Episode Thirty Six. (August 2nd, 2123. Division-A, Northeast District.)

The cold metal of handcuffs froze through the peeling skin on Akino's wrists. His arms were pulled back towards the cave wall by chains. His body was bent forward and his head drooped down. His lips were chapped from dehydration. Bruises and dried blood caked his tired face as he slipped in and out of consciousness. Rips and tears in his clothes exposed him to the elements, cold droplets of cave water providing a complimentary shower.

Resting his head against the freezing stone floor, Akino counted his weak breaths. He looked at his surroundings, his eyes half lidded from the sleep deprivation he somewhat willingly caused himself. Circling around him was a towering wall of stone with a door of steel bars in the center locking him in. Above was the ceiling, caged as it provided a potential escape made evident by the rays of sunlight peaking through.

Akino bent his fingers back, scratching at the cuffs restraining him. He tucked his finger under the steel and pushed his cuffs up, trying to provide some relief to his itchy skin. Now with room available, he pushed his finger underneath the cuffs and pushed back, using all his strength to break the cuffs. His finger pulsed with blue and yellow light as he conjured the little energy he had left in his core. Yet, his attempts proved futile as his finger did nothing but break under the pressure.

Once again, this method failed him. Akino groaned as hope fleeted even further than it already had, despair taking its place. He wanted to burst out into a crying fit from the amount of trauma he was suffering through, but he lacked both the energy and water for that. He closed his eyes shut in an attempt to sleep away his situation, but that also proved useless.

Suddenly, the door creaked open. Akino's body was refilled with energy and he lunged forward. The chains binding him rattled as they were pulled to their limits. Akino growled from the pain and gritted his teeth as the shadow of his captor approached. Well- one of them. A tall, muscular girl in a navy blue button-up uniform came up to him with a plate of food, food that looked beyond artificial.

Thrashing forward, Akino shouted and kicked the plate away with his heel, smacking the girl's hand in the process. She retaliated, grabbing him by the throat and shoving him into the cave wall. She pulled a syringe from her pocket and forced Akino's chin up, aiming the needle at his jugular.

Fighting back, Akino kneed the girl in the stomach. She collapsed onto his lap, hurling up spit from the pain. The boy bent over and picked up the syringe with his teeth then stabbed it into her spine. Hovering his foot against the top, Akino threatened to inject whatever it was inside of her.

"I'll inject this into your body if you don't tell me what I want to know," he demanded.

The girl lifted her head up, smirking as drool ran down her chin. "It's just Xanax," she said, "go ahead." Akino pushed his foot down a bit, forcing a sample of the mysterious serum inside of her. "No, no! Stop!"

"What is Operation Blue?" Akino shouted, his foot shaking in anticipation as she hesitated. "Talk!"

She lifted her hand up, wiping the drool from her chin as she glared demeaningly at him. "It's none of your concern, half-breed." Akino pushed the syringe in further. "Ah, its a mission to re-retrieve you from Escapee Island!"

"Escapee Island?" Akino questioned, lifting an eyebrow as a hoard of thoughts swarmed his brain.

The girl pushed her body closer to the ground, trying to avoid the syringe. "Th-the lost citizens of Japan...," she murmured, "that disappeared during the Third World War."

Akino narrowed his eyes, skeptical of her absurd claims. With the knowledge that he didn't have much time before somebody else would enter, he dismissed the topic and got to the question at heart. "Matoi... what do her and I have to do with any of this?"

In an attempt to escape, the girl pushed herself up and tried to punch Akino's leg away. Akino simply shoved the syringe further into her back until it was completely emptied. She collapsed back to the ground and pulled it out, grabbing the back of her neck afterwards. "Sh-she'll explain everything once you're safe with us..."

Akino kicked her away and scooted back, locking a taunting gaze on her. "You're out of your mind if you think I'm going anywhere with you," he stated. "Answer the question."

