Aegis Island
Neo gazed tiredly down at the Hannibal's unmoving form; eyes locked on the faint pink glow. She was now faced with a choice. If she destroyed the core using Lindow's God Arc, she could put an end to everything. The conflict, Lindow's suffering. If she didn't, she could try to save him, attempting the impossible and somehow returning him to human form. And if she failed, he would reawaken… and he would kill her. She didn't have the strength for another full-scale battle. Despite that, she didn't want to…
"Neo!"
'Eh?!'
A loud female voice startled her out of her thoughts. A voice that Neo recognized all too well. Whipping around, her eyes fell on the culprit, Alisa rushing towards her, God Arc in hand. And right alongside of her was the rest of their unit. It seemed that they had followed her after all.
With a quick spin and a look of blatant annoyance, Neo glared at her approaching teammates. "Do none of you follow instructions?"
Ichiro glowered at her, unamused by her ironic statement. The utter nerve of that woman. "Neo, don't start."
"I don't wanna hear that shit from you." Soma spat, even more aggravated. There was no way he would tolerate the queen of defiance lecturing him about following direction.
Kota, being the only one focusing on the current task at hand, slowly looked around her towards the still form. "Is it… Is he dead?"
Neo shook her head. "Not for long. In a few moments, I imagine –"
"Ah!" Alisa gasped, drawing their attention back to the Hannibal.
Right on time. Awakening almost on cue, the corrosive creature slowly lifted into the air, curling its arms in on itself as it returned to life. Neo glared at him, her eyes following it as it rose. Behind her, her allies tensed, gripping their weapons tightly in preparation for the battle to come.
But upon opening its arms, a collective gasp rippled across the entire unit. Even Neo's mouth fell slightly open at the sight before them. As the Hannibal unfurled, it opened its arms. Inside, fused with its radiating purple chest, was Lindow.
Sakuya nearly collapsed. "Lindow… Lindow, you're…"
"No…" Soma murmured, his own eyes growing wide at the sight of him. Lindow was alive… in some form. He was still with them.
Alisa called to him, desperation lacing every word. "Lindow, open your eyes. Come back to us! Come back!"
Neo said nothing, her eyes focused on the man within. Lindow was alive. Lindow was human. Lindow could still be saved.
"Do it. The heart lies open. If you shirk this chance, it will not come again… Take this Arc he once held and plunge it into him. It's the only way to end this."
Neo turned, glaring at the man beside her. He never gave up, did he? It seemed he would stop at nothing to send his former comrade to the other side. It made her question just how close the two of them had actually been. She was about to address the matter when a familiar voice interrupted her. All eyes whipped forward at the sound of Lindow's strained voice.
"Forget… me… Forget all of this… Run!"
At that moment, nothing else mattered. The entire unit shifted their attention on their sentient leader, with various reactions. Sakuya was the first to speak up, desperation clear in her voice as she shouted towards his dangling form. "Lindow, I know you're still in there. I know it's still you."
"Lindow… Man…" Kota's voice came as a low mumble. He could barely bring himself to speak, feeling overwhelmed by the entire situation. It had been difficult enough to go to Aegis, knowing their goal. Now, he wasn't sure what to do. As a Hannibal, he was sure he could do it. As a human, he was faltering.
Near the center, Neo was facing a similar crisis. At the sound of Lindow's voice, she felt nearly all of her resolve fade. The reappearance of their former captain gave renewed hope. Now, with sentience, she was almost certain. If he had retained his humanity, then it was possible he could return to it. She just had to find a way… but doing so was proving difficult with the frustrating God Eater fussing at her side.
"Still you waver? I thought you were braver than that. I thought you had made your peace with this long ago," he snapped, eyes narrowing toward the other New Type. After such an elaborate scheme and grand escape, after a hard-fought battle and nearly death, now she faltered? Now she was having second thoughts?
"You have to run. Flee… Now!" Desperation laced Lindow's every word. His teeth clenched as he spoke, forcing every syllable. It seemed he had retained his senses, but not his control. He didn't know how long he could hold on. He wanted them to leave him; to save themselves.
