Tranquil Temple

More than two weeks passed following Neo's encounter in the Mess Hall. Having made quite the scene with her dramatic exit, she had left Utsugi with the task of explaining to Major Amamiya how and why one of their New Types had been bleeding all over the lunchroom floor. Tsubaki had intended to interrogate the main character of the tale herself, but she had been unable to locate her.

And the Major wasn't the only one. Utsugi had attempted to speak with Neo himself after the incident. Her injury had looked rather substantial, and from what he could tell from the lack of evidence, she had never made it to the Sick Bay. Lenka tried multiple times, but all of his endeavors had ended in failure. Her flight had been the last time he'd seen her, in conversation or otherwise.

Whether she had truly disappeared or just skillfully avoiding him, the Captain didn't know nor did he have time to concern himself with it. With the Aegis Project well underway, the Director had a pile of quests for him nearly a mile high. Even worse, he was beginning to run low on his medication supply. He simply didn't have any more time or resources to spare on his volatile teammate. He would leave her to Ichiro and Soma for the time being, returning to her to try again whenever he had the chance.

At least, that had been his plan.

Unfortunately, neither of the men had been able to find her either. In the days following the incident, it became apparent that Neo had been avoiding nearly every member of the First Unit. While she hadn't been on the friendliest terms with Soma in recent times, she now been displaying an aversion to her protective companion as well. Floating stealthily around the den, the New Type was seemingly never around when either teammate were anywhere nearby.

Ichiro could tell that she had been visiting his room, as various objects including clothing items and snacks were occasionally going missing. Yet, he could never seem to catch her when she was actually there. And considering that he spent all of his time wandering around the Den at this point, it was unbearably frustrating.

Even Alisa hadn't managed to catch a glimpse of the New Type for a few days, despite her high workload and frequent activity. It seemed that she was traveling in and out of Headquarters rather often, sometimes to the same areas that she would work in. But they never came into contact. The only indication she had seen of Neo's presence were the pair of shoes she found placed carefully on her coffee table.

Indeed the only person member of their group that had seen Neo was Shio, the Aragami child. It seemed that whatever was bothering their elusive companion didn't apply to her as she frequented her living quarters relatively often. Surprisingly, she had even managed to do so without crossing Sakaki's path a single time. Her ability to evade others when she wanted to was mind-blowing. Near the beginning of the third week, nearly all of her teammates had simply come to accept the fact that they may not be seeing their violet-haired teammate any time soon.

Which was why it was so surprising to everyone when she showed up to Tsubaki's emergency meeting.

. . .

"What?! Major… A-Are you sure?"

Tsubaki was tense as she stood in the center of four God Eaters, all watching intently as flipped through the documents on her clipboard. Each member waited with bated breath as they followed her careful movements. Always composed, the Major's poker face was impossible to read as her eyes swept across the four soldiers.

"Yes. We have confirmed the strange signal emanating from today's target… It matches up with Lindow's Armlet. It could still be some kind of mistake, but there is good chance you will face Lindow's killer. It will be a grueling fight. There's no denying that. But after running a number of scenarios, we've determined you can defeat it. Do not be swayed by thoughts of vengeance. If you are to fight this beast, you must do it with caution and strategy."

"This is the monster that took him… are you certain?"

"I cannot say. Only that the signatures are a match."

"I see…"

"Is there a problem, Reaper?"

"…None."

Falling silent, Neo crossed her arms and leaned against the wall behind them. Kota and Alisa watched her carefully, their eyes filled with concern. They wanted to speak with her but thought better of it. The fact that she had appeared at the meeting at all was shocking enough. The fact that she would be accompanying them on their mission was even more surprising. She had finally made an appearance to them after weeks of hiding. The last thing either of them wanted to do was scare her off and risk losing her again. For now, they would just take comfort in the fact that she looked to be in perfectly good health.

