The train’s frame creaks loudly as its body lurches through the air. A thunderous crash follows as it slams down onto the opposite track. Tama’s voice bursts through the comms, her laugh unnervingly ecstatic.

“Multi-track drifting!”

The train keeps speeding forward, and in the next few seconds the Eidolons slam against the side of the engine. It all happens too fast for them to react. One by one, they strike the metal edge, get thrown off balance, and go flying off the side as the train cuts through the stampede with ease.

Once they’re through, Tama looks back at the fallen Eidolons scrambling to their feet and racing after the train again, then cheers.

“Are you insane?!” Kanna screams, sprawled on her back after the impact. “You could have derailed the whole train!”

“Well, it worked, didn’t it?” Tama giggles, her grin twisting into a sly smirk. “Just like you thought it would.”

Kanna bites her tongue and pushes herself back up without another word.

Emi groans as she picks herself off the floor and adjusts her glasses. “W-what just happened?”

“We got past the Eidolon stampede. That’s all that matters,” Reina answers quickly before dropping to one knee and aiming her rifle down the track. “What we need to do now is eliminate the remaining threats.”

 

⁂

 

The Buzzsaw Scorpions rear their tails back and start spinning the blades. But right before they can unleash their attacks—

 

ZSHRAKK!

 

I rocket through the air and slice off one of their tails with my burning heel blade.

Metal crashes into the dirt, and I land right after it. When I look back up, all four of them are scrambling in confusion.

Good. I’ve got their attention now. And with their focus locked on me, I can take them out without worrying about the train.

I launch myself toward the one I disabled, but it spins around and swings one of its claws at me. I duck under it, gliding low over the dirt.

My body slips beneath the machine’s head. Then I push myself up and ignite my heel blade again.

With one sweep of my leg, I cut its head clean off.

I deactivate my heel blade as I land back on my feet, and the ruined Eidolon collapses limp in front of me.

The other three screech in anger and rush me.

I brace myself just as the first one whips its tail at me, the buzz saw still spinning. I vault over it, knocking the blade down as I jump clean over its body.

My body twists through the air, but I lock my eyes right back onto the creature. My antennae flare to life as I start hacking through its firewall.

If I can break through, I’ll be able to mark its core for Reina. Then she can obliterate it in one shot.

The second I land, the other two are already on me. One lunges with its claws, but I dodge aside and it slams into the dirt. The other comes at me from behind and swings its tail, but I kick up into a backflip and land on my hands.

Balanced on my palms, I aim my legs at the scorpion and ignite my heel blades again.

Then, pushing with all my strength, I launch myself straight at it.

 

“Star-Bladed Piercing Kick!”

 

My legs drive into the machine’s frame, cutting deeper as the Eidolon lets out a loud, static-filled—SKREEEE-CHK-CHK-CHK!

The Eidolon jerks its body hard, whipping me through the air just as my legs rip free. I slam into the ground but bounce back up with practiced ease.

The moment I regain my footing, my eyes snap back to the first scorpion as it lunges for me.

But I just smile.

Too late.

 

Tzwooooom!

 

A beam of energy rips through the Eidolon’s body and strikes its core. Flames erupt from inside it, and the machine explodes in a furious blast.

My eyes dart back to the train, close enough now for me to make out Reina already charging her next shot.

A short squeal almost slips out of me, but I catch myself and lock back in.

There are still two more I need to deal with.

My legs launch me back into the air, and I burst through the cloud of smoke. When I break through the other side, I’m right above the one I injured, pistol already in hand. I fire several rounds into its back. Energy spreads through its body and fries its circuits.

By the time I land, the machine collapses. Disabled.

One left.

I pivot on my heel and take aim, but the scorpion is already on me, thrusting one of its pincers forward. I throw my body back, barely dodging the strike.

Using the momentum, I roll into a backflip and snap my leg up, carving a large chunk of metal out of its frame.

One of its pincers goes limp, and its sensors start flashing red.

Now it’s mad.

I get ready to finish it off, but my breath catches.

