Aegis Island

Soma

By now, I've probably been designated as either Missing in Action or Deceased. As such, I'm sure this message will come as a surprise to you. While I am certainly missing in Fenrir's eyes, I can assure you that I am alive and well. But chances are that I won't be much longer, so I need to say this now. I have gone to Aegis. I am sorry to say that the haven he promised us… is a lie. In truth, it is called the Ark Project. You are a learned man, so I likely don't need to tell you what that means.

The project is in its final stages, but in order to finish it, your father needs the Singularity. I can't explain it all right now. I don't have the time. However, I can say this with absolute certainty. Johannes isn't going to stop. He will come for Shio. I guarantee it. And once that happens, it will be the end of everything. Shio will perish. You will perish. Along with everyone else on Earth. I don't intend to let that happen. I have seen how important she is to all of you, and I don't blame you. I don't want anything to happen to her either. Which is why I've made this decision.

In a few days' time, the announcement will be made. There is a list, containing the names of all those authorized to board the Ark, yours included. I'm not sure if you know this, but Sakuya and Alisa have also infiltrated Aegis. As such, both of them have been removed from the list. By tomorrow, their names will return with immunity, as well as yours, Ichiro's, Kota's… and mine. But I'm sorry to say that I won't be joining you on this journey. So instead, please heed my final request.

I have arranged to have all members of the 1st Unit travel on the same ship. There are just enough slots to fit the entire squadron, so there won't be any interference. I hereby forfeit my position. In my place, I want you all to board the Ark and take Shio with you. By the time anyone realizes the switch… there will be no one left to complain. Please, take her and flee to safety.

Do not tell Ichiro of my plans. He will foolishly stay behind. I am not worth throwing his life away. Venture forth into the new world. Good luck, old friend… and farewell.

Keys clacked quietly in the darkness as Neo quickly finished her email. With her message complete, she hit Send and powered down the terminal. Soma wasn't one to check his email more than once every other day or so. By the time he saw her letter, she would be long gone… which was exactly what she had intended. The New Type didn't believe that Soma would bother to interfere. But in the off chance he did, she wanted to be certain.

Turning, Neo swiftly exited the office without a second glance. There was nothing more she could do. The rest was in their hands.

. . .

The Director's every movement was followed by a scrutinizing gaze as he rushed about on the floor below. His hands moved rapidly across the keys, his eyes shifting wildly as he moved from screen to screen. What he was searching for was a mystery to her, but soon, it would matter no more.

As predicted, Johannes had made the announcement following his obtainment of the Singularity. The tickets had already been sent out and everyone would likely be making preparations for the upcoming departure. Soma would be distracted, not bothering to check his messages for a couple of days. And by then…

"I appreciate your cooperation in obtaining the Singularity. Surely, this isn't easy for you." The Director smiled up at her, a look of sadness gracing his features. If she didn't know any better, Neo might believe it was actual remorse.

Scowling, the New Type shook her head. "Finish quickly. I want to get this over with."

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

Neo's mouth twitched, her brows knitting together. This hadn't been the first time she had heard such claims. In fact, the Director seemed to have a habit of comparing her to her deceased mother, much to her confusion. She had never met the woman and as such, Fida remained a mystery to her. She didn't know what she was like, or what kind of person she was. If it hadn't been for Johannes, she wouldn't even know her name. Supposedly, the two of them were quite similar. But she would never know.

"Are you ready, Neo?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"…Are you sure you want to do this? If you'd like more time -"

"Yes." She gave a simple reply, her lips curling into a bitter smile as tendrils encircled her arms and legs. She knew it needed to be done. There wasn't space enough for the two of them in this world or the next. Only one of them could be saved… and the others had made their decision. They preferred Shio. There was no salvation for her.

Closing her eyes, she relaxed, forfeiting both her body and soul to the Nova. She felt weak. She felt tired. She felt empty. Then, she felt nothing as her consciousness slipped away from her for final time… as she went gentle into that good night.

