**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

Wow, I did not expect for Evolution to get as much attention as it did. Thanks everyone so much for reading and I hope you're enjoying the story. Reviews and views are always appreciated. Thanks again!
. . .

Forgotten Carrier

Clouds of dirt followed rapid footsteps as the 1st Unit Captain rushed to his team's aid. His lungs burned and his muscles ached, his journey taking him all the way to Aegis Island and back. Following the sounds of the combat, he had made his way to the dilapidated carrier as quickly as his legs would carry him. His heart hammered against his ribcage with every passing second as the sounds of successive explosions reached his ears. Any and all attempts at reaching his comrades had failed, his radio offering nothing but static as the electrical field in the area remained disrupted. Fear escalated to panic as he heard something indescribable from the direction of the coastline.

Utsugi had no way to express the sound, as it was unlike anything he had ever heard during his lifetime. It was a piercing, echoing, screech, carrying over the waves, buildings, and clouds as it tore through the sky. The God Eater could vaguely recall a book of mythology he had skimmed over during his time in the former United States. In it was described a fantastical creature, a banshee, with a voice of lethal power capable of shattering the eardrums of all who would hear it. While he had little faith in such a creature's existence, he now had assured belief of something far worse, likely engaging in battle with his comrades. It was this fear that kept him going, pushing him across the empty landscape like a blade-wielding bullet.

His arrival nearly tore his heart from his chest as his greatest fears were realized. From his vantage point near the delinquent bridge, Lenka had full view of the battlefield's current state. Blood stained the landscape red and the stench of copper and iron reached his nose even from that distance. Visible were three of his comrades, all immobile, lying scattered across the ground. He couldn't tell from his position whether they were alive or dead, as his vision blurred both by distance and rage.

He had arrived too late.

But among them, there was one that stood out from the rest. One member that did not belong. He couldn't see a face, as it was turned slightly to the side, but he saw enough to know that it was his enemy. With silver hair and blue capes trailing from its back, it was the only creature capable of emitting the sound he had heard. Enraged, he rushed forward, the voices of the American scientists echoing in his mind.

Do not be fooled by the Aragami's disguise. While it may appear human, it is a monster all the same. We do not know at this point what form the specimen has taken… but in its true form, even you will recognize it.

As his eyes locked forward, focusing on the humanoid monstrosity pinning his teammate, his hands moved unconsciously. Deft fingers shifted his sword into a rifle, the bullets loading into the chamber as he rotated through the settings. He was getting closer. Soon, he would be in range.

There are only two known ways to exterminate the target. It will regenerate any wound given time, without fail, with the exception of two. Blaze and divine energy are highly effective. They will destabilize its Oracle cells and disrupt its healing capabilities. Use these tools to strike it down.

As the bullets locked into place, Lenka slid to a stop near a pile of fallen debris. Words could not express his gratitude at the upgrade of his God Arc. With the empowering divine energy, his weapon was guaranteed to slay his target. He needed only to land a critical blow.

Your target is capable of moving far beyond human speed. In open terrain, it is unmatchable. You cannot catch it and you cannot outrun it. Take careful aim and let your bullets fly true. You will not receive a second opportunity.

"I'll only get one shot at this." Lenka muttered quietly to himself as he trained his barrel. Luckily for him, the target was currently distracted, fixated on Ichiro. He was at maximum distance, but so long as it remained still, his bullet should reach it. He needed only not miss. Taking a deep breath, he took his aim. He steadied his hand and waited for the right moment, a pause in the ocean breeze. Then, with a silent prayer…

He fired.

. . .

"Neo… Neo!" Quickly flipping onto his stomach, Ichiro's legs trembled beneath his weight as he forced himself to rise. Unable to stand, he crawled his way through the dirt towards the bleeding New Type. Her body convulsed with choked coughs as blood spilled from her lips. Approaching her, he could see her fingers moving, grasping in the open air. Reaching her, he grabbed her hand, blinking back the water filling his eyes.

"Ich -" Her words faltered into a sputtering cough as she turned her head, trying to force the blood from her throat.

"Shh… I'm right here. Don't strain yourself."

