Far East Branch - Lobby
With the second defeat of the Arda Nova, the 1st Unit took some much-needed rest. Following the end of their mission, Ichiro took a leave of absence, much to his companion's frustration. After their mission, she had grown increasingly concerned with her guardian's condition. She had been meaning to ask him about his unusual behavior on Aegis Island, but for the life of her, she hadn't been able to get ahold of him. Becoming almost as elusive as the New Type herself, Neo couldn't get him alone long enough to question his behavioral changes. Only one God Eater knew what was going on with the veteran, and he had taken a vow of silence.
Giving up, Neo decided to leave him alone for the time being. Instead, she spent her time wandering the Den, conducting field operations, and hanging out with Ren in various areas of Headquarters. For the sake of avoiding confusion, she had decided to keep her association with him, for the most part, discreet. As he hadn't been officially introduced to the rest of the Far East, she had no way of knowing who had actually come into contact with him.
Thankfully, she wouldn't need to concern herself with that fact any longer.
In the main hall, Major Amamiya stood on the upper floor of the lobby, side by side with three God Eaters. Two were unfamiliar faces, and the other was one the New Type knew well. Across from them stood her close friend, Alisa, and her newly developed acquaintance, Lenka Utsugi. As the three of them were the Den's resident New Types, Tsubaki had summoned them for the new arrivals' introduction.
"We have some new recruits joining us today. Both are fresh out of training, but received high marks as New Type God Eaters."
At Tsubaki's introduction, the young woman beside her lightly bowed her golden-brown head. "I've been assigned to fight with the 2nd Unit, I believe. I'm Annette. Annette Koenig."
Beside her, the young man followed her example with an introduction of his own. "And I've been brought into the 3rd. Federico Caruso's the name."
Neo raised an eyebrow at his rigid posture. What an unusual prospect. Her eye slowly drifted to the woman beside him, Annette, who responded with a polite smile. Turning her attention, she eyed the third and final God Eater. Her gaze locked on Ren, who surprisingly, simply nodded and smiled. He offered no introduction of his own, instead choosing to remain silent as Tsubaki continued on with her briefing.
"As our Den's New Type God Eaters, I was hoping you could keep an eye on our new students. You know, show them the ropes."
Clapping her hands together excitedly, Alisa offered her brightest smile to their new recruits. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Alisa Ilinichina Amiella. I look forward to working with you."
Beside her, Lenka nodded as well, sharing in her enthusiasm. "My name is Lenka Utsugi, 1st Unit Captain. I'm happy to help with anything you need."
The final New Type remained silent, her eye focusing on the pale-skinned God Eater before her. She narrowed her eye suspiciously at him, wondering what it was he was trying to accomplish. It wasn't until he lightly inclined his head to her right that she realized the other members were staring at her, likely waiting for her to make an introduction. Shaking her head, she crossed her arms over her chest. "Neo."
Annette and Federico both looked nervously at one another, growing concerned under her sharp gaze. Deciding to break the silence, Federico bowed his head respectfully to the prickly woman. "N-Nice to meet you. It's a pleasure to serve."
Neo offered nothing further, her eye drifting slowly to the Major with a look of minor irritation. Her patience with this meeting was nearly exhausted.
The Major herself simply narrowed her eyes in warning, turning her attention to Neo's two teammates as she addressed them. "I expect each of you to set a stalwart example for our new recruits. Show them hospitality and be on your best behavior." Her gaze locked pointedly on the violet-haired New Type as she spoke, earning a light scowl in response to her blatant jab. "Now then. Rookies, fall in and report to Dr. Sakaki for your medical fitness exam. You're dismissed."
With her permission, Annette and Federico saluted and made their way towards the lift with Lenka and Alisa leading the way. In their excitement, neither of them noticed the lack of their third teammate who was instead, watching their final recruit make his way towards the stairwell. Following him with her eye, Neo slowly made her way after him, already having a good idea of where he was headed.
