and Caligula froze the area with icicles. Still in midair, Shin barely blocked the ice in time, and was shoved against the wall.

"Ugh, so close..," He gritted his teeth as frost started growing around his shield.

After a few seconds of silence, Caligula suddenly saw a black headed monster break through its ice, and bit its face.

"Don't think I'll go down from that," Jerad grimaced as held the flailing Aragami with his God Arc's jaws. "Because I've been through worse!"

"Hiyah!" Misha sliced a large chunk of ice while Lulu, Zeke, and Amber rushed in. Seeing them approaching, Jerad released his God Arc from Caligula, and entered Burst.

Amber rushed, and swung her hammer down.

"I missed?" She pounded the floor as she saw the Aragami flip itself away from her.

"You won't escape me..," Lulu jumped to Caligula's projected movement. "Haa!"

She sliced the Aragami's face twice before it jumped back, and shot icicles at them. Lulu, Zeke, and Amber shielded themselves from its barrage. From a nearby ice chunk, Trista suddenly broke through.

"Didn't see that coming, did you?"

She struck with a sawing heavy moon, but Caligula blocked it in time with its blade arm.

"Tch!" Trista grunted as she kept pushing her God Arc against it, but Phym suddenly leapt, and slammed the Aragami's shoulder with her heavy moon also in axe form.

'That little girl with a God Arc..,' Trista mused. 'She's just a kid...and that heavy moon..isn't that?'

Not having time to keep wondering, Trista took the chance to strike again while Phym kept it busy, but it swatted her off and she broke through a chunk of ice and crumbled on her.

"Captain!" Garret cried.

"Big sis!" Misha gasped.

Shin grunted, and finally broke through the ice before jumping off.

Meanwhile…

Phym walked to an ice rubble.

"Are you OK?" Phym timidly asked.

Trista grunted, and slowly sat up, also lifting a few ice chunks off of her.

"Yeah, I'm alright, heh," Trista smiled. "I don't go down that easily."

Then she stood up, and dusted ice off of her. "What's your name, kid?"

"Phym," She plainly replied.

Trista chuckled, "Phym. That's quite a cute name. Anyway…"

She grabbed her heavy moon laying nearby.

"Let's go help everyone so we can all go home safe," Trista grinned.

"Mm," Phym nodded.

"Haa!"

"Hurah!"

Like a sword fight, Hugo and Garret were clashing against Caligula. Hugo parried the Aragami's arm blade, and then for an opening, Garret moved in to strike.

"Haaa!" Garret raised his sword and swung down, but because of his sword's weight, he could not strike in time, and Caligula blocked his sword. The Aragami hissed out steam as Garret gritted his teeth trying to hold his sword against its blade arm. Then Hugo rushed in.

"Haa!" He swung sideways, and the Aragami shoved Garret aside and blocked his swing.

"Dammit!" Hugo grunted. "This..thing moves too fast..even for both of us..!"

Then Caligula parried Hugo's sword, and moved in to strike him.

CLANK!

"Ngh! I got you..!" Garret moved quick enough to block it with his sword. "It's just a good thing I got rid of its other blade earlier…"

"HAAAA!" He pushed its arm back, and as he anticipated, Caligula tried to strike him again, but he countered with a parrying upper to its face, flinching the large Aragami.

"Finally got you for once…"

"Thanks, I owe you," Hugo wiped sweat off his head.

"No problem," Garret recovered his breath. "You guys are my captain's friends."

"Hm," Hugo raised his eyes with surprise. Trista must have already told him about them.

Caligula recovered from Garret's heavy blow, and was about to strike them again. As Hugo and Garret readied their God Arcs, Shin suddenly landed on its back, and stabbed both shoulders with his blades.

"This is what you get for hurting my captain!" Shin pulled his sword, and stabbed its shoulder again with his right blade and twisted it which made it whimper. While distracted, Jerad jumped, and thrusted against its face with Valkyrie Glide, and as the Aragami started falling on its back, Shin jumped off.

"Did we bring it down?" Jerad asked.

"Probably not," Skeptical, Garret gripped his sword, ready to strike again at any moment.

Then Caligula stood up, and roared.

"I guess not..," Shin grimaced.

Then Caligula turned to the exit, and dashed.

"Bastard's running away," Jerad grimaced.

"Hmph," Shin snorted. "Just wait…"

As it passed the room exit, it suddenly froze in place as it triggered the Snare Traps Shin laid earlier, and then two Venom Traps also exploded, poisoning it. Claire and Misha started pelting its head with their guns.

"Whoa, you set traps there?" Jerad chuckled with amusement.

"That's right," Shin murmured, and readied his blades. "This thing got away from us once, but no Aragami escapes us twice. Let's finish this, Jerad!"

"Yeah," Jerad nodded as both rushed in.

Shin leapt in first, and slashed the Aragami's head.

"Haa!" Still in Burst, Jerad also struck its face with Spear Requiem, and it flailed from its barrage of Oracle blasts before Shin's trap broke. Able to fight again, Caligula tried to swipe at Jerad out of retaliation, but he backflipped.

"My turn! Haa!" Garret rushed, and side swiped Caligula's leg. His buster blade's weight was perfect to trip the Aragami down.

"Amber, go!"

"Cominggg!" Amber rushed in with Zeke behind her.

"Haa!" She slammed its head down, and then…

"Huryah!" Zeke activated his acceleration trigger before he smashed its head with an upswing, sending Caligula falling on its back.

"What the..?" Shin's eyes widened. "How did he do that..?"

Surrounded and seemingly not having a place to escape, the large Aragami shook its head, and roared.

It suddenly blew cold vapor from its mouth, blowing in a sweeping pattern that froze everything in its path.

"Watch out everyone!" Hugo cried as some people shielded themselves while others jumped back to avoid being frozen to death. With the group now scattered, Caligula dashed to the other exit.

"It's getting away!" Misha cried. "Claire, we've got to shoot it down."

"Right," Claire replied before they both started shooting. Their shots missed as Caligula is close to making its way to the exit.

"Dammit! Not again!" Shin shifted his twin blades to sniper. "Jerad, we gotta stop this thing!"

"Yeah," He also shifted his' to sniper.

"I'll help out!" Garret also turned his buster blade to sniper gun.

The three started shooting, and after a few rounds, Jerad paused as he realized that he only had one shot left.

"You won't get away..," Jerad murmured before he aimed at its legs, and he was just glad that Shin poisoned it, slowing it down. He deeply inhaled, and then rested his index finger firmly on the trigger. As he slowly exhaled, he felt his senses heighten while he steadily kept his aim on its legs, and as soon as he reached his optimum aim, he fired. His last shot hit Caligula's leg, and tripped, sliding into the hallway.

Worn out from its injuries and being poisoned, the Aragami slowly looked up, and saw a figure standing in front of it.

"I figured you'll try escaping through here next time," Trista murmured as she transformed her heavy moon into an axe, and raised it, forming a spinning saw from its blade. "But no prey ever escapes my pack twice."

"Haa!"

She swung her sawing God Arc to its head as the Aragami started wailing in panic, "Phym! Finish this thing off, too!"

"Okay!" Phym also raised her heavy moon, and it also grew a spinning saw blade. Then she swung it to its shoulder.

The large Aragami flailed for a few more moments before it stopped moving, and then both Trista and Phym pulled their God Arcs back.

"It's done, heh," Trista wearily smiled. "That was a pain, but at least we finally killed this thing. Let's go meet up with the others."

"Okay," Phym nodded before they both jumped over the dead Aragami.

"Well, guys…" Trista smiled.

"B-big sis..is that really you..?" Misha stuttered.

Trista squinted before smiling. "Been a long time...dear Misha."

Then Misha dropped her scythe, and latched on to her, crying. "Big sis...do you know how hard it was for me to lose you?!"

Trista chuckled, "Yeah...every day, I kept wondering if you guys are still alive, but I'm glad…"

Then she tried to repress her own tears and started stroking Misha head, "But jeez, you even kept your hair the way I did for you back then, hehe."

"Heh, look at those two," Jerad smiled. "It's been a while since I've seen that. She's happy now."

"That was a good fight we had together," Shin said. "It's been a long time, but the feeling is the same. Good old times, huh?"

Jerad laughed, "Yeah, I missed those fun times. That was great fighting..like we always had."

Then they did an armlet bang.

"Hah, I missed that one." Jerad grinned.

"Me, too. We kept this thing going, even in our Port," Shin grinned.

Hugo chuckled, "Look at that. My two front liners back at it together again."

"Hugo," Shin smiled. "Good to see you again, bro."

"Haha, yep." Hugo nodded. "And that was good fighting we had. What's your name?

"I'm Garret," Garret laid his sword on his shoulder, and reached his hand out for a handshake.

"I'm Hugo Pennywort," Hugo shook his hand. "Thanks again for watching my back."

"I could say the same," Garret smiled. "Thanks for covering for me while I tried to..swing my big sword around."

Then they chuckled together.

"Hm..," Jerad paused for a few seconds. "Thanks for watching his back. I'm Jerad."

"Nice to meet you," Garret shook his hand. "I've seen you fight along with the vice captain, and wow, you fought like a demon."

"Uh..well," Jerad murmured.

"...Sorry, but I don't mean that as a bad thing," Garret slightly frowned. "But, I thought I could learn a lot from that."

"The strongest AGE in my team," Hugo grinned before he laid his elbow on Jerad's shoulder. "Don't worry. He's not good at taking praises, haha."

Jerad only groaned.

"Hey, Hugo!" Trista ran, and slapped his shoulder.

"Ouch!" Hugo whimpered. "That hurts, you know? Plus, it's cold in here."

Trista chuckled, "Good to see you again. How have you been?"

Hugo also chuckled, "Not much has changed."

"I don't believe that," Trista grinned. "You have a lot of stories to tell me later, and you even had a newcomer with you. Lulu..right?"

"Yeah," Lulu nodded.

