Chapter. 20

Two choppers flew to the forgotten carrier. Lance and his family rode in one as Soma and his team rode in the other.

"There! Eyes on target!" Alisa out the side of the chopper to spot the nova. The beast stood just inches away from Shio as an aragami core laid at her feet.

Lance hung out on the other side. "That Shio? what's-"

The nova roared and sent Shio fling back and sliding on the bridge. "Shio!" Shouted Soma as he leaped out.

"Get away from her!" Lance followed Soma and leaped out.

The nova picked up the core and swallowed it whole. "Damn you!" Kota pointed his god arc at the nova and fired three shots. The bullets hit the nova but only served to stagger it. "Did it do anything?"

Leo watched the nova closely. "Wait a sec." Leo shot at the nova and saw it move away from the incoming bullet. "Interesting."

Lance and Soma landed on the bridge and dashed for the nova both Gods Eaters leaped at the nova swung their god arcs. The beast jumped back to evade them.

"Hey pinkie!" The nova looked up to see Vale and Torri coming down straight on it. The two slashed at the nova's front legs, leaving deep cuts.

The nova roared as fire orbs of pink energy form in front of it. Eve arrived with Raven and Nifa in her back. The prithvi mata howled to summon five ice spikes, each one hit the orbs and detonated them.

From in the chopper Ren watched the fight unfold. "We can't hurt it so why is it being so evasive? What's changed?"

The nova howled to create a shockwave and pushed the Gods Eaters back. The creature howled again this time in a lower tone. Lance dropped to one knee as Torri dropped her god arcs and held her head. "No! Get away from me!" The singularity screamed.

"I will be whole again." The nova spoke to Lance and Torri.

As the nova moved closer to Torri Lance rose to his feet. "I don't give a damn!" He took a step and the nova glared at him, causing his body to stop. "What is this..." The nova growled at Lance and turned back to Torri. "Don't you mock me..." Gold and black sparks sprayed from Lance's back. "You won't touched her!" Lance unleashed his blood rage once again.

The hold the nova had on Lance was broken and the Gods Eater flew straight for the nova. The nova leaped back but Lance stayed on it and slashed the nova in the face. The nova stood its ground and roared to push Lance away.

"Not this time!" Lance's wings overcharged with gold sparks and pushed against the nova's attack, Lance planted his feet and swung both of his arcs down, cutting deeper into the nova's face.

The nova leaped to its left and off the bridge, as it fell the beast glanced to Lance and grinned. Lance switched one of his god arcs to gun mode but the nova was gone before Lance could get a shot.

Lance's blood rage ended and fell to one knee and was breathing hard. "Dad!" Vale and Torri ran to their father's side.

"I'll be fine, how's Shio?"

Soma kneeled down and lifted Shio up when she resonated with everyone. The vision began with Shio waking up on top of a large pile of rubble. Shio rubbed her eyes and saw ogretail bodies littered on the rubble.

"I... I didn't want to..." Shio looked down at her hands. "I was so hungry... Why was I so hungry? I didn't want to!" shio lowed her hands to her knees and hung her head. "I don't want to be like this anymore! Always ruin, death, pain! I don't want that..." Shio glanced to the dead ogretails. "I just want to play with you again... I just wanted my friends back!"

The vision ended and Shio's body faded away into black smoke. Alisa wiped away her tears. "Another memory... Sh-she misses us."

Eve stopped by the Gods Eaters to let Raven and Nifa off. "So what do we do now? The nova got the core."

"Well we-" Lance stopped when he saw Nifa. "Hello there. Are you from the future too?"

Before she could answer Vale jumped at the newcomer. "Nifa, hey! So cool that you could join us!"

"Nifa!" Leo fell from the chopper and ran towards her after he landed. "Nifa what are you doing here?! You were supposed to wait for us to get back!"

"I, I just, wanted..."

"Go back and wait, its too dangerous here now."

"But, I..."

"Bro." Vale speak up to get Leo's attention. "You know she can't go back. None of us can until our mission is finished."

"Fine." Leo huffed and walked a few steps away.

"So who is this?" Asked Kota.

Vale grinned and pointed to Nifa. "This is Nifa, Leo's girlfriend."

"She is not!" Leo spun around and stomped back. "She's someone from our time line, that's it."

"But her god arcs." Torri pointed at Nifa's weapons then to Raven and Soma's "They look just like theirs. Does that mean she's connect to them?"

"I..." Nifa shuffled in her steps.

"Enough!" Leo shouted to make everyone quite down. "We can go over who came from who later. Right now we need to get back and report what happened and if what I saw is true then we might have our opening to kill the nova."

Lance waved his hand to signal for the choppers to land. "I agree, Like with the rest of your future Gods Eater I don't think this is something we should be talking about in open air."

As the choppers landed Raven turned to her aragami. "You all go ahead, I'll get there with Nifa and Eve."

"I'll go with you too." Said Leo.

"Alright, don't take too long!" Kota hopped into a chopper with the other and took off into the sky.

Lance looked out the window to see Ren staring back at him. "Wonder what he wants."

"Who cares." Said Torri.

...

As the others left Leo spun around to Nifa. "Why did you come here?"

"I wanted to help."

"I can understand but you know what were doing here is not something you jump into half-hearted." Nifa hung her head.

Raven sighed and intervened. "She is quite strong Leo. In fact she was instrumental in our fight with a fallen nova."

"I don't doubt her power, but I just don't want something to happen to her."

Raven tilted her head. "Nifa that impotent to you?"

"No, I, uh, just..." Leo took a deep breath. "Let's just go, please."

"Okay, let's go Nifa."

"Yes mommy!" Nifa gasped and turned her back to Raven.

"What did you say?!"

Leo rubbed his forehead. "You heard right. You wanted to know who she came from."

"Me!? But, I... That buster sword, Soma! I hardly know him!"

"You think we were born over night?"

Nifa bowed to Raven. "I'm sorry! I'm so, very sorry! I ruined everything!"

"Nifa..." Leo put his arm around Nifa and stood her up. "You're fine. Please stop thinking your everything wrong with the world."

Nifa wipes away her tears and smiles. "Thank you Leo. Thank you for being so nice."

"Anyone would do the same Nifa."

"Hmm." Raven held her chin as she grinned.

"What are you 'hmming' about?"

"Nothing."

Leo scowled at Raven. "Shouldn't you still be in shock learning that you'll have a daughter?"

"I am, but not paralyzed by it. Still, Soma..."

"Do you not like daddy?" Nifa tilted her head.

"I've only meet him a few days ago, so I'm not sure." Eve stepped up to Nifa and rubbed its head on her. "Eve really likes you Nifa."

Leo placed his hand on his hip. "I would hope so. Nifa have a gift for communing with aragami."

"Really now. Like what kinds?"

Leo shrugged. "Just ogretails and vajra types for now."

The winded picked up and caused Nifa to shiver. "Can we go to the den, please. If it's not a bother."

"Of course. Come on." Raven climbed onto Eve's back with Leo and Nifa. The aragami roared and ran for the den.

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