Infernal Subway

Scorching air rose in wavy lines deep within the caverns of the subway. The 1st Unit moved slowly through the tunnels, eyes peeled for any incoming threats. In recent days, the group had received word of a new Aragami variant and the remaining members, Lenka, Kota, Alisa, and Sakuya had been deployed to investigate. With Neo out of commission, Ichiro on temporary leave, and Soma preoccupied with the Nova Remnant Facility, the remaining four members had taken up the mantle.

Having little luck however, Kota was growing impatient. Breaking the silence, he turned his attention to his teammate. "So, what exactly do you think we're dealing with?"

Sakuya pondered for a moment, then shook her head. She knew little more than he did, having only received her orders on the same day. "I'm not sure… but whatever it is, it shouldn't be too much trouble with two New Types on our side."

Beside her, Alisa smiled at her friend, raising an eyebrow at her playful grin. The sniper smiled back before turning her eyes to the empty tunnel. "Oh, Sakuya. That reminds me. I heard a rumor about some New Types that may be transferred…"

Alisa's voice faded into background noise as the women began chatting about happenings within the Den. Kota's focus shifted to the young man walking rigidly beside him. The Captain clearly had something on his mind, although he didn't seem willing to voice it. Helping him along, he tried to start a dialogue. "So, I uh… I talked to Neo the other day."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yep! She seems to be doing pretty well. Her new clothes are still coming in… some of them confuse the heck outta me, but that's Neo for you."

"Uh-huh."

"Hopefully her tune-ups will be done soon. I'm sure she's eager to return to the field. Maybe you guys can finally go on a mission together!"

"Yeah."

Kota's face fell, frowning slightly at his utter disinterest. He had hoped their Captain would be more invested in his teammate's recovery. While Neo certainly wasn't at the top of Lenka's list of favorite people, he figured at the very least, he would be interested in her well-being. Yet it seemed his disdain for his fellow New Type showed no signs of improving. He was more than familiar with his friend's hatred of Aragami, sometimes bordering on radical, but Neo was still a member of their team. Sighing, he hung his head. "…Hey, Lenka?"

"Yeah?"

"I… I wish you didn't hate Neo so much. I know you're not a fan of her, but she's been an awesome member of our unit, you know? Sure, she's a little rough around the edges, but once you get passed her quirks, she's actually really cool. I just wish you'd give her a chance…"

Beside him, his former classmate paused, his own brow furrowing at his words. As he recalled, he had been more than willing to give the New Type many chances, even following his near decapitation. At this point, his feelings towards her were mixed at best, and uneasy at worst… Even still, he didn't mean to give his friend the wrong impression. After giving it a few moments of thought, he shook his head. "I don't hate Neo, Kota. I'm just concerned."

"Concerned…? About what? Neo's not in Overdrive anymore. And from what I can tell, she's actually mellowed out quite a bit." Kota paused as the image of the tiny terror tackling her guardian to the ground entered his mind. "Okay, well maybe not mellowed out. But she seems less angry, you know?"

"Even so…" Utsugi finally turned, locking his worried gaze with Kota's saddened one. "How much can we really trust her? Even outside of… whatever that was, she's always been unpredictable. From what I hear, she's caused tons of trouble, countless Fenrir Points worth of damage… rumor has it she even killed someone. Hell, she tried to take my head off. I just… I just don't want anyone to get hurt."

Kota slowed his footsteps, his eyes sweeping carefully over his friend's expression. Beneath his frustrated gaze, he could see the genuine fear in the Captain's eyes. While it was true that he had a deep-seeded hatred for their enemy, it was also true that he cared immensely for his comrades… even the moody ones that caused him nothing but grief.

Through his emerald eyes, he could see the truth in his words. Lenka didn't despise Neo… he was just afraid of her. He was worried that she might lose control again, this time, without an effective way to stop her. What if she went berserk in the Mess Hall or the Den lobby, or even with her comrades out in the field? As a Captain, he had more to worry about than only himself. He had his team and everyone else in Headquarters, all of which would be at serious risk were Neo to lose it again.

But Kota couldn't see something like that happening. From what he could tell, violent as she was, it was almost always in some form of retaliation. More accurately, she seemed to engage in response to specific triggers. Sometimes, he wondered if the woman suffered from some sort of post-traumatic stress. He didn't believe that Neo needed containment… she needed help. Perhaps Lenka just had to get to know her better. Maybe if he could ease some of the tension between them, they could…

"Look out!"

Sakuya's shout was their only warning to the incoming fireball, and it didn't come a moment too soon. Kota could feel the lick of flames dancing across his skin as he leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding the burning sphere. The gunner tumbled along the stone floor, gritting his teeth in discomfort as he rolled. Rising to his feet, he stood and took aim.