Below, silver eyes observed, watching the golden light envelope her body. She looked peaceful, a gentle flicker in contrast to her usual flame. And as he watched her fade, he couldn't help but notice the similarity. Then, as the light grew, surrounding her form in heavenly light… he saw it.

In that moment, Neo was no more. In her place, listlessly hanging her head, was Fida Ferrell.

His mind began to wander as thoughts of the past returned to haunt him. It was her prodding that had brought them together. Her support that helped them through their difficult times. Her presence that had been a helpful constant throughout Aisha's pregnancy as her closest friend. Then, he began to recall Derek and his final wishes before sending away his only daughter to a foreign land.

I leave her in your capable hands, Johannes.

Perhaps it was guilt that drove him, realizing momentarily the error in his judgment. Perhaps it was some irrational fear that somehow, Fida and Aisha both would cast vengeance upon him. Perhaps… it was sadness at taking away the only person his son had called friend. Whatever the cause, he faltered, as something deep within reawakened. Some sliver of humanity that somehow still remained.

Turning, he quickly reversed the commands, halting the extraction process and stepping quickly onto the lift. He rode it upward, gentle arms collecting her small body as the Nova reluctantly released her.

. . .

A heavy sigh broke the silence of the room. The Director sat tiredly at his desk, eyes drifting slowly to the woman sleeping soundly on his couch. What was he to do? Despite his ambitions, he simply couldn't bring himself to betray his only remaining friend, nor his greatest wish. Derek had entrusted Neo to him to ensure her safety… and he had repaid that trust by nearly feeding her to a world-devouring monstrosity. No. There had to be another way.

As his gaze fixated on the rise and fall of her chest, a thought began to cross his mind. Why had she been so willing to sacrifice herself in the first place? It was true that Neo had a history of suicidal behavior, but such actions were supposedly suppressed during her cognitive conditioning. More importantly, how had she learned of the Singularity's design? The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became.

Narrowing his eyes, he rose and took a careful look around his office. Upon careful inspection, he started to notice miniscule details and objects out of place. They were barely noticeable, especially in his current state of exhaustion. A misplaced pen, or a slightly shifted lampshade. He vaguely recalled his door being unlocked at some point, when he was certain he'd secured the room. Near the bottom of his desk was a closed drawer, a small corner of parchment peeking through the surface. Reaching downward, he slowly opened the compartment, surprised to find his documents out of place. They had been replaced in the proper order, but they had clearly been accessed at some point. From the looks of them, it had been fairly recently.

Rising to his feet, he made his way to the Norn terminal and looked over the data files. A quick check of the logs showed that his storage disks had been in use in previous days. Specifically the documentation surrounding the Singularity and the Alda Nova. The answer was evident. She had been there long before she revealed herself to him. Turning his eyes back to the sleeping New Type, it all became clear. Neo had planned everything. And prior to his moment of hesitation, he had been following her schematic to the letter. Now, only one question remained. Why? What could have possibly been the motivation to throw herself willingly into the World-Eater's maw?

A hunch told him where to find his answer.

Turning his attention back to the terminal, he authenticated his credentials, utilizing a unique command he never thought he'd need to use. A forced system override. As Neo had a history of self-harm, her account activities and log history, while typically encrypted, were accessible via forcible countermand by her current branch's head. It was an unknown fact both among the administration and the New Type herself. It was to be used in the off chance that her conditioning were to fade. The assumption was that it was necessary should she rebegin self-destructive tendencies or leave any sort of parting note.

And low and behold… that was precisely what she had done.

Within her logs was an outgoing message, sent merely days ago to his son. In it, she detailed her plan; to offer herself in place of someone named Shio. And as her final wish, she had tasked him with her protection, bringing her with him on the Ark. Putting the pieces together, the Director smiled and chuckled softly to himself. "Hehe… you clever, clever girl…"

Suddenly, it all started to make sense.