"Ho ho, look at that. It's Shin!" Zeke grinned. "Long time no see, buddy. Saw your fight with Jerad earlier. And that ninja thing you did dodging that Caligula? That was awesome to watch."

Shin laughed, "Jeez, Ricardo told you that much already? But yeah, I did learn an art."

"It was amazing," Lulu smiled. "I would like to learn more on that whenever we get the chance."

"I'm pretty sure you could learn it," Shin nodded. "You're also pretty agile, and you wield lightweight God Arcs, too. That's a perfect trait for it."

"He's also the quickest guy during his time with us, too," Jerad added. "He moves even faster than me."

"I see," Lulu nodded.

"Daddy, did I do good today?" Phym finally ran to Jerad. "Oh yeah, good job finishing off that Aragami today. I'll give you candy once we get home."

Phym giggled.

"Candy...Now I'm hungry," Amber murmured before she stuck her hand in her jacket's inner pocket, and gasped.

"Daddy..?" Trista narrowed her eyes, and then she glanced at Phym, then at Claire, and then to Jerad.

"Uhh, Tris?" Jerad raised his eyebrows in bewilderment.

"You..," Trista growled before she suddenly locked Jerad's head with her arm, and held him on her side. "You sly dog!"

"Ugh, w-what?!" Jerad grunted as he struggled from Trista's grip while Claire gasped. 'Dammit..so strong!'

"Is this how our reunion is?! I just heard that kid just called that blonde lady 'mommy,' and then next thing I hear is her calling YOU 'daddy'?" Trista kept her elbow gripped on his head. "When did you get married?!"

'M-married?!' Claire covered her mouth, blushing quietly.

"M-married?! No..! It's a long story..dammit," Jerad kept grunting as he tried to struggle out of Trista's choke in vain.

Phym gasped, "M-mommy? Are they fighting?"

Claire giggled, "Don't worry, they're not."

Then everyone started laughing as they watched.

"L-listen..she's..adopted..," Jerad kept grunting. "I'll tell you more about it later...just let me go, dammit…! Can't..breathe..."

"Hmph!" Trista gripped his head for a few more seconds before she released him. "Huh, think about it. Looking at how old she looks, there's no way you could have actually gotten married and had a kid that early, haha! My bad..."

"Ugh, you're horrible," Jerad regained his breath, and fixed his hair.

"And you, kid..?" Trista turned to Phym, glaring. "Was that my spare God arc you were holding? Fess up..."

"Hnn," Phym quickly hid behind Claire. "I'm..sorry."

"I greatly apologize," Claire murmured. "It was an emergency situation during that time, but..she saved us for it."

"Hehe, that's alright," Trista grinned. "I was just keeping that as spare parts anyway. You can have it, but take care of it, OK?"

"T-thank you," Phym timidly murmured.

"And for a kid to wield a heavy moon like that," Trista tilted her head. "That's amazing...and you're not even a God Eater. Not even that kid Kai could lift that, and you can even last this long out here. Just what are you..?"

"U-um," Phym mused.

Trista paused for a bit, "OK, I'll ask this instead. How long have you been fighting..?"

"T-two days..," Phym replied.

"Two days..?" Trista froze. "OK…"

"Ooh, you'll be surprised, Tris," Jerad proudly smiled. "You haven't seen much of her yet."

"I'll remember that..," Trista slowly nodded at him.

Garret walked to Amber.

"You seem down," He said. "What's wrong?"

"My candy stash..," Amber murmured. "I lost it again."

Then Garret lightly karate chopped her head.

"Ow."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to bring candies on missions?" Garret asked. "You'll just keep losing them."

"But I get hungry all the tiiime," Amber whined.

"Candy? Did you say..candy?" Phym beamed a smile. "Let me..have some."

"Phym, have the courtesy to ask first, okay?" Jerad smiled.

"Okay..," Phym murmured

"But..I lost all my candies..," Amber frowned.

Then everyone chuckled.

"Great. Now we have two candy people here..," Jerad whispered.

Claire giggled, "Yeah."

Then she shuddered.

"You still feeling cold?" Jerad asked with surprise.

"Achoo, yeah," Claire clutched her arms. "I vote we avoid long campaigns in colder climes."

"You really should have worn more before coming here," Jerad said. "I've been wondering for a long time how you're OK with fighting with most of your skins exposed. Here, I'll borrow you my scarf."

"N-no, I'm fine," Claire stuttered. "But how about you? You're not going to be cold without it?"

"I won't," Jerad shook his head. "Here."

Then he pulled his scarf up, and handed it to her before she wore it.

"Feel warmer?" Jerad smiled.

"Y-yeah, thanks," Claire smiled, not shivering anymore.

Then Trista grinned at her, "You'll have to get used to that, if you're going to be working in our Port, haha!"

"Anyway, we've been here long enough," Trista said. "Mia, can you hear me?"

"I hear you loud and clear, Wolf 1," Mia replied.

"Large Aragami eliminated. Any others?" Trista asked.

"Negative. Facility is now clear via resonance radar," Mia replied.

"Nice, Wolf 1 out," Trista said.

"Might as well as do mine," Hugo smiled. "Amy, can you hear me?"

"Yes, Hound 3," Amy replied.

"Aragami cleared from the area, and we helped the patrol unit here," Hugo replied. "Mission accomplished."

"Great job," Amy replied. "Who were they?

"Our old friends," Hugo smiled.

"Please tell Amy we said 'hi'," Trista grinned.

"Please send our regards to them," Amy said. "Let them know that the owner wants to thank them for helping clear the course for our safe return."

"Will do," Hugo nodded. "We'll be returning shortly. Hound 3 out."

"That was Amy, huh?" Shin smiled.

"I guess once you're back, we can have a welcoming party up tonight," Trista smiled. "We're going to have a LOT of stories to talk about."

Then Hugo paused for a few seconds before he frowned.

"No...not yet," Hugo murmured.

"Huh?" Trista narrowed her eyes.

"Pennywort," Hugo bitterly replied. "Hilda told me this morning that our contract with our governor is still up, and wanted us to be returned once we arrive in your Port. Gleipnir will be mediating our transfer."

"Those bastards..," Shin murmured. "How?!"

"Are you kidding?!" Trista asked with disbelief. "That damn Port is gone now! Why would that old man still want you?! He can go fuck himself!"

"I don't know..," Hugo shook his head. "I thought our lives in that prison were over..but he still caught up to us."

"Shit!" Trista gritted her teeth. "Shin and I only got away easily because we got written off, and were left to die. But even then, the owner tried to hide us for a while from them before we registered in Chrysanthemum. I damn wished the owner could do the same for you."

"But we're not done yet..," Hugo murmured. "Right now, I'm trying to find ways to negotiate with Hilda. We already have a few things, but it's not enough yet."

Then Trista took a deep breath, holding her head, "I wish I can somehow convince her to keep you guys, but as you may already know, both Shin and I owe so much to her as much as you do, so it's not in our place to do this."

"That's OK," Hugo nodded. "We'll figure something out. Our only way is forward."

"Heh, I missed hearing that from you," Trista smiled. "Listen. The owner is genuinely a kind hearted person, but she is also all business. You have to find a way to play both cards to her...This is the least I can do for you."

"Yeah," Hugo nodded.

"I'm counting on you," Trista patted his shoulder. "We have to get back now, and prepare for your arrival. I'll see you guys back there."

Then Trista and the other three started leaving, but after a few steps.

"Hugo," Trista paused. "I wish you the best of luck.., and you three."

Then Jerad, Misha, and Zeke glanced at her.

"Help him as best as you can. Chrysanthemum is a great Port, and everyone there is family. The owner has been kind to everyone, and because of that, everyone loves her. I want you all to be part of that."

"We will," Jerad nodded while he clutched his hand.

"See you all later," Trista murmured as she waved.

Then everyone turned to the opposite direction on their way to their truck, and as they kept walking.

"Hugo," Jerad made a hand gesture to turn his radio off, and then everyone did theirs. "We'll get through this no matter what. I already talked to Keith about gathering information about our Ashborn encounters, and I need your inputs in it. Zeke and I already started jotting ours down, and I already talked to everyone else during our trip here. This is also our bargaining tool, so this thing only stays with us."

"You're right," Hugo smiled. "Anything helps, but info about Ashborn would help elevate our value a lot."

"Yeah," Jerad murmured.

"I'll finish typing info about the acceleration trigger in my tablet tonight," Lulu said.

"Good," Hugo nodded. "Get ready to lose some sleep tonight. Our future is riding in this whole thing..."

"I won't complain," Misha said.

Then the Hounds eventually made it out of the facility, and boarded their truck.

---

A few hours later back in Port Chrysanthemum.

"Those Pennywort bastards!" Trista punched the wall in their lobby. "Dammit all!"

"They left our guys to die in the Ash Storm, and when the owner took care of them, they suddenly wanted to have them back?"

"The nerve of those wretches!"

"There was nothing we could do," Shin sighed. "We just have to believe that Hugo will get around it somehow."

"Even if the owner negotiates with that asshole," Trista yelled. "It would cost her a LOT! She is already struggling to get money to keep our Port running while we all fought tooth and nail to keep everyone safe, and now she might have to pay a huge price for it? Is there any winning to this?! Dammit!"

Then she pounded the wall again.

"Is there really nothing we can do, Shin?" Trista sobbed.

Then he quietly shook his head.

"They didn't deserve this. All of them don't..," Trista murmured. Garret and Amber could only watch while Trista quietly kept leaning against the wall.

---

In the Ash Crawler loading dock..

"Welcome back," Hilda smiled. "It's a good thing those people over there were our own, and thank you for helping them."

"It's good to see them again," Hugo faintly smiled.

"Those two were among my best," Hilda said. "They never let me down just like you guys do. There must be something in the way you raised them, Hugo. Sometimes, your tenacity to face all odds reminds me of them."

Then Hugo chuckled, "I think you're giving me too much credit, Hilda. They pulled their own weight, and became the way they are now. They're amazing."