"Bwah!" A startled yelp escaped from him as a large, clawed hand swept just passed his face. He could feel the warm wind brush across his face as the fist sailed overhead. Jumping backward, Kota tried to place some distance between himself and his assaulter, his eyes drifting upward to take full view of the novel creature.

Towering above him stood their target, the Sekhmet, with its black human fingers curling tauntingly toward him. Reaching around from behind its back were a pair of deep red arm wings that extended into clawed hands. Its feminine body was dark as night, adorned with golden jewelry, and as he reached its shoulders, he saw a striking difference. In place of the Chi-You's bird-like head was the face of a feline, crested with a large golden crown. He had only a moment to admire its regality before being sent on the defensive again, stumbling backward from another incoming fist. And as his back pressed against a wall, he realized there was nowhere left to run.

"Kota!" The Captain rushed forward to the gunner's aid, his Long Blade raised above his head. But the Sekhmet was too fast for him. Switching targets almost immediately, it whirled around, its arm wing coiled tightly into a fist. The punch landed, sending him off his feet and tumbling through the air.

Crashing into the ground, Utsugi curled his body and rolled. Stumbling from the impact, he scrambled to his feet and lifted his weapon. But once again, the Aragami's speed caught him off guard, closing the distance and sending him airborne once more. A strong right hook from the other arm sent him slamming into the floor again, tossing dust into the air around him. Rising again, Lenka coughed, trying to clear the dirt from his lungs. Lifting his head, he braced himself for another blow when gunfire rang through the tunnels.

Bullets flew through the air as his teammates closed in. Lenka felt the pain slowly ebb away as Kota's recovery bullets struck him, healing his injuries. Sakuya's bullet collided with the target, striking its back and successfully drawing its attention. Regaining his bearings, Utsugi saw the Sekhmet lifting into the air. Its wings folded and its body scrunched, shifting itself into a bird like form before taking off like fighter jet.

The monster charged, rushing across the landscape towards the veteran and narrowly missing her as it zipped by. Sakuya dropped to the ground and rolled, wincing as the whistle of air passed overhead. She could hear the sound of tearing fabric as its claw sliced clean through the edge of her skirt, separating it from the rest of the fabric. Standing straight, she looked downward and frowned at the torn wrap, now frayed and shredded at the edge.

"Really?" Lifting her rifle, she fired after it, striking its leg as it landed on the ground.

Growling, the Sekhmet turned, pausing its movements as a new threat announced its arrival. Sneaking up beside it, Alisa activated her God Arc, biting into its leg and absorbing its essence. Entering Burst, she leapt into the air, passing over its limb as it threw a kick in her direction. Landing, she dropped to the ground and rolled, dodging a fist swinging in her direction.

Aggravated, the monster focused its attention on the blonde, becoming a flurry of arms and legs, chasing its target. Consumed by its frustration, it focused in, losing track of her fellow New Type who was now firing freeze bullets at its arm wings. A well-placed blast collided, erupting in a burst of frozen air, chilling it to the bone. Alisa could hear the crackling of the ice as it traced along its skin, followed by its menacing growl of discomfort.

Enraged, it turned its offensive on the other God Eater, firing a series of flaming spheres across the area towards the other threat. Rolling to the side, the Captain avoided the fireballs, drifting his eyes to the forgotten woman behind. Taking advantage of its distraction, Alisa slipped around and took to the air. Bringing down her God Arc, she tore across its extended wing, building on Lenka's damage and unbinding the cells.

Out of patience, the Sekhmet all but exploded, slamming its wings into the ground and erupting a wave a flame from its body. Alisa lifted her buckler, but wasn't quite fast enough, stumbling backward as the fires engulfed her. Burning on the ground, she was now vulnerable. Her eyes widened as the crimson fist lifted high above its head… only to stagger as it found itself under attack.

"Leave her alone!" The air was filled with the sound of rapid-fire bullets as Kota unloaded his Assault Gun. Tightly gripping his God Arc, he needled the target with a hail of freezing bullets. The Sekhmet stumbled, stepping away from her as it tried to block the incoming strikes. When the bullets paused, the gunner smiled tauntingly in its direction. Having successfully gained its ire, he lowered his weapon and waited.

He remained perfectly still as the monster started moving, folding back its arms and charging forward. The ground trembled with every footstep as it stomped toward him at high speed. But Kota didn't falter. Instead, he simply watched, waiting for just the right moment… then, when it was almost on top of him, he finally moved. With careful timing, he threw himself to the side, revealing a pulsating disk on the ground. Sliding into the trap, the Sekhmet found itself frozen, held in place. Vulnerable in its enraged state, it was easily subdued by the device.

