The ground was more chaotic up close. Not long ago, the majority of the base's inhabitants had been moving towards the docks in response to Concordia's most recent attack. That mass migration had placed more civilians than normal around the outskirts of the base, and this group now frantically rushed back inland, having no choice but to get out of the way and let the military combat the threat.

The threat Akira delivered to their doorstep.

Even in the middle of the wide main road, Akira struggled to swim against the current, trying to squeeze through the bodies while simultaneously standing her ground with every push and shove that threatened to knock her down. Her biggest setback was when someone slammed into her right shoulder so hard, she felt a spasm of pain stretch all the way down to her fingertips, and her eyes watered even after the ache subsided.

Within the chaos, she eventually managed to procure her earpiece, a small black device slightly larger than her thumb, and she scrambled to fit it snugly in and around her left ear. It came to life with a dash of white noise, and a small display appeared in the air half a meter in front of her. Alas, it was impossible to actually see the projection with someone running through it every second, and Akira frustratedly tapped her earpiece one more time.

"Connect to nearest Alpha Battalion channel," she said, barely hearing the peppy chime that confirmed the device's understanding.

A few seconds later, she winced when her ear was filled with an overly enthusiastic cheer.

"That was wicked!" the voice exclaimed. "You almost had her that time!"

At the sound of "her," Akira felt her spirits hollow; it really was Danya wrecking havoc after all. Somehow, she must have regained her strength, and now she was loose on their base.

How could Akira have been so naive? She should've left Danya to the islanders. For all she knew, the locals were working with Concordia all along; they wouldn't be the first land nation to ally with the enemy, after all.

Akira clenched her teeth. She could repent for her poor decisions later. For now, she had a job to do, and she continued to push through the crowd towards the sounds of the battle.

"Navin said she's moving too fast," a much calmer feminine voice said over the radio. "Also, someone joined the channel."

At her cue, all Akira could do was grimace; someone's heavy bag had just swung into her stomach like a solid punch and knocked the air out of her.

"Oh?" the first voice replied with exaggerated intrigue. "Oh? Well, blimey, if it isn't the one and only Captain Dunn! Welcome to the party, Cap! Care to join us for drinks after?"

"I'll give you another opening," a third voice interrupted, their harsh tone laced with annoyance. "Just don't waste it this time. We don't have all day."

As a few more explosions and crashes sounded in the distance, Akira finally stumbled out of the crowd and focused on assessing the situation as she caught her breath.

The first thing she noticed was the smell. With her deep inhales, she couldn't help but take in the mixture of smoke, dust, and metal that filled the air, nor could she prevent her resulting fit of coughs. Only when she held a sleeved arm in front of her nose and mouth could she visually take in her surroundings.

She found herself at the border between the urban and industrial districts, and while the civilians had evacuated the area, their presence was replaced by dozens of military personnel and heavy artillery. The normally smooth street was now scattered with concrete barricades; as the sea of evacuees moved inland, the blockades would emerge from the road in the newly vacated space, their positions staggered between the right and left sides. Behind each readied barrier, about five soldiers worked to deploy the other defenses that were also stowed beneath the ground: a large mounted gun, an array of rifles, and caches of rechargeable munition cartridges for all.

Inside the industrial district, a warzone had emerged. Closest to the docks, two warehouses on opposite sides of the main road had taken the most damage, and all Akira could see of them were piles of debris that spilled onto the street. The barricades between the destruction were crushed and askew, and a few likely didn't get the chance to fully deploy. A dozen other nearby buildings had also taken damage, usually in the form of flying debris. One warehouse had a ship's mast protruding from its side like a spear; the upper floors of an office building had a small car lodged in them, its hazards blinking dutifully from its rear lights.

Still, the scrambling soldiers were structured chaos compared to how the crowd of civilians had been. With her earpiece display finally visible, Akira quickly scanned the list of other channel members overlaid on her vision.

First was the most recent speaker, Special Forces Corporal Quyen Hale. But before Akira could continue reading, a sharp, high-pitched ring cracked the air, and a new name jumped to the top.

"Blast it, I was sure that one hit!" the strangely excited voice exclaimed, the display identifying them as Army Sergeant Jivan Gupta. "Do it again, do it again!"

"We still can't get a clear shot," the refined Army Corporal Elodie Beringer said, a bold red medic diamond following her name on the earpiece display.

"You made contact, but I already said those cartridges won't work," Hale snapped. "Either upgrade to at least level five, or stop trying and let me handle her."

A couple more explosions echoed from the destruction ahead, and a new cloud of dust rose from a warehouse about a hundred meters away. While Akira was still winded, she drew her handgun and ran towards the action, dodging the other soldiers as they rushed to establish their defenses.