"They truly are," Hilda smiled. "We'll be arriving in Chrysanthemum in a few hours, and it will be our perfect time for dinner together. Excited?"

"Definitely," Hugo smiled.

"It's a great Port," Hilda smiled back. "I'll take everyone to our finest gourmet. Thank you for your devoted services so far. You've earned it."

Then Hilda walked back inside.

"Let's get to the vault, and put our God Arcs away," Hugo murmured. "We got a bit of work to do until dinner."

"Yeah," Jerad nodded.

---

In the God Arc storage vault.

"OK, let's find Keith," Jerad murmured. "And later on, let's find a hiding spot; a place where no one could find us. I should have known that this ship has security cameras everywhere, and Zeke and I probably already slipped up. Dammit…"

"Good point, but don't worry about it..," Hugo whispered. "I don't think Amy watches those cameras all the time, and they'll only look at those recordings if they really have to. I don't think we're anything suspicious to them yet, so I think we're fine."

"Hope so," Jerad murmured.

"OK, let's start not being suspicious by taking turns in this," Hugo murmured. "Lulu, Claire, and Misha, head to the lobby and take a break for now. And Lulu, just pretend that you're just reading some random information while you're actually taking more notes, and if anyone asks us where we are, just tell them that we're here maintaining our God Arcs."

"Okay," Lulu nodded.

"Phym, stay here," Jerad murmured. "We need you to tell us everything you know about Ash Aragami."

"Okay..," Phym frowned.

"Thanks," Jerad smiled. "I know you don't like this, but bear with us for now, OK? After this, double the candy for you."

"Okay," Phym smiled.

"Any questions?" Hugo asked, and no one replied. "OK, let's get going, and find Keith."

"Wait," Claire murmured. "It may be small, but I looked up those two Asborns we encountered earlier, and I'm glad Gleipnir already had names for them."

"Oh?" Jerad murmured with interest.

"The first Ashborn was called Anubis," Claire mentioned. "In Gleipnir's records, there were encounters with it in the Restricted Ash Zone, but it was first encountered in this area."

"Restricted Ash Zone, and first encounter outside of it," Hugo murmured. "That's a good one, and that will increase the value of that information."

"Anubis, huh?" Jerad narrowed his eyes. "I'll remember that…"

"Hm?" Claire raised her eyes.

"Nothing big..," Jerad shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

Hugo chuckled, "Already holding a grudge, are you?"

"Hmph..," Jerad snorted, closing his eyes. "Anyway, please keep going."

"Right, and the other one we slew a few days ago was called Ra," Claire finished. "Gleipnir also had pictures of them in the database I've read. Both of them, even."

"Those are quite important, actually," Hugo said. "Now we know what they're called, we can organize these notes on these two different Ashborns."

"Thanks, Claire."

"Glad to be of help," Claire smiled.

"I really appreciate it," Jerad also smiled. "But jeez, Gleipnir has a thing for pyramids, don't they?"

Claire giggled, "Yeah, considering that their name was from the Norse myth."

"And I'll mummify Anubis instead, if I see it again," Jerad said.

"Wow, you know quite a bit of the old Egyptian myth," Claire raised her eyes.

"Just a few things I learned about while I was still in elementary," Jerad murmured.

"Aanyway, sorry but please save this talk for later," Hugo said. "Let's split up, and then find Keith."

"There's no need for that," Keith suddenly said. "I've been listening the whole time."

"Hey, Keith. Good to see you," Hugo said.

"Where were you?" Jerad's eyes widened.

"I was in that room," Keith pointed at the Salvaged God Arc room, and laughed. "So, Claire had pictures of those Ashborns? I'll get a hold of them later, and it will make our info more presentable."

"But, those are from the Gleipnir database," Jerad argued. "How would you do that?"

"I can download those pictures for you, if you want," Claire suggested.

"It's OK. I already had my ways," Keith grinned. "Just leave it to me. And by the way, I came up with an idea of having a secret channel so we can better talk about things that we don't want them to hear."

"Huh," Hugo murmured with intrigue.

"Everyone, our secret radio frequency is 117.95," Keith said. "Please remember that."

"We will," Lulu nodded. "Thanks, Keith. We will set it to that shortly after."

And then she turned to Misha and Claire, "Let's go now. We've been here long enough."

"Right," Misha nodded. "Thanks, Keith, and see you later."

Then they left the room.

"You're a real genius, bro," Zeke grinned.

"Yeah, proactive as ever," Hugo complimented.

"Thanks, guys," Keith smiled. "I'm also aware of the security cameras around here, but there are only two places I know that don't: one is the shower rooms, and the other is this small room, the Salvaged God Arc room."

"Nice," Zeke grinned.

"Alright, let's go there and get started then," Hugo said.

---

In the lobby.

"OK, I also need your eyes and ears while I jot more notes down," Lulu said. "And warn me if anyone is coming. If it happens, I can just sweep it into this tab to pretend we're just having fun viewing this page together."

Then Misha giggled, "Fashion and clothes? That's quite..stereotypical."

"But I do like them," Lulu smiled. "I'm already thinking about sewing some of these...some even for Phym."

"Oh?" Claire smiled. "I'd like to see what clothes you can make for her."

"Just leave it to me," Lulu grinned. "So, let's start. Here's what I have for the acceleration trigger so far."

Then Misha and Claire read her notes together for a few minutes.

"It looks good so far," Misha commented. "But how about we jot down what we feel when using it, and also the limit that we can use them? None of us can use it pretty long so far."

"Yeah, I think that will do," Lulu nodded. "I can also explain in these notes why, and even how long on average."

"Wow, these notes were well written in detail," Claire commented. "Makes it easier to read."

"Thanks," Lulu smiled. "After all this, I'll secretly contact Keith for info about how he fine tuned ours. The bread and butter of this tech which is something Baran couldn't do."

Then she snickered.

---

In the Salvaged God Arc storage room.

"So, how'd you like my notes so far?" Keith asked.

"Looks good," Jerad smiled. "Not messy at all."

"It also looks very marketable," Hugo added. "But let's see..how about we add both of their behaviors..and locations of where we ran into them?"

"Daddy?" Phym tugged him.

"What is it? Got anything?" Jerad asked.

"When..Ra got angry..it tried to...eat me," Phym shuddered a bit.

"That's right," Hugo said. "Back then when that thing roared, it did immediately try devouring her. I'm guessing that pushing it to that point, it started feeling threatened and felt the need to try being in Burst to even the odds. I could only bet other Ashborns are also like this. Go ahead and jot that down, Keith."

"Yep," Keith nodded before typing on his tablet.

"It's a good thing Phym dodged all of that," Jerad narrowed his eyes. "Good job on that again."

"Mm," Phym nodded.

"Man, it's a bit cramped in here," Zeke complained.

"Just bear with it," Hugo smiled. "We won't be here much longer."

"By the way, that Ra was in Burst when we fought it, right?" Zeke bitterly asked.

"That's true," Jerad replied. "But I wonder how long does that last?"

"Likely as long as ours," Hugo also replied. "That would also be a good thing to write down."

"You got it," Keith nodded. "So, how scary or more powerful was this thing in Burst?"

"Beyond what you can describe," Jerad slowly shook his head. "I honestly thought I was dead out there."

"Don't worry, daddy. I'll..protect you," Phym smiled.

Everyone chuckled before Jerad gave her a warm smile.

"Thanks, I'll protect you, too."

---

In the Lobby.

"I guess this is it," Lulu said. "We pretty much squeezed all the juice we had for this, so we're on to the final part now."

"Yes," Claire agreed. "I guess we can relax a little bit."

"Yeah," Lulu nodded. "I'll go ahead and save this progress."
Then she pressed a few buttons before exiting the program on her tablet.

"Whew, this sure was quite draining," Misha sighed, and laid back on the couch. "But I think it was worth it."

"You can both take a break now, and leave the rest to me," Lulu said. "I'll get this done tonight."

"Attention all crew. Attention all crew."

"This vessel is now preparing to dock, and will be set to autopilot mode."

"All crew please standby for the docking process."

"I repeat."

"This vessel is now preparing to dock, and will be set to autopilot mode."

"All crew please standby for the docking process."

"Here we are," Claire murmured.

In the God Arc storage room.

"Oh, dammit," Zeke grunted. "We're still not done yet."

"That's OK," Hugo nodded. "We still have time."

"I agree," Keith looked at his tablet. "So far, so good."

Then they walked out of the God Arc Salvage Room.

"By the way, what the hell do they mean by 'standing by'?" Zeke asked.

"Here you are, guys," Ricardo suddenly appeared from the entrance, and as soon as Keith saw this, he slowly started hiding his tablet behind him inside his jacket.

"What have you been doing here?"

"We're just here maintaining our God Arcs," Hugo replied. "And Keith is teaching us how to handle them in maintenance."

"Oh, that's good," Ricardo scratched his head.

"What do they mean by 'standing by'?" Zeke asked again, trying to keep Ricardo distracted, and moving in front of Keith to obscure and buy him more time.

"That means just hang around here, in case of Aragami attacks," Ricardo explained. "Ash Crawlers tend to be more vulnerable when docking, so it's a safe measure we have to make sure nothing bad happens."

"I see," Hugo plainly said. "OK, we'll hang around here, and be ready to deploy at any moment."

"Thanks. You can also relax a bit since that rarely happens, and we also have our Port God Eaters heading out here as escorts," Ricardo smiled.

"Sounds good," Hugo nodded.

"I'll see you guys. I have my own part to do on the Bridge, and I already called the rest to gather here, so they should be here shortly," Ricardo turned away, but after a few steps, he suddenly stopped.

"Oh wait, I almost forgot. But if you want a bit of entertainment and have a gist of what's going on outside, go to radio channel 7."

"Alright," Hugo nodded again before Ricardo finally left, and Zeke turned to Keith.

"Thanks, bro," Keith gave him a thumb up before he patted his jacket, revealing where he hid his tablet.