The girl squeezed her nape, trying to force the serum out. She hesitated for a second, debating if she should spare time or tell it all. She looked at him, noticing the explosive passion in his gaze. With nothing left but admiration for his cleverness, she budged slightly to amuse him. "Matoi is a spy on behalf of the second earth. She's supposed to infiltrate this island and bring you to your knees."

Akino emphatically shook his head in denial. "You're wrong," he refused, trying to find reasons to justify his reaction. "I've known Matoi since we were kids, she isn't a spy."

Her pupils shrank as an unstable smile grew on her face. Sweat rolled down her forehead as she broke out into a frantic tremble. "Once we have you, Second Earth will have the advantage. This island of cowards who run from their sins will be conquered. All your technology, all your resources, your powers, they'll all be returned back to their rightful owners. You're the one that possesses the source, but no longer will you trump us! Humanity is ours!"

Blood splattered across Akino's face as the right side of the girl's face was blown to bits. He stared, horrified, as the blood pooled around her shattered skull. The warmth of her blood trickled down his cheek and formed into a clot in the side of his mouth. He forced his head up to catch a glimpse of the perpetrator in front of him.

Matoi and a slender young man equipped with a pistol stood in the prison cell entrance. Pulling her hood down to bare her full face, Matoi sighed. She walked up to the girl and flipped her corpse over, staring at it blankly as Akino raged just mere feet from her. The man, who's hair was black with blue tints accompanied with long, cold brown eyes, folded the gun into his pocket.

"You're getting too close for comfort, Matoi," he said, disgusted by the mess he caused.

Matoi frowned and lowered her head, pressing her lips together as she swallowed her disappointment. "Was it really necessary to kill her, Lucas?" She stood back up and unzipped her coat, revealing her Omega outfit as she draped the clothing over the body.

"Her mouth was too big," he said. Lucas raised his eyebrows, noticing Akino's disturbed, raging expression. The corners of his mouth uplifted slightly as he brought his attention back to his accomplice. "I wouldn't get too close to it, Mia. He looks angry."

Akino felt his breath escape from him as the duo's conversation continued. His heart dropped, spiraling into his upset stomach. Scared butterflies fluttered through his trembling body as he stared at his peer. "M…ia?"

Matoi looked over her shoulder, her gaze avoiding his own. "I go by Matoi here." She looked back at Akino and knelt to his level, staring at him. "This is my friend, he isn't going to hurt me, Lucas."

The tension between the two was astronomically heavy, almost an entire being on its own. Akino's heart raced and sweat perspired on his forehead as he locked eyes on her. Matoi was much less expressive, instead acting as a ghost devoid of any feelings that fall short of sorrow. Cautiously moving her hand towards him, Matoi gripped his shoulder and scrunched her face, fighting back tears.

"Can you give us a minute?" She asked him. "I won't have any time with him once this is over."

In his monotone voice, Lucas responded, "don't forget who you are Mia. You're a lost parasite…," he began, making Matoi wince from his painful words. "…you pray off the system with your incompetency. You can bend the rules after we get him back successfully."

"I spent the last hundred years serving the system and its gotten me nowhere," she said, noticing the empty syringe on the floor. "You are all so ungrateful."

He squinted his eyes, scoffing. "Just because you're at the top of your ranks here doesn't mean you're anything less than a parasite back home. But we'll see, maybe you'll be more appreciated if we finish this and bring this place down."

Matoi's heart tickled with sadness as small tear droplets formed in the corner of her eye. Forcing a smile, she stepped away from Akino and looked back at Lucas. "You remind me of somebody I met here." The smile disappeared. "You talk… kind of like her."

"Please," he chuckled as he walked back towards the door, "don't compare me to them. Come on, Mi- Matoi. The others are waiting."

Akino watched as his only hope of escape was walking away from him. He started to panic, trying to think of a way to at least keep Matoi here for answers. Taking advantage of her apparent sympathy towards him, Akino gave into his emotions and let his tears fall freely down his face, welcoming the whimpers forced out of his lips.