"You can't take her alone," Akira finally managed to say, her lungs burning. "She's possibly a human weapon. It'll take more than our standard gear to even get a scratch on her; the only thing we know for sure is that she's weaker in darkness."

"Easy peasy then," Gupta said chipperly. "Let's just target the sun, shall we? You heard her, Navin, get to it!"

At the mention of the unfamiliar name, Akira scanned the list of channel members again. At the bottom was Army Specialist Navin Gupta, his name grayed out and muted.

"So get her in a warehouse or below decks," Hale said, ignoring the sergeant. "I can do that."

"We can do that," Beringer corrected. "You heard the captain, your standard weapons won't work. You'll need our help."

"If you insist on using those weakass cartridges, then I can do what I want too."

"We can't go any higher, not with civilians still in Bravo 421."

"I think they'd prefer a bit of radiation exposure over getting their limbs ripped off by this psycho, but sure, you're the medic. You want me to bring you back one of their hands as a souvenir? Or do you prefer feet?"

At the mention of the predicament, Akira paused in her tracks, taking shelter behind an abandoned barricade to scan her new surroundings.

While she didn't see any building labeled "B421," there were numbers close to it on her left towards the origin of the dust cloud, which was now thickened by smoke. Between those structures ran a narrow street that was completely covered by slabs of concrete and rebar like a blanket of chunky snow. Shouts and gunfire sounded from down the path, but Akira couldn't see the sources of the noise.

"Display channel locations," Akira said as she tapped her earpiece.

At her instruction, a vertical band of light zipped across her vision, scanning her environment. Once it vanished, it was replaced by a variety of symbols and indications. "BUILDING B421" marked an area along the obstructed road, but Akira couldn't see the structure with her own eyes.

A moment later, two small triangles appeared with the labels "SGT J. GUPTA" and "CPL Q. HALE" near "B421." Two more triangles appeared showing "CPL E. BERINGER" and "SPC N. GUPTA" somewhere behind her.

The former locations were expected; the latter was not. Akira spun around, and while she saw nothing but gray, lightly damaged buildings, her earpiece indicated otherwise. She squinted at where the arrows pointed, but it still took her a few seconds to see two people tucked away in an office window: one was a tall figure mostly hidden behind a post, and the other was a large crouching shadow, their biggest giveaway being the dull glint of a sniper rifle barrel resting on the sill.

"Lost eyes on target," Beringer said, and the tall shadow shifted slightly.

"Hale's got her in Bravo 422," the sergeant said. "Or rather, she's got Hale in what's left of Bravo 422. In a metaphorical corner, I should add. Why don't I just drop the rest of the building on both of them and get rid of all our problems?"

"No!" Akira and Beringer exclaimed at the same time.

"We need to get the civilians clear," Akira said. "Beringer, is there a clear route inland?"

Akira watched the tall figure move again, and she spotted the faint glint of a scope catching the light.

"Negative, Captain," Beringer said. "The only path is to the target."

"Negative on below decks too, in case you were wondering," the sergeant added. "The only entry has a tank on top of it, thanks to Hale's sparring pal over here."

"Is the target only moving inland?" Akira asked. "If so, we can move the civilians to the docks."

"Affirmative," Beringer said. "Route's clear too."

"I can get them there," Sergeant Gupta said. "But I'm helping Hale at the moment."

"Like I need you," Hale snapped, then followed with a heavy grunt and a fierce growl. "Besides, your idea of helping was to bury me with this goddamn building."

"I was providing moral support, guardian," the sergeant said. "I'm like your personal cheerleader. Look, I even have decorations to wave around. You fancy this one? It's a white flag."

Hale's comment gave Akira an idea. If Danya was stopped once by burying her in a tomb, then maybe they just had to do that again. Of course, that was easier said than done, but at least it was a plan.

"Can you really drop the building, Gupta?" Akira asked.

"Gladly," the sergeant replied much too quickly.

"Thanks a lot, Captain," Hale hissed at the same time in between ragged coughs.

"Hale and I will keep her busy," Akira said. After verifying the coast was clear, she ran towards the narrow street. "Show the civilians out, then get ready to drop the building. How much time do you need?"

"Five minutes max to set charges," the sergeant said after a slight pause. "After that, I can't do anything but let gravity take the wheel."

While Akira had no idea what she was running into, this was her mess to fix, and this was their best shot.

"Do it," Akira said. "Beringer, can you get a better vantage point? Once the civilians are clear, raise cartridges to level four, non-lethal shots."

"That's it?" Hale grumbled breathlessly.