"No problem," Zeke smirked. "I got your back."

---

In Port Chrysanthemum Ash Crawler hangar.

"Hey, Daris. How's your end?" Trista asked the Fox Unit captain.

"My unit's ready," Daris replied. "Just give the word."

"Alright, guys. Same drill," Trista yelled. "Take your stations beyond the gate, and make sure no Aragami ever lays its hand on the vessel. The owner is coming, so look sharp. Any questions?"

Then none of her unit members raised their hand.
"Good," Trista nodded. "Take your stations, and be on high alert. Disperse!"

"Yes, ma'am," Then the unit started running past running towards the gate.

"Same thing, boys," Daris yelled. "Guard the governor's vessel until it's past the gate. Dismissed!"

"Yes, sir!" The other unit acknowledged, and took off.

"Here we go," Trista murmured.

"Should be fine," Daris shrugged. "Hardly any of these processes ever go wrong."

"Sure hope so," Trista nodded.

---

Back in the Ash Crawler.

"So, we're to sit around here until this ship docks," Hugo said.

"Man, I'm feeling a bit nervous," Zeke sighed.

"Just stay positive," Hugo replied. "This ain't the time to be thinking like this..considering what we're going through."

"Fox 1, this is Fox 8," A Port God Eater said on the radio. "Ash Crawler Chrysanthemum passed Waypoint Charlie."

"Roger, Fox 8," Daris replied. "Stay alert. Out."

"Heh, they got established waypoints, too, huh?" Hugo smiled. "Pretty impressive. That Fox 1 guy must be another unit captain. I wonder just how many God Eaters does Hilda have in her Port?"

"Big sis told me earlier that there are two God Eater units protecting her Port," Misha replied. "There's them, the Wolf Unit, and the other one was the Fox Unit."

"Both with animal names, huh?" Hugo chuckled. "I wonder if Hilda has a thing for them, haha. I guess it's no surprise considering that she has that sleepy cat."

"I guess if we do get through the deal, then we'll become the Hound Unit," Zeke jokingly said.

"That doesn't sound bad," Hugo chuckled again. "If we do, then Hilda would have another group at her disposal. The only unit elite enough to kill an Ashborn, heh."

Then everyone chuckled.

"Wolf 1, this is Wolf 2," Another God Eater spoke on the radio. "A group of small Aragami sighted near Waypoint Bravo."

"Rogerrr, Wolf 2," A female God Eater confidently responded on the radio. "Bury them."

"Roger, Wolf 1. Eliminating threat. Out." Wolf 2 responded.

"Oh, that's gotta be Trista," Zeke grinned before everyone laughed. "And Wolf 2 must be Shin."

"These guys are pretty sharp," Hugo said.

A few minutes later…

"Wolf 1, this is Wolf 2. All Aragami in the area are eliminated." Shin reported.

"Goood work, Wolf 2," Trista enthusiastically praised him. "Stay alert. Out."

"That was fast," Jerad chuckled.

"Fox 1, this is Fox 12," A male God Eater called on the radio. "Medium Aragami eliminated. Minor injuries, no casualties."

"Good work, Fox 12," The Fox Unit captain replied. "Tend your injuries, and remain on alert. Out."

"Wolf 1, this is Wolf 3. Ash Crawler passed Waypoint Bravo." A serious voiced, male God Eater reported.

"Roger, out," Trista acknowledged.

"That sounds like..Garret," Hugo said.

"Garret..? Oh, that guy with a big fancy sword?" Jerad said.

"Yeah," Hugo nodded. "Surprised you remembered him, and I honestly thought you won't get along with him."

"Hm," Jerad paused. "He just didn't come off to me as a bad guy at all, and he helped you out, too."

"Thanks," Hugo smiled. "I think every God Eater in that Port are great guys, so try not to be judgemental of them, OK?"

"I'll try..," Jerad murmured.

"That candy girl is good, too." Phym excitedly said. "I want to see her again..and hopefully we get to eat..lots of candies."

Jerad and Claire laughed, "Hey, Phym. Just for the note, but don't call people names until you get to know them enough, OK? Some people don't like that."

"Okay," Phym nodded.

"Fox 1, this is Fox 2." The Fox Unit vice captain said on the radio. "Ash Crawler Chrysanthemum has safely reached Waypoint Alpha, and we are now commencing the authentication process."

"Roger, Fox 2. Perform authentication," Daris ordered. "Roger, Fox 1. Out."

"That sounds like the Port gate," Hugo sighed in relief. "I guess we're safe now."

"Yep," Zeke leaned against the wall. "Glad everything went well now."

"Fox 1, this is Fox 2," The Fox Unit vice captain said. "Authentication complete. Opening the main gate."

"Roger, Fox 2," The Fox captain acknowledged. "Remain on alert until the vessel docks in the hangar."

"Understood, sir," The Fox vice captain replied. "Out."

"All units outside the main gate, withdraw to the vicinity of Waypoint Alpha until the vessel is safely docked in the hangar," Mia ordered.

"Ooh, that must be the Port's operator," Hugo smiled. "Like Amy."

Zeke chuckled, "She doesn't seem as lively as Amy, though."

Hugo also chuckled, "But she sounded pretty diligent."

"Attention all crew, attention all crew."

"We safely passed the main gate, and are preparing to dock."

"All personnel prepare to disembark in 10 minutes."

"..."

"Welcome to Port Chrysanthemum."

"What a cruel thing to say..," Zeke murmured.

"Stay positive, Zeke," Hugo said. "We still have a fight left in us, and it's not over until it's over. Keep going forward."

"I guess," Zeke scratched his head.

"Zeke, this may not be my problem, and I'm still backing you guys," Lulu glared at him. "I don't wanna hear this kind of talk from you."

Zeke sighed, "Sorry…"

After watching, Jerad closed his eyes, "She's right, you know..? We haven't even laid anything we have on Hilda's bargaining table yet, so don't get all sulky now. We've come this far already."

Then he jabbed Zeke's shoulder, "We are the ones who started this Ashborn info thing, so don't back out on me now, got it?"

"Yeah, you're right," Zeke nodded with a smile before Jerad raised his arm at him. Understanding this, Zeke banged his armlet with his.

"What..?" Jerad grimaced. "That was weak, and I didn't even feel that. Do it again."

"OK," Zeke banged his armlet with Jerad much harder this time.

Then Jerad finally smiled, "Good. No more talk like this until then."

Then he sighed.

"Attention all crew, attention all crew."

"Ash Crawler Chrysanthemum is now docked."

"Please muster on the Bridge for a briefing."

"Escort operation is complete," Mia reported. "All God Eaters, return to base."

"I guess, this is it," Hugo stood up. "Let's head over to the bridge."

"Yeah," Misha nodded before she stood up with everyone.

---

On the bridge.

"Everyone here?" Hilda asked. "OK, once we disembark, I will show you around my Port, so relax."

"Thanks," Hugo said.

"You all ready? Let's head to the exit." Hilda said as she led them to the exit door. Once the exit door opened, they were surprised to see that a bridge had already been set towards their Ash Crawler's exit. They started walking across the bridge, and the Hounds looked around in awe. They saw the large hangar bay door was still closing a few seconds before it completely shut, and everyone working around inside was busy. Engineers are already conducting mechanical inspections on their Ash Crawler, and there were others yelling at each other while working, likely supervisors giving out orders to their workers.

As they crossed half way through the bridge, Hugo saw four people waiting on the other side with Trista and Shin among them. He thought the other two must have been the captain and vice captain from another unit.

Seeing Hugo and everyone, Trista and Shin smiled.

"It's good to see you again, back and safe, governor," Daris smiled, who is a captain of the Fox Unit.

"Welcome home, ma'am," Trista greeted with a smile.

"My most loyal officers," Hilda smiled back. "Thank you. How have you been? How's the Port during my absence?"

"We had no major problems at all, ma'am." Daris replied. "We had Aragami attacks then and there, but we disposed of them. Not to mention that the attacks have been..less frequent for these past several weeks."

"Good to hear," Hilda nodded. "Good work, everyone, and please get some rest."

"Thank you, ma'am," The two captains nodded.

"So, this is your new crew?" Daris raised his eyes. "And a bunch of AGEs, too."

"Oh, yes," Hilda said. "These are great people, and they all fought to protect us during our trip, so please give them your utmost courtesy."

"No problem at all, ma'am," Daris shook his head. "Your friends are my friends, too."

"I'm Hugo Pennywort," Hugo shook hands with Daris.

"Nice to meet you," Daris shook his hand back. "And you?"
"U-uh..I'm Jerad," Jerad hesitantly shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, too," Daris smiled. "Don't be a stranger here. Everyone here is nice."

"OK..," Jerad awkwardly murmured.

"Hm, I can tell you're a seasoned veteran," Daris chuckled.

"He is," Hugo replied. "One of my best, and his sister here, too."

"You mean, this lady here?" Daris asked.

"I'm Misha," Misha shook his hand.

"Ooh, I would like to see you two fight Aragami with us one day," Daris grinned. "I wonder how you would be compared to this captain."

Trista laughed, "You'll see soon enough."

"Now I'm thrilled," Daris replied.

Hugo laughed, "You won't be disappointed."

"I bet," Daris smiled again. "And I'm sorry for holding up our greetings and introductions."

"It's OK," Hilda replied. "It was good seeing you all get quickly acquainted with each other."

"Thanks, we'll have to take our leave now and debrief our units," Daris said. "Please excuse us, ma'am."

"Very well," Hilda said.

"And Ricardo," Daris called.

"Yeah?" Ricardo responded.

"You wanna have a drink in the west bar tonight? Let's trade stories," Daris grinned.

"Haha, sure," Ricardo nodded. "After our dinner together, and then I'll come by."

"Sounds great," Daris nodded. "See you later, Rick."

"I'll see you later, ma'am," Trista nodded. "You too, guys. Enjoy yourselves."

"See ya," Zeke waved.

