It seems there’s a crowd forming around Hammer’s shop.

“I wonder what happened?” Aeon starts walking towards the people. “Come on, Marie, Solo.”

“Yeah,” I say.

“Alright,” Marie says.

“Hey, you.” Aeon walks up to the closest person and taps them on the shoulder. “What’s going on? Do you know?”

“It’s about to get ugly over there.” He points into ARMITAGE. “One of the Angels have some sort of problem with the owner, it looks like. I sure hope--”

Without letting the guy finish his sentence, Aeon shoves past him, and anyone else in crowd. “Hurry, guys!”

Knowing I shouldn’t be waiting for an explanation, having drawn the conclusion for myself, I go running with Aeon. Marie is close behind. We rush through everyone, murmurs of confusion and fear carried to my ears on the air that thickens with tension with every step I take. I try to ignore the pounding in my heart, which perhaps beats so furiously, now, for the same reasons I feel shaken in my mind. Maybe I’m afraid to face one of those Angels again, after what happened last time and what John told me? Could it be anger, because they tried to kill me before, and because they’re now going to hurt someone else? Either way, I know I must calm myself one way or another if I have to fight. Will I get a chance to, though?

Can’t think about it, anymore. Now, my feet have brought me to the front of the shop with Aeon and Marie standing nearby.

“Wha!?”

That person on the floor… wait, I’ve seen her. This is the kid we walked past at Astro Fry.

“O-oh no…”

“Is she alright?” Marie asks.

I take a closer look at her. These bruises on her arms and legs don’t look good. “Come on, kid. Are you alright?” She seems to respond just a bit. She’s alive. Thank goodness. For now, I think I ought not try to move her. I direct my attention to the other girl, standing behind the counter, choking Hammer. “You!” She turns to face me. Long red hair, those same cold, blue eyes… it’s that one. “Attacking a child… what the hell is wrong with you!?”

She tosses Hammer to the ground, and hops over the counter, approaching us. “Looks like my hunch was correct. I knew you’d come this way.” She smirks. “Good to see you again.”

“Solo, keep calm.” Just as I stand to go running towards her, Aeon holds me back, grabbing my sleeve with his hand. “It’s just one Angel, but Christina is the strongest of them. She’s still very dangerous.”

“Christina?” I ask. “That’s her name, huh?”

“And I see you’re going by ‘Solo’, now. What’s this, you’ve joined up with John’s group, now?” She studies the three of us, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. “I’d have figured you were at least smarter than that. Then again, maybe you really have lost your memories, huh?”

“None of your business.”

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’, I guess.” She scratches her head. “The ‘you’ from before wouldn’t have responded like that, I don’t think.”

“What is it you know about me?” It could be a trick, but my curiosity is getting the better of me. Could she really have some answers for me?

“If you want to know, then come here.” She reaches out.

“Focus, Solo,” Marie says. “Don’t forget that she tried to kill you.”

“Christina,” Aeon shouts, “I would rather not fight, but if you would threaten the weak, if you would hurt my friends, then I have no choice but to force you to stop!”

Eager to fight, she bares her teeth with a wild smile. As if from nowhere, she conjures a weapon, a whip, and holds it in her right hand. “Fine, then.” She lets the whip loose, and cracks it at the air. “Come and stop me.”

“Marie?” Aeon changes his stance, arms up, one foot in front of the other.

“Okay,” she takes a fighting stance, as well, drawing a short sword I haven’t seen before.

“Me, too.”

The two of them look at me with some uncertainty. Now that I think about it, I could possibly be an unknown factor in their combat plan. Would I just be getting in their way?

“Are you sure, Solo?” Marie asks.

“I’m confident we could defend you,” Aeon says. “You don’t have to get involved in this fight if you don’t want to.”

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But I am already involved, aren’t I? This enemy is here because of me. It only logically follows that I take some responsibility, right? So…

“I won’t be a burden. I’m fighting with you.”

“Hm. You insist, then?” Aeon asks. I nod. “I see. Alright, then. I want you to back us up--”

Before Aeon can finish his sentence, Christina throws another one of those lights our way. Acting quickly, Aeon spreads his hands out, and I see a similar, but easier to see through, light covering the rest of us. Christina’s light seems to have been stopped by the one Aeon made.

“Solo!” Aeon says, as both lights disappear. “Marie and I are going in. If she stops our attack, you need to get in while she is distracted.”

I hesitate a bit. Will I really be able to pull that off? Christina was pretty fast when I last fought against her. Wait, no. It’s not a matter of whether I can do it or not. I simply must do it, no matter what.

“Can you do it, Solo?”

“I can.”

“Good,” he says, crouching down slightly. I see Marie do the same. “Let’s go!”

