"Aya." My eyes snapped open at the sound of my name. I suddenly found myself not underwater, but in a pure white expanse of space. I was still floating, but

I could breath and there was absolutely nothing around, just white. Did I die? I didn't have time to contemplate that once I realized that it was Maya who

called for me, floating next to me with a clear sadness on her face. "Maya…" I muttered, unsure of what to say. I mean, what could I say? Sorry for failing? But

Maya said nothing of it, instead her sadness being replaced with a look of rage, the change so quick that it startled me. "What?" I asked, but she said nothing,

choosing to continue to glare at me. This just made me angrier. "What do you want from me?! I did my best! I fought! I tried! But she's too strong! There was

nothing I could do!" I shouted out.

Maya kept her glare after my outburst. "What do you fear?" she asked me simply. I admit, I wasn't expecting this, my anger subsiding. "What? Fear?" "What do

you fear? Is it losing loved ones? Do you fear death? Do you fear Eve? Do you fear effort, or faith, or dependency?" she listed off, my mind racing to understand

what she was trying to say. What do I fear? Why ask me this? I looked away from her, unsure of what to say.

"You know what I think, Aya? I think you're a liar." I gasped at this, her face expressionless as she stared into my eyes. "You think I'm lying? About what?" I

asked. "I think you're lying about how much you really care. I don't think you became an officer because you held others in such high regard, and I don't think

you feel guilty about all those deaths." I could do nothing but stare at Maya. The way she said all that and in a voice that was so nonchalant was actually

making me very angry. "You think I'm a fraud? You think I'm that heartless?" I asked her hotly, my fingers digging into my hands as I clenched them tightly. "Not

entirely. I just think you're using the current situation as an excuse to run from your real problem; from your real fear." she spoke, hovering away slowly. "You

need to get over yourself. And fast." she added, her voice once again soft and sad.

Before I could say anything else, my vision faded back to black for an instant, before I was suddenly seized with a sharp, burning pain in my lungs. I coughed

out hard, a surge of water spewing out of my mouth. I sputtered and coughed and panted as my eyes fluttered open to see the night sky and bright moon

above me. It was then that I realized that I wasn't in the river anymore, but on land. Not only that, but Daniel was kneeling next to me, soaked and panting as

well, but alive. "Damn… that was close…" he muttered, coughing out. "Daniel…" I muttered, slowly sitting up before becoming acutely aware of how soaked and

cold I felt, but I ignored it. I just sat there on the ground, looking at Daniel as what Maya said to me ran through my mind. "I thought you died…" I muttered,

giving myself a small smile. "Of course not. Don't be dense, Aya." Daniel muttered, giving me a smile as well. "You and I are partners, through and through. I

always have your back. No way am I gonna die that easily." he continued, before giving me a thumbs up and a wink.

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire erupted in my ear drums. I quickly looked around before noticing that the entire Navy that was here was letting loose with

everything they had on Eve, who still floated up in the air. Explosions filled the sky as the missiles made contact with her barrier, but they did nothing at all, nor

did the hail of bullets from every direction so much as put a scratch on her. Several more ships and helicopters exploded into balls of flame before I noticed that

Eve was looking right down at me, and she didn't seem pleased at all. What was I gonna do? I felt empty and powerless. But, to be honest, I strangely felt

calm as well. Why? Did I come to terms with my death? As if reading my thoughts, Daniel sighed out as he stood up over me. "It's not over yet, Aya." he spoke,

holding out his hand for me to grab. I looked up at him, but didn't take his hand. "I'm not strong enough, Daniel. There's nothing I can do. I-" "Will you stop

with the excuses already?" he interrupted. My mouth remained open when he cut me off, before I downcast my eyes. "Aya, what are you so afraid of?"

I gasped at his question, looking up at him again. Maya asked me this same question. What was I afraid of? Well, lots of things… but… "Aya, you're not Eve.

You're nothing like her. You're better than her and you're not alone. So there's no reason to limit yourself. Stop holding back already." Daniel spoke. When he

said this, it felt like a bright light just shone from the inside of my head. My eyes and my mouth grew wide open, a strange sensation sweeping over me. And

then suddenly, out of nowhere, I understood. I was holding back. What I was afraid of… was turning into Eve. I was afraid of becoming too dependent on my

power. I was afraid of it consuming me. I was afraid of no longer being human. So I held back. I used only the amount that I allowed myself to feel comfortable

with. I was afraid of using too much. When I received this power, it became my mission to protect everyone who was around me. I felt like it was my duty. But

when I failed, I just resorted to feeling sorry for myself. I blamed Eve for my own shortcomings, and in turn, the feeling of responsibility weighed me down. I felt

like I had to do everything alone while preventing anymore injuries or deaths. "You need to get over yourself." That's what Maya told me. I always insisted to

Eve that I was just a normal person, but my feelings said otherwise. I felt superior to everyone else as I started to get drunk on the power I had, but the fear

of turning into Eve made me blind to this. I wanted to stop Eve while also ensuring everyone's safety? I tried to do everything at once but wound up with

nothing at all, gave up too easily, and blamed Eve for my own weaknesses because it was easier than admitting my fear.

