Well it's cold, cold under water in the night time. But I dove, dove to the bottom, to see what I'd find. That's when I saw a light, a glowing paradise. Thought I'd stay awhile, it's been calling me. Under water child, everything that I've ever dreamed.

- Alicia Keys: Like the Sea

Facing the Sea

They didn't have much time to lose, so they took one of Fenrir's Armed Carriers. It saved them from the hassle of fuel stops with the Chopper. Umiko was on the move and they didn't have time to lose. The plane didn't even have time land, they all just jumped out through the Dock door with parachutes.

Aside from Kota flopping down on his face, they all landed without a hinge. They were on the edge of a forest close to a cliff side by the shores below. The ocean breeze blew their hair with its cool caress as they searched the incoming waters for Umiko.

"Alright guys, I think it would be best that each of the God Eaters with blades take a cure sample." Sora suggested, pulling out the case of needles and handed one to Lindow and Alisa. "If Umiko gets aggressive they'll be a higher chance of one of us getting the cure to her."

"!" Then the idea finally sunk in to Soma... Umiko would be resistant to strangers, they were going to have to fight her. But could he do it? Could he really raise his God Arc against Umiko?

"Kota and Sakuya will keep us covered as we try to give Umiko the dosage." Sora went over the strategy.

"Roger." "Got'cha." Sakuya and Kota both confirmed with a nod.

"She's stronger than usual, so we have to stay on our toes." He added in as he walked over to Soma. He held out Soma's cure needle, but Soma didn't move to take it. "Soma?"

"..." Soma looked into Sora questioning gaze then down at the needle sample in Sora's hand. "I don't think I can do this..."

"We have to do this." Sora insisted to him.

"I can't hurt Umiko... even if it's for her own good." Soma grunted, clinching his fists. "The mere thought of it is sickening."

"... I know how you're feeling. She's my sister, and I have to hurt her." Sora sympathized with him. "But she needs this, Soma."

"... Sorry." Soma hung his head low to hide his face under his hood. "I know what we have to do, but I can't. I'm not... I'm not strong enough."

"..." Sora moved closer to Soma, grabbing Soma's wrist he open up the fist. Placing the needle in Soma's palm before letting go. "When the time comes you will be..."

"..." Soma just stared at the little needle in his hand, feeling it grow heavy in weight at the pressure it brought upon the situation. Umiko had only four shots to be saved, and they all ride upon such a small sample in a needle. But thoughts were interrupted as the sound of a large wave and a battle cry came from the beach below. "!"

She had arrived... Resurfacing, Umiko was tired, sore, and heavy in breath as she crawl the rest of the way onto shore. Seaweeds and starfish decorated her hair, her tentacles' top covered her breasts for the most part, she was like a maiden of the sea washed to shore. She laid down, flat on her stomach, and rested her head in the warm sand. One arm stretched out as she gave in to fatigue. She looked so enchanting at that moment and yet so pitiful. Harpoons still lounged in her back, their chains dangling and clinking with the wind as they blew and hit their harpoon's rod. Her tentacles for legs still rested slightly in the water, scratches and bites covered her body as if she had gotten into fights while out there.

Struggling to rise on her tentacles again, Umiko settle for sitting up right. She cringed and gasped as she forced herself to turn back into normal size, crawling into the tropical forest as the process went on. The spears plopped out as her body began to shrink.

"She's getting away. Let's move out." Lindow ordered as the others rushed back into the forest again, heading downward to the area that she disappeared to behind the trees.

The tropical animals made their noises as the team push their way through the overgrowth. Slicing vines and bushes out of the way as they proceeded. Soma followed behind, lacking the energy to go through with this. Soon they had found themselves in a clearing, where noting but dirt and dead leaves graced their feet. But that's when Lindow suddenly stopped the team, surprising the others to a screeching halt.

"Lindow? Why'd you stop?" Sakuya asked.

"Haven't you guys noticed?"

"?" They all looked around, trying to see what he was talking about. But they found nothing out of the ordinary.

"The forest... it's gone quiet."