As the meeting drew to a close, three pairs of eyes observed curiously from a nearby sofa. Having shared the same interest as other members of the Den, the three God Eaters were more than happy to eavesdrop and get a first look at their fourth and fifth New Types. Caleb watched quietly as the meeting dispersed, evaluating the recruits as they disappeared behind the elevator doors.
Smirking, he turned back to his two friends. "Nice. Looks like the 3rd Unit is finally getting some new blood."
Beside him, Otto rolled his eyes in unrestrained irritation. "Greeeat, more New Types. Let's hope these two aren't clinically insane."
Caleb shrugged, choosing to ignore his ill-tempered comrade's complaint. "I'm sure they'll be fine. They seem normal enough."
"Yeah. So did the other two."
"Oh, come on, Otto, try to look at the positive. Until now, all the New Types have gone to the Assault Squad. Like them or not, they're powerful allies. I think it'll be nice to finally see one in action. Besides, we could probably use the help."
Sighing, Otto cooled down and nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, I guess. I suppose it will be kinda nice to get some new people." Leaning back against the couch, he smirked playfully towards his blonde comrade. "But of course, the 2nd Unit gets Annette. Go figure. Lucky bastard."
"…"
Both men blinked at their friend's silence, slowly turning their heads towards him as he stared off into space. Had he not heard them? Caleb leaned forward, taking a closer look at his emerald eyes. Close observation confirmed that Gunter had been paying little attention to their conversation. In fact, he hadn't heard a word they said, and likely, not the Major's either.
Following his line of sight, they quickly identified the reason why. His green orbs were focused instead on a head of violet hair. Eyeing her movements, Gunter watched as she concluded her meeting, wandering slowly towards one of the vending machines near the corner of the hall. Ordering a couple cans of First Love Juice, she slowly made her way towards the stairwell. Where was she going?
Beside him, his friends sighed, shaking their heads at their starstruck companion. He truly was hopeless.
. . .
Far East Branch - Weapons Hangar
The metal doors slid open as Neo made her way into the hangar. As she suspected, Ren was there. He stood silently against the railing, his eyes staring curiously at the large red mass sitting upright in its containment chamber. Shifting his eyes in her direction, he nodded his acknowledgement. "Hey, good work with them."
Slowly nodding her head, she approached him. With a silent smirk, she offered one of her bright pink cans, which he gratefully accepted.
"My thanks. You have come to know me so very well."
"Not a problem."
Ren popped open his can, taking a long sip of the purple beverage. Beside him, Neo attempted to do the same, frowning as her gloves hindered her grip. Scowling, she discreetly removed one of the accessories, freeing her fingers. Opening her own drink, she took a sip and fell silent, the two of them standing quietly side by side. After a few minutes of quiet contemplation, Ren finally broke the silence. "So… This is Lindow's Arc, isn't it?"
Her breath caught for a moment at his question. His assumption was correct, of course. The God Arc stored in front of them was most certainly his. But how could Ren possibly have known that?
At her look of suspicion, he quickly backpedaled. "Well, I've… I've fought alongside him before. We've been in a few combat situations together. That's how I know."
Her scrutinizing gaze quickly hardened into a glare at his explanation. His words only made his story even more dubious. The idea of him battling alongside of Lindow wasn't entirely impossible. He was a relatively outgoing person, and it made sense that he had probably hunted with almost everyone in the Den at least once… but Ren was from a different branch. In his own words, he had only just recently transferred. How and when could he have possibly met or battled beside their late Commander? And if she was feeling skeptical before, his next words made her utterly mistrustful.
"That was… rather cruel of him, wasn't it? To leave you all the way he did. He charged off alone. It was… foolish."
Where was he getting all of this information? Could he have spoken with Tsubaki? Perhaps he had heard the rumor from someone else. No. That was too convenient. Surely, there must be some explanation for…
'Eh?!'
Her concerns were paused as he slowly started reaching toward the large blade. Lurching forward, she clamped her ungloved hand around his wrist, stopping him. She had made that very mistake not too long ago. In fact, Ren had even scolded her for it. Was he truly witless enough to do the same?