Peeking through the gash I tore into its body, I see its glowing mechanical heart pulsing from within.

I grin and quickly activate my antennae.

“Looks like this fight’s already over!”

Using my radar augments, I lock onto the core, and the metal beast lets out one more screech before charging forward. I instinctively jump back, trying to predict its attack, but my eyes go wide when it suddenly pivots in the opposite direction.

When I land, it skitters across the ground again before settling into place.

“Huh?”

I pause for a moment, then quickly shake my head and lunge after it.

It skitters away again, and I stop myself, kicking up dirt as my legs skid to a halt.

I tilt my head at it. The scorpion stops too, then glares back at me. Its sensors scan over my body like it’s waiting for me to make the next move.

That starts to worry me.

It’s not attacking, but that doesn’t mean it won’t.

And now that I think about it… I already marked its core. Reina should have shot it by now. Unless…

I turn and see the train getting closer. Reina’s perched along the edge, holding her aim steady. But standing right between her and the Eidolon—is me.

I slowly turn back to the scorpion and stare at it.

“Are you trying to use me as a shield?” I ask, even though I know it can’t answer. But for some reason, it tries.

A series of calm clicking noises comes out of it, almost like it’s making some kind of smart remark.

Is it trying to communicate with me?

No. I can’t lose focus. I should just finish it—

“Rika, what’s happening?” Reina’s voice catches me off guard, and I flinch, my attention darting toward her.

“Agh, sorry!” I shout back, my eyes drifting toward the scorpion again. “It’s just that this Eidolon is—”

 

WHRRRRR-SHKK!

 

A saw tears past my vision, barely missing my head as I dodge at the last second.

But it doesn’t miss me completely.

The blade rips through my hand and shreds my sync pistol to pieces.

The ruined gun slips from my fingers, and I don’t even get time to think before the scorpion leaps on top of me. I crash into the ground, and before I can recover, I feel the machine’s tail coil around my legs.

Then I’m yanked into the air.

I scream, but the scorpion slams me back into the dirt, cutting me off. Then it hoists me upside down, leaving me dangling right in Reina’s line of sight.

My head starts to go numb.

Damn it… I should’ve just shot it myself when I had the chance. How could I make such a stupid mistake?

Reina’s voice comes through the comms again, but I’m too dazed to make out what she’s saying.

The scorpion turns away from the train and starts running. I try to ignite my heel blades and thrash free, but its grip around my legs is too tight.

I can’t do anything.

But then—

 

KSHOOOOOOOM!

 

A blinding flash tears through my vision, followed by a violent explosion that makes my ears ring.

Everything happens too fast. The next thing I feel is my body slamming into the ground.

“Agh!” I moan, curling in on myself as pain surges through my shoulder.

What happened?

I hear Reina’s voice again, but this time it sounds closer.

“Rika…” Her voice barely reaches me through the pounding of my heartbeat. “Can you… get up…?”

Then suddenly—HURK!

My eyes snap open, and through the haze I make out Reina’s figure hunched over with her back to me.

Her wings are fully outstretched, steam pouring from their vents. Singe marks in the shape of circuit patterns stretch along her thighs where the augments connect to her body.

Did she activate her Overdrive?

I push myself up, one hand clutching my head. As my vision clears, I spot the ruined remains of the Buzzsaw Scorpion that was tossing me around like a ragdoll.

It’s dead, but that’s not what matters right now. My eyes lock onto Reina.

She’s covering her mouth with one hand…

 

and blood is spilling down her arm.

 

“Reina…” I mutter, reaching toward her.

“Stop…” she says, her voice soft, but cold. “…don’t look at me.”

But even as she says it, she turns to face me. The entire lower half of her face is stained red with blood.

“I don’t want… you girls to see me like this…”

Then she collapses.

“Reina!”

I jump to catch her, but she hits the ground before I can reach her. I drop to my knees beside her and pull her into my arms.

“Reina, wake up!” I shout, shaking her.

She doesn’t respond. Thinking quickly, I press my ear to her chest. It’s faint, but I can still hear her heartbeat. I let out a shaky breath of relief.