Through blurry lenses she could see his lips moving, but the ringing in her ears drowned out nearly all sound. She could not hear him, but in her heart, she knew what he must be saying to her. He was probably trying to comfort her. He would assure her that he was there by her side. He would tell her to save her strength and that help was on the way. He would tell her that everything was going to be okay.

But Neo knew better than to believe his well-meaning lies. She knew that her time was running short. From their location by the sea, it would take at least a half an hour to arrive back at Headquarters and that was assuming that a transport was already en route to their location. She would probably die in transit, succumbing to blood loss not long after the wheels left the ground. Even at that very moment, her vision was dimming to black, the world spinning around her like a whirlpool of fading lights.

But she wasn't afraid.

The New Type didn't fear death. After all, she had tried to achieve it many a time during her very short life. Of course, she had always assumed that her death would be at the hands of a group of mad scientists, finding no use for her as an unstable weapon. Perhaps an Aragami would devour her whole, or maybe alive, depending upon her situation. She had even been prepared to go at the hands of Ichiro himself, her loyal companion and confidant, once he saw her in her monstrous form.

Strangely, it would be none of those things. Instead, she would be put down by an unknown assailant, a bullet fired from an obscure location. What type of bullet was it that had ended her life? Surely, it must be of flaming or divine origin, as her body was unable to repair itself. Perhaps it was the latter, as no burning sensation plagued her. No, in fact, she could feel nothing at all. Her sense of touch had long since left her, from any form of pain to the comforting hand tightly clasping her own. The only thing she felt now was sadness and regret. She was out of time.

She would never get the chance to apologize for all the pain she had caused them. She would never be able to thank Alisa for her unwavering kindness. She would never get to answer the questions that Soma and Sakuya undoubtedly had for her. She would never tell Kota what she truly thought of Bugarally… and she would never be able to ask Ichiro what he had meant. Love? What did that word even mean to her? And from him? It was an unfamiliar concept, as she had never heard the words from another person. She had never known her father nor her mother, and those she had spent time with throughout her life certainly didn't feel such things towards her.

Now, she would never know. She couldn't know.

So instead, she would do the only thing she was capable of. Her body was too weak to move and her voice had failed her. There would be no sad speeches nor parting words. There would be no mournful embraces or sorrowful farewells. She could offer them none of those things now. So, she would give all of them what she could in that moment. She would give them thanks for their friendship, uncertain as it was. For their determination and refusal to give up on her, even long after she had given up on herself. Using all of her remaining strength, she forced her lips to move as her world filled with darkness… and she smiled.

"N-Neo… Neo, no!" Alisa stumbled towards them, her pain renewed as her eyes fixated on the woman lying still in Ichiro's arms. Her closest friend. She didn't need a medical professional to tell her that the wound was fatal. The amount of blood and the color draining from her brown skin was proof enough. No amount of recovery bullets would fix this.

Behind her, Soma stood silently a few feet away. His body was frozen, his eyes unable to tear themselves away from the sight. In Ichiro's arms, his friend lay unmoving, her eyes gazing forward and unseeing. They had come so far. They had saved the world. And somehow, whether through the strength of their bonds or sheer force of will, they had saved Neo as well. The battle had been hard fought, but it was all worth it to bring her back to them. To save the one person he had left.

Now, she too was gone.

But he had no time to mourn… for what followed would require all of his remaining strength. At the sound of approaching footsteps, Soma turned his attention to a familiar voice as it called out to them. Utsugi had returned.

"Thank goodness, you guys are alright!" Lenka practically slid to a stop as he reached them, placing his hands on his knees and gasping for oxygen. After his journey home and frantic sprint to find them, he felt all of his exhaustion catching up to him at once.

"Utsugi." Soma muttered in acknowledgement, unable to muster any more than a lifeless greeting.

Alisa said nothing at all, sinking to her knees and dropping her God Arc to the ground. Ichiro didn't hear either one of them, all of his attention focused on the lifeless woman in his arms.

"I'm so glad I found you guys. I was looking everywhere!"

"Huh?" Soma stared uncertainly at him, unsure of what to make of his ramblings. When had he even arrived?