"!" He was right, the birds had stopped their chirping, the bugs had silence, the forest had grown dead quiet. Something was wrong.

Then the sound of breaking branches came from in front of them. Umiko had wobbled out of the brush, turned back into her normal self. Her white bodysuit was tattered and shredded, barely able to survive the beating she had taken awhile ago. She looked down, holding onto her stomach as she limply leaned into the tree to hold herself up.

Starfish and Seaweed still hung into her wild hair as sea-salt made it look like it sparkled. She smelt of the sea and her gloves were long since gone as it revealed her dainty hands. She tiredly looked up to them, causing them to hold their breaths as they waited for her reaction.

"Why?... Why must you children of earth torment me so?" She tiredly wailed to them. "What have I done... to deserve this?"

"Umiko... you're not well. We're here to help you." Sora calmly soothed to her, so as not to wild her up. Perhaps if he played his cards right, this whole thing could be solved without conflict.

"Umiko? What a pretty name... I wish I had a name like that."

"You can't remember your name?" Alisa sadly asked with pity.

"No... I have no name. Neither a beginning or an origin. I simply... exist."

"!"

"O what a cruel existence I awakened to. Aragami attack me, humans try to destroy me. Is there no place where I can belong?"

"You do have a place," Sakuya insisted. "With us. You have a very special place in our hearts, Umiko. And we'll travel through anything to get you back."

"No... I am just a beast. You are God Eaters of mankind. Your task is to eliminate me, and so you deceive my youth with your luring words."

"No, you've got it all wrong!" Sakuya cried out to deny her accusations.

"God Eaters, do you think I am pitiful?" Umiko pondered to them. "Does my plight bring joy to you?"

"?!"

"No, Umiko... we don't take pleasure in your pain." Kota insisted. "We just... we just want to help you."

"From what? Me? Or yourselves? Whichever is useless to me."

"No, Umiko. Do not say such things." Alisa pleaded. "You're losing yourself, you're losing what makes you 'you'."

"How do you know I've ever had it?"

"Because we know the real you." Soma finally spoke up to her. Her body slightly flinched as her eyes met his, and a small gasp escaped her lips.

"You all call out as if you know me. Who are you? What... am I?" She then looked directly into Soma's eyes. "Why do I feel like I've lost some thing?"

"!" Those eyes... those pleading eyes, it was like Umiko was searching right into his eyes. She then turned away from him, releasing him from her captivating gaze, and sighed.

"Ahhh, home. That's it, I must find a home... my home. Or, I might never find peace in this world." Then her stomach roared out in agony and neglect as she looked down at it. "Ugh, I'm so hungry... so hungry."

"?!" They all panicked as her pupils began to slit when she looked back up at them. There was a ravishing look in her eyes.

"Am I... an Aragami?" A headache came over her, causing her to clinch her head in pain as she flinched. "Who is it? Whose calling me? Where are you? Stop telling me what to do! I'm... starving."

"Umiko?!" Kota called out to her, freaking out when she suddenly let out a roar. In his panic, he accidentally pulled the trigger of his God Arc, hitting her with a bullet to the chests. Umiko cried out as she fell back onto the ground.

"Kota!" They all barked at him.

"It was an accident, my finger slipped!" Kota said apologetically.

"Heh hahaha, so you were playing with me." Umiko brokenly taunted to them. Rising off her back to twist her body so as to lift herself up on her hands. Hanging her head low as her hair covered her face. "Getting my guard down to finish me off."

"Umiko, no. That was-"

"Fine, I'll play with you... for a little while." Umiko cut Kota off, having enough of their deception. Her head still hung low as she rose to her feet, hiding from the others her face. "But I'd better hurry, I need to find something to eat. I don't think you guys would taste very good. Heh hehehahaha!"

"Umiko, stop!" Sakuya pleaded to her.

"Make this worth my while, or I'll bite your heads off." Umiko chuckled before roaring as she leaped at them. Fangs showing as she widely grinned at them, she pulled her Caligula blades out in mid air. Meeting her in mid air, Sora met her blades with his Borg Camlann needle blades. Pushing against her as she initiated the fight.

