I groaned out dully, my head pounding painfully as I coughed out bits of dust from my mouth. I slowly opened my eyes, my vision slowly coming back into focus,

finding myself back in the Egyptian exhibit alone. I slowly pushed myself up from the floor, sitting myself down against the wall, panting deeply. I then became

aware of the bits of slimy goo all over my body. "Oh right… That thing attacked me…" I muttered to myself, my eyes wandering to where Eve was sitting, but

the throne was vacant now. My eyes then wandered back to the large hole in the wall directly opposite me, and this one wasn't made by me… It happened too

quickly, which definitely surprised me. While I spoke with Eve, a giant orange and slimy fist punched straight through the wall. I only had enough time to see it

before it smash me up against the opposite wall. Cursing to myself, I wiped some of the slime from my clothes as I stood up, making my way towards the hole.

I placed a hand on the side as I peered outside, looking down at the street. I instantly heard the cheering of Daniel and Maeda down below as they saw me

emerge from the room. I couldn't help but smile at them before I focused my attention on the road, which housed a long, slimy trail which ran down southwest

for as far down as I could see.

So, it took Eve. Luckily it was easy enough to follow. "I can't afford to waste time. It's only been almost two days, but Eve is already so large. Who knows how

long we have until she gives birth to the Ultimate Being?" I jumped off the large hole and landed swiftly on my feet as Daniel and Maeda made their way over

to me. "I'm so glad you're okay! We got worried when that slime thing punched into the building!" Maeda shrieked out. Daniel nodded at the statement, but his

face was grim. I could understand why, though. That slime is the gathered mass of everyone who was in Central Park, including his ex-wife Lorraine. I couldn't

tell what Daniel may have been thinking, and I wasn't sure what I could say to him, so I was relieved when Maeda spoke next. "Oh, that's right! Aya, I learned

something from Klamp's computer that you won't believe!" Daniel seemed to have gotten out of a trance at that point, because his eyes widened. "Yeah, that's

right! Aya, we found out what kind of medication Melissa Pearce had been taking!" he cried out. That's right. It hasn't been that long, but it sure felt like years,

so it was easy for me to forget that Eve's current body originally belonged to Melissa Pearce, that poor opera singer who performed at Carnegie Hall. I found

her diary backstage where she wrote that she had been taking medication, and a lot of it. Maeda continued. "We found out that she had been taking

immunosuppresants." he revealed. My brow furrowed at this. "Immo-what?" I replied, rather stupidly, but Maeda didn't seem to mind or care.

"Immunosuppresants. You see, Melissa suffered kidney failure when she was a teenager, so she had to get a transplant. But you can't just take any organ, it

has to be compatible or the body would reject it as if it were a virus. But even if you find a match, the body may still try to reject it anyway. Melissa's new

kidney was at risk for rejection, so she had to take immunosuppresants to prevent her own body from killing her." I just stared at Maeda as he spoke,

wondering what the heck this had to do with anything. "So what?" I asked impatiently. Maeda and Daniel looked at each other with grim expressions, before

Daniel looked at me again. "The donor was named Maya Brea."

It took me a few seconds to register what Daniel just told me. "Wait… what? Maya?" I spoke out, my eyes falling to the ground. "Is Maya your sister? You never

mentioned her." Daniel spoke out. I sighed out, before looking back up at them. "Well..." I started to reply, unsure of how to explain it, but at that moment a

loud, whirling sounded broke out around us. I looked up at the source of the sound to see a large, black helicopter making its way toward us. It hovered

overhead briefly before slowly landing down on the street, the wind generated by its blades blowing dust and trash in all directions. I then saw a man dressed

in a black uniform that I thought only secret agents in movies wore jump out and make his way towards us. "Are you Aya Brea of Precinct 17 of the New York

Police Department?" the man asked while saluting us. I looked at Daniel and Maeda, who seemed as confused as I felt before I answered. "Yes, I am. Who are

you and how did you know who I was?" I asked him. He lowered his hand and gestured towards the helicopter. "Your Chief, Brian Irons, told us about you. I'm

with the United States Navy, and my commander has called for you. Please, come with us." he answered. "The Chief? Is he alright? What about everyone else

at the precinct?" I asked, a little surprised to hear about the Chief like this. "Everyone is safe. Please, everything will become clear once you come with us." I

furrowed my brow again as I looked over at Daniel, who returned my gaze and nodded silently. So, with that, the three of us followed the soldier into the

helicopter and were floating into the air above the buildings, heading for the Hudson River.

I looked out at the city and was simply captivated by the state it was in. It was easy to forget after everything that had happened, but from way up where I

sat, the city was really quiet and deserted. Not a single person was seen for miles all around, and I was certain that if it wasn't for the sound of the helicopter's

rotors, the deafening silence would unnerve me. I think that was maybe the first time I had really come to appreciate the hustle and noise of the big city.

Seeing it as quiet and still as this made me feel like I was looking down at the corpse of a giant, and it actually made me feel sad, almost like as if it was

unnatural.

