When I opened my eyes, I saw a different ceiling than the one I blew a hole into, and the hard floor I laid on turned into something soft and warm. Blinking my eyes a

few times, I turned my head to find myself lying on a bed in a large room; the precinct conference room, actually. Several beds were collected and lined up in rows

throughout the room, almost every bed filled with injured people, mostly fellow officers. Some were asleep, while others lay awake speaking with friends and loved

ones, all sporting different injuries. There are also a few nurses and doctors walking around, attending to patients. That's right: a number of doctors and nurses were

called on to stay behind after the evacuation.

Feeling a little sore, I slowly sat up on my bed, to which a few officers noticed as they quickly huddled all around me, asking how I felt, what the monsters were, and

such; it was a bit overwhelming, so I was glad when I heard Daniel's voice telling them to give me some room as he made his way over, beaten and bruised, but well.

We both smiled at each other as he pulled up a nearby chair and sat down, the chair creaking under his weight.

As we spoke, I found out that 22 of us were killed, and another 30 wounded, including Nix and Warner. The lizard monsters were all killed, and there was no sign of

Eve anywhere, though I'm still not sure if I should be happy or concerned for this. I sighed out, looking down at my lap, my jeans torn and stained. Daniel placed a

hand on my leg, shaking me slightly. "You did great, partner. Don't blame yourself for all of this. If you weren't here, well… I don't even want to think about it." he

consoled me. I looked up at him and gave him a half smile, nodding my head slightly. "So, how long was I out for?" I asked him, looking toward the nearby window to

see that the setting sun was replaced with darkness. "Just a few hours; it's already past midnight. You fought really hard back there. And it looks like you've learned

some new tricks, huh?" he told me, referring to my fight with Sheeva.

I nodded my head at Daniel, looking down at my hands. "Yeah, I guess I did. It's weird though. It felt like it was something I was always able to do, and I just kinda

remembered it at the nick of time." I told him, smiling lightly. "Anyway, how are Ben and the Chief?" I asked him, looking around the room in search of them. Daniel

turned slightly to point at the far corner of the room, opposite the door. "They're doing fine. They're both resting over there. Baker got hurt pretty bad when he tried

to defend my boy from Sheeva, but luckily it wasn't too serious." he said, before sighing out. "Aya, I want to thank you again-" he started, but I already knew where

this was going, so I held up a hand to silence him, which he did. "Stop. It's not needed." I told him simply, smiling at him as I rose from the bed. Daniel chuckled to

himself, nodding his head.

I walked among the other patients in the room, speaking with some of them. Honestly, I kinda feel guilty. I was hurt badly like

everyone else, but only I'm able to heal this quickly. I get to stand and walk and run and whatever after a few hours of sleep, but everyone else has to suffer longer

as they heal; some of these officers are even permanently disabled. But however guilty I feel, it doesn't compare to my hatred for Eve. I swear that I'll make her pay

for everything, no matter how long it takes me.

As I mingled with my fellow officers and enjoyed their company, a quick and sudden sickening feeling came over me, as if a veil of malice had cloaked me. Gasping

out loudly, I looked up at the ceiling, biting my lip. Daniel, who was standing next to me, stopped what he was doing to look at me, along with some other officers.

"Aya? You okay? What's wrong?" he asked. My face contorted with rage as I looked at him, my hands balled into fists. "It's Eve. I sense her." A look of expected

shock flashed across his face at the news. "What?! Where?!" he asked hurriedly. I quickly rushed past him as I approached the blackboard on the opposite wall, which

had a map of Manhattan pinned on it. I quickly found the precinct as my eyes scanned it over. "She's south of here." I told him as I ran my finger along the map,

trying to figure out the distance. "It's hard to pinpoint her. I don't think she's too far off. But… it doesn't make sense. There's nothing down there. Why would she be

there?" I spoke out, mostly to myself as I tried to get inside Eve's head. Think, Aya. What could she be planning?

"If I had to guess, I'd say she's probably at St. Francis Hospital." a familiar voice spoke out. I turned my head toward its source to see Maeda standing behind me.

