You never realize what you have until it's gone.

Chapter 2

A week had passed since the 1st unit Leader's sudden return and exit. Soma was slightly happy at Shio's return, but he still somehow felt empty.

The Den was still in shock from the horrible state the 1st unit Leader came back in. She may have tried to act strong and even tried to avoid attention to her state by rushing everyone. But they could all see the nearly broken state she was in. It was like the Russia Branch was trying to destroy her.

As much as Soma wanted answers from Dr. Sakaki, the Doc would give him nothing. Always making excuses of trying to keep Shio hidden while getting to the bottom of things with the Russia Branch. They seemed to have invaded the Branch's territory saying they were trying to capture their wanted criminal, never really explaining what her crimes were.

"Soma you need to cheer up man, quit worrying so much."

"How can you be so care free when she's out there missing, Kota?" Soma said slanting his eyes at Kota.

"Of course I'm worried about her. But moping about here won't help much, will it?" Then Kota sat next to him on the bench near Hibari's desk and grabbed the Entrance TV remote. "I know what you need. Some nice TV time, let's see what's on the news today."

"We now take you live to Fenrir's chase of the most wanted criminal in Fenrir's Black List, the ex-first unit Leader of the Far East Branch."

Kota regretted turning on the TV as they watched armed men in Fenrir jeeps chase down their Leader on a run-down motorcycle holding a person-size object close between her and the bike as if it was something precious.

She did good dodging the pot holes and the barriers of the landscape. But one of the Officers got a good shot at her back tire, sending her flying in the air in a different direction than the bike. Even in the air she covered the object in the covers as if it was something fragile as she made impact with the ground. She was bruised and battered but she still held on.

The men in the jeeps came out, a few tried to yank the object in the covers out of her grip. But when she didn't yield more men came to hold her down, shoving her deeper into the ground.

"No don't!" She cried out as they took the object from her. She reached out toward them but one of the officers stomped her hand down on the ground with her boot. The world turned red as Soma growled at this.

One of the men opened the covers only to be angered by the fact it was just a fake. The dummy Shio she made back at the Den. Enraged, the man threw it on the ground. The 1st unit Leader began to laugh as she slowly rose to her knees.

"Hahaha, and the Emmy goes to me!" But one officer smacked her with the butt of his gun, making her cough out blood, knocking her back to the ground. Kota flinched at the sight while Soma's eyes slanted.

"Where is the Singularity?!"

"Her name is SHIO!" She said sternly at them only to get wacked back to the ground again.

"Where is the Singularity?!

"Shio's gone! I let her go half way in my escape. And let me tell you something. Once she's out in the wasteland, unless she wants to be found you'll never see her again! Hahaha." She laughed as blood dripped from her mouth. She looked completely mad as she laughed all broken as her body shook in her laughter.

"If that's the case there's no point keeping you alive!" The leader of the Russia Branch Officers said as he pointed his gun at her head.

"Hehe, then go ahead." Then she sobered up and her eyes saddened as she said the words that would forever haunt the members of the Den. "No one will miss me."

"You're right," her face contorted into a look of pain at having her statement agreed with. "But killing you would be the easy way out for you." He lowered his gun toward her arm.

"What are you doing?" For the first time she was frightened. Kota and Soma's blood froze at the implication of what was going to happen next.

"I want you to suffer."

The shot echoed throughout the whole wasteland as he shot off her armlet.

"Ahhh!" Her cry of pain was worse than the time she grabbed Lindow's God Arc. A black tar like substance came from her arm and started to consume her. The tar bubbled like when the Aragami's oracle cells decayed after their cores been extracted.

The Officers back away, taken aback by how quickly the Aragami Transformation was occurring. Perhaps it was due to her being a New-Type God Eater with an abnormal amount of Oracle Cells or the fact she was lacking in her P53 Bias factor shots. Either way the transformation was happening far too fast.

"Ahh! No! I-I didn't want this! I-I'm so scared!" She cried out as the tar consumed her, slowly moving up to her face. "Please, help me. I'm so scared." There was nothing the boys wanted more in the world than to come to her aid right then and there. But Kota and Soma could do nothing but watch feeling useless as she cried out in pain.

Finally the tar reached her face as if trying to keep a float she lifted her head.

"No... not like this. Not alone... I... I... SOMA!" She cried out as the tar finally consumed her. Something inside Soma snapped watching her fade away. With her last words she called out to him and he could do nothing. She was always the one person to have his back, even when he pushed her away she was always there. Now when she needed him to have her back the most he wasn't there. He's never felt so weak and powerless before in his life. The tar sank into the ground and calmed. But then it began to bubble like boiling water and sprang out of the ground.

The silhouette of a female emerging from the spring of tar, covered in its slimy substance. It opened its eyes of crimson red and stared down at its hands.

"This is me?" It spoke with two voices. Hers and that of a young male. Then it looked up at the sky. "This is...sunlight? It's so... warm."

"My God! She's a monster." Said one of the men, shaking in his boots.

"What are you waiting for, shot it!" The head officer said as they opened fire at her. But the bullets went through her and she looked at them as if they didn't cause her pain, but were still a nuisance.

Pointed spikes came from her body and impaled them in the shoulders making them drop their weapons with cries of pain.

"These are... human? What annoying creatures." She said slicing a few with the tar whip that came from her body knocking the Officers still armed back. "Attacking because they are scared of what they see without truly understanding it."

A roar came from afar as a Marduk came into the scene. It approached her and looked her in the eyes.

"Are you... an Aragami?"

"Another monster!"

"It's a Marduk! Open fire!" They began to shot again, more rapid as if their lives depended on it. The Marduk didn't respond to them, only covering her from their bullets.

"You are protecting me?... Why?" It did not answer, only blocking her from the bullets. "I thought the Aragami were bad, but... Since I was born into this world you have shown me more kindness than the humans."

The tar began to melt off her slowly, but she was still covered in it with only the top of her red hair exposed. She lifted her hand releasing the tar on the Officers like a wave to push them back.

"And so, I shall trust you."

"Ladies and gentlemen you have just witnessed Fenrir's unnecessary brutality and an Aragami Transformation in the process live from the Far East Branch news." The news lady said bringing back attention to her. "What crime has she done to warrant such a damned fate? Has Fenrir gone too far, deliberately turning man into Aragami."

Her noise drew attention to herself and the silhouette of the former 1st unit leader launched at her. Knocking her to the ground she hovered over the News lady and roared at her. The Leader's mouth was dark and the tar dripping from her on the News lady made the silhouette of fangs. The news lady screamed, moving her face to the side to get away from her as much as possible.

The scream made the former Leader stop and look down at her in confusion.

"Do you not wish to fight?" She asked the News lady who only shivered and whimpered in response. "If you do not wish to fight, then leave." She then got up off her. "This place is too dangerous for the likes of you."

Out of her back sprung Black Wings smacking the tar out of its way as it shined in the sunlight. More tar began to melt off her as more of her crimson hair showed.

She flew away from the News lady and the injured Officers toward the Marduk. Slowly adapting to the new appendages.

"Come my friend, we must be going." She said as her and the Marduk flew/ran away. Leaving nothing behind but a few feathers and her black ribbon.

"My, God..." Kota said falling to his knees. "She's gone... It's not like she was just transferred to another Branch or ran away... she's really gone."

"..." Soma said nothing, holding his head in his hands.

"We... we have to tell the others before they see this. Soma?"

"..."

"Soma?"

"Ahhh!" Soma let out a cry that was heard throughout all the Den, a cry that pierced the soul, as the dam to his tears were released. She was gone, she finally went to a place he could never reach her.

He was no longer empty inside, he was broken.