This realization brought an end to my pain. Suddenly, I didn't feel so tired anymore. I still had plenty of power left, the portion that I was too afraid to use. I

rejected it mentally to the point that I convinced myself I had nothing left. At this point, I just chuckled. I couldn't help it. I can't believe how stupid I was.

Looking at Daniel again, I took his hand and let him help me to my feet. He looked me over and smiled, nodding his head. "See? I already know what you're

capable of. This fight ain't nowhere near done." I laughed out at this, nodding my head as well.

I looked up at Eve, who was still staring down at me. The hail of gunfire seemed to stop after she destroyed several more ships and helicopters. "I get it now.

By trying to do everything myself, I wound up with nothing, and I acted like a brat the whole time. I didn't believe in myself enough, nor in the people who

supported me." I commented, looking back at Daniel. "I'm sorry, Daniel. I'm sorry for not trusting in you." Daniel smiled at me lightly, nodding his head. "Well, I

believe in you, partner. So, if you can't trust in yourself, then trust my gut feeling." I gave Daniel a smile as well, nodding my head. With that, the both of us

looked up at Eve, Daniel placing a hand on my shoulder. "Get going, partner. You have a city to save." he told me, before walking away towards the nearest

ship. Without either of us looking back, Daniel raised up his voice. "Show her how stupid it was for her to fuck with New Yorkers!"

"Damn right!" I shouted, screaming out at the top of my lungs as I focused my power. No more holding back! My strength returning to me in droves, I aimed my

hand at Eve and shot out an energy blast, catching her by surprise. She gasped out as she pushed her way to the side, the blast narrowly missing her. She

turned to look back down at me, but was too late to notice that I had already vanished. "Up here!" I shouted out, reappearing up above her. She only had just

enough time to look up my way before I planted my foot right into her face, sending her reeling down towards the island, where she crashed into the ground in

a plume of dust and smoke. I landed on my feet some 15 meters or so away from her as she slowly stood up in the crater that just formed from her impact. She

made to look toward me, but I wasn't going to give her a chance. I vanished once again on the spot, using my enhanced speed to make a mad dash towards

Eve, a bright, glowing orb of green light covering my hand. Once I was within striking distance from her, I raised my hand up and brought it crashing down

towards her, in the form of a chop. However, she noticed me right away and managed to dodge it, another plume of smoke erupting from the area. Eve

reappeared some yards away, looking towards where I stood, a clear look of confusion on her face. "What the hell was that?" she muttered as I slowly walked

out of the smoke, holding up my hand. The orb of light that enveloped my hand extended past my fingers, which I held straight and close together, before

closing itself to form a tip, resembling a knife.

The dust behind me soon cleared to reveal another hole in the ground, with a straight shape as if a chunk of it was gouged out with a giant sword. "Like it? I

came up with it when I came back to life. I made it especially to cut you into shreds." I told her, pointing my hand-knife at her. Eve growled at me angrily, an

explosion of red power surrounding her. "Do you honestly believe that you can destroy me?!" she shouted out. She raised up her hand in one swift motion,

energy forming in her palm, but I was already dashing towards her at top speed. She fired off a shot, but I brought up my sword and swatted it away

effortlessly before bringing it back down towards her neck, my sword colliding with her shield as sparks flew from the collision. It was at that point Eve finally

got a good look at me, her crimson eyes wide in disbelief.

I didn't exactly notice it at first, but I was acutely aware of what Eve was looking at. My form was changed slightly. My skin took a noticeable tinge of green and

my eyes changed from blue to a bright gold, but I still mostly looked like myself. "It seems like you're becoming more like a Mitochndrion, Aya. Very interesting.

But it's a shame, since I already decided to kill you!" Eve shouted as she kicked me right in the gut, pushing me away from her. She used this chance to aim

another shot at me, but I swatted it away again as she hovered away, glaring down at me. I stared right back at her as I pointed my energy sword up in her

direction, my power glowing bright green in my golden eyes. "I think it's about time we finished this."