The New Type had found the Singularity. But instead, she had chosen to forfeit herself to save it. He couldn't even begin to fathom what would drive her to such a decision, but it was one that he certainly would not abide. Shaking his head, he powered down the console and turned back to her, a smile appearing on his face. He knew what he needed to do. Neo and his son had been harboring the key… and he had a suspicion on where they were hiding it. There was only one person in the Den who would even humor, let alone allow them to do such a task.

Returning to his desktop, he navigated to the email application. Typing out a joint message, he provided detailed instructions to his personnel for the coming days. First, he would place Neo under heavy sedation. Then, when the time came, she would be placed upon the Ark. When she awoke, she would find herself in the new world… and with that, his final debt would be repaid.

. . .

'What… Where…'

A quiet groan escaped as Neo slowly opened her eyes. What was going on? Why was she so stiff? Wait… how was she feeling at all?

Alarmed, her head whipped wildly around. Air filled her lungs and light entered her eyes, although there wasn't much of it, as it was relatively dark. Where was she? Was she… moving?

"Attention. Ship is preparing for launch. Please remain seated and secured. Countdown T-minus five minutes."

"What?!" Neo startled, shouting at nothing and no one. She was alone in the cabin. Launch?

Taking in her surroundings, Neo went on high alert as she realized what was happening. She was boarded on one of the ships. But how was that possible? Why was she by herself? No… why was she alive?

"Attention. Ship is preparing for launch. Please remain seated and secured. Countdown T-minus four minutes."

The announcement sounded again, sending the woman into a panic. Reality crashed upon her like a tidal wave as she finally came to her senses. She was alive, aboard a ship. And if they were launching, it could only mean that Johannes had initiated his plan. The Director had found Shio. Johannes had betrayed her. Quickly, she tried to rise only to find herself unable to. She was seated, strapped down, and secured for launch. They had planned for her continued sedation.

"Attention. Ship is preparing for launch. Please remain seated and secured. Countdown T-minus two minutes."

Enraged, the New Type went ballistic, yanking and writhing with all her might against her restraints. The straps were reinforced. It seemed the Director had planned for this scenario as well. Growing aggravated, she continued to thrash her body, desperately trying to break free. It wasn't supposed to be her. She wasn't supposed to be here. She wasn't the one he was meant to save.

"Attention. Ship is preparing for launch. Please remain seated and secured. Countdown T-minus 60 seconds."

Shrieking, Neo slammed against her holds, her Oracle cells growing agitated with stress. She was almost out of time. She could feel her blood boiling as her cells activated, sending her into Burst.

"Attention. Ship is preparing for launch. Please remain seated and secured. Countdown T-minus 30 seconds."

With her Oracle power behind her, Neo roared, yanking against her restraints one final time. And with that final pull, her arm came loose. Using razor sharp nails, she tore through the rest of her restraints, quickly working on her legs. Tearing free the last of her restraints, she whipped her head around, searching for an exit. She found it, on the opposite end of the cabin.

"Attention. Ship is preparing for launch. Please remain seated and secured. Countdown T-minus 10 seconds."

As the floor began to tremble, Neo bolted, tripping the latch and tearing open the door. Then, as she had so many years ago on her fateful flight, she leapt into the open air. She was in freefall. She could hear the recording playing behind her from the closing cabin door.

"9… 8… 7…"

Her body angled as the ground approached, evenly distributing her weight upon landing. She was on the launching bridge. Eyes locked straight ahead, she took a deep breath, filling her lungs with oxygen. With nothing before her but open terrain, she rushed forward, accelerating with every muscle in her body.

"6… 5… 4…"

She could hear the engines revving as the automatic mechanisms entered their final stage. She could feel the heat building behind her as she pushed her body, trying to get as far away from the coming blast as possible.

"3… 2… 1…"

As the recording made its final warning, she heard the thrusters activate as the machinery came to life. The air behind her rippled as the ship began its flight protocol. She was almost there. She just needed to get a little farther…

"Launching."

"Gah!' Neo shrieked as the ship ascended. A wave of unimaginable heat erupted from behind her, the force sending her off of her feet and tumbling across the metal ground. Although she managed to place enough distance to avoid being incinerated, the white-hot air still clipped her, singing her skin. She was in pain, but she was alive.

