The Borg Camlann charged at both Alisa and Claire they both quickly dodge it while Claire switched to her gun form and fired at the Aragami. Alisa went in and slashed at its legs a few times which brought it down. Claire switched back to the blade form and charged at the knocked down Aragami, she jumped with her God Arc above her head and she drove the blade into the Aragami which ended killing it. Claire yanked her God Arc out of its corpse and she turned to Alisa with smile on her face. "Extractions en route, you guys. Fantastic work! I'm glad to see you back, Alisa." Hibari said.

"So... Hey..." Alisa said to get Claire's attention. "Just in the last few missions, you've done more for me than I could ever imagine. I think... I think I have to figure out the rest on my own."

"Okay."

"I don't know if I'll return to active combat anytime soon, but... I'll keep training, so I'll be ready if I need to... When I decide to."

"We'll be waiting," Claire said with a smile which made Alisa's heart beat a little faster but didn't know why it did.

After returning to the Den, Claire was about to leave for her room when Alisa called out to her and she stopped to see what she wants. "For humouring me all this time... Thank you so much." Claire noticed Alisa holding a big case and she lifted it towards her waiting for her to accept it. "Will you accept this as my token of gratitude? I want you to have this Tear Stone." Claire reached out and accepted the gift. "The Tear Stone was made to pair with the shield that I'm using right now. I used it back when I was in Russia. Then right before I left, I managed to break it somehow... So I had Licca fix it for me. It protected me from a lot of things. That's why I want you to use this!... Would that be okay?"

"Of course, I'll use it."

"Thank you! I hope you take good care of it."

"I will. I'll get it installed right away." Claire made her way for her God Arc.

"Um..." Claire stopped when she noticed Kanon trying to get her attention. "I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay. What?"

"I noticed Alisa working hard to get better. I thought I shouldn't be slacking off anymore. So I decided to accept a really hard mission that involves fighting a Quadriga all by myself!" Claire quickly realized where this was going after she told her about the mission. "I soon realized that might have been a bad idea... yeah... So that's where you come in. Mind coming along with me on my mission?"

"Sure. We can go once I finish something."

"Great! Thank you!"

After an intense fight with the Quadriga both Kanon and Claire fire a barrage of bullets until they finally took it down. Once the battle was over Claire let out a tired sigh. "Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome."

"I was confident that we were able to do that."

"You were?"

"Yeah! Well, I mean, if you weren't here, I probably wouldn't have been as confident. But since you are here, I felt like we could do anything!"

"Yeah... we should go on more missions together."

"You serious?"

"Yeah, maybe I can help you with your aim."

"That would be so awesome! You know, I'm kind of surprised that I didn't hit you."

"Good thing I knew about her bad aiming. Man, it's tiring trying to watch the Aragami and her at the same time." Claire thought.

"Hey! As a thank you for coming on this mission with me. Why don't I make you some of my special homemade cookies?"

"C-Cookies? Yes, please!"

"Alright! I'll make you the best cookies ever!"

Claire impatiently waited in Kanon's room while she was off making the thank you cookies she promised. Claire began to drool a little as she started thinking about the cookies and delicious they could be. She noticed something started to feel a little wet and quickly realized what it was. She quickly wiped the small drool from her face. "I got to stop doing that," Claire said to herself. "I just realized something. I wonder how good a cook Kanon is...?" Claire suddenly lets out a big yawn. "Man, I'm tired."

"I'm back~!" Kanon said upon her return. "I got the cookies!" She placed the plate in front of Claire.

"Um, do I... just take them all?"

"Of course! I made them for you!"

"Awesome..." She reached for one of them and she stared at the cookie in her hand. She looked at Kanon who was smiling at her and waiting for her to taste it. She looked back to the cookie before taking a bite out of it.

"So? How does it taste?"

"It's... amazing..." Claire said as she started to eat them at a fast pace.

"I see you have a sweet tooth."

"I wouldn't say that I have a sweet tooth. It's just I love cookies a lot." Claire took a bite out of one cookie before she turned to Kanon. "Can you... make me... more next time?"

"Sure! It'll be a good way to thank you for all the help you gave me!" Kanon smiled but it faded pretty quickly. "You're not helping me just for the cookies, right?"

"No! Even if you stopped making them for me, I'll continue to help you! I'll never leave a friend in need!"

"You care about your friends a lot, huh? That's so cool!"

"Well, I'll be going now," Claire said as she wrapped up the cookies and left with a wave.

Claire walked down the hallway humming some happy tune when she came to a stop in front of Alisa's room. She started to think if she should check on her or not, but she ended up deciding to check up on her. Claire knocked on the door waiting for an answer. "Yes?" She heard Alisa say.