Wrapping her clawed fingers around his arm, her eyes shifted to the God Arc as it began to hum with energy. She could feel her Oracle cells alighting as power coursed between them, traveling through their connected skin like a static shock. The blade trembled beside them as the world began to fade. Then, Neo gasped, feeling the familiar sensation take over her mind, body, and soul.
. . .
Lindow's muffled voice seeped through the fallen rock. "Sakuya… Sakuya, I am ordering you. Get them back safe, please. Don't let them die!"
"No! I won't leave you!" The gunner shouted through the wall. He could hear the anguish in her voice. It brought a sad smile to his face.
Through the rubble, Kota's voice sounded, shouting to his second-in-command. "Come on, we have to go! If we stay here any longer, we're all dead!"
"I won't go! Lindow!" Her voice echoed through the solid wall, growing softer and softer as the other gunner dragged her away.
. . .
The sounds of battle had long since faded, Sakuya's heartbroken voice no more than a memory. Before him, the body of his slain target lay still with its unnatural jaw hung agape. The Prithvi Mata had been far from an easy kill, but Lindow had emerged victorious. Now, he leaned against the wall, exhaling after a long drag of his cigarette.
"I think they got away…"
Letting his arm fall, he leaned his head against the rocks, wondering how he was going to get himself out of his predicament. The fallen debris was solid, and there was no way he could risk slashing away at it. Not with more of those beasts still lingering in the area. Inside of the Cathedral, he was relatively safe for the time being. After a bit of rest, he would find a means of escape.
His eyes drifted to a large opening in the stained glass, where the last rays of sunlight filtered in. That looked to be as good an exit as any. Yes. He would finish his smoke, and leave through the window.
That had been his plan.
But as a large black mass appeared, blocking the evening light, his hopes were shattered. Another Vajra variant had appeared, this one slightly different from the icy monstrosity he had so recently slain. This monster appeared more male, the God to the Prithvi's Goddess. Its imposing orange coats absorbed the sun's rays and an unsettling, human smile adorned its bearded face. The Dyaus Pita.
A heavy sigh escaped him as it stared him down. "Seriously, can I have like… five minutes? Don't know how long I can do this…" Taking a final inhale of his cigarette, Lindow flicked the butt onto the Cathedral floor. It seemed he wouldn't be getting home any time soon. Rising to his feet, he approached the Vajra as it roared from its perch, answering his challenge.
Their battle was hard fought, testing the very limits of his strength and durability. Stronger and faster than the Privthi, this monster seemed to have a preference for close combat over elemental attacks. A fact that boded well for him in such an enclosed space. With a grunt, Lindow blocked an incoming swipe with his Long Blade, the force shoving him backwards across the marble floor.
Lifting its paw again, the Dyaus prepared for a second strike, which Lindow answered with a charge of his own. But his decision was a foolish one, as he opened himself with little concern for defense. His strike fell short a few inches as the Pita's paw collided with him, knocking him back and striking his Armlet with full force.
Sliding across the ground, Lindow fell to his knees. His teeth ground together as a dangerous hiss emanated from his damaged Armlet. He could feel the Oracle cells attacking his own as the protective barrier failed him. With black tar-line tendrils snaking up his arm, Lindow clenched his wrist with his free hand. His agonized roar echoed through the high ceilings. "Ngh… R-Raaaaaaagh!"
It was the most intense pain that he had ever felt in his entire career as a God Eater. A burning, searing pain that lit his very atoms on fire. He could feel a molecular firestorm coursing through his veins as the infection slowly began to spread from his damaged accessory. But he couldn't stop. He had to live. He had to return home. Home to the Den. Home to her.
Scoffing, Lindow hoisted his blade upward and righted himself, trying desperately to ignore the agony in his right arm. "That was on me… I admit that."
His lighthearted joke went unheard as the Dyaus lunged, aiming to devour him in his weakened state. But Lindow had no intention of dying on this day. He couldn't very well break his own rule, could he? Angling his blade, he thrust forward, driving his Armlet and his God Arc into the Pita's throat.