"Umiko, stop. Please, sister." Sora begged to her, only to earn a laugh in return. She wasn't backing down, thus proving so when she flipped backwards and sliced Sora with the Caligula blades on her leg. Cutting deep into his cheek as she caught him off guard.

"Dammit," Lindow hissed, hoping that it wouldn't come down to this. "Everyone, battle positions! We have to take her down!"

"!" Soma was frozen, he couldn't move as everyone else readied for action. This couldn't be happening? He must have been having a bad dream. This was a nightmare and he couldn't wake up as his team wearily attacked a blood lust Umiko to his horror.

"Soma! What are you doing, fight!" Lindow called out to him.

"I... I can't." Soma said as he watched Umiko slice at her brother with one arm blade, coming at his opening with the other arms'.

"I know you care about her, we all do! This hurts us for doing this!" Lindow reasoned with Soma as he tried to distract Umiko's other arm blades away from Sora. "But this is the only way to reach Umiko before she fades!"

"..."

"Soma!"

"Never mind him for now! We need to get the antidote into Umiko right now!" Alisa commented to Lindow, reminding him what priority was first.

"Right, everyone stay on your game."

Kota and Sakuya ran around the opening, circling Umiko as she was unable to pinpoint one of them with her divine balls she shot out from her hands. Moving behind her, Kota shot at her back. Distracting her for a moment so Sora could stab his antidote needle into her front. Put she sensed his sudden movement and grabbed his neck, choking him into submission as she dangled him in the air.

"Poison?" She question aloud, taking the needle from his hand and throwing it into the ground to smash it. "I expected better from you God Eaters."

"!" Sora eyes widened as she tightened her grip on his neck, making him struggle for air. This wasn't like those times in the training room, she was not holding back. Once she caught him she didn't care if she killed him. Changing the arm gripping his neck into Devouring-mode, she began to close the jaws tighter. Shoving him on the ground in its grip, while she readied her other arm to bite off his head. But Alisa came in at the nick of time, firing her God Arc into Umiko's face to knock her off him. Sora took in a heavy breath as her grip was removed.

"Hang in there! You're alright." Sakuya called out to Sora as she fired Recovery Bullets at him.

"Thanks..." He replied to her in gratitude as his breath slowly returned to him. But one of the needles has been broken, they only had three shots now.

"Here!" Alisa said, throwing down a Stun Grenade.

"Ah ehgh! My eyes!" Umiko cried out as she covered her eyes with her arm. Taking advantage of her moments blindness, Alisa charged in to stab her antidote needle into Umiko's neck from behind. But she was caught off guard when Umiko's hand grabbed her arm before the needle even touched Umiko's neck. Alisa gasped as Umiko turned her head to look at Alisa with her eyes. "Did you think that would hold me for long? My main attribute is LIGHT!"

"AH!" Alisa cried out as Umiko shot out a Divine Burst from her body, knocking Alisa back hard into a tree. During her knock back she had let go of her grip on her needle and it ended up dropping to the floor. Rolling on the ground toward Umiko, where she smashed the needle under her boot, letting the liquid soak into the ground. "No!"

"Dammit!" Lindow barked, their chances of saving her were dwindling. He needed to reach her or Soma would have to snap out of it.

During the struggle, an old tape player fell out of Umiko's belt bag onto the ground were it landed on the play button. The tape inside began to play a song, with a message that shock Soma and the others back to life as it struck a cord.

"Sora, it's just you and me in this wreckage of a world.

That must be so confusing for a lonely boy.

And I know you're going to need me here with you,"

Umiko still continued to attack, regardless of the recording of her own voice. The others did their best to listen to it while keeping Umiko at bay.

"But I'm losing myself and I'm afraid you're gonna lose me too."

She flipped back, away from the others. Then charged back at Sora, roaring as a fire burned in her eyes.

"This liquid keeps me alive,

But it's making me crazy.