Hilda smiled, "Hmhm, quite a good bunch, aren't they?"

"Yeah," Hugo smiled back.

"Let's go ahead, and have a tour around my Port," Hilda said before they left the hangar, and entered a large elevator.

After a few moments.

"We are now arriving at the Port's ground entrance," Amy announced before the elevator door opened, and they walked in.

Everyone looked around in awe. The Port square is filled with vegetation and flowers, and some were even growing fruits. The place is well lit with exotic lights, and there are bridges that connect each sector to the square with waterways flowing under them, which made them seem like small rivers. There are also people around, both adults, and then children playing around the square. Some were even families sitting together, either playing and feeding their children, a sight that gave Jerad and Misha a faint feeling of nostalgia. The square is almost like a real park.

"So, this is… Hilda's Port..," Hugo murmured.

"Awesome..," Zeke murmured with awe.

'I never knew such places could exist..,' Jerad mused. 'If only…'

"It is fairly pleasant, isn't it?" Hilda smiled.

"Yeah..," Hugo nodded.

"Oh, look!" Amy pointed. "The seeds we planted are starting to come up, ma'am!"

"My, time really does fly, doesn't it?" Hilda said.

"Whoa! Are those real strawberries?" Zeke asked.

"Daddy? Can I eat them?" Phym tugged his hand.

"No, don't just pick those," Jerad sighed. "Those strawberries might be still ripe, plus you have to ask someone first before you start picking them."

"Aww," Phym frowned.

"Don't worry, Phym," Claire giggled. "Someday, I'll buy you a pack of those, and you can eat them. They taste pretty sweet."

Phym giggled, "Thank you, mommy." Then she hugged her.

Then as soon as the residents noticed the group entering the square, they gathered around to greet their governor.

"Glad to see you safely back, governor," One middle aged man said.

"Welcome home, ma'am," A young woman said.

"Thank you, everyone," Hilda smiled. "It's nice to be home."

"Good to see you again, ma'am," A young woman with a blue short hair wearing an earpiece among the crowd greeted.

"Hello, Mia," Hilda smiled. "Great job in supporting everyone during our arrival."

"She must be the 'non-lively' Amy," Zeke whispered with a grin.

"Quiet," Hugo whispered back, glaring at him.

"My pleasure, ma'am," Mia slightly bowed. "Hello, Amy."

"It's nice to see you again," Amy greeted before they hugged each other. "How's the job?"

"It was great," Amy replied. "Thanks to our newcomers."

"Oh, these are the newcomers?" Mia stared at them in awe.

"Yep," Amy nodded with a smile.

"I'm Hugo Pennywort," Hugo reached his hand out to her.

"I'm Mia Chrysanthemum," Mia shook his hand. "A pleasure to meet you, and thanks for taking care of her."

"The pleasure is also mine," Hugo smiled. "We made sure not to ever give Amy a hard time on our way here."

Then Mia giggled, "I'm really glad you guys made things easier for her."

Hugo chuckled, "Yeah. We'll keep up the good work."

"Thanks," Mia smiled. "I'll look forward to working with you."

"Likewise," Hugo nodded before they finished their introductions.

"Are you done, Hugo..?" Misha murmured while glaring at him.

"Uhh, yeah," Hugo raised his eyes. "Something wrong?"

"Nothing..," Misha winced.

From behind them, Jerad turned away trying to repress his laugh, 'Damn that Hugo…'

"Ma'am," One girl called as she ran to them with the other two kids behind.

Jerad raised his eyes as he noticed a blonde haired boy with two red armlets, "That kid...he's an AGE."

"Yeah," Hugo murmured.

"Did you bring presents?" One boy asked.

"Ah!" Hilda made a fake gasp before kneeling down.

"Nothing again? You're so forgetful, ma'am," The AGE boy said as Jerad grimaced. If this boy was one of his, he would have given him a light chop on the head like he once did to Marr.

"Got you!" Hilda suddenly grinned before she pulled a basket from her back. "Tada! Here you are…"

Misha gasped, "Wha? J-just how did she?"

Then Hugo just shrugged.

"W-wow, this is great!" The AGE boy said.

"Thank you! You're the best, ma'am!" The girl smiled.

"How do you find this kind of stuff?" Lulu curiously asked.

"Good instincts," Hilda stood up. "Things circulate. They eventually surface, even if you can't purchase them openly."

"Wow, you're pretty in the know...for an adult," Hugo complimented.

Hilda chuckled, "Compared to some, perhaps."

"Wow, you guys are AGEs, too?!" The blonde haired boy suddenly approached them. "You guys must be strong..like Trista and Shin."

Hugo chuckled, "Yep, we are."

"What's your name, kid?" Jerad smiled.

"My name is Kai," Kai replied.

"Name's Jerad," Jerad nodded with a smile before he turned to the other three kids behind him. "Hey, don't you guys want to be friends with him?"

"I'm Marr," Marr said.

"I'm Lil," Lil smiled.

"And I'm..Sho," Sho timidly said.

"Wow, we should stick together, and play," Kai cheerfully said.

"Okay, everyone!" Amy called. "Over here! Let's play."

"We'll also go shopping, and eat dinner together," Mia added.

"OK, then. See you guys later," Kai waved as he and the other three kids left with Amy and Mia to play in the park which made Jerad, Hugo, and Misha smile.

"I had no idea there were any Ports like this…" Hugo murmured.

"It took longer than I expected to come this far, but...this place is my pride and joy. It means everything to me." Hilda explained.

"Hilda…" Hugo said. "You're taking in orphans, aren't you?"

"That I am," Hilda replied. "Though, not all of them are here because of that. There are kids like Lulu here, too."

Then she glanced at Lulu, "I would like to have her working here...someday."

"Yeah..," Hugo frowned. "It would be great if the kids from our Port could stay here, too."

"That's not possible, Hugo." Hilda frowned. "As it stands right now, your Port contracts are still legally binding, and that includes all of the children."

Then Jerad winced while Claire glanced at him. She could tell that he was not taking this well…

"Yeah, I understand," Hugo murmured. "It's just that...I saw all of this, and...you know…"

"Hugo…" Hilda murmured.

"But we've got our own path to walk," Hugo said.

"Yeah..," Jerad nodded.

"Thanks, Hilda. For showing me all this," Hugo smiled and shook her hand.

"Just remember, as long as you're alive, we'll surely meet again," Hilda said. "Let's head over to a cuisine just a few blocks from here. Of course, the tab is on me."

"Sure," Hugo smiled. "You guys ready to dine?"

"Yeah," Misha excitedly replied.

"Yes, I would like to try what food this Port has," Claire said.

"Me, too, mommy," Phym smiled. "I wanna try all Hilda's food."

Then everyone chuckled before they left the square, and after a few blocks, they eventually arrived at the restaurant entrance. The restaurant is huge.

"Good evening, everyone," The manager greeted. "How may I...governor?!"

"Good evening," Hilda greeted with a smile. "How have you been?"

"A-all is well, ma'am," The manager replied. "My apologies for such an awkward meeting."

Hilda laughed, "It's OK. I'm sorry for arriving at such a short notice, and I would like to order your best cuisine today."

"Right away, ma'am. I will set up a dining table for you immediately," The manager. "Please excuse me."

Then he left, and Hugo can faintly hear him inside say, "The owner is here! Look sharp, everyone!"

"Everyone really respected you, Hilda," Hugo smiled.

"And that's not just being the owner at all."

"Everyone here is family," Hilda smiled. "I never had to enact many laws to maintain order. Everyone here has been kind."

Then the manager came back to them, "Ma'am, preparations are complete. Please, this way."

'Whoa, that was fast,' Misha thought before they entered, and were led to a long dining table.

After Hilda sat, everyone else sat down.

"Ma'am, your order will be ready in 10 minutes," The manager said.

"Please, take your time," Hilda smiled.

"Thank you," The manager nodded before he left.

"Wow, this restaurant..," Lulu murmured. "It's…"

"Right?" Hilda smiled. "It's one of the best in this Port."

"I wonder how their cook will compare to Lulu," Zeke chuckled while Lulu glared at him.

"I can say, comparable at best," Hilda chuckled.

"For a Port to be able to house restaurants like this, this is really impressive," Hugo said.

"Thank you," Hilda smiled. "I'm still working on expanding this Port, but we're still trying to gather finances to make that happen."

"...I see," Hugo nodded.

"Ma'am, your order has arrived," The manager returned, and him and a few other waiters began serving their meals in the middle of the table. Then they removed the lid of each dish, steam radiating from all of them.

"Wow," Misha stared in awe. "These already smell good, and I could get full by sniffing them."

Hugo laughed, "I can feel for that."

"I've never seen such food like this," Zeke could almost gasp.

"And I can't wait to try all of them," Lulu said. "Maybe this could inspire me to learn more recipes."

"D-daddy, can I eat all of that?" Phym said, still awed.

"Yeah, leave enough for everyone, OK?" Jerad laughed while Claire giggled.

"Please enjoy yourselves," The manager courteously nodded. "And have a good evening. Welcome to our Port."

"Thank you," Everyone said together.

Then Hilda giggled, "Dine in, everyone. Knock yourselves out."

One hour later, everyone finished.

"Whew, I'm so stuffed," Zeke rubbed his belly. "I've never had a meal this great."

"Yeah," Lulu nodded. "After my first bite, I realized that I still have a long way to go with cooking. It's pretty humbling."

Hilda chuckled, "You can apply to be a cook in one of these restaurants, if you want. Or you can start one yourself. Just let me know, if you do, and I'll gladly help you."

"Thank you," Lulu smiled. "I'll think about it."

"Food was good," Phym smiled. "Still want to eat…"

"Huh," Jerad murmured with surprise. "Ever since you learned to eat our food, you've had this unending appetite. Just how deep your stomach is?"

"Hmhm," Phym smiled.

Hilda giggled, "We also have a buffet here. You can try it."

"Bah-faye?" Phym tilted her head.