At the front of the group, Sakuya stood still. Determination seeped from every fiber of her being. She wouldn't allow herself to be consumed by vengeance… but she was ready for a kill.

"Lindow… Finally, we have this chance. Finally…"

. . .

The Vajra's agonizing roar echoed through the clearing as Neo delivered the final blow. Snow flew into the air in a misty cloud as its massive body collapsed motionlessly to the ground.

"Great job, Neo!"

"Thanks."

Having felled their target, Alisa set to work extracting the core from the creature's body. Neo walked away, leaning against a nearby wall and lifting her head towards the sky. Her eye drifted slowly from side to side as it fixated on a single snowflake and followed it on its journey to the ground below.

With the extraction finished, her Alisa sighed quietly to herself as she watched her absentminded teammate. Ever since her date with Gunter, she had been distant and uninvolved. She had been relatively quiet, but at the very least she had still been spending time with everyone. It wasn't until her performance with Shio that she had shut herself off entirely. According to Lenka, they had conversed once in the Mess Hall but that was the last that anyone had seen of her.

The two continued on their way, feet crunching through the snow as they searched for their next objective. Kota and Sakuya had split off from them, hunting down their second Vajra to increase their coverage area. By now, they should have been finished or at the very least, close to it. All that remained was their variant, and both women kept their senses on high alert as they wandered through the area. Having little in the way of luck, Alisa attempted to converse with her friend, hoping to bring down her walls.

"I got the shoes back. Thank you."

"Sure."

"So… how was your date? I never really got the chance to ask you about it."

"Fine."

"That sounds promising. Is he a good dancer?"

"I've had worse."

Alisa coughed, her eyes shifting slightly towards the ground. Neo certainly had an… interesting form of speech.

"Well, that's something. Do you think you'll go out with him again?"

"Maybe."

Alisa frowned slightly at her curt responses. She certainly wasn't feeling very talkative today. Maybe things were going worse than she was letting on. Of course, Neo had never been one to let boy problems interfere with her efficacy. And even if there were trouble in paradise, it didn't explain her blatant avoidance of every member on the team. Only one option remained. If her relationship with Gunter wasn't the problem… then it must be her relationship with another.

"Neo… are you alright?"

"Fine. Why?"

"It's just… do you mind if I speak frankly?"

"Speak."

"You've been acting strange lately."

"How so?"

"You've been pulling away from everyone. Ever since that day in Dr. Sakaki's you've been withdrawn… and I think I know what this is about."

Neo said nothing. Her eye remained forward and her gait never slowed… but her rigid shoulders and tense body language told her that she was headed in the right direction.

"… Do Shio and Ichiro have anything to do with it?"

The reaction was immediate. Alisa could practically feel the temperature dropping around them as Neo's brows knitted together. She had hit her mark.

"I thought so."

Although her focus had been primarily on the warm scene in front of them, Alisa had been paying attention. She had noticed the look on her friend's face when her companion rejected her. The heartbreak in her eyes had been evident to her, even if the others bad been blind to it. She knew because knew Neo… and knew how she must have felt in that moment.

"Listen… it's true that Shio has grown. To be honest, sometimes I forget that she's an Aragami, she's so child-like."

"She is. She's come so far she's practically human."

"And so are you."

Alisa started slightly as Neo let out a bitter laugh. The hollow ring in her voice sent chills up her spine. Was she already so far gone?

"Alisa."

"…Hm?"

"… Does it frighten you?"

"I…"

Alisa paused. The pressure of Neo's scrutinizing gaze was nearly tangible. This question was important to her… and if she answered incorrectly, the damage could be irreversible. Her friend could be lost to them. And there would be no bringing her back. Choosing her words carefully, she slowly responded.

"No. I mean, I don't entirely understand it. But it doesn't scare me."

"I appreciate your honesty."

"But just because we don't understand, doesn't mean that we'll be afraid."

