Chapter. 12

The defeated first unit was taken to the sickbay and looked after by Torri and Raven. Torri checked Alisa's vitals as she noticed her younger self by Lance's side, holding his hand.

"He'll be okay. Lance just needs rest." Raven stood by the older Torri. "The others are the ones who are in danger. The nova infected them with something, not sure what yet."

"This nova is a monster."

"We'll stop it Torri. Like Lance said, nothing is invisible."

Outside in the hall Ren sat on a beach with a water bottle in hand. After the fight with the nova Ren couldn't shack off the fear he felt, especially form Lance when he changed. The fear was so great that he refused to ride in the same chopper with Lance. Which was fine with Torri who called him a coward.

Ren stood up and went to the door, his hand was shacking and wouldn't go for the handle. It was the fear of facing Torri and being called a coward again. Returned to his seat, that was the fourth time Ren tired to help in the sickbay but couldn't even open the door. "Coward!" Torri's voice rung in Ren's head, still as painful as the other times.

The elevator opened up and Lindow and Sakuya stepped out. "Ren you okay?""

"I'm fine. The others are inside."

"Then why are you out here?"

The old types sat on both sides of Ren. "When we found the nova, I just froze. Everyone fought it even though they weren't hurting it. Why would they fight an aragami they can't hurt and not run? Why fight a battle you can't win?"

"How do you know you can't win if you don't try?"

Ren glared at his father. "There's a differences between bravery and recklessness."

The door slide open and Torri stepped out. "And there's a differences between cautious and cowardliness, but you know all about the latter wouldn't you." Torri slammed the door behind her. "Mother, father, everyone fought the nova while Ren hid. We risked our lives to save the future while he did nothing!"

Ren had enough and stood up. "What did you want me to do, huh?! Get myself killed!?

"Distract it. Heal the injured, get them to safety. There was several options to take, but you just watched. Like a coward!"

Torri raised her fist when Sakuya and Lindow pulled her away. "Whoa, Calm down Torri!"

Torri shock off the old types. "Soma, Kota, and mother are infected with something by the nova. Father still hasn't woken up."

"Let me help." Sakuya walked Torri back into the sickbay, she looked to Lindow and nodded who nodded back.

Lindow took a seat next to Ren. "You okay?"

"I just... I don't know."

Lindow patted Ren's shoulder. "It's okay to get scared now and then. We're Gods Eaters but we're still human after all. Torri's just upset that she almost lost her family, that understandable."

Ren dropped his water and looked down at his hands. "I thought that if I stopped the virus I'd return to my time. Is this nova why I'm still here?"

"Hey, take it slow. Let events play out and wait for the moment to strike."

"You told me that already dad."

"And I'll say it until I'm blue in the face. Lance, Soma, and some others would run off to their own deaths if I wasn't watching."

"Everyone did, especially Soma, and Lance."

Lindow noticed the tremor in Ren's voice. "You okay? Something happen?"

"I'm not sure myself."

"Try me."

...

In the sickbay Lance was tossing around in the his bed. He was dreaming of being on aigus island, fighting a hannibal. Lance slashed the hannibal's chest with his left arc and ripped out the core with his right arc. "This time stay down!"

The hannibal pushed itself up as it's wound healed. The aragami's skin changed to blue while jet burst out of its back. "Caligula." Lance spun his god arcs and took a step when his chest was hurting, then his whole body. Lance fell to his knees and dropped his arcs, the caligula grabbed Lance and lifted him up. Lance struggled to break free but each move made reinforced his pain.

Lance saw the caligula's skin move like water towards him. Lance's arms were turning blue then his torso, when it reached his neck Lance let out a scream.

Lance sat up screaming, scaring everyone in the sickbay. Lance held his arms as he tried to catch his breath, his body was covered in sweat. As he calmed down he saw where he was, seeing Raven and Sakuya staring at him while Torri rushed to his side.

"Father!" Torri threw her arms around Lance.

"What happened?"

"Gold and black wings sprouted from your back and you just wailed on the nova. You even cracked its head!"

"Wings?"

Raven stood on the other side of the bed. "It was blood rage. A power that all Gods Eaters have hidden within them. It comes from tapping into the aragami within us."

"Our aragami, so that's what you mean by 'easy with caligula' then. But how did I..."

"It responses to great rage. What did you think of?"

Lance looked down at his hands, then to Torri. "It was my familiars egging me on. Everyone was going to die if I don't get up and fight. After that, after that it all just when red."

"Do you remember what you said?" Asked Torri.

"Yes. Barely. When I was fighting, it was like I was watching myself."

"That's good!" Raven gently pats Lance's back. "When a Gods Eater uses blood rage for the first time they lose total control, and need to train themselves to use it without losing themselves. The fact that you could hold on to a part of yourself in your first try means a lot."

"How do you know all of this? You have this power? This blood rage?"

Raven turns away. "No. There are others in the hunter unit that have it, even mastered it."

Out of the corner of his eye Lance saw Alisa laying in the bed across from him. "Aly!"

Lance tried to sit up when Torri pushed him back down. "Father you need to rest!"

"I'm fine, we need to get that nova!"

"And do what?! You hurt it but it took everything you had, even using a new power." Lance sighed and leaned back. "Thank you father."

"How's Everyone? How's Aly?"

"The nova infected them. Mother and Kota have it the worst, Soma is better off but not in the clear. Raven and I are clear. So is Ren."

Lance tilled his head. "You have some venom in you mouth, what happened with Ren?"

"He was a coward who hid while we fought. We don't need him."

Raven shook her head and made Lance lay down. "For now, you need rest Lance."

"Fine, but someone better tell me when we're taking another swing at the nova."

"Doctor Paylor is already on it. He's looking over the data of the fight right now."

"Okay." A thought came to Lance. "Come to think of it, how did we survive?"

"It was a pale girl in a torn up dress. She scared the nova away."

"Hold still for a bit." Lance used his power to read Torri's mind and find the memory, when he found it he was shocked. "Shio?!"

"You know her?" asked Raven.

"Yeah, that's a story."

"Daddy?"

Lance looked down to see the younger Torri. "Hey little girl." Lance sat up and lifted her into his lap. "How are you doing?"

"Good. Big sister said you were sleeping."

"Big sister?" Lance glanced to the older Torri. "Of course." Lance smiled, making the older singularity do the same. "Let me tell you about Shio."

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