And I need to save you,

But whose going to save me?

Please forgive me for whatever I do,

When I don't remember you."

She paused in her song, giving the others a chance to process what Umiko was saying on the tape. She had known what was happening to her and she was scared about it. Even as she settled her affairs for the worse to come, she still wished that someone would save her. Sora started to see an image of his sister as she use to be, looking at him with a big frown on her sad face.

"Sora, I can feel myself slipping away.

I can't remember what it made me say.

But I remember seeing you frown.

I swear it wasn't me, it was the fiend."

Umiko was reminding them that she wasn't herself... as she attacked them indiscriminately. This was her goodbye and her apology.

"This liquid keeps me alive,

But it's making me crazy.

And I need to save you,

But whose going to save me?

Please forgive me for whatever I do,

When I don't remember you.

Please forgive me for whatever I do,

When I don't remember you.

La, la da da da da da.

La da, da da da da.

La da, da da da da."

As the tape ended, something happened inside of Soma sparked. The message was for Sora, but she was calling out to him... begging him to save her. Even as she lost her memories something inside her reached for him, unknowingly so, but still just as desperate. She was counting on him... and he would not let her down.

"This again?!" Umiko barked in annoyance as she smashed Lindow's needle in her grip, somehow snatching it from Lindow while Soma was thinking to himself. Her annoyance grew into anger as she started to slip back into a Blood Rage. "I grow tired of this tactic."

"Aw Crap!" Lindow yelled out before turning to Soma. "Soma! It's all you now!"

"Alright..." Soma quietly replied as he finally entered into the fight, no... walked into it. He had one shot, this was a gamble they couldn't afford to lose.

"Oh? You decided to join in the fray, Empty Eyes?" Umiko teased at him as she fully changed into her normal size Blood Rage.

"..."

"Well I was bored anyway, perhaps you can entertain me!" She laughed at him, leaping into the air as she pounced at him with her Devouring-mode arms and her sharp fangs.

But Soma remained unmoving, staring at her as she charge in on him. Moving his God Arc to the side of his body, he left himself open. Letting go of his grip on the Buster blade onto one arm, Soma stabbed his God Arc into the ground as far away from him as he could reach.

"?!"

"What are you doing Soma?!" Kota asked him in panic, ready to fire at Umiko so she didn't end up biting off Soma's head.

"Stay back! Everybody back off!" Soma bark at Kota and the others, leaving Umiko unharmed and open to any choice of action she would choose to make. If he had to do this, he was going to do it his way. Looking directly into her eyes, Soma opened his arms out to her. Unarmed and nonthreatening as he opened himself to her for a hug.

"!" Umiko didn't know how to react to this. He left himself open to her, unwilling to attack. Could she possibly strike a being who has done her no harm nor showed her any malice? She had lost her bite, her Devouring arms changed back into hands again. And her fangs returned to hiding behind her lips as she fell into his arms, her head placed in between his head and right shoulder. Her eyes widened as he gently embraced her with one arm and held her close. I-it felt so... warm.

He had slightly pulled away to kiss her on the lips, something he had wanted to do deep down for a long time. Her eyes widened at his actions, this wasn't an attack or tactic she had ever encountered before. She couldn't find a way to react or counter to this... intrusion. Soma pressed his lips hard onto Umiko's, but still softly as he caress her soft delighting flesh with his slightly rough ones. Her lips were as soft as he remembered them being from before and had a slight taste of sea-salt on them as he caressed them. Reluctantly breaking apart, and surprisingly to Umiko's disappointment as well, he pulled her back into his embrace again. Resting Umiko's head between his shoulder and head.

"I feel it every day, it's all the same. It brings me down, but I'm the one to blame." Soma explained to her in a soft voice he rarely showed to others. "It's dragging me down, but I can't pull away."

"?" She listened to his words

"I tried everything to get away from you. But here I go again, chasing you down again. Why do I do this?" Soma continued, unconsciously tightening his embraced on Umiko as he started to growl. Frustrated at himself for struggling to tell her this while also embarrassed for doing this around the others. "So many thoughts that I can't get out of my head. I try to live without you, but every time I do I feel dead inside. I know what's best for me, but I want you instead."

