Inertia

The warehouse district had aged rapidly in the absence of human presence.

The streetlights twinkled valiantly with sparse magical energy. Doors barely clung to their hinges. Rust crept onto the warehouse roofs. There was nothing that indicated any signs of life left in the decrepit district, but Stella and Yui still patrolled the barren streets with caution.

The sight of the once lively warehouse district in shambles sent a pang through Stella’s chest. The choice to abandon the district had hardly been a choice at all.

The Aria had impacted business heavily. After the district had been designated an Aria-risk zone, there weren’t any workers willing to set foot back inside it again. And because no one was willing to retrieve the parts stored in the warehouses, the company directors swallowed the loss and leased storage facilities from Sakai Kousan instead.

While Stella was sure that business moguls would have preferred to relocate their business to another city, the magic required to power their technology could only be sourced from Stardust. It was either stay, or go under—and no one wanted to go under.

And thus, in just the course of a year’s absence, the warehouse district had arrived at its current state—a battlefield for the Strike Force, and a haven for rogue Aria.

It had been some time since there had been a signal indicating a nesting site, though. Stella couldn’t be sure of the implications of this little fact, either. Not nearly enough time had passed since the Aria appeared for Sakai Kousan to truly understand the nuances of their nesting patterns. Eliminating the Aria was more important than allowing them to exist undisturbed long enough to better understand them.

Stella looked down at the radar in her hand before pausing in front of a warehouse with wide double doors. She tapped Yui on the shoulder, and she stopped walking. “I think it’s here.”

Yui nodded as she swung the strap of her assault rifle off her shoulder and switched off the safety. Stella followed her example and slid her sword from her sheath.

The two of them inched closer to the doors. Thanks to the magic technology in their boots, their footsteps were completely silent, but the training they’d been through was screaming too loud to ignore. They crept slowly toward the warehouse until the lengths of their bodies were finally pressed against the doors.

Stella adjusted the earpiece she was wearing. This too, functioned with magic. It could relay her message telepathically, eliminating the need to use her voice to communicate and risk giving away her position. “This is Stella Sakai, reporting in. We’ve located the nesting site, and are planning to engage.”

It only took a beat for their field support specialist to respond. “Hey girl, you hanging in there?” Lisa asked. “We have the emergency transport team on standby, and the magic-tech bombs are ready at your signal. Gimme a sec so I can put up the magic barrier, okay? We want to make super sure that we don’t risk damaging the inhabited parts of the city.”

Stella tried to hold back a sigh. Lisa provided incredible support, but when she was putting her life on the line, it was hard not to be annoyed by her carefree attitude. “Understood.”

Yui and Stella waited with bated breath as they watched the magic barrier roll out over the entirety of the warehouse district like a thick blanket.

“Alright, we’re all good girls. Engage at will!”

Stella looked at Yui, who gave her a nod. Stella did her best to swallow the lump lodged in her throat.

If Yui was ready, she had to be too.

Stella began to slide the door open. Slowly. Quietly. Patiently. The door was cooperative until she pulled on the handle just a bit too quick. It rattled loudly—and when something heavy crashed down to the ground behind them, Stella’s heart did too.

“Mur..derers.”

Stella turned around in terror. Her eyes met inhuman ones, and with a swipe of a clawed hand, she was sent into inertia.

“Stella!”

Stella’s body collided with the warehouse doors, and the doors collapsed inward. The entrance to the warehouse laid exposed like a gaping wound.

Something trickled down Stella’s arm as the muffled sound of shots being fired met her ears. She trembled as she tried to sit up, teeth gritting as she tried to ignore the pain shuttling through her entire body. “Yu…i.”

Stella’s vision swam, but she could just make out her blurry form as she exchanged blows with the Aria. Craning her neck backwards, she noticed some large, round-shaped objects huddled together at the back of the warehouse.

The eggs, her mind supplied.

While she knew she should rush to Yui’s defense, their mission had been to destroy the eggs. Fighting an enemy Aria was part of that, so if Yui was able to keep her at bay just long enough…Stella could finish off the clutch without too much issue.

So much for fighting together, Stella thought.

Still unable to stand, Stella slowly scooted herself to the back of the warehouse, hoping the Aria would be too distracted to notice.

An energy beam blasted right by Stella’s ear, and maybe it was the shock of feeling that momentum that finally helped her vision clear.

Yui was collapsed on the ground in the shadow of the Aria’s draconic form as the Aria tried to free itself from the ice encasing its feet. It flapped its wings furiously, creating a gust that blew Stella’s hair back wildly.

“Where do you think…you’re going?” The Aria—a female one, now that Stella had finally gotten a good look—charged an energy beam in her hand. “Don’t touch…our children!”

Back on her feet, Stella managed to deflect the blast with her sword just in time, sending it piercing through one of the warehouse walls and into some other unsuspecting building.

She stared at the Aria in shock. “You can talk?”

It had happened so fast earlier that she thought she’d misheard, but—the Aria had really spoken to them, hadn’t she?

It was unprecedented. All the Aria up until now had been mad. Purely fueled by instinct and a primordial rage. They couldn’t be reasoned with, let alone spoken to. But this one—it was different.

“Exception,” the Aria said, her fangs becoming more prominent as she frowned. “Most Aria can’t control themselves during the juvenile phase. Can’t talk, either. So we get violent, and then killed. I was different, so I stayed safe—until now.”

The ice shattered into pieces as the Aria finally managed to apply enough force to break free. She ignored Yui’s limp form as she stalked toward Stella. The black sclera of her eyes made the pink glow of her irises all the more vibrant as she summoned something Stella had never seen before—an energy spear.

Unlike the other Aria, who could only manage unrefined energy blasts, this Aria had the reason and intelligence to develop her abilities further.

Stella tightened her stance and gripped her sword until her knuckles turned white. She’d never imagined that her enemy would be able to get stronger, too.

“My name is Surge,” the Aria said. “And I will kill to protect my family!”