"Uh, it's me."

"Oh, it's open. Come in." Claire opened the door and she looked around the messy room.

"Man, my house in the Outer Ghetto is cleaner than this." Claire thought. "Then again, Iris wouldn't let it become too dirty."

"So, what did you need?"

"I came here to check up on you, see how you're doing," Claire said as she sat down on Alisa's bed.

"Hehe, I'm fine. Thank you for worrying about me. It's all thanks to you that I feel better."

"Here, want some?" Claire said as she held up some cookies for Alisa to take. "Kanon made them for me as a thank you. As much as I like cookies, there's a little too much."

"Thank you," Alisa said as she the cookies stored them away for later. Once Alisa took them, Claire laid down and rested her on the pillow while letting out another big yawn. "You know, I wanted to thank you again. If it wasn't for your help. I don't think I would have made as far as I did." Alisa turned back only to notice Claire's eyes were closed and she was breathing softly which meant that she sleeping. Alisa quietly walked over to her to not wake her up and sat down next to her sleeping captain.

"You're rather strange. I never met anyone who cared so much about me in my life, besides my... yeah. We barely knew each other and you still cared about me." Alisa just sat there watching over her while she sleeps. "You must be tired. I'm sorry for pushing you so much. I'll let you sleep for a little before I wake you."

"That concludes the briefing. Any questions before you head out?" Tsubaki said.

"May I speak? I mean, if it's cool." Kota said as he raised his arm. "Maybe, I dunno, we take Alisa on this mission? She's been working super hard to get back to her old self. And I think we're gonna need her on the field again, and... Yeah."

"Thank you, Kota... Tell me, Sakuya, what say you?"

Sakuya was quiet for a few seconds before she agreed. "I consent."

"What about you?" Tsubaki turned to Claire.

Claire looked at Alisa with a worried expression. "I do want her to come, but it's up to her."

"I will remind you, the target Aragami on this mission is the same kind you faced before. Are you certain you're up to this?"

"Yes, I'll be fine! I mean, I want to go."

"Very well. Miss Amiella, prepare for combat ops."

"Score! And don't worry, you got all us behind ya. We'll be awesome!"

"Yeah! I'll be right behind in case anything happens!"

While everyone readied themselves for the mission, Claire walked over to Alisa. "Are you sure you want to come along? You could always stay here."

"No, I'll be fine. Thank you for your concern."

"Are you sure? Well, alright. Don't push yourself out there, and if anything happens to make sure to retreat. Okay?"

"Okay..."

"Alright, thank you. That makes me a little more relieved."

After battling the Varja for quite some time, they finally were able to weaken the thing enough to take it down. The Varja fell to the ground and Claire quickly rushed over to it to try and finish it off. But, it was too late as the Vajra had enough time to getaway. "Cut off its escape! We can't let it get away!" Kota said as Claire missed her swing.

"Damn... It'll push us into a corner if we stay bunched up like this. Everyone split up and try to flank it." Sakuya ordered everyone. Everyone nodded as they ran off into different directions while Alisa gasped a little as she thought of being alone with the Aragami. She also took off running looking for the Aragami who ran away.

Alisa into cover while she wondered where it ran off too. She heard growling and she peeked out and watched as the Aragami walked out of one of the old buildings. Alisa looked around trying to find the others. "Papa... Mama..." Alisa muttered to herself. She strengthens her resolve as she let her cover and aimed at the Aragami. They both stared at each other while Alisa steadied her shot.

Claire walked down the broken street looking at every possible point that the Aragami could use to ambush her. She heard a roar up ahead as she rushed towards the sound. She came across a corner and she looked to the side and noticed Alisa on her knees. Worry began to cloud her judgment as she started to run over to her. "Alisa!? What happened? And where's the Aragami?" Alisa watched as the Vajra readied itself to pounce on the unsuspecting girl.

"N-No! I won't let you take another one away!" She quickly stood and fired a round at the Aragami. "Getaway!" Alisa yelled.

Claire dived out as the bullet sailed past her and hit whatever was behind her which happened to be a Varja. She rolled onto her feet as she looked behind and watched the target fall to the ground dead. "Holy shit!"

Alisa started breathing heavily as she started to break down. Both Kota and Sakuya arrived at the scene. Sakuya stared at Alisa before looking over to Claire. Claire nods at her while Sakuya walked over to her. She dropped her God Arc next to Alisa's as she started to hold her.

"What happened?" Kota asked.

"Alisa saved me. I would have been dead if she wasn't here. Little bits of me here and there, maybe an arm and leg there. Some pieces inside that thing."

"So she must have overcome her fear, right?"

"I guess so. Or at least came one step closer to overcoming it."