"!"

"You keep running away from me, always forgetting me and leaving me to start all over. But I keep doing this again, I'll keep on wasting all my time for those beautiful moments when I come close to you." Soma went on. "So here I go again, chasing you down again. But each time, over and over, I fall for you. I try not to, but you make me fall for you and you don't even try to. So I keep trying, I will continue doing this until I win you back."

"!" Umiko gasped, she didn't even know this man and yet... his words made her happy. A spark started to grow inside her, and tears of joy began to form in her eyes. This man was sincere, she could hear it in his heart as it started to flutter. She found herself relaxing into this man, he made her feel... safe. A warm feeling came over her body while in this man's arms and she didn't want it to end. Soon she fully relaxed into him, her chin rested onto his shoulder as her eyes closed, soaking in the sensation she was feeling that was growing due to this man. "..."

"!" But something smacked Umiko out of her bliss. The feelings still remained, but a slight pain had came over her chest. Slightly pulling away from Soma, she looked down between them to see what was causing the pain. She gasped as she found a needle stabbed into the center of her heart... by the arm that wasn't hugging her that she failed to keep track of. The liquid was gone, injected into her system. She looked up into his eyes with the feeling of betrayal, but his sad, sincere eyes told that it wasn't that.

She felt weakened, a dizziness came over her and made it hard for her to keep her eyes open. Umiko began to fall to the ground, her hands sliding down Soma's chest as she slid down. But Soma held onto her back, gently lowering her to the ground and rested her in his arms. Gently rocking her as he pulled out the emptied needle from her chest. Umiko tiredly lifted her head to look back up to him, staring into his spring blue eyes. Her hand wobble up toward them, and its fingers made their way to caressing the cheek skin close to his right eye.

"... So...ma..."

"!" His eyes widened and his heart skipped at the sound of his name from her lips. "Umiko?! Do you remember me?"

"Barely... It's all such a blur..." She answered, her body was changing back to normal... her old voice was returning. "But it's... coming back... it hurts..."

"Shh, don't talk. Save your energy." Soma soothed to her as the others gathered around them, still giving Umiko some space.

"Soma... what happen to Empty Eyes?" She pleaded to him for an answer as she struggle to fight her fatigue to get the question out.

"... He's dead..." He somberly answered, his heart slightly breaking as lone tears started to escape her eyes.

"I was afraid of that..." Her hand no longer able to reach out to him began to fall, but he caught it and held it in a strong but gentle hold. "I was hoping that... it was all a dream."

"Even if his passing still hurts, he died protecting the thing he held dear. He left this world happy and at peace, never forget that."

"..." She nodded to him and slowly started to close her eyelids. "I-I'm so tired... would you mind... if I rest here for awhile?"

"Hm, sure. I'll be waiting for you when you wake up."

"Thank you." She tiredly smiled at him as her eyes slowly closed and she faded into the darkness.

Once fully asleep, Soma gently lifted her up and carried her back toward the Extraction Point. Holding her like a princess as he walked pass the others while pulling out his God Arc from the ground and holding it in one arm, away from Umiko. The others said nothing as they let him pass, they didn't even have the heart to tease him at his bold confession. It had come from the heart, and the whole thing felt like they were watching in on something private.

Sora couldn't care less, he had gotten his sister back and that was good enough for him. He had already picked up Soma's affection for his sister the moment he met him. The uncalled for jealousy towards him was not hard for Sora to detect and neither were the slight increase of heartbeats when she was around Soma. His sister was unable to categorize these behaviors but Sora could, he had been in the game longer than Umiko to be able to understand and detect certain signs and characteristics of emotions. And right now... he was just in way too much of a good mood to deal with Soma right now.

*** Author's Notes ***

Yes I used the Three Days Grace song 'Over and Over' as a base for this chapter, it fit perfectly with the situation. Anyway, the end is at hand. The final chapter is coming.