"People fear what they cannot understand… and to see the truth is very different from simply acknowledging it. You saw him, Alisa. He was trembling… and who can blame him? He was right to be afraid."

"It is true that he was afraid in that moment. It's also true that you came back to him."

Neo said nothing. She simply stared forward. But Alisa didn't need her words. She knew that she was hurting.

"Neo… is that why you've been avoiding everyone?"

She nodded.

"Well, you shouldn't. Listen, I know you think this will make it easier, but it won't. Please don't push us away, Neo. You don't have to carry this weight on your own… Let us help you."

"Only because they don't know the truth."

"But I do… and I just want you to know that you're not alone. You will always have an ally in me. And when the time comes… I'll be by your side."

Neo slowed her walk, turning her eye to the woman beside her. As a resonated pair, the each knew almost every single detail about the other. They knew each other's pasts and presents, thoughts and feelings, their loss and love, their joy and their pain. They knew because they had felt it… and that was how she knew that Alisa was telling the truth. Slowly, she began to smile.

"Thank you… my friend."

"Of course." Alisa smiled back as a small glimpse of Neo's old self began to surface. But her relief was short-lived.

Neo froze, her eyes growing wide. Their target was near. She could feel it. The chilly air around them shifted to a bitter cold. Beside her, Alisa went on alert, gripping her God Arc and growing still. Focusing her senses, Neo tried to pinpoint its location. She could feel its power, yet it wasn't moving…

Shit!

She had only a moment to react. Leaping forward, Neo raised her shield. Landing in front of Alisa, she blocked the incoming spikes of ice. And as her shield came down, she saw it. It's Vajra-like body was black as night save for the light coloring along its arms and shoulders. Extending from the pauldrons were capes of brilliant blue, and in place of a large cat-like visage was the pale face of a woman. It was here. The Prithvi Mata.

So we meet again.

With a thunderous roar, the Prithvi lunged, crossing the distance at a breakneck pace. The two separated, going in opposite directions and dodging the incoming swipes of clawed paws. The variant was much faster than its unenhanced counterpart, and both women had to alter their trajectories to match the quicker pace.

Alisa flipped backwards over another swipe, watching as the claws passed just beneath her head. From behind, Neo took to the sky, whirling her scythe and sweeping the blade across its sensitive tail. Furious, the Mata turned and swung at the New Type, who was already in motion. Her blonde companion took advantage of its distraction, sinking her weapon's jaws into the back of its furry leg. Empowered, she leapt into the air and swept downward, tearing her Long Blade down the length of its tail, doubling up on Neo's damage.

An anguished growl escaped from the monster, its feminine face twisting in discomfort. Turning, it lifted its paw to strike… but it never hit its mark.

As its arm lifted a wave of blazing blast bullets collided with it from the side, striking its shoulder in a series of small conflagrations. The force of the concussive strike knocked it off balance, sending it stumbling sideways into the snow. Their allies had arrived.

"You guys alright?"

Sakuya took aim and fired, sending four blazing piercers into its damaged shoulder as it struggled to stand. Beside her, Kota reloaded and unleashed another hail of blazing bullets into the shoulder one final time, unbinding its cells and shattering its milky armor.

"Watch it, guys!" Kota shouted his warning as the Mata began to stand.

Rising, the cat-like creature leapt backward, twisting its body as it soared to land facing toward them. Its eyes held an ominous glow as it sounded it challenge. Rushing forward, the monster was upon them in three bounds, sending the four of them scattering. In its enraged state, it became even faster, its movements catching three of them off guard. One remained unfazed. She had faced them before.

Acting as an agitator, Neo rushed forward and swung upward, her blade sliding along the Prithvi's cheek. A red trail followed it as she flipped her scythe and swung it again. Jumping to the side, it avoided her second strike. Her eye met the monster's own, glaring back at her with unbridled rage. She returned it in kind, whirling her scythe threateningly above her head. Neither party struck, simply evaluating one another…

That's right, you frozen witch. Eyes on me.