"Affirmative," Beringer said. "Oscar Mike."

Akira took cover around the corner of a building, then peered down the debris-filled street. From her new spot, she could see the front of a four-story structure about a hundred meters away with a bold "B421" painted on its side. Across the stream of rubble, the destruction merged into a warehouse's remaining cross section labeled by her earpiece as "BUILDING B422."

In the middle of the destruction was a "brawl," if it could even qualify as one. While the figure labeled "HALE," dressed head to toe in heavy dark gray combat gear, seemed to be throwing out every tool in her arsenal, her opponent acted like she was bothered by a persistent fly.

In the couple hours since Akira had last seen her, Danya had completely transformed. While her stature was still as small as before, her build had filled out to appear toned and sturdy. Her complexion had darkened a few shades, and though the tattered and stained cloth that hung off of her figure was still ghostly, she was no longer as pale and gaunt as before. And with each slow step Danya took over the mountains of rubble, the concrete below her bare feet crumbled as easily as her bones had done the night before.

Then there was her expression. Akira was introduced to Danya's wild eyes illuminated by the moon, and she met the woman's stubborn snark under a sea of red light. But as Danya scanned her surroundings, absentmindedly batting away a knife Hale threw at her, her focused face had undertones of something else entirely: murderous vengeance.

Akira had to take a moment to steel herself before proceeding.

"I have eyes on Hale and the target," Akira whispered, suddenly aware of how loud her approach had been. "Beringer?"

"We have eyes," Beringer said.

"Copy," Akira said. "Hale, fall back to Bravo 421."

Hale, who was about three meters away from Danya with her handgun drawn, sighed into the comms before retreating quickly through the mounds of rubble, not daring to turn her back or lower her weapon from the goddess.

But Danya only pursued Hale with her eyes. And as soon as Hale crossed the narrow street, Danya inexplicably turned away from them all, her back completely exposed to Akira and the sniper's nest.

"Captain, we have the shot," Beringer said.

"Copy," Akira said. "Take—"

"Captain...Akira Dunn, is it?" Danya announced, her voice clear to Akira hiding a hundred meters away.

Akira froze. There was no way Danya heard her, or knew who she was.

"Beringer, standby," Akira whispered.

"Standing by."

"That's what your giraffe friend called you," Danya continued. "The nuisance with the large hair."

Izzy.

Akira took a deep breath, schooled her expression to a firm neutral, and emerged from her hiding spot, stepping into the narrow street with her handgun drawn but lowered.

"Nice to see you again, Danya," Akira said. "So, you met that annoying guy, huh? Where is he?"

But Danya didn't reply. And with her back still turned, Akira had no idea what she was thinking.

"He's the one that wanted to find you, you know," Akira said, watching her steps and words as she inched down the road. "He heard about your story and wanted to help. He figured we could help each other."

By the time Akira made it in front of Building B421, Danya still hadn't said a word. Akira spared a moment to nod in greeting at Hale when they met; in turn, Hale, completely concealed by her uniform, grunted gruffly in response.

"Danya," Akira said. "Please—"

"He said he needed me," Danya finally said. Her voice had evolved once more, now on the brink of choked and ragged. "He said I would help him achieve his dreams."

Danya's hands clenched into fists. Akira raised her gun; Hale lowered her stance.

"He called me his...little dove," Danya said, the nickname ground out through gritted teeth. "I was meant to bring peace to the world." She scoffed. "And how does he thank me? He buries me in a tomb for over a thousand years!"

The anger in her last words sent a tremor through Akira's bones. She thought she imagined it at first, until she saw the remaining walls of Building B422 sway dangerously and heard eerie crumbling from unknown sources.

"But he didn't need me, did he?" Danya's voice had softened, but the hint of hysteria behind her words was more threatening than her rage. "Because here he is, trying to achieve his dream...without me. He made me, created me, only to throw me away when he didn't need me anymore."

Danya's head fell, and she released a sound akin to a broken sob. Soon after, her shoulders began to shake, and the sight of the small woman mourning her past was enough to make Akira hesitate.

And then Danya froze, and the world went quiet—until the silence was shattered by an ear-splitting cackle.

"Screw that shit!" Danya exclaimed to the skies, sending another tremor through the air. "If he wanted me gone, he should've killed me when he had the chance! Because now... Now, I'm going to kill him. Now, he'll see what it's like to have a so-called friend stab him in the back."

With that promise, Danya finally turned. Now, her hunger for murder was clear in her wide, bloodshot eyes and twisted face, and Akira couldn't help but freeze when that gaze fell on her.

"And if you get in my way," Danya hissed, "I swear I'll kill you too."