"RUN!" Was the last thing Jason heard before he was pulled down by Nifa. They barely dodged two gunshots. Getting a grip, he pushed a trigger to release air behind him. Flipping sideways, he followed Nifa to the neighboring alleyway.

But it wasn't over. Jason saw the shadows catching up to them. His grappling hook punctured the roof of another building. Nifa, flying right next to him was wide eyed, her peach colored bangs flowing through the air erratically.

"Nifa! What do we do? They have guns!"

She looked at him and yelled, "And we have blades!" He could see the fear in her yellow colored eyes, but it didn't stop her from arming herself. "For now we play it by ear and we stay alive!" Pressurized air propelled her forward.

Jason followed suit and yelled, "ROGER!"

As soon as he armed himself, gunshots followed them. Nifa dodged downward, while Jason went up. I'm using too much air! Suddenly two ODM gear users came under him, pointing their muzzles. DAMN!

A peach blur stabbed one of the assailants in his chest, distracting the women ODM user. Jason used that chance to hit his grappling hook to the budling behind her, grazing her leg in the process. He retracted his line and in one motion, kicked the attacker into a window behind her. Her yell couldn't be heard over the shattering glass. Jason then rolled onto the ground in the cover of an alley. He ran.

Nifa was in the air above him. Jason pulled on the right trigger releasing air behind him and fired a grappling hook in her direction. The afternoon sun was to their left, meaning Nifa was headed south. She must be headed for the warehouse! If they could reach the others, they might have a fighting chance...

Jason heard gunshots to his right. He saw smoke and destroyed roofs. Levi… There was no time to worry about him. Stay alive! Nifa had told him. She stabbed that man. She had killed him. Was he ready to do that? What about that woman he kicked into the building? Was she dead?

"JASON!" Nifa's yell took him out of his thoughts. But not in time. His face slammed into a sign for a bar, flipping him upside down. Not letting go of his hook in time, his gear lurched him back, and his shoulder slammed into the wall of the building.

That's when Jason saw the blonde pony tailed women. She flew into the air from across the street. Dark blue eyes pierced his. She wore a neutral expression, as if she was going to get a cup of coffee.

Instead, a pair of muzzles were pointed at him. He wouldn't be able to dodge. He was still falling, and the wire twisting around his arm made it impossible for him to retract his grappling hook in time.

I'm dead.

The last thing he saw before he crashed were blurs of yellow and peach.

"I'm an orphan." Nifa was balancing on the fence outside of the safe house. Jason looked up at her from his sitting position on the ground. Nifa was showing him a technique she used as a cadet to master her balance with the complicated ODM gear. "That's why I don't have a last name."

Jason felt pity, "I'm sorry."

Her right leg rose in the air to keep her balance. The young woman shook her head. "It's alright. I may not be related to anyone by blood, but I do have a family."

Jaon tilted his head, "Were you adopted?"

The soldier shook her head again. "I joined the military because I had no family. Those years on my own were rough." Suddenly, swinging her arms, she leaped off the wooden bar, flipping backwards into the air and landing with both feet on the fence. Hands outstretched, she bowed to her audience. Jason clapped at the performance.

"Joining the scouts," She huffed as she hopped down, "meeting Ms. Hange and the Captain, and getting to know everyone in my squad. They became the family I always wanted." She helped the boy to his feet, "I hope one day you can see us the same way." She gave him a sweet smile.

Jason took a deep breath. He woke up from the memory in tears. Everything smelled horrible. His stomach felt like it was being impaled and the entire right side of his body was aching.

What happened? Where am I? He was upside down, stomach lying on a metal beam. He tried to get up. All the effort made him fall into whatever the horrible smell was. Shadows from the setting sun made it hard to see his surroundings. He seemed to be in a metal box of some sort. Piles of bags of what he assumed were trash surrounded him.

As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, a horrible sight encountered him.

An ODM gear user was lying unmoving in the trash across from him. Blood covered her chest. He couldn't see her face, but the peach colored hair was unmistakable. He moved closer, crawling to the body through the trash and the pain. His torso ached, but he had to know. Grabbing the body's wrist, he checked for a pulse.

Nothing was there.

The tears couldn't help themselves.

Nifa was dead.