"It's a kind of restaurant where you can eat all you can," Hilda explained, smiling.

Phym gasped, "Daddy, could you take me there? Promise?"

"I..guess so," Jerad hesitantly agreed. 'I'm sure your bottomless stomach is going to make that restaurant close down.'

"Yay," Phym cheered, and hugged him.

"What are you thinking, Jerad?" Claire grimaced. "You were smirking."

"Nothing really bad," Jerad shook his head.

"Then say it," Claire demanded.

Jerad groaned, "OK, OK. I was just thinking that Phym's appetite might put that buffet out of business."

Then everyone paused for a few moments before they broke into a loud laughter.

"Goodness..," Claire angrily facepalmed.

"That was..a bit harsh," Hugo said while laughing.

"Pretty blunt, too," Misha also said while laughing.

"Is that..bad, daddy?" Phym shamefully murmured.

"No..it was just a joke, Phym," Jerad patted her head. "I'm sure that buffet has things for that. I'll take you there, sometime, OK?"

"Okay," Phym smiled again.

"I guess we should finish here," Hilda said. "As much as I want to spend more time here, I still need to read reports from all supervisors here, and reassess our situation."

"Don't worry about it," Hugo shook his head. "We truly appreciate you taking us to a great cuisine."

"You're welcome," Hilda replied. "Please feel free to tour around here in the meantime, and also use our vessel for berthing. I've already been notified by the engineers that they are finished inspecting inside for now, and I ordered them not to conduct anymore work inside the vessel after 8 PM."

"Thank you, Hilda," Hugo nodded before everyone started standing from the table.

"I guess I'm gonna head for the bar, and have a good drink tonight," Ricardo also stood up. "You guys coming? I'm sure your old friends will be there, and would be more than happy to hear your stories."

"That's OK," Hugo murmured. "I also have work tonight."

"Really?" Ricardo raised his eyes. "You gotta decompress every now, and then. And now that we're here, it's a good time to indulge yourself."

"I know, but..," Hugo plainly said, not wanting to dull the atmosphere and make himself a bit suspicious. "I really have some paperwork to do..and to prepare to 'leave' in a few days."

As much as he hated to say this, he felt the need to so Ricardo will not further press the question.

"I see..," Ricardo frowned. "OK, then. I'll give your regards to those two for you."

"Thanks," Hugo nodded. 'I'm sorry, guys. I'll make it up for you two..after this is over.'

"I'll see you kids tomorrow," Ricardo waved.

"You all have a good evening," Hilda smiled.

"Thank you for your patronage, ma'am," The manager arrived to clean up their table. "Once again, welcome back."

"Thanks again," Hilda smiled. "Have a good night."

"Likewise, ma'am," The manager said.

Then everyone left the restaurant, and once Hilda was out of sight.

"Hilda is pretty impressive, huh?" Hugo said. "I think I'm beginning to understand what it means to have a Port of your own."

"Yeah," Jerad murmured. "I never thought Ports like her's exist…"

"Honestly? It was also a bit of a shock..," Hugo continued. "Seeing all this…"

"Let's get to work," Jerad forwardly said. "We've got to win this."

"Yep, that's the plan," Hugo nodded. "The first thing we need to do is gain our freedom. The world is made up of rules and contracts. We just need to find a way to squeeze in there."

"Yeah," Jerad nodded. "This is why we need to use everything we have to bargain."

"Right, we can all come together for this," Hugo nodded again. "We better get going. Let's go, everyone."

---

In the Chrysanthemum West Bar.

"Heyy, Rick is finally here," Daris grinned. "One more drink for him in my tab, please."

"Coming your way," The hostess enthusiastically replied.

"Come sit here," Daris pointed at the empty seat on a table with Shin and Trista.

"Thanks," Ricardo sat down.

"Welcome back," Trista grinned.

"Good to see you again," Shin smiled.

"Oh, hey. How have you kids been doing?" Ricardo chuckled.

"Doing great," Shin replied. "So, where's Hugo and the others?"

"Eh, I tried to invite those guys in, but he said they got work to do," Ricardo explained. "I kept wondering what work was he talking about since we're all here, but decided not to press the issue."

Then Trista narrowed her eyes. 'Hmm, he's probably…'

Then she smiled, "Hah! That Hugo. Always a workaholic, is he still?"

"Yep," Ricardo nodded as the hostess handed him a bottle, and a small glass with ice. "The kid was pretty hard working, and had good leadership, too."

"Yeah," Trista grinned. "Always that big bro to us."

Ricardo laughed, "I guess he hasn't changed that much to you guys."

"Yeah," Shin sat back. "Still the same guy at most."

"So, what happened here while we were gone?" Ricardo asked.

"Not much happened besides Aragami attacks now and then," Daris replied. "We just kill them whenever they show up."

"Same, same," Trista added. "We just keep doing our daily patrols."

"Alright, then," Ricardo nodded. "Mine is a hell of a ride."

"Huh," Trista raised her eyes. "Please tell us."

"Hmm, where do we start?" Ricardo rubbed his chin. "How about that Ash Storm in Pennywort? I bet you wanna hear that."

"I'm curious," Daris murmured. "A bunch of AGEs, too. I'm intrigued."

"Definitely," Shin nodded with a smile. "So, how did you find our guys?"

"Well, here's how it all began..," Ricardo took a small gulp.

---

In the Ash Crawler.

"So, this is it," Jerad murmured after reviewing all the information about Ashborns recorded in Keith's tablet. "This is all we got for them. Anything else you guys want to add?"

Then everyone shook their heads.

"OK. Then this is final," Jerad handed the tablet back to Keith. "Save it, and make sure you back it up."

"Will do, friend," Keith smiled.

"Lulu, how's yours?" Hugo asked.

"Finally finished it," Lulu replied. "Features, capabilities, and even how they're properly tuned. Thanks for all the inputs, Keith."

"Alright, I guess this is as far as we could go," Hugo said before he turned to the kids. "Listen..do your best to convince Hilda that we're the Hounds worth keeping, OK?"

"I honestly thought we were finally free..," Marr bitterly murmured.

"I don't want to be pulled apart from you guys," Lil sobbed.

"I..don't want to go back to prison," Sho murmured. "I don't want to get sick again…"

"I know," Hugo closed his eyes. "If we get through this, then freedom will be truly within our reach, and we can definitely achieve our dream of building our own Port."

"Keep pushing forward. It's the only way."

"Mm," The kids slowly nodded.

---

Back in Chrysanthemum West Bar

"Wow, that's quite a lot of fights these kids have gone through," Daris commented. "And it's a surprise that they're all still alive, even after cheating death from Ashborns so many times. Damn…"

Then he turned to Trista, "Now I can see why you and your vice captain were so strong from the get go. That Hugo guy really carried you through that hellhole."

"Heh," Trista smiled. "He was the one who kept us going, and this is how he became our big bro."

"We looked up to him because of this," Shin added. "Even though he couldn't save everyone, he always kept looking forward."

"Yeah," Ricardo nodded. "But speaking of surviving, you guys ready for an even more unbelievable story?"

"Hm," Trista narrowed her eyes. "What would that be..?"

Daris chuckled, "Please do tell. Your stories about these kids are interesting so far."

"OK?" Ricardo looked around to make sure no one is close enough to hear them. "First promise that you'll keep this down, and keep this between us."

"Sure," Daris grinned. "Now I'm excited."

"These kids also slew an Ash Aragami," Ricardo almost whispered.

Then the three blankly stared at him before Daris broke into laughter.

"Whoa," Daris said while laughing. "Your drink must be getting into you, buddy."

Trista and Shin remained quiet, not impressed with his seeming joke at all.

"With all due respect, Ricardo," Trista gave him a serious look. "This isn't funny, even while drinking."

"I'm with her in this," Shin narrowed his eyes. "We lost a lot of friends to Aragami. I would never take this."

Then Ricardo raised his glass and slightly stirred it, "You know it will take several more of these drinks before I get wasted, and I don't want to waste your time making up stories since we haven't met in a while, so I want to make our time worth it."

Seeing that Ricardo only drank even less than a quarter of his fill, the three sat back and sighed.

"Alright, I guess that makes sense," Daris leaned on the table. "It's also bad enough that you guys grazed them so many times during your trip, and there's no way you could get lucky that much. So, how did that happen?"

"It's almost a week ago," Ricardo murmured. "Those guys were on a course clearing mission right before we made it back to our region, and then one of those suddenly showed up. It moved so fast that Amy couldn't keep track of it, and then the owner didn't have time to order a retreat."

Trista slightly gasped, "Then what happened to them?!"

"They all got devoured by it, one by one," Ricardo murmured. "They couldn't do a thing against it, and we thought we were going to lose them. It would have been over for us, but…"

Then he gulped his drink, "Phym. Phym ran outside our ship to save them. She used some mass Engage to heal everyone."

"Phym? Who is this girl?" Daris curiously asked.

"Phym...Ah, I've met her before," Trista said. "She was with them when we ran into Hugo in the south Frozen Plant."

Ricardo laughed, "So, you already met her. Quite adorable, is she?"

"Yeah..," Trista murmured. "She stole my spare God Arc, and I couldn't get mad at her because of that."

"Wait, were you talking about that little girl I saw in the Ash Crawler hangar who was hiding behind that white haired guy? Jerad, was it?" Daris asked.

"That's her," Ricardo chuckled. "She doesn't take well to strangers, but she's pure of heart."

"Anyway, that was the time she took your God Arc, and fought that Ash Aragami with them," Ricardo continued. "That's when the tide turned. It was a longgg, grueling battle, but they did bag that thing in the end, and if it wasn't for her, I don't think they would have survived. No, more like WE wouldn't have survived."

"Whew, I'm just glad I went nice to her, and let it slide," Trista softly said. "I gotta thank that girl later."

"Now that makes more sense," Daris said. "But Engaging with everyone? From what I know, only AGEs can use them, and normally, it can only be done between two people, at least that's what these two told me. What the hell is she?"