"Ngh… Raaaaagh!" The Dyaus and Lindow alike howled with anger and rage, the monster rearing back as the God Eater fell to his knees. If he thought he had felt pain before, it was nothing compared to this. With his Armlet torn from his wrist, he could feel every cell in his body being devoured by the very Bias Factor he previously wielded. Dark violet steam erupted from his pores, the Oracle power escaping in any way possible.
This was it. It seemed he would perish on this day after all.
'Damn… Guess I… should've been more careful.'
His morbid thoughts echoed in the walls of his head as the Dyaus regained its bearings. Rage-filled crimson eyes met his own as he stared boldly into the eyes of his killer. If he was to die… he would do so with dignity and pride.
'Huh? Is that a…'
His epic final stand was halted as a small form of pale white entered his vision. Leaping from the same perch as the Aragami before her, someone had come to his aid. But… it couldn't be. She wielded no God Arc, and wore no Armlet. She had on only the shredded remains of what appeared to be a flag of Fenrir. More importantly, she was a small child, no older than nine with hair and skin as white as snow.
He tried to warn her to flee. To get away from there before she suffered the same fate… but he couldn't. His voice had left him, hoarse from his screams. All he could do was watch as the child stalked fearlessly towards an angry predator. Then… something happened. Something so unimaginable, he could never have fabricated it in even his wildest of dreams.
The child walked forward, stopping mere feet from the monster's gaping maw. The Dyaus dwarfed her, her entire body no larger than its massive head. Yet, she showed no fear. She only watched it, staring forward with large golden irises and an expression he couldn't fathom. The monster did the same, staring back at her with a blank look. It was as though they were communicating, sharing thoughts and feelings to which Lindow was not privy.
Then, it responded.
With an angry growl, the Dyaus turned and stomped toward the Cathedral windows. Without a further look, it leapt through the window and was gone. The last image Lindow saw in his blurry haze was the white-skinned child walking slowly toward him. Then, he collapsed as the last of his strength left him.
. . .
In the frozen tundra of the Tranquil Temple, the white-skinned child took shelter with the injured God Eater. His body lay unconscious against the cold wooden walls as she tended carefully to his deformed, mutated limb. After leading away her pursuer, an angry tan-skinned man, she returned, tending to Lindow's wounds. Tying a metal chain around his arm, she inspected him, watching as he slept peacefully against the wall. All was quiet and still…
… until it wasn't.
"Ah…! Ngh…" His head whipped up as he suddenly awakened. The child startled, rushing behind a table of storage boxes to hide from the delirious God Eater. "Wh-What is… Ngh… What is all this… Is this… mine?"
She watched as he lifted his infected arm, black and crimson. His tired eyes gazed at the foreign appendage, shaking his head. "M-My… My arm… This… This can't be my arm…" He muttered, his head slowly falling downward and his body going limp. Slowly, the child approached him again, kneeling beside him as he slipped once more into unconsciousness.
. . .
The world slowly materialized as Lindow awakened once more. His vision was clouded, edges tinted with grey. As he focused, the child appeared before him, pale legs splayed out across the tatami mats as she sat silently in the center of the room. Lindow didn't know where he was or what he was doing, nor how he had gotten there. He could barely remember his own name. All he could think of was…
"Ngh… I'm freakin' starvng…" He murmured, his eyelids drooping once more as he fought to remain conscious.
To his surprise, the child turned to him, eyeing him with big golden eyes. Then, she slowly repeated. "I'm… I'm f-freakin' starving?"
The sound of the child's voice startled him into a state of semi-sentience as he tried to make sense of what was happening around him. Was she copying him? Perhaps she hadn't properly understood him. She did, after all, appear to be very young. Correcting himself, he spoke again. "Huh? N-No… Not it. I'm… hungry."
Again, the child parroted him, wobbling slowly from side to side. "No… No, not it. I'm… I'm hungry."