Aeon and Marie both kick off the ground, flying forward at an amazing speed. Just as quickly, however, Christina reacts. Seeing that Aeon is approaching ever so slightly faster, from the left, she swings her whip at him, catching him on his right arm, wrapping it around him.

“!!!”

This is definitely the opening Aeon wanted me to watch for. Next, Christina will slam Aeon into Marie as she approaches from the right, and take them both down with one move. If I move right now, by the time I can close the distance between myself and Christina, I believe she’ll have just finished doing that. And so…

“Hyah!!!”

I dash forward. Things are unfolding just as I expected thus far. Aeon, Marie, for you to risk taking damage so I could get in a successful attack… I have to make sure your faith in me wasn’t misplaced! Christina doesn’t seem ready to react to me, yet. I’ve got this! Now, with my left fist--!

“!?”

I connect… with nothing but the air in front of me. How!? I look up. Only then do I realize just how much I underestimated her. She hopped, and now, she’s coming back down. Back down to where she was standing before. Where I’m standing now.

“Gah!” With a hard thud, I crash to the floor, Christina bringing her left foot down on top of my head.

“Did you really think you were being clever, charging at me like that?” She asks, with the same condescending and pompous tone she’s said anything else to me. “Don’t forget who you’re dealing with!”

She stomps. Again. Again, harder, this time. It’s starting to feel like my head is going to be crushed. Red coats one of my eyes. The world is going blurry…

“Wha--”

She stops. Flips away. What happened? Just seconds ago, she seemed like she had me. Why did she stop hitting me? Trying to shake off the dizziness, I look around.

“Another sword?”

That’s right. Someone seems to have thrown a sword into the shop, trying to hit Christina, most likely. I take a closer look at it. It’s a long sword, curved, single edge, a circular guard and long grip, probably meant to be wielded with two hands.

“Solo! Aeon! Marie!”

Oh, I recognize that voice. John.

“Damn, what’s going on!? Are you three okay?”

“Kinda hurts, but I’ll live,” Aeon says, getting up.

“No problem,” says Marie, dusting herself off.

“Come on, Solo.” Now, I’ve noticed John’s outstretched hand in front of me. “The fight’s not over, yet.”

Forcing myself to move, I grab his hand and let him pull me up. “I hear you loud and clear.”

“Tch. Fine.” Christina winds up, ready to give John a stinging crack of her whip. “I’ll just deal with all you offenders at once! You’ll regret not bowing down to Nero, you dumb dogs!”

“There’s no way in hell…” John very suddenly, quickly, twists out of the way of Christina’s attack. As she swings again, he jumps up, and over her whip. “...that I’ll just roll over…” I look up and see that John’s feet are on the ceiling. Just as I notice it, he kicks off of said ceiling as easily as I might have kicked off the ground. He sends himself flying toward Christina, who, for once, seems caught off guard. “...and take what you dish out!”

“!!!”

John’s kick sends Christina flying back. While he’s still in the air, he makes it over to the wall, kicks off of that, and makes it to the wall that his sword was planted in. He pulls it out, kicks off of that wall, and returns to where he originally stood.

“Whoa…!”

“Well, you guys aren’t gonna let me steal the whole show, are you?” John asks, smirking. “Come on. Let’s make an Angel fall.”

“Damn you bastards!” Christina gets up, and wipes away the blood on her lips. “Let’s see how tough you think you are when--”

Suddenly, from behind us, another light shoots Christina. Looking at it more closely, it almost seems like a shooting star. She blocks it just in time.

“Huh?” I look back. That little girl. Now she’s standing. There’s a light coming from her. She walks over and stands next to us.

“Let me help.” I can see the determination in her green eyes. She probably won’t be turned away.

“I don’t know if--” John starts.

“You people have already helped me! I can’t just sit back and do nothing!”

“We don’t have time to argue!” Aeon shouts, pointing. “She’s getting back up!”

“You scum…!” Before Christina can fully recover, John, Aeon, Marie, and the girl whose name, if I’m remembering right, is Sakura, start to surround her. I join them in doing so, hoping that she doesn’t get a chance to escape us.

One last time, she looks directly at me. “Don’t be too proud of yourselves over this.” Then--

“Shit! My eyes!”

Blinding light. I shield my face on reflex. I must assume the others had to do the same. Eventually, the light subsides. When I look at the spot Christina was standing in, no one is there anymore.

“Dammit!”

She’s gone. We managed to survive this fight, but I still feel like nothing’s been accomplished. Christina… she definitely knew something about me. Right when the opportunity to learn more showed itself, I missed my chance. I should have done more.

“Next time, for sure.”