"Beats me," Ricardo took another sip, and set his glass down. "But I'll tell you what. That girl is full of surprises."

"Jerad told me the same thing," Trista chuckled. "That girl ALREADY surprised me. I was amazed she can swing that heavy moon around despite how tiny she is."

"Just out of curiosity, Ricardo," Shin finally spoke. "Could you tell me what Ashborn did our friends fought?"

"I have no idea," Ricardo shook his head. "But from what I've seen from Amy's recordings during that time, this Ash Aragami floats, full of fire, and hurls two floating fireballs around. I'm getting the chills just trying to remember it."

"Hmm, floating, huh?" Shin rubbed his chin for a few moments. "That must be Ra. It's the only known Ashborn that floats above ground."

"Ever the combat nerd, and a tactician, Shin," Trista smiled. "This is why I love having you as my right hand."

"U-um..yeah," Shin blushed. "Thanks, but not even I could think of any measures against them. Comparing us to them is like comparing an ant to a bull. That's how powerful they are."

"Ra, huh? One of the most commonly seen Ashborns out there. Oooh..," Daris slowly shook his head, shuddering.

"Well, they did it," Ricardo nodded. "Even the owner had a hard time processing that through her head, but I'm not making this up."

"I believe you now, buddy," Daris smiled. "Especially after some miracle caused by that girl."

"It wasn't just her alone, of course," Ricardo said. "Everyone in that group did their part to slay that thing, and that team has always been a powerhouse, but there is one person that always stood out from them. No, even two of them."

"Hm," Daris intriguingly raised his eyes.

"First is Jerad," Ricardo said. "That kid fights like a demon everytime; a force to be reckoned with. He has a few loose screws in his head, but he's genuinely a good person at heart."

"Huh, that kid I met earlier," Daris murmured. "I was right to see something in him, hehe."

"I don't disagree with that," Trista said. "Back when we were still together in prison, he would bag more Aragami than all of us, and I couldn't keep up. It was still fun trying to beat him, though."

"And then, there's Misha, his twin." Ricardo smiled. "A looker who is both good at being a medic, and a fine warrior for the team. Possibly the most useful of all of them."

"Ah, that pretty one I shook hands with in the hangar, too," Daris smiled. "You know? This Port could really use people like them, and not to mention they're AGEs, too. They really deserve more credit than what they're getting."

"But, it's a shame, though," Ricardo frowned.

"Hm?" Daris raised his eyes.

"The governor of their Port, Pennywort, wanted them back from the owner," Ricardo explained while Trista and Shin grimaced.

"What? Are you serious?" Daris glared. "I thought that hellhole of a Port was gone for good by an Ash Storm. Why would he still want them back?"

"To be honest, I don't really know," Ricardo shook his head, and glanced at the two AGEs. "But the owner did her best to keep them away from him just like what she did for you two."

"Damn them..," Trista gritted her teeth, and clenched her fist on the table.

"Hmph," Shin frowned.

"Though..don't lose hope yet," Ricardo said. "Knowing Hugo, I think something will turn around once 'that' time comes. It may be just a hunch, but Hugo is also tenacious, and won't go down without a fight."

"You're right," Shin murmured. "He is the one who kept us going through tough times."

"I'm hoping for the same, if I may say so," Daris gulped his drink. "It would really be a waste if we can't have them."

"So, anything else you want to tell us about, Rick?" Daris smiled.

"I'm really curious, but..," Trista grinned. "Jerad. How did he become Phym's daddy, and that blonde girl as her mommy? I couldn't believe what I heard when we were out there. Jerad as a dad? Never would've thought, haha!"

Then Ricardo cracked a laugh, "Oh, there's a loooong story behind that."

"Hm," Daris smiled.

"Could you tell us?" Trista widened her grin.

"Sure, good way to kill some more time," Ricardo smiled, and filled up his glass.

---

In the Ash Crawler Bridge.

"I guess we did manage to have some time to sleep, huh?" Hugo said. "But it's so quiet here without Amy, and everyone. We can't even hear the Port employees working outside. They're really busy."

"Just be ready for this, starting tomorrow," Jerad said, leaning back on a guardrail. "I get the feeling that this would come sooner than we think."

"What makes you think that?" Hugo curiously asked.

"It's a hunch," Jerad grimly replied. "But if you think about his Port being gone, that old man would want to start selling battle data to Gleipnir again so he could get enough money to rebuild that Port, and line his pockets again. This is why he badly wants us back. He will use us all up until we're all dead, or he gets his Port back."

"I see," Hugo sighed. "That makes sense, but we pretty much got what we could for the bargaining table."

"Yeah," Jerad closed his eyes. "If only there are more things I could do…"

"No, thanks for helping out," Hugo smiled. "You did everything you could, just like everyone. It meant a lot to me."

"Hm," Jerad looked away, frowning. "I think it's too early to thank me yet…"

"Just you helping out is enough," Hugo said before Jerad turned to him. "And the information about Ashborn would be a great bargaining tool. Do you have any idea how many people would badly want that information? Even Gleipnir hardly knows a damn thing about them."

"Hm," Jerad murmured.

"Listen..about Phym being the ace up our sleeve," Hugo whispered. "I'm still under speculation, but I think the reason why this vessel had many Ash Aragami encounters was because of her. Ashborns are attracted to her."

Then Jerad gave him an astonished look, "How?"

"I still don't know why, but have you noticed that both Ashborns went after her with every chance they got?" Hugo asked.

Jerad recalled both encounters for a few seconds before he turned to him again, "Yeah."

"If my speculation is right," Hugo said. "Then Hilda won't be able to ignore us. This is what I meant this morning, and this will be our trump card."

"I see," Jerad uncomfortably murmured.

"I already knew you don't want to use her like that," Hugo said. "I get why, but she is better off this way. We are currently the only ones who can defend her from Ashborns. This is what you wanted, right?"

"Yeah..," Jerad winced. "It's fine, then. It's not like we have anything bad for her, anyway."

"Right," Hugo nodded. "Anyway, I'm gonna get some sleep so I can think straight tomorrow. What time you're turning in?"

"After another half an hour," Jerad plainly replied.

"OK. Keep your head up, alright?" Hugo patted his shoulder with a smile. "It's not over until it's over."

Jerad chuckled as he watched him enter the elevator, and then laid back on the guardrail.

'Misha..,' Jerad shut his eyes for a few seconds before looking up again. 'Is this really enough?'

---

Back in the bar.

Trista, Shin, Daris, and Ricardo loudly laughed.

"Hugo outdid himself in this," Trista said while clutching her stomach, still laughing. "And Misha, too? What the hell was she thinking?!" Then she started wheezing.

"That part..will be best left private," Ricardo kept laughing before he drank.

"Jerad as a daddy, huh?" Shin chuckled. "I never pictured him as that, no offense to him."

"After you watch him take care of that girl often enough, I guarantee you'll change your mind," Ricardo chuckled. "I even heard he reads books for her."

Then the three laughed again while Daris just smiled.

"Aww, Great Daddy Jerad," Trista sneered.

"Is it really that out of character of him that it's funny?" Daris curiously asked.

"Oh yeah," Shin nodded. "That guy was super serious. He's a bit hard to be friends with, and can be scary sometimes. You have to earn a lot of his trust before he starts warming up to you."

"Really..? He didn't really come off to me as that," Daris said. "I just thought he was just a shy guy, but still approachable."

"Well, he did change a bit since he started living with us," Ricardo said. "But it's another long story, and a more personal one at that. I think that would best be left..untold."

"Hm..," Trista raised her eyes.

"You'll find out soon enough," Ricardo flashed his eyebrows with a grin. "I can almost guarantee it will make your day, hehe."

"Heh," Trista grinned back.

"Anyway, I'm starting to feel like passing out," Ricardo set his empty glass down. "You guys feeling it, too?"

"Heh, same here," Daris sighed, and sat back. "It was a long day for everyone, but I'm just glad everything went smoothly."

"I guess we'll call it a day, too," Trista said.

"I also miss my own room," Ricardo chuckled. "Can't wait to have a nice sleep tonight."

"Heh, I bet," Trista grinned.

"Alright, let's go," Ricardo stood up before everyone did. "I hope for a good day tomorrow, and thanks for the drink."

"No problem," Daris said. "See you all tomorrow."

---

In the Ash Crawler.

Jerad finally decided to turn in for the night, and realized that thinking more about this will not get him anywhere. He decided to just sleep this through, and as he was about to press a button on the elevator panel, it suddenly opened. He almost gasped to see that it was Claire.

"Whoa, why are you up here?" Jerad asked. "I thought you went to sleep."

"I wanted to ask the same thing," Claire replied. "Are you alright?"

"...Yeah," Jerad replied. "I was just thinking, but I'm about to turn in, anyway."

"I see..," Claire murmured. "Come on in, then."

Then he walked into the elevator, and Claire pressed the 'down' button. The elevator door shut, and they waited quietly for a few seconds until they reached the Residential Block.

"Hilda has an amazing Port, huh?" Claire murmured. "AGEs, regular God Eaters, ordinary people...I never imagined a community like this. I visited many Ports affiliated with Gleipnir, but never saw anything like it. I may sound like a kid saying this, but it really is a magical place."

"I used to think all Ports were like..Pennywort," Jerad closed his eyes. "I couldn't believe what I saw…"

"Yeah..," Claire nodded.

"Claire..," Jerad murmured, looking away, and shuddering a bit. "Please tell me...did I do enough?"

"...I believe you did," Claire murmured. "You did everything you could."

"It never felt enough, you know?" Jerad grunted. "I just wanted a better life for Misha, and could care less about what happens to me. Am I still asking too much?"

"No, don't say that," Claire shook her head, and held his shoulder. "You and everyone deserved better than where you were. You earned Hilda's trust, and kept all of us safe. I'm sure you and Hugo have a chance at this."

"You have to keep remembering that they're also doing their part in this, and you have to trust them. There are things you can't do alone, but with others, there is nothing you can't overcome."