"Why do you say that?" I asked him as he stepped next to me, looking at the map as well. Maeda pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose as he looked at

me. "Think about it. Think about the way the precinct was attacked, how no one was burned, and how Eve never showed up." he answered. I sighed out, looking down

as I nodded. "Yeah. I had a feeling. This whole attack was a distraction; a distraction for me." I replied, to which Maeda nodded. "Yes, precisely. Everything that

transpired here was an effort to keep you from noticing her real objective." Daniel stepped up toward us this time, a scowl on his face. "Do you mean that Ultimate

Being thing?" he asked, to which Maeda nodded. "Yes. Do you two remember what I told you? About how this happened once before?" he asked, to which we nodded

this time. "Yeah, you said she created the Ultimate Being once before by using the scientist's sperm, with his dead wife's body." I answered, but then I noticed what I

said, my brow furrowed. "Wait… did she create it?" I asked, trying to remember our conversation back then. Maeda nodded his head, looking at the map again. "Yes,

she did, though it didn't live for very long. It died shortly after it was conceived. And the reason for that had to do with the sperm she used." he told us.

Daniel and I exchanged confused glances at this. "What do you mean by that?" Daniel asked. Maeda turned back to us, pushing up his glasses again. "The Ultimate

Being was impure. The DNA code it received from the sperm isn't compatible with Eve's cells. As such, the Ultimate Being's body could not contain it's power.

However, she needs sperm to birth the Ultimate Being at all, so I guess you could say it's a catch-22. So, how could she birth the Ultimate Being then?" Daniel and I

looked at each other again, unsure of what to say, though I don't think Maeda wanted us to answer, since he spoke again quickly. "She'll need sperm that doesn't

contain a genetic code from the father, but can still fertilize an egg." he said. I frowned at this, crossing my arms. "But that's not possible." I replied, to which Maeda

nodded. "Yes, you're right. It's impossible through natural means." he told us, to which I knew that had to mean something bad.

Then, without saying anything, Maeda turned to the blackboard, picked up a piece of chalk, and started to write on an unused space. He wrote down a bunch of

numbers and symbols I couldn't understand. Once he finished writing down his formula, he put down the chalk, turning to us again. "Do you know what this is?" he

asked. Daniel scoffed, turning his head away. "I haven't been in school in years! You expect me to remember math problems?!" he retorted, but Maeda merely

chuckled. "No, no. This isn't a typical formula from school. You see, when we went to Dr. Klamp's lab, I noticed this equation among his research notes. I wasn't sure

what to make of it exactly, until this incident happened. You see, this equation that I memorized from his notes is proof that Dr. Klamp was able to create artificial

semen." I blinked my eyes a few times when Maeda told us this, my gaze meeting Daniel's, and back again. "Huh? Artificial semen? Are you serious?" "Yes, I'm quite

serious." he replied. "I don't know why, but Dr. Klamp is working with Eve, and he created artificial semen for her; semen that can fertilize an egg, but has no genetic

code by itself. If Eve impregnates herself with this semen, she would birth an Ultimate Being that is made up purely of her own cells." he told us.

I bit my lip again, looking down. "And that's not good for us, right? But, why do you think she's at St. Francis Hospital?" I asked him, looking up again. "You said she's

south of here, right? Well, that's the only place she would be, since one of that hospital's services is artificial insemination. That's also where Dr. Klamp did his

research, according to his notes." he told me, to which I gasped. "What?! Then everything is ready for her! Damn!" I shouted, running out of the room and down the

hall. "Aya! Wait!" Daniel shouted, running after me, with Maeda following behind.

I ran toward the garage of the precinct and flipped the switch to open the gate, making my way toward a car. "Aya, wait! You can't go alone! I'll come with you!"

Daniel shouted, catching up with me, Maeda close behind. "No way." I replied, turning toward them. "Look, you're injured, and not to be blunt, but the two of you

would get in my way. I need to focus all of my attention on Eve. I can't fight her how I want if I have to worry about you two." I told him. Daniel scowled at this and

looked down, but I can tell he understood. After a moment, he nodded his head, looking at me again. "Alright. But you better come back in one piece. You got that?"

he told me, extending his hand. Smiling and chuckling, I walked past his hand and embraced him around his large gut. "You got it." I replied. Stepping into the car, I

started the ignition and floored the gas pedal, the car screeching away as I headed south, toward St. Francis Hospital.