"Grenade!"

At the sound of Kota's voice, Neo dropped to the floor, clasping her hands against her head. Her skin vibrated as the force of blast shook the air around her. Shrieking, the target reared back, shaking its head to rid itself of the ringing in its ears.

"Surround it!"

At Sakuya's command, Alisa and Kota fanned out, the New Type shifting forms as they surrounded it.

"Fire!"

Neo rose to her feet and dove to the side, placing as much distance between her and the incoming flames as she could. Stray embers singed her skin as she narrowly avoided perishing herself in the center of the blazing firing squad. The trio rotated around it, tightening their circle as they concentrated their explosive fire.

From the ground, their target shakily stood, snarling as the bullets burned its body. Opening its mouth, it lifted its head, howling to the heavens as its capes began to glow.

"Get back!"

The trio quickly distanced themselves from the creature as the air around it began to plummet.

"Neo, what are you doing?! Fall back !"

Sakuya shouted as the New Type ignored her command. Rushing forward, she leapt into the center of the fray, vanishing in the mist as the blizzard consumed them both. Alarmed, Kota emptied his magazine and started loading recovery bullets. Sakuya took aim as the mist began to clear, hoping to get in a distracting strike to protect her fallen comrade. Alisa simply waited, as she knew there was little cause for concern.

Neo didn't fear the cold.

Gunshots echoed through the clearing as a head of violet hair emerged. Her body twisted through the air, firing an entire magazine of bullets down its back from the top of its crested head to the tip of its coated tail. The cells unbound on her final strike, leaving Kota dumbfounded by the display. He had seen her take a Vajra bolt once before, but an frozen blast was something new. Was Neo also resistant to ice?

Sakuya was less convinced, firing her piercing bullets into the side of its injured face.

The monster erupted. Rushing across the clearing, it launched into the air. Twisting its large body, it became a frigid launcher of terror, firing spikes in every direction. Alisa lifted her shield, blocking two of the incoming projectiles. Kota leapt to the side, avoiding another. Sakuya rolled away as well… but the Vice Commander wasn't safe.

As the monster landed, it fired a second spike in her direction, catching her off guard. Avoiding one, Sakuya unintentionally rolled into the other, the massive spike narrowly missing her head. The edge tore through her arm, ripping it open and chilling the skin around it.

"Agh!"

Her God Arc fell into the snow as she clasped her arm, unable to support her gun's weight with a single hand… but the Prithvi wasn't finished. Rushing forward, it targeted her, its eyes blazing with intent to kill.

"Sakuya!"

Kota dug through his bag, searching for more grenades, but found none. He had used two of them on their Vajra and his last remaining one on the Mata. He had nothing left to disable it with and Alisa was too far away. She was defenseless.

Snarling Neo took off like a rocket, her body radiating with a crimson glow. Alisa saw her, and took aim, reading her intentions. She fired an empowering bullet in her path, pushing her into a Level 2 burst as she passed through it. Accelerating, she became a violet bullet, tearing across the snowy landscape. With enhanced speed, she overtook the Mata and rushed toward her injured ally.

The Mata lunged toward them as Neo closed in on Sakuya, shield raising. The Vice Commander felt the air around her turn frigid as the misty cloud surrounded her. Her vision turned white as she was engulfed in the freezing fog. The last image she saw a head of violet sliding in front of her…

Then it stopped.

Neo's body trembled as her shield absorbed the Mata's swipe with a piercing metal clang. Her weapon had blocked the strike. Around them, the air began to warm as the cloud slowly dissipated.

"What…?"

Sakuya stared forward, flabbergasted as Neo rose, unharmed by the air surrounding them. Her scarf hummed with a dull glow and her skin radiated with a crimson hue as she glared forward. Her arms trembled slightly, still reeling from the impact of the strike. Her legs shook beneath her as she tried to remain on her feet. She was resistant to the ice… but she wasn't immune.