"Nice thinking, Kota!" With the monster held carefully in place, Sakuya took aim and fired. Her freezing sniper's bullet hit its mark, shattering the Sekhmet's elaborate crown and unbinding the cells on its head. Vulnerable, the creature could do little more than struggle in the center of a firing squad. With four guns pointed in its direction, it flailed miserably in its confines, growing weak under the rain of freezing bullets.

"We've got him!" Kota smiled, hammering his trigger until magazine emptied. Lenka smiled across from him, firing a final blast bullet directly at its unbound head. Kota emptied his gun, pausing before what was meant to be the final strike. But the Sekhmet still had some fight left. From his current position, Lenka couldn't see it… His fellow New Type, however, did.

Following its movements with her eyes, Alisa saw the danger. She wouldn't have time to warn him. And before she realized it, her body was moving on its own. The moment Lenka pulled the trigger, the monster broke free, taking aim at the most vulnerable of the group, who was currently reloading his bullets. At the sound of the Corporal's missed explosion, he looked up to see the Sekhmet in motion. He barely had time to register what was happening before the creature was upon him.

…But it never reached its target.

"Oh no you don't!" The image of the black mass was suddenly blocked by a crimson one as the blonde threw herself in between him and the incoming blow. Switching into blade form mid-charge, she deployed her buckler and jumped into the fray. The impact knocked her backward as the fist collided with her shield. Now having switched targets, the monster followed after her now vulnerable flying form… or so it thought.

Spending hours in the training room with her closest friend, the New Type had learned a few tricks of her own. Rather than resisting the impact, Alisa's body gave into it, soaring above the ground. Then, she began to rotate. Flipping through the air, she shifted again, returning to gun form and uncurling her body as the monster reached her. And the moment her transformation completed, she fired her bullet… directly into the Sekhmet's damaged face.

At point blank range, it didn't have a prayer.

The bullet exploded in an eruption of ice, throwing it backward and sending it tumbling. Its body bounced slightly as it slid along the ground, slowly coming to a stop a few feet away from their Team Captain.

Alisa smirked at the sight as she flew, sent even further backward from her recoil. But her mirth quickly faded as she continued to rotate, slamming into solid ground with her God Arc clattering a few feet away. Groaning, she sat up and rubbed her head, shaking the stars from her eyes. "Ow… I need to work on that landing. Neo makes it look so easy…"

"Alisa!"

"Huh?" Looking up from the ground, the blonde saw a head of red hair rushing towards her. And beneath it was a scowl that surprised even her.

"Are you okay?! What the heck was that? You could've been really hurt, what were you thinking?"

Her shocked expression quickly shifted into an angry one that rivaled his own. "You're welcome! Have you no manners at all?!"

"Seriously?! You're worried about manners?! At a time like this?!"

The Corporal sighed as his teammates quickly descended into another argument, leaving him and Sakuya to simply shake their heads. Didn't those two ever get tired of bickering? Shifting to blade form, Lenka drove his God Arc into the Sekhmet's chest and extracted the core, since it didn't look like Alisa would be doing so any time soon.

Approaching to his side, Sakuya smiled warmly at him. "Great work out there."

"You too. Thanks for the assist… that thing would have pommeled me into the ground."

"Not a problem. Can't have anything happening to our dear Leader. What would we do without you?"

Utsugi laughed, smiling back at the gunner. "I wonder if you'd be better off. Two of my teammates hate me and the other one wants even less to do with me these days." He held back a sigh as he thought back to the scowl permanently plastered on Soma's face. "Hell, I can't even get those two to stop fighting." Gesturing to the arguing pair in the distance, he shook his head.

Following his gaze, Sakuya offered a sympathetic smile and gently patted his shoulder. She certainly didn't envy him, being saddled with so much responsibility at such a young age. "Don't worry about them. They're always like that."

"That only worries me more… seriously, can't those two just get along?"

"They do get along… and that may be part of the problem."

Shaking their heads, they watched as Kota and Alisa continued to glower at one another. The tension in the air was nearly palpable as the New Type folded her arms over her chest. "Well, excuse me for being concerned! Maybe next time I'll just let it eat you then!"

"You'd enjoy that wouldn't you -" Silence fell between the two, the redhead pausing mid-sentence. His eyes slowly grew wide as the weight of her words started sinking in. "Huh. I didn't realize you cared."

In an instant, their argument ended as Alisa's glare disappeared. In its place was now embarrassment, with color quickly rising to her cheeks. "I-I… that's… well, I don't! Not about you anyway!" The New Type tensed, throwing her most menacing glare in his direction to ward him off.

But Kota was having none of it. Raising his eyebrow, he pulled his lips into a playful grin. "Admit it. You were actually worried about me, weren't you? I'm flattered."