Sakuya, however, was having none of it. "Never… Never! I won't leave you again. I won't let you make this decision a second time. I refuse, do you hear me? I refuse! Lindow, I…" her words silenced, and her voice cracked. She was at her limit.
Seeing the Vice Captain's struggle, Alisa stepped in to assist her. "You're coming home. Even if I have to drag you there myself, you are coming home. There's so much to tell you. So many apologies to make."
"The others will suffer if you do not choose. Do you want to punish Lindow? To make him kill his beloved friends?" Ren demanded, thrusting the God Arc in Neo's direction. They were running out of time. Lindow was running out of time.
"I decide… I… I decide… This mess, this chaos, is mine. And I will be the one to amend it," Lindow commanded. Somehow, despite his precarious situation, his voice held the same authority as it always had. As though he wasn't currently plastered to the belly of an Aragami.
To Neo's other side, Ren argued. "You have to do it! Release him from this. Release him from his agony!"
"Get away… Get away from here. Now! That is an order. I command you!"
"Take the Arc and kill Lindow! You must finish it!"
Their voices went back and forth, shouting over one another in opposite ears. Two men with two opposing commands, yanking her in opposite directions. The sounds began to run together, swirling around in her mind until they rose into an indecipherable cacophony of noise. Neo could feel her temper rising as she listened, her head beginning to throb with frustration. She was tired. She was frustrated. She was fed up.
"Enough!" Neo shrieked, her voice startling everyone into silence.
Every pair of eyes turned towards her, including Lindow's who was visibly the most alarmed. It was the first time he had ever heard her speak. Until this moment, he didn't believe that she could.
Seething, Neo turned to the other God Eater. "Damn it, Ren, I have had it with you!" Her shouting startled every member of the group, leaving all but three of them utterly confused. As far as the First Unit was concerned, she was screaming at… nothing. But Soma, Alisa, and Ichiro knew.
"You made peace with this. You believe it is the only way… but I don't," she growled. She had had enough. She had no intention of allowing Lindow to fall, not if she could help it. She would not slay him, nor would she allow him to give up on himself. He had to live. Neo's eyes burned with determination as turned and reached forward, gripping the outstretched weapon.
A collective gasp tore across every one of them as Neo summoned Lindow's God Arc… out of thin air. And from it, her arm began to mutate. Black spines erupted from her left hand, her entire forearm morphing into something unrecognizable. Was it trailing from the God Arc itself? They couldn't even begin to explain what they were seeing. The extent of her power was still unknown, but this was something far beyond even Ichiro's understanding. But they didn't have time to question it. Within moments, she rounded on its owner.
"And you… I don't take orders. Not anymore. I refuse to leave you to your fate a second time. I refuse to let you throw away salvation. It's too late for me… but not for you. You can't run away. I won't let you run away from living! You hear me?! That is an order, Lindow!" She bellowed, her voice holding a level of authority that none of them had ever imagined.
Then, she charged. Both God Arcs in hand, she rushed toward Lindow like a wild bull. "Hyaaaaaah!"
Her feet leapt off the ground, her lithe body pivoting through the air as she angled both weapons towards the monster's head. Blood erupted in a massive spray, both blades driving deep within the Hannibal's neck, one over the other. Then, she pulled with all of her strength. She grunted, feeling the skin peeling apart as she tore Aragami open from the jaw, balancing on the lower half. And there it was, the same shimmer she had glimpsed upon its first defeat. The core.
But she didn't strike the glimmering sphere. Instead, she lifted her mutated hand and plunged it deep within. Then, the world came to a stop. More than time itself; it felt as though her very existence had frozen in place down to the last atom. The world faded to a colorless haze, and even her lungs, for a moment, stopped functioning.
Then, time resumed… in fast forward.
Neo lurched, as an overwhelming force punched through her gut with a force more powerful than the Hannibal itself. Her stomach did somersaults, and her head spun like a whirlwind. Breath caught violently in her chest and her pupils blew wide as she experienced the most potent resonance she had ever felt. It was unlike any connection she had ever established before. Not only did her mind leave her… it transported her into an entirely different realm.
. . .