"You! I was looking for you. I rushed over here as soon as I could after I heard the announcement. But on my way back, I saw something huge in the sky on my way in. There was no one on the island by the time I arrived, so I followed the noise and -"

"Slow down, Utsugi." Soma interrupted, trying to stall the younger God Eater before he started to rant. How long ago had he arrived in the Far East? He had seen the Alda Nova, so it couldn't have been too long ago. But why had he been running all over creation? "Wait, you were looking for us? Why didn't you call?"

"I tried!" Lenka gestured to his radio. "The signal was blocked. I tried to reach all of you, but there was nothing but static. Something's interfering with the magnetic waves…"

Soma shook his head at the realization, trying with all of his might not to facepalm. Of course Utsugi couldn't get through to them. Neo's signal interference had been affecting them as far back as Aegis Island. It wasn't surprising that it had interfered with his communications as well. Surely, their stranded state should concern them, but at the moment, he couldn't bring himself to worry about it. With or without access to Headquarters, there was no way that Neo could be saved.

"I'm just glad I found you guys in time."

"What?" Soma blurted out a confused response, his mind struggling to process all of the information at once. What was he going about now?

"The Aragami. I heard it was in the Far East, but I didn't think you guys would find it."

"Aragami… what the hell are you -"

"What did you say?" Soma's question was halted as another voice interrupted him. Closing her eyes, Ichiro gently laid Neo's body on the ground in front of Alisa. Soma eyed him carefully as his body trembled with restraint. He had seen the veteran angry before, but something about him was different this time… and it concerned him.

"The Aragami! Never mind. It's a long story… I'll explain later. Everyone's safe so, for now, we need to get back to -"

"Lenka."

The Squad Captain froze midsentence, Ichiro's tone sending a shiver down his spine. In the short time that he had known the veteran, he had only seen him upset a handful of times. Yet never once had he ever heard such a tone from the gentle soul. His body was rigid, his shoulders tense, and his voice laced with venomous rage. What was wrong with him?

"Are you telling me… Did you do this?"

Soma tensed as realization began to dawn on him. His eyes slowly drifted to Lenka's hands, still gripped tightly around the handle of his God Arc. It looked different than he remembered, its silver barrel now radiating with an otherworldly hue. It was augmented, likely enhanced during his time in North America… but the color disturbed him. The magenta aura surrounding it could only indicate one element.

"Huh?" Confused, Lenka tilted his head slightly, staring at Ichiro's back for a moment as he gazed downward. "Uh… yeah. You guys were incapacitated. It was gonna kill you, so -"

"You… you shot… you…" Ichiro's words came out in broken, incoherent segments as his mind raced. The weapon had fired from a good distance away, but the firepower had been enough to throw her from a seated position. He had felt the vibrations in his own body as the bullet struck, piercing through her without remorse. A sniper rifle would have left a cleaner wound as it passed, unlike the gaping hole that currently resided within her body. This type of damage could only be inflicted from a blast gun, the same type of weapon that Utsugi favored as his ranged component. The same kind that he was currently holding in his hand behind him.

"Hamasaki…?" Lenka paused, his head tilting once more as Ichiro slowly turned towards him.

His black bangs hung over his eyes as he gazed downward, focused on the bloody dirt beneath his feet. His fists trembled, thin lines of red seeping from his palms as his teeth clenched almost hard enough to crack. His world began to fade around him, the all too familiar color beginning to cloud his vision as the Oracle cells coursed through his veins. He was losing control… but it didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore. "You… I…"

Soma's eyes widened as his aura began to shift, reminding him eerily of a time not too long ago. He had seen that expression once before… moments before he turned his blade on Tsubaki. Which could only mean one thing.

"I'll… I'll kill you!" Ichiro roared, his head lifting as he kicked off the ground.

Soma had no time to react, the other veteran moving at alarming speed, far faster than he had ever seen from any normal human. His eyes were wild with rage, his focus fixed only on the target in front of him. His mind told him to shout. To call out to him, to tell him to stop, but he couldn't. The words caught in his throat as he caught a glimpse of the murderous gaze in his eyes… and their vibrant golden hue.

"Uh?" Lenka was only able to blurt an unfinished utterance before a fist collided with his face. The force sent him off of his feet, tossing his God Arc to the ground and his body through the air like a ragdoll. As he crashed into a stone wall, his mind reeled, both from the impact and the confusion of the situation. Why was Ichiro attacking him? "What - ow!"