"I'm hungry." He said again, with more conviction this time as his stomach screamed at him. He wanted to eat. No… he wanted to devour.
"I'm… I'm hun-gry." She copied him again, slowly enunciating the words as he spoke them back to her.
Lindow's next words were not words at all, but screams. "Ah…! Ngh… Aaaaargh!" Grabbing his arm, he bellowed, his body trembling violently under the strain. He could feel the pain returning to him once again. That terrible, agonizing pain. It was destroying him. It was consuming him, chipping away at all that he was. His hunger felt no more than gentle pangs in the face of this new tortuous affliction.
He threw his head back, slamming it against the wall as he tried to block out the burning. His teeth ground violently in his clenching jaw, his body and mind trying to endure. He thrashed and shook, praying to find something, anything to stop the pain. To make it stop. Make it…
'Huh?'
Then, suddenly, Lindow got his wish. Kneeling carefully beside him, the child came to him. Her tiny white fingers wrapped around his chained blackened ones, squeezing. It felt gentle, warm, and comforting, as a light blue hue radiated from her palms. And from it, the pain receded, the Oracle cells' assault on his senses dulling. As the pain subsided, Lindow slowly returned to his senses, realizing now who the child must be. He had seen her before… in the Cathedral. But who was she?
"You… You brought me… Th-Thanks. Thanks a lot."
At his words, the child looked up at him. Her eyes squinted at the corners and her lips pulled into a wide smile.
. . .
Time slowly resumed, the frozen world around her returning to motion as Neo awakened from her trance. Her metal can fell with a clatter to the floor as it slipped from her numb fingers. What was that? No, she knew what it was. It was a resonance. She had felt them many times before. Her real question was… who was that?
No. That wasn't right either. Neo knew very well who those people were, one of them a very close friend. The other, a kind-hearted Corporal she had met a lifetime ago. His face was gentle and his demeanor even more so, telling her on her very first mission to disregard his rank authority. Of course, she would never do that, as it was strictly forbidden. But the sentiment had never left her.
Had those been memories from him? Memories from Ren? And when had he met Shio? Was she the one who saved him following their escape? How long had they been out there in the wilderness? Surely, she must have taken him to the temple long after their departure. That meant that he had survived the initial onslaught, as well as countless battles after. And if that were the case then…
Suddenly, Neo's entire body froze as realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She was asking all of the wrong questions. Those concerns meant nothing in the face of their actual meaning.
Lindow was alive.
Before her, Ren stood frozen with her hand wrapped tightly around his outstretched wrist. He had felt their connection as well, seeing glimpses of her own memories as she had seen his. Yet her expression didn't mirror his own. Instead, a look of horror appeared on her features as her mind cycled through various thoughts. Concerned, he turned to face her as she slowly loosened her grip. "What's wrong? Are you…"
His question was never answered. Turning on her heel, Neo bolted for the doors, leaving Ren behind. Lindow was alive. She needed to tell someone. She needed to inform Major Amamiya or Director Sakaki. Someone needed to know the truth. If Lindow was out there, then perhaps there was a chance he could still be saved. She had survived outside of the Aragami Wall. So had Ichiro and Lenka and so many others. Surely someone with his strength could find a way. They just needed to find him. Preferably before…
"Oof!"
Her panicked thoughts were instantly shattered as she came to a sudden halt. More accurately, her body collided with another, the force of her charge sending both God Eaters to the ground. Shaking her head, she quickly regained her bearings, scowling down at the emerald eyes staring back at her.
On the floor, Gunter blinked, trying to shake the stars from his eyes after Neo's unexpected assault. While he would most certainly never complain about having her on top of him, this wasn't exactly what he had in mind. Regaining his senses, he recovered and smirked up at her, trying to lighten the mood. "Whoa! Where's the fire?"
But Neo didn't appreciate his humor. She didn't have time for this. Lindow didn't have time. Hoisting herself off of him, she leapt over his startled body and continued her journey down the hall. "Wait, are you okay?! Hey!"
His calls fell on deaf ears as her violet head disappeared around the corner.