"Sh-Shut up! If you died, it would cause trouble for our Captain!"

The other two sighed as their argument quickly resumed. It seemed they never tired after all.

. . .

Far East Branch - Weapon's Hangar

A knot formed in the former Corporal's stomach as he met Brendan's solemn gaze. "I used to be pretty confident in my Charge Crush skills. But that Aragami was a monster. It's like… It's completely different. I don't think I can beat it."

Ichiro frowned slightly at his dark tone. After commissioning Licca to examine his weapon, the veteran had spent most of his time wandering around the Den, keeping a watchful eye on their New Type. Upon receiving an email from the engineer, he had made his way across the lobby towards the lift. It was there that he overheard a conversation between the 2nd Unit's Vice Commander and the 3rd Unit's top sniper, mulling over the details of their most recent encounter.

Crestfallen, Gina sadly shook her white head. The frustration was evident in her expression as her visible eye fell to the floor. "I was so sure we got it. I thought we defeated it!"

"What happened? Did your target escape?" The former Captain approached them, a look of worried curiosity forming on his face.

The sniper's frown deepened further as she lifted her gaze. "Worse. It collapsed on the spot like a doll without strings. It completely stopped moving… And then… It slowly got up again… He was starting at us."

"What?!" Ichiro's eyes grew wide as he listened. His gaze searched her own for any sense of dishonesty, in the hopes that Gina was pulling one of her pranks… but she wasn't. He found none. "That's - an Aragami… that can regenerate?"

Brendan shook his head. "I'm not sure. I don't really know what we're dealing with at this point. Only that it's very, very dangerous."

Gina nodded in affirmation. "Right. And you're in the Assault Squad. Chances are, you guys will soon be sent to deal with it. Be careful… and watch your back."

"Yeah… I'll bear that in mind." Turning, Ichiro continued on his way to the elevator, a dark cloud hanging over his head. The state of his God Arc worried him now more than ever, and that concern only intensified as he heard Gina's following words to her comrade.

"Will we really be able to defeat that Aragami?"

. . .

A quiet ding announced Ichiro's arrival as he exited onto the floor. Across the room, the Far East's most decorated engineer typed rapidly on her console. Focused almost entirely on her work, it took a few moments for the woman to notice him. "Oh! There you are!"

"Hey, Licca." Striding across the room, he leaned tiredly against the metal railing. His eyes swept over the hangar, observing the various God Arcs in their storage containers. Four of them were currently missing. His teammates still hadn't returned. Shifting his gaze, he turned his attention to the engineer. "So, what's the verdict?"

Finishing a few tweaks, she turned towards him. Her solemn expression sent a twinge of nervousness up his spine. "So, uh, your God Arc… It's not doing so well."

"Wow… that doesn't sound too good."

"It isn't. The joints are really damaged and I gave it a temporary fix, but… If you think there's something wrong, come back immediately."

Ichiro sighed and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. It seemed the New Type had done more damage than he initially thought. Having been occupied almost constantly since her return, he hadn't had an opportunity to get repairs. And now, with his current assignment of keeping her sated, and the unidentified Aragami looming overhead, it was likely he would have to put them off even longer.

"Ichiro."

"Hmm?" Shifting his gaze, he took a look at the young woman, whose face had grown very concerned.

"I'm serious. There are many God Eaters, but only one you. Listen to me. I know that Neo is important to you… but you can't take care of her if you don't take care of yourself."

His nervous grin told her that she had hit her mark. As she expected, the primary use of his God Arc had been going towards assisting the New Type in some way or another. Most likely a combination of handling her missions, as well as collecting resources for her astronomical clothing order. But Licca knew there was little she could do to dissuade him from fulfilling his duties. The only thing she could do was advise him… and hope to all of the Gods above that he wouldn't run himself into the ground.

"Don't worry. I'll bring it back for a full tune-up after this last round of missions." With a reassuring smile, he slowly turned his eyes towards a familiar scythe on the wall. "Speaking of Neo… what's the status?"

Licca followed his eyes and lowered her head. "Honestly… not good. On top of the damage, there is still the issue of her compatibility. And at the moment, we just don't have the resources to upgrade it."

"And with so few Aragami, the pickings are slim…"

"Exactly. If you could find some new parts, I might be able to make some changes, but…"

"…" The God Eater fell silent, his mind drifting to Gina's words.

And you're in the Assault Squad. Chances are, you guys will soon be sent to deal with it.

Will we really be able to defeat that Aragami?

Based off of their track record, it was very likely that the sniper's prediction would come to fruition. If they were lucky, what resources they could garner from it may prove useful. But if they couldn't find a way to destroy this new opponent… it wouldn't matter anyway. Once again, they were trapped between a rock and a hard place.

Fantastic.