Yet still, she refused to back down, even as her shield collapsed from the strain. She stood defiantly in front of her, matching the Mata's gaze with equal intensity…

And the Prithvi stopped.

The Aragami ceased its assault, glaring down at her with rage. The two continued their stare down, one barely a fraction of the size of the other. Why wasn't it attacking? Sakuya watched as it bobbed uncertainly. It almost looked confused.

Then it lifted its head, deciding on a course of action… but it couldn't follow through. Explosions from opposite sides collided with the Mata's head, scorching its face and unbinding its cells.

"Aaaghh!"

Neo shrieked as the heat burned her skin, caught partially in the blast. The Mata was in worse condition, stumbling backward as it fought to stay on its feet. Alisa appeared from the sky in blade form, refusing to give it that chance. In motion, the Prithvi was deadly but still, it was vulnerable. She descended, bringing her Long Blade with her as she tore into its neck, opening a gaping wound and staining the landscape red. With her weapon still embedded, she twisted the blade to shift her angle and devoured, tearing out the core.

In the snow, the other New Type trembled trying to stop the seering pain in her arms.

"Sorry, Neo…"

Alisa gave her an apologetic frown as she ripped her God Arc from the Mata's motionless frame. Neo just shook her head, rising shakily to her feet as her ally shifted into gun form and loaded recovery bullets. Kota did the same, tending to Sakuya's wounds in turn.

"Nice work, you guys." Sakuya praised her team, rubbing her healed arm with her hand. That had been a very close call.

Stepping forward, she and Alisa began digging into the Aragami's corpse, searching for any sign of Lindow's armlet. Neo watched them, contemplating slipping away to find a quick meal. Kota called out to them hopefully.

"Find it?"

"It's not here." Sakuya stood, hanging her head slightly at their unsuccessful search. Beside her, Alisa sighed in frustration.

"The research unit let us get our hopes up and everything, and then…"

"Hey, maybe it just ran off when it saw us coming… It's possible" Kota tried quickly to defuse the tension. He did not feel like dealing with an irritable New Type right now.

Alisa looked ready to argue when her eyes drifted to Neo, who had gone still. Her eyes were locked forward, gazing upward toward a frozen cliffside. She was sensing something… and whatever it was, she didn't like it.

Within a moment's time, a roar echoed through the clearing, setting Neo on alert. Rushing forward, she took off toward the cliff, startling her teammates. With no time to call after her, they simply followed, heading towards the source of the sound. Skidding to a stop, the New Type glared up the cliffside, bristling with rage.

Quaking footsteps shook the ground as another Aragami appeared… Lindow's killer and Alisa's mortal enemy.

The Dyaus Pita.

Slowly, a large crested head appeared over the horizon. It's crimson eyes glowed against its darkened skin and its bearded face turned downward as it regarded the four of them. It didn't look interested in a fight. Alisa's eyes narrowed as its human-like mouth curled into a toothy grin. It was mocking them.

Turning, the Pita retreated, stomping down the ridge and out of sight. As it disappeared, Sakuya glared in its direction.

"You can't flee forever. One way or another we will hunt you down. Just wait…"

With nothing further to accomplish the First Unit took their leave as well, calling for transport. They would live to fight another day… and so long as they did, the monster's reckoning would come. As they trudged across the frozen tundra, Sakuya's eyes drifted slowly to their silent New Type. Neo strolled quietly beside Alisa, her blowing gently behind her. She couldn't shake the image out of her mind, Neo standing defiantly before such a powerful foe.

It didn't make any sense. She was aware that Neo had saved her life. And while she was grateful for her assistance, a part of her was deeply disturbed. She never lifted God Arc. She hadn't even tried to fight. She just stood there, defending her through sheer force of will. It was almost as though she knew that the creature would pause.

Sakuya still had many questions regarding Neo's origins and very little answers…

But now, she wanted them more than ever.