As I surveyed the city, I noticed there were patches of fiery wreckages strewn about the streets. "Are those jets?" I asked aloud, before gasping out. Duh! I

had already seen a jet just recently! Up close and personal, in fact! So, they were with these guys. "Yeah, that's right." the soldier answered, sitting in the

co-pilot seat. "We tried fighting that slime monster just recently, but our weapons couldn't do a damn thing against it!" he shouted angrily. "Do you know

where it is now?" I asked him hurriedly. "Yeah." he answered, turning his head to look at me through his dark visors on his helmet. "It's in Lower Manhattan

right now. It looks like it might be heading towards the Hudson River." Huh? Why would it head towards the Hudson? I poked my head out of the helicopter

and scanned the horizon before finally noticing it. It looks very small from way up here, but there was no mistaking that mass of slime, and it was definitely

heading for the Hudson. But why, though?

Daniel patted me on my shoulder to get my attention as I tried to think of why Eve would need to go to the river when he asked me: "Aya, about Maya, you

never answered me. She's your sister, isn't she? Why did you never mention her?" My face fell when he asked me this question. I closed my eyes as I took a

deep breath, feeling the stares of both Daniel and Maeda as they waited for an answer. I opened my eyes again and looked at both of them in turn before

answering. "Because I didn't remember her."


The white haze slowly dissipated all around me, and I couldn't help but gasp at what I saw. I was no longer in the open field of grass, but at the side of a

mountain road. It was the middle of the night, with a full moon, no clouds in the sky and a low fog coiling all around me. Towards my right I could see a dense

forest that seemed to stretch for thousands of miles below me. The pleasant feeling of the grass from under my feet was replaced by the cold, hard feel of the

pavement. I was aware that I still had no clothing, but there was no one else around, save for the little girl next to me. "Where are we?" I asked her, but she

merely stepped forward and started to walk down the road. I called out to her, but she just ignored me, so I started after her.

It wasn't too long before we came across a bend in the road, the side of the mountain obscuring my vision. As we approached it, I became aware of flashing

lights from behind the mountain side, and they were lights I was all too familiar with. With a start, I sprinted down the road, turning the corner to see several

police cars and ambulances surrounding the scene of an accident. There were cops standing by the perimeter of the accident to hold of anyone who comes by,

but they didn't seem to be able to see me, which was a relief. Last thing I need right now is to get arrested for indecent exposure.

I came to a stop before the police barricade to see that the accident consisted of a rig with the front dented in, and an overturned car. The car was totally

smashed to bits, but that wasn't what really caught my attention. With my eyes wide open, I crossed the police barricade and made my way over to the middle

of the accident, past the smashed car. There were two bodies covered with sheets, but that wasn't what caught my attention. I noticed a circle of paramedics

crouching over something, and when I got near enough to see what it was, it felt like my heart was caught in an icy grip.

I remembered something. A dream that I always had, but could never make sense of. Bright lights and shattering windows, loud noises and screams of agony.

A coldness that I could never make out, and shots of pain that I couldn't bear. It made sense as I stared down at the bodies of two little girls. They were

clearly twins, with bright blonde hair. I couldn't remember anything besides my dream, even now as I stared down at myself. Wait… no… I do remember

something. Something that seemed so obvious, but still couldn't pin down, like a word that's at the tip of my tongue but could never form. I looked over at the

little girl, who stood behind me, regarding me silently.

Everything seemed to fade into darkness at that moment. I started to remember things more and more. Things which I had forgotten. My sister, my parents,

my home. It seemed so obvious at this point now, that I felt ashamed about it. The fact that I never could remember anything past the day I woke up in the

hospital. I couldn't remember anything, so I stopped trying to. I lived out my life in orphanages, growing up and becoming a police officer. Eventually, I started

to forget that I was hospitalized, and that I could never remember my childhood. I just forgot everything, and I became so used to it I wound up forgetting that

I forgot. An endless spiral of amnesia.

I just stood where I was, staring at the little girl as all of these revelations came into my mind. I couldn't believe how stupid I was to forget, and how I never

noticed it before. How this girl looked remarkably like myself. But still, even now, I felt like there was something I still couldn't grasp hold of. This girl told me I

had to face something painful, but I don't think it happened yet. Just what could it be, then? What could be worse than forgetting your life, and your family? As

these questions floated around in my mind, I clenched my fists, trying to focus instead on the girl before me. "You're Maya, aren't you?" She said nothing, nor

did she make any kind of indication that she even heard me. Her blonde hair and blue eyes seemed to shine brightly in the darkness we found ourselves

standing in. When she finally did speak, it was with a voice so small and pained, it struck at my heart. "You're going to have to make a choice. It's a choice that

will not only affect you, but everything in this world. But to do it, you need to remember something painful. Something truly painful."

Maya lifted her arm and suddenly bright light erupted out of nowhere. It looked like a hole in space, but I couldn't tell since it blinded me. "Don't lose sight of

yourself, Aya. Your ultimate destiny is yet to be fulfilled, and you're still too vulnerable. Your battles are just starting, and your opponents aren't so obvious.

Beware of the Purebred and believe in your power."

Before I could say anything else, the bright light engulfed everything, and I soon found myself standing on the roof of the St. Francis Hospital, fully clothed and

the sun setting. Too many things happened all at once, but for the first time since this whole mess started, I felt calm. Some things still didn't make any sense

to me, but I felt like I understood more, so that's okay. Besides, I had more important things to do. I set my sights toward the north where I felt Eve's power

tug at me the strongest, and I instantly knew where to head: The Metropolitan Museum of Natural History.