Matoi turned around, noticing his despair. "I'm sorry Akino." His stomach sank. "I have a job to do…"

Akino's brief optimism deflated like a balloon as the door locked, separating him and Matoi. He slumped his shoulders, fighting back the tears he welcomed earlier. The tears used for manipulation had failed, and were now genuine. He pulled at the chains, teasing the idea that's been lingering in his head for weeks.

'Matoi isn't going to let me out of here. Even if she wanted, there's always somebody else there. Which means…,' he looked at the cuffs binding his wrists, '…I'll have to sever my own arms. But… will they regenerate in time for me to escape before they catch me? If I can trust that girl's words, one wrong movement and the cuffs will set off an alarm to HQ. Not to mention… the security camera watching me. Then I have to navigate my way out, and even if I can do that, there's still the fact that I'm at the bottom of a pit.' He stepped back, pulling the chains as far as they could go to test his strategy. 'They're for sure going to fight back… but something tells me that they're not willing to kill me.'

The chains stretched as far as they could, now moving the point of tension to Akino's arm socket. He gritted his teeth as the pain increased, trying to muffle his screams. His face was flushed with red as his blood struggled to keep up. The cave wall began to crack, but not before Akino's right arm was ripped completely from his shoulder. Using the opportunity, Akino grabbed a nearby stone and chucked it at the camera, breaking it and prompting the obnoxious ringing of the alarm. Akino quickly severed his left arm and picked up the empty syringe with his jaw.

'It doesn't matter. Division-A is going to crumble if their plan goes through. I can't wait any more. If they're going to take me tonight, then they're going to have to fight for it!'

Akino squeezed himself through the metal bars trapping him in the cavern. His skin tore as he forced his way through, but he had no consideration for maintaining a perfectly healthy body. Adrenaline and willpower replaced logical thinking as he stumbled through the tunnels, his skin and shoulders tingling as his body regenerated.

A light came into his sights as he continued, seeing a man running towards him. Without hesitation, Akino waited for him to approach and then stabbed him in the neck with the syringe. The captive spit out the weapon and fled down the tunnel, digging through his arm socket and pulling out one of his arms. Suddenly, a dead-end came into view and the pursuit of more kidnappers lingered in his peripherals.

He grunted. "Fuck you and your weak ass mountain!" Akino kicked the side of the wall, prompting the ceiling to collapse ahead of him as it did when he first entered. He climbed up the pile of rock towards a small crevice overhead before a bullet flew through his calf. Akino tumbled back down to the ground, shouting as he felt his life was near its end. His fate was basically sealed as a blinding explosion shook the tunnel.

Yet, nobody was attacking. Akino opened his eyes, noticing nothing but limp bodies and blood surrounding him. He exhaled, widening his eyes in shock as he looked around cluelessly. A cloud of dust encircled him, sheltering him from the gruesome sight. Then, sunlight peaked through. A smile quickly grew on his face, the light forcing him to his feet again until a figure emerged from the cloud and stood in front of it. Squinting his eyes, the dark figure tightened into the image of his mother, Sakagami.

Akino stumbled forward, nearly tripping over himself. Wrapping his arms around Sakagami, Akino rested his chin on her shoulders as tears blurred his vision. He sniffled as the blonde did the same. He ran his hands down her back, feeling her rapid heartbeat the same way he did that day at the school. He smiled, grateful for her.

"You came…," he murmured, unable to wipe the smile from his face.

"Of course I did," she consoled, still embracing him.

The cloud of debris faded, giving Akino the room to see the gaping hole that Sakagami made to get to him. Through the harsh, bright sunlight, Kiku slid towards them. She looked panicked, tightly gripping her scythe as the others fought with his kidnappers behind her.