And now, she had to settle a score.

. . .

Far East Branch - Lobby

Days passed, with little change in the Far East. Following the collapse of Aegis, Fenrir's entire organization fell into chaos. With Johannes von Schicksal gone, the Ark Project was brought to an abrupt halt. And with all of the world hanging in the balance, no one was entirely certain what was going to happen to the branch… but in order to keep the peace and protect those involved, it was decided that the best course of action was to simply let it go. The truth was buried. The Ark Project, the Director's involvement, and the God Eaters that brought a stop to it all were erased from the pages of history.

But that mattered little to them. The continuation of life on Earth was thanks enough. And those within the Far East knew what they had done… most of them.

"I can't believe this. We waited and waited and the ship never launched, and now they're ordering us not to talk? I hear the Branch Director was killed in an accident. What the hell is going on?" Shun grumbled, complaining to his blonde companion, who simply shook his head.

"I'm not sure. Makes no difference to me. The Project was cancelled, but Fenrir's in shambles. There's plenty of money to be made."

"Yeah… about that…"

"No."

Shun groaned, quickly following after his retreating teammate. "Aw, come on, Karel. Just a little -"

"You still haven't paid me back for the last loan."

"But I'm going to, I swear!"

The pair continued their argument into the elevator, earning a sigh from the veteran watching them. Ichiro sat silently on the couch, looking blankly around the lobby. With God Eaters returning, the Den was becoming livelier by the day. Unfortunately, that hadn't done much to help his mood. For the sake of secrecy, Neo had been relocated to an underground holding chamber. The equipment inside had been repurposed, effectively keeping her in a sealed anti-Aragami medical chamber. The decision had been reached after much debate, for two primary concerns. The first, that someone may see her in her Overdriven form. The second, that she may awaken in a feral state.

The latter concern seemed rather senseless to him at this point. Neo's condition had shown little improvement. While she had finally stabilized, her Oracle cells remained active and showing no signs of slowing down. He himself had spent a good portion of his time there changing bandages, assisting in her monitoring, and generally just keeping her company. It had only been through the combined efforts of the other members of his unit that the exhausted veteran had finally taken some rest. While he hadn't been keen on the idea, it was true that he needed some respite. The dark circles surrounding eyes had been proof of that. And Soma, much as he annoyed him, was capable. She would be alright in his care.

Now, after a couple of days' rest, Ichiro was trying his best to relax in the open hall. Unfortunately, he wasn't having an easy time doing so. Despite his ceaseless attempts to keep his mind off of the New Type, it seemed as though the universe was determined to remind him of her. Everywhere he turned, he couldn't help but notice little things that made him think of Neo.

Gina wandering around wearing her eyepatch over the same eye. A magazine detailing dessert items sweet enough to make his teeth itch. Even the couch he was sitting on. It had been brought in as a replacement for the one that he and Soma destroyed during their brawl and of course… it was violet. He was fighting back the urge to sigh once more when a voice caught his attention.

"Hey."

Slowly turning his head, he silently addressed the other man, grateful that he had disturbed his daydreams. A head of light brown hair with blue eyes appeared in his line of vision. Sitting upright, Ichiro put on the friendliest smile he could muster in his current state, earning a small chuckle from the other God Eater.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you."

"It's no trouble at all. What's up?"

Brendan paused for a moment, as though gathering his thoughts. "I heard from Gen." A curious brow raised, urging him to continue. "So… you guys were the ones who shut down the Ark Project, huh."

"Oh… yeah." He wasn't sure what to say on the matter. The feelings surrounding the Ark Project were mixed at best and tense at worst. He had no way of knowing on which side of the fence each person resided, and often found it best to say as little as possible.

But rather than any form of anger or irritation, Brendan sheepishly hung his head. "When I heard that… I… I felt so ashamed of myself for picking such a self-righteous path without even thinking about it."