His words stopped short once more, this time of his own volition as a sharp pain coursed through his jawline. He lifted his hand instinctively, checking to see if it was broken. His examination was put on hold however, when the veteran came after him again, eyes blazing with fury. Rolling to the side, his ears rang as the fist narrowly missed him, cracking the stone as it landed. When had he gotten so strong? Why was he…

"Hamasaki!" Soma's voice reached them, pausing the other veteran for a moment before sending both himself and Ichiro to ground. The two rolled, grappling through the dirt as they once had in the Den lobby. His muscles screamed in protest, the other God Eater slowly prying open his arms to free himself from the hold. He had seen this reaction once before, in Headquarters.

But that time had been different. The reaction had been in defense and the perpetrator Neo, as she fought wildly against her handler in an attempt to break free. Now, Ichiro was the same, fighting violently against him, his eyes fixated on the God Eater in front of them. "Damn it, get ahold of yourself!" Soma shouted, feeling his grip loosening as the veteran thrashed with all his might. While he wasn't inclined to blame his teammate for such a reaction, he wasn't about to lose two comrades in the span of an hour.

"Stop it, all of you!" Alisa shouted, tearing her eyes away from the bloody scene. Leaning forward, her hand brushed against her fallen friend's. "Neo, wouldn't want -" Her voice halted with an abrupt gasp as her mind left her once more, drawing her away into memories not her own.

. . .

Her eyes gazed forward, watching as Soma held Shio against his chest. Climbing the debris, he had rushed to her side, desperately calling her name. She felt her chest tighten, despair gripping her heart as she observed the two of them. She knew what needed to be done. Turning away from the painful sight, she took off. Running as fast as she could, she left them behind.

. . .

A wicked smile graced her lips as she plunged her hand inside of Oguruma's chest. She could feel the squishy sensation of organs as she wrapped her fingers around his beating heart.

"Heh… you really… are…"

She yanked her arm backwards, tearing out the lump of flesh before he could finish his sentence. She would never hear the words he had meant for her. She didn't need to. She had heard it countless times before.

A monster.

. . .

She gazed at the man before her, his white coat a glaring contrast in the darkness of the room. Johannes returned her gaze, a glint of amusement alighting his eyes as she spoke to him.

"So, God said to Noah, 'I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens.'"

With a grin, the Director replied. "Every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish."

. . .

Her arms stretched as she gazed down at the Director beneath her, watching his every movement. Her fingers twitched as he spoke to her.

"I appreciate your cooperation in obtaining the Singularity. Surely, this isn't easy for you."

"Finish quickly. I want to get this over with."

"Haha… impatient as ever. You truly are Fida's daughter…"

. . .

He is the enemy.

'Stop! I don't want to do this!'

Kill them!

'I won't!'

. . .

"What is wrong with you? How can you look at me like that…"

"Would you rather I frown?"

"Would I - Ugh… I don't understand you… Why do you look upon me with such fondness? After everything I've done. You should be angry… upset… You should hate me…"

"Don't be ridiculous. I love you far too much to ever hate you."

'Ichi… I…'

. . .

"Aggh!" Alisa shrieked, stumbling backwards as her mind returned to her, throwing her back into the present. Her voice startled the other three God Eaters, giving even Ichiro pause as his clouded mind started to return to him.

"What's wrong?!" Soma loosened his grip as Ichiro stopped struggling, turning his attention to the New Type. Halting their squabble for the time being, both veterans rushed toward Alisa's sagging form.

"N-N-Neo… I… Sh-She's…" She stammered, her voice trembling as she tried to make sense of what she had seen. It wasn't the first time that she had resonated with the New Type. In fact, this would be the fourth. But there was one huge difference. Neo had been in a very different state the last three occurrences… To resonate with the dead should be impossible.

Reaching them, Soma knelt and observed her, noting her wavering eyes and dilated pupils. He had grown familiar with this look, having seen it once before in the medical ward. "Alisa… did you…"

"I… I think - no, I'm sure I did. I know what I saw."

Ichiro shook his head in utter disbelief, the crimson fading from his vision. "W-Wait… hold on. You saw? Alisa, don't tell me…"

"Yes… it was a resonance. Neo is still alive."