Mental Realm
Neo awoke with a tired groan. Her eyes slowly opened, yet she couldn't see anything. No. More accurately, she could see, just not very well. The bright lights from the island had dimmed, leaving her emersed in a realm of darkness. No. That wasn't right either. Neo carefully rubbed her eyes to reconfirm what she was seeing. She wasn't on Aegis Island at all. Somehow, they had returned to Headquarters. At least, that wash how it appeared. And yet…
"Welcome to a place that is far beyond the end that I had expected to see…" Neo jumped, spinning around to face the other New Type. Ren stood before her, wearing a look of genuine curiosity. "You seem bewildered. Did you want to ask me something?"
Neo took a moment to ponder his question. Her instinctual response was suspicion, considering that he had been shouting at her only moments ago. However, the look of legitimate confusion on his face told her that he was being authentic, much to her relief. In truth, she wanted to ask him many things. However, in her current situation, it seemed prudent to start with the most obvious. "What happened?"
"Let's see. I'll try to explain what I know. First, the infection of Oracle cells from Lindow's God Arc transformed your arm into an Aragami. If you had struck through Lindow with that God Arc, everything would have ended. But you…" Ren paused, taking note of Neo's expression. She was in no mood for lectures. "I don't know if you panicked or if you meant it, but you dealt a very mundane attack to the Aragami."
"I hadn't noticed," Neo muttered, slowly taking a look around.
"Well, what's done is done. Anyway, that seems to have caused you and Lindow's spirits to resonate very strongly with each other."
"Spirits…? Ren, where are we?"
"Let's see… It's a little different from the usual Den that you know. It's actually my first time here as well. I believe this is you and Lindow's…. well, strictly speaking, I guess me included… It's our Oracle cells' neuro… I mean, hmm…"
Neo ceased her examination of her surroundings and turned her attention back to him. Ren mulled over the words, trying to think of the best way to explain their current predicament. With an expectant gaze boring into him, he finally settled on the most straightforward answer.
"Simply put, we're inside Lindow's mind. There."
"We're in… Lindow's mind?" Neo's head slowly tilted to the side, a puzzled expression rising to her face. For a moment, she looked incredulous, as though Ren's suggestion were ludicrous. Another look around the room changed her mind. She couldn't even begin to explain what was happening to them, so perhaps his explanation wasn't too far off. They certainly appeared to be in a familiar place. Yet somehow, it wasn't familiar at all.
"It appears that way." Ren shrugged, watching the other woman process the information.
Neo continued to look around one last time before sighing in resignation. "Great… We're in Lindow's head… So, what will we do now?"
"Let's see… If we stay here for too long, you and Lindow will start to assimilate."
"And what exactly does that mean?"
"It means that your minds will change… or simply disappear."
"Change…?" Neo blinked. Why would their minds assimilate? If they were poking around in Lindow's mind, then at worst, they could simply find themselves lost in a never ending rabbit hole of thoughts and memories. For their minds to integrate, then that would mean… "Wait. Are you saying… not only are we in Lindow's head… but he's also in ours?"
"Correct. And if we remain merged in this fashion, amalgamation is inevitable. In order to prevent that, we need to go wake up Lindow's consciousness, which is a lot weaker than yours at this moment. To be more specific, we need to simulate the conscious memories within the Oracle cells… the spirit, so to say."
"So, we need him to snap out of it," Neo muttered, tiredly rubbing a hand against her face. This was not what she had signed up for when she decided to go after Lindow. It was bad enough that she had all but failed her mission. Now, she had taken it a step further. She had gone beyond regaining their former Captain's mind and instead wound up inside of it. And just how far did their unification extend? If she was in his version of the Den, did that mean he was in hers? If she could see his thoughts and memories, was he too doing the same with her own?
She certainly hoped not… for his own sake as well as hers.
With a heavy sigh, Neo shook her head. There was nothing more to be done about it now. They were trapped in their twilight realm for the time being until they could find a way to return Lindow's consciousness. And for every second they wasted, they grew closer to an unknown fate. It seemed there was only one direction for them to take. After collecting herself with a calming breath, she fixed her gaze on the other God Eater.
"Alright… so, what do we need to do?"