She’s alive.

“R—Rika?” Emi’s voice crackles through the comms. “W—at’s goin—on?”

I freeze, not knowing how to answer.

 

“Ah… Rei… Reina is… she’s down.”

 

“W—at!?!” Tama shouts, her voice barely coming through. “Ho—at hap—n?”

My breath catches.

What am I supposed to say? That she pushed herself into Overdrive to save me?

My mind echoes with the last words she said to me.

I don’t want you girls to see me like this.

“I—I don’t know. I didn’t see what happened,” I lie.

I look down at Reina’s unconscious body, but all I can focus on is the blood trailing down her face and the metal of her augments.

I can’t let the others see her like this. I should clean her up.

I grab the sleeve of my coat and tear it off. Then I use the cloth to wipe her face clean before moving to her augments.

By the time I finish, the comms crackle to life again, but all I hear is static.

“Sorry, what was that?” I ask.

“Ju—ig—or her—ny-chan,” Tama says, but her words only get harder to make out. “We—ing fi—here. Just pr—ect Sni—r-sen—. We’ll co—ack—done!”

Her voice keeps cutting out, so I can only guess what she’s trying to say.

They’re doing fine, and they want me to protect Reina until they can come back.

Why are the comms acting so strange? They were working fine when the train was much farther away.

I look back toward the train. It’s still approaching, and now I can see it clearly.

Tama, Kanna, and Isuka are all giving it everything they’ve got, protecting the train and tearing through the Eidolons with ease. It looks like they’ve already taken out at least fifteen of them.

I wasn’t even able to take out four on my own.

I carefully lower Reina back to the ground and rise to my feet.

Tears start to well in my eyes.

How could I mess this up?

How could I mess up this badly?

It was supposed to be an easy fight.

All I had to do was destroy four scorpions.

Then the tears start falling. I try to wipe them away, but they keep coming—and my damaged hand isn’t making that any easier. A few sniffles slip out too, followed by quiet, pathetic whimpers.

Reina got hurt because of me. Why did I—

 

SHK—Sssss—Kch!

 

“Agh!” I groan, grabbing my head again.

Static tears through the comms, sending a sharp jolt through my skull.

“H—hey! What’s wrong with the comms?” I force out through the pain.

I try to look back at the train, but even my vision starts to fragment. In the brief glimpses I manage to catch, I see Emi frantically waving her arms and jumping in panic.

Are they in trouble? Do they need me?

The ground starts to rumble as the train gets closer, and I hear the engine chugging louder and louder.

But wait… why does it feel like it’s coming from behind me?

And then I finally hear Emi’s voice, screaming as loud as she can.

 

“RIKA—BEHIND YOU!”

 

My eyes shoot wide. I don’t even get the chance to turn around before something heavy and metallic slams into my side.

My body goes flying.

I hurtle through the air and crash hard onto the tracks.

W-what was tha—

 

BWEEEEEEEEEEM!!!

 

The train’s whistle blasts through my ears, and I throw myself back off the rails. I barely get clear before the train tears past me.

I hit the dirt, and my vision sharpens just enough for me to look up at the others. Every glimpse I catch of their faces shows the same expression.

Horror.

They’re all staring at something on the other side of the tracks.

The train keeps roaring down the line, the horde of Eidolons still chasing after it. I brace for one of them to come for me too—but they all ignore me.

Slowly, I lower my arms. And through the gaps between the train cars, beneath the pounding feet of the stampede, I catch flashes of something else.

Black steel. Clawed feet. A reptilian muzzle. A giant lance. A knight’s helmet.

The last train car rushes past, and the Eidolons vanish with it.

Now, standing in front of me, is something I’ve never seen before.

A draconic, horse-like machine ridden by a slender humanoid figure shaped like a knight. Its dragon-themed helmet bears two pairs of glowing red eyes, and it carries a massive lance and shield.

A duo clad entirely in black, the same height as a Bipedal Wolf—but with an aura twice as menacing.

 

An Aether-Class Eidolon.