So, guilt was his motivation. Shaking his head, the veteran offered a reassuring smile. "You can't fault yourself for wanting to live."

"Yeah… I know. You're right, but… I don't know, I just feel terrible. I want to repent somehow… to regain everyone's trust. I mean… even Tatsumi stayed behind, you know?"

"It's true. But to be honest… I get the feeling his motivations were more personal than moral." His eyes drifted slowly towards the mission desk and the woman standing behind it. A bark of laughter drew back his gaze to the Vice Commander.

"Yeah… you're probably right about that. Guy's got a one-track mind."

"I heard that!"

Brendan smirk only grew as the topic of their conversation approached them, scowling at his second-in-command. Wandering from the mission counter, it seemed his statement hadn't been too far off. With no remorse whatsoever, he raised an eyebrow at his leader's feigned offense. The Captain's ire quickly shifted as the veteran in front of them joined in his prodding.

"He's right, you know." Ichiro added, chuckling at Tatsumi's wounded expression.

The Guard Corporal pouted, growing irritated with his two allies. With a huff, he shifted the attention to the other God Eater. "You're one to talk!"

Ichiro's face fell immediately at the Captain's remark. "O'Mori, for the last time. Neo and I -"

"Yeah, yeah, just friends, loads of history. Blah, blah. Sure. Yeah. You saved the entire planet, just for fun. It had absolutely nothing to do with her being on it at all."

The veteran sighed, fighting back a creeping headache while Brendan chuckled at his frustrated expression. "You are exhausting. Brendan, how do you put up with him?"

The God Eater in question simply shrugged. "He starts to grow on you after a while."

Tatsumi pouted even further as the two smirked, chortling once again at his expense. "You're exhausting, Hamasaki."

"How so?"

"Seriously? Look at that guy. How much longer are you gonna wait?"

Brendan and Ichiro blinked, staring curiously at the 2nd Unit Captain. Following his gaze, they saw the object of his fascination. A familiar blonde head caught their attention, standing near the corner of the hall. The famous philanderer and Tatsumi's subordinate, Gunter Haas, was speaking with a female member of the 3rd Unit. Their topic of conversation was a mystery to them, but from her shocked expression and pink-dusted cheeks, he was likely up to his usual shenanigans.

Growing bored of them, the veteran returned his attention to Tatsumi, who was shaking his head in utter disbelief.

"Damn… I really need to get some pointers from that guy." Tatsumi muttered, gazing enviously at his teammate.

Sighing, Ichiro rolled his eyes. At the moment, mingling was the farthest thing from both his and Neo's minds, as she was currently comatose deep underground… but he couldn't exactly tell them that. As far as the rest of the Den was concerned, the New Type was still Missing in Action. Biting his tongue, he lowered his eyes to the floor. "I'm more focused on finding Neo at the moment. So, I apologize if fraternizing is low on my radar."

The Captain's face froze, a look of horror crossing his face as the realization hit him. As the leader of the 2nd Unit, Tatsumi rarely came into contact with the New Type. And with the violet-haired firecracker constantly wandering in and out of Headquarters, it was sometimes easy to forget that she was actually missing. "I-I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean -"

"It's fine." Ichiro waved away his frantic apology. "Neo is out there. And when I find her, I have some stern words for her."

"Well, I have to commend your optimism." Brendan shook his head.

"Not optimism. Call it… intuition."

Tatsumi smirked, trying to ease the tension. "Well, if your hunch is right, that makes it easy, doesn't it?"

"…Excuse me?"

"Since it looks like Gunter's moving on, you can go find her. Bring her back, you'll be hero, and she'll have to notice you! That playboy won't stand a chance."

Ichiro groaned in exasperation as Tatsumi beamed at him, seemingly slipping away, once again, into his ridiculous fantasies. "For Gods' sake…" He shook his head and leaned back against the couch, defeated, as Tatsumi and Brendan laughed.

He had always thought Neo to be the most stubborn person alive… a thought that he was slowly starting to reconsider.