"Hurry, we need to get him out of h-!" Kiku' s frantic pleas were cut short as a bullet flew through her cheekbone. Blood rained atop the mother and son as they watched Kiku's body get whipped into the cave wall with the momentum of the strike.

Sakagami slowly turned her head over her shoulder, blood completely covering her back. Akino stared in horror, his screams lodged in his throat as Kiku's blood trickled down the staggered rock leading to his escape. The sound of panicked shouting and guns bounced against Akino's eardrums, prompting him to release Sakagami and crawl up to the newly made battlefield.

Makina, Hideyo, Asuka, Yukino, and Miki were flying through the air above him, swarming the pit like predatory wasps as his captors shot at them from tunnels exposed by the explosion. Akino darted to the other side of the pit and grabbed Kiku's body, dragging her behind a chunk of rock to shelter them from the gunfire.

Akino held her small body, hyping her up as he waited for her to regenerate. She wasn't. He turned her body to face him, noticing that her skin was decaying around the bullet hole. He shook his head, unable to understand why the Omega wasn't being revived. Akino felt her body go cold and numb. He laid her down and forced open her eyelids, terrified when he saw Kiku's bright brown eyes were now a lifeless shade of gray.

"What…? Kiku…?"

Asuka immediately flew to them after noticing Kiku absent from the battle. She looked over Akino, who was hovering above her body to listen in on her heartbeat. She pulled him aside and lifted Kiku up, her eyes running wild as she examined her little sister's body. "What-… Why isn't she regenerating? Why does she look like that?"

Kiku's body continued to rot as time went on. Without any time to spare, Asuka placed Kiku back on the ground as the others shouted for her help. Ignoring their pleas, the redhead carved a hole into Kiku's chest, exposing her core. The former bright neon blue light in the middle was now gray. The humming of the motor inside of it was silent.

"She was on Stage One… I don't understand!" Asuka declared, tears swelling in her eyes.

Sakagami suddenly grabbed Akino and started pulling him away from Asuka. He fought back, trying to stay by her side. Miki flew down and tore Akino from Sakagami's grasps, flying back towards the surface. Bullets flew past them as him and the others retreated without Asuka and Kiku.

"Wait, Asuka! She's still down there! Stop!" He reached towards her as she shrunk into the distance. Eventually, the sisters were completely hidden behind the clouds of smoke they passed through.

Miki dropped Akino onto the sand as he too tumbled towards the shore, his body giving way to the stress overwhelming him. Makina, Yukino, Sakagami, and Hideyo all crashed into the beach.

Panting, Akino let his breath catch up with him as he absorbed his surroundings. The bay was crashing into the mountain to his left. The sky was an unsaturated pink and yellow as the sun rose above the water. The sand was cold and dense, making his impact even more painful than he anticipated. Seconds of silent relief followed until Akino dug his fingers through the sand and chucked it at Miki.

"Asuka! She's down there with Kiku! We-!"

Suddenly, the remnants of Mount Massive exploded. Sand and salt water flew up into the sky as the structure was reduced to nothing but crumbs. Akino gawked, his eyes wide and mouth hung open as he watched the sisters and countless other people be blown to smithereens. The sand around his feet was pulled forward, falling into the crater where the mountain once stood.

Akino dropped to his knees. His body was suddenly weightless as a void developed in his heart. His head was clouded and his muscles became numb as the environment settled. His breathing halted as shock brought his entire being to a pause. Silence replaced his dread. His reality was stunted.

Miki collapsed to the ground unexpectedly. The others rushed towards him, but Akino was frozen in place, doing nothing but watch. A bullet hole went unnoticed in his left side. Blood soaked his clothes and the sand beneath him as the others hovered over him. Yukino cried out to him, shaking Miki as his skin went gray.

"We…," Akino mumbled, "…we need to take him to the hospital."

Yukino forced her head up, her face ravaged with terror. "Akino, you… you don't understand…"

A dreadful pause.

"…there are no hospitals. Division-A is… gone…"