"Hm," Jerad murmured.

"Please get some sleep," Claire smiled. "I'm sure you're tired."

"Right," Jerad slowly sighed. "Thanks…"

"Good night, and sleep well," Claire smiled.

Jerad chuckled, "...I will."

---

Next morning.

Jerad slowly opened his eyes, and saw that it is 8 AM. He slowly sat up, and found that Hugo, Keith, Marr, Sho, and Zeke also woke up.

"Hey, good morning," Hugo smiled. "Let's check the Port, and see what we could eat for breakfast."

"Sounds fine," Jerad shrugged. "I guess we could use a little touring."

"Yeah, I can't wait to explore the Port more," Marr excitedly said.

"Yep," Zeke grinned. "Let's see what other things this Port has. I could use a little shopping."

Then they dressed up, and left the cabin. Once they reached the Residential Hall, they also saw the girls leaving their cabin.

"Hey, you all awake, too," Hugo said. "We're about to leave, and eat breakfast before we browse around the Port. You all coming?"

"Of course," Claire nodded. "I could use new make ups."

"Me, too." Misha pitched in.

"Good morning, daddy," Phym latched to him. "Where do we eat for breakfast? I'm hungry."

"We don't know yet," Jerad chuckled. "We'll see."

"I can't wait to try," Phym smiled.

'Heh, she hardly struggles to talk now,' Jerad smiled.

"OK. Let's get going," Zeke smiled. "Gotta go shopping after this."

Then they walked to the elevator, and headed up to the bridge.

Once they arrived, they found Hilda, Ricardo, Shin, Trista, and Amy already in there.

"Here's my report about the repairs, ma'am," Amy said as she pulled her tablet. "The engineers said that considering the damages, the fastest they could repair is the next two days. It would normally take a week, but they're already pushing for this short amount of time."

"Hm..that's fine," Hilda replied. "Two days to leave for Arrowhead should be still early enough."

"How's our Port's security so far," Hilda turned to Trista.

"Mia reported no Aragami close enough to be considered a threat," Trista reported. "But I'll send some of our unit on patrol duty, and others for field training today."

"Very good, captain," Hilda smiled.

"Good morning, everyone," Hugo greeted.

"Good morning, Hugo." Trista grinned.

"Oh, good morning, Hugo," Hilda greeted back. Then she paused for a few seconds, and frowned. "I've been contacted by Gleipnir this morning. They said that the transfer will take place at noon, and their Ash Crawler is already on the way here."

Then Hugo slowly gasped.

'I knew it,' Jerad grimaced while he started clenching his fist.

"I'm sorry, Hugo," Hilda murmured.

"Hilda..," Hugo walked a few steps forward. "Is it possible to renegotiate a contract with the governor?"

Then Hilda quietly shook her head.

"PLEASE, I beg of you!" Hugo bowed his head in desperation while Amy, Ricardo, Shin, and Trista raised their eyes with surprise.

Hilda remorsefully stared at him for a few moments before she spoke, "Look me in the eye, Hugo."

"Doing this would mean entering a new contract with the governor of Pennywort for the exclusive use of Hugo and the other AGEs," Amy murmured. "I'm afraid I don't see a chance of winning here."

"Even if negotiation worked, the sum demanded by your Port would be astronomical," Hilda replied before she turned to Hugo. "You must have realized that before you even asked, Hugo."

"Giving them the information collected on the course we cleared for you should be enough to cover whatever fee they want," Hugo argued. "Or if not that, you can always take it out of what you owe us for our work."

"And, is that it?" Hilda frowned. "Of course, you did open up a route for us. However, it wasn't your group alone that got it cleared. We do understand each other, right?"

Then Hugo helplessly paused, realizing that what Hilda said is true, and Trista could only quietly wince and clench her fists as she watched this happen. Seeing this, Jerad turned a serious glance at Zeke, and understanding his gesture, he turned to Keith.

"Keith..," Zeke nodded with a serious look, and he nodded back before he stepped forward with a tablet.

"How about we threw this in, ma'am?" Keith smiled.

Hilda took the tablet, and raised her eyes, "Analysis on the Ash Aragami? When were you able to do this?"

Keith chuckled, and then Lulu also stepped forward.

"And here," Lulu held her tablet to Hilda. "I wrote everything I could find relating to Baran, and the acceleration trigger in these documents."

"This..this is..," Hilda murmured with astonishment.

"With this information, this technology could also be provided to God Eaters in your Port, ma'am," Lulu added. "It would increase their effectiveness and survivability."

"You're right..," Hilda murmured.

"We're gonna grow up, and work for you, Hilda," Sho suddenly spoke. "Even if the food doesn't taste good, we'll clean our plates and get big and strong!"

"You sweet kids..," Hilda murmured.

"I know it's not enough, but I'm sure you know we're 100% serious," Hugo spoke with resolve. "We are willing to work to win our future...just like you built yours."

Then Hilda sighed.

"Ma'am...what do you think?" Amy asked. "I admire the sentiment, but…"

"Hm," Hilda closed her eyes.

"Ma'am, I apologize in advance, but..," Trista stood beside Hilda. "I've known Hugo for years before you took us in from Pennywort, and still remember that well 5 years ago. Hugo is a genuine person, and he always meant everything he said…"

Then she paused for a few seconds before she continued, "It's because of him that Shin and I survived long enough to serve, and protect you and this Port. Our family."

"I know..," Hilda murmured, and closed her eyes.

"Hilda, listen..," Hugo said before he glanced at Jerad and Misha. "You really do need us. Well, you need our friends and their ability, at least."

"What do you mean..?" Hilda narrowed her eyes.

"Phym's presence is attracting Ash Aragami," Hugo said while Trista and Shin raised their eyes. "You know it is."

Then Hilda gasped, "When did you..?"

"So, she is..," Hugo narrowed his eyes.

"Hmph..," Hilda closed her eyes.

"If you continue with this job, you'll literally carry that risk with you," Hugo warned. "Right now, the only people who can face off against Ash Aragami are us."

Then Shin raised his eyes. 'So Ricardo wasn't bluffing at all last night.'

"I see. So, that's what you're touting as your real value in this deal?" Hilda asked.

"We can be your shield even if it costs us everything. In exchange, you only have to give us a chance," Hugo said.

"There is no guarantee that you'll always be able to handle the Ash Aragami," Hilda said. "Your reasoning relies on the assumption that you'll survive, that your hope and determination will carry you through this. That is a risky investment."

"Then we'll win, even if it kills us," Hugo cried. "Just give us the chance!"

Then Hilda paused, "No, I can't do that."

"Hilda!" Hugo cried.

"Dying is not an option," Hilda firmly said. "You have to survive until we complete our contracted delivery of Phym."

"Then I'll make that happen," Jerad stepped forward. "I've saved everyone here more than you can count, and I'll keep making sure everyone comes back. It will be more than just the delivery."

Then Hilda smiled, "Then, with that as a prerequisite, I will accept a contract with you."

Then Hugo and Jerad raised their eyes with surprise.

"And as collateral, I'll place the children who are unable to fight into my orphanage once we leave in two days," Hilda finished.

"Hilda? Y-you'll..?" Hugo stuttered.

"From here on out, I will be the client of your contract," Hilda smiled. "Consider me a patron, if you will…"

"My idealistic Hounds."

Then she reached her hand out to him, and Hugo froze, not believing the outcome. The outcome that he thought in some ways, not going to win. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see that it was Jerad, smiling.

"Let's do this," Jerad nodded.

Hugo finally smiled, believing that they are finally free, truly free, and he could see Trista and Shin across him, nodding and smiling at him. He turned back to Hilda.

"I, uh..," Hugo stuttered. "Yeah! I'd call that a deal!"

Then they shook hands. Seeing this, Jerad felt that his chest was not feeling heavy anymore, and he looked down.

'We actually did it..,' He mused before closing his eyes, smiling. 'Thanks, Claire.'

Then he felt Phym pull his hand, smiling, and it was then he realized that he could spend more time with her for a while...

"So, you guys are going out to eat breakfast, right?" Hilda smiled.

"Uh, yeah..," Hugo scratched his head. "But Hilda, is there something I could..?"

"Don't worry about it," Hilda shook her head. "Leave all the negotiations to me. Enjoy your time here before we leave in two days."

"Right," Hugo nodded. "Thanks."

"Trista, please show them around the Port," Hilda smiled. "I'm sure you have a lot of things to catch up together."

"Of course, ma'am," Trista happily nodded. "And thank you...for believing in him."

"Likewise, ma'am," Shin slightly bowed. "Thank you."

Then Trista, Shin, Amy, and the Hounds left the bridge before Hilda chuckled.

"Those kids...they really got me."

Ricardo laughed, "I knew it would come to this."

"I never expected Hugo to bargain like that," Hilda smiled. "He dealt some cards to me that I would never expect. He played pretty well."

"Yeah," Ricardo nodded.

"Please prepare everything for negotiations within three hours," Hilda said. "I will contact Gleipnir..and the governor of Pennywort soon after this to arrange for it."

"Gladly," Ricardo replied.

"Hmm, speaking of what Hugo said," Hilda held her chin. "I believe we're going to need a bit more manpower in our next trip. It's true they can handle Ash Aragami alone, but I don't want to put too much burden on them."

"Ah, I think I know what you're thinking, ma'am," Ricardo chuckled. "I will talk to those two after the negotiations."

"Thank you," Hilda smiled. "And...would you mind if you could also lend them a hand? I know you already have a lot of work on your shoulders, but..."

Then Ricardo laughed, "No worries. I'll be more than happy to be back in the field again, and will give every ounce I've got."

---

Author's End Note: This chapter was draining, and hard to write, but I did have my fun in this, too. It was hard to show how Hugo, and especially Jerad had to mentally deal with the crisis of being sent back to prison hell again and fight to take their lives back. I'm just glad I finally got through it.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and peace out.