Episode Eighteen. (June 2nd, 2123. Division-A, South District.)

The air was heavy and filled with smog as the blinding and hot sun hovered above the North District. Omega's footsteps echoed through the remaining empty buildings like chills running from room to room. The complete and utter silence was almost deafening as if it was a sound in it of itself, screaming into the ears of the Omegas. A group of seven crawled up a mound of debris. Now several feet higher, the devastated district around them became even more real as it all came into view.

Vast amounts of wrecked, rusted vehicles were cluttered along the highway before them. Puddles of oil and rain water filled the potholes scattered around the fragmented streets. Fallen power lines and stoplights swung over the concrete which had been broken like glass. Further down the road were two massive towers mirroring each other on either end of the street. Each one was near complete collapse as they leaned on the other, both contorting over the street with uneasy balance.

Further behind the buildings was a barely visible imprint of a foot- the foot of a Stage Three Compactor. It was easily over fifteen feet long and several more feet deep as evident from the trace it left in the highway. The concrete was curved into a pit and broken into pieces, exposing the dirt and rebar beneath it.

The breeze picked up, killing the silence with the sound of settling dust and wind chimes. Several rocks and small shards of glass fell from above the Omegas, causing them to look up. Above them stood an office building unnaturally tilted away from them. Its windows that still remained were shattered beyond functionality. A pillar protruded through the side of the wall, scraping against the edge of the one beside it. Although, the most alarming part of the building was the fact that the top half of it was completely leveled, its remnants likely the pile of debris the Omegas stood upon.

"Amazing," Asuka mumbled, her eyes scanning the surroundings. "The power of a Stage Three…"

Makina's face stiffened, expressionless. "Don't give it so much credit. There was several when the attack occurred." Makina dug her heels into the corners of cement as she stumbled down the pile of rubble. "Feeding their stomach is enough trouble as it is, don't go feeding its ego as well."

Kiku smiled, following quickly behind Makina. "Do Compactors even have egos?"

Once reaching level ground, Makina turned her head back to the group behind her. "Matoi," she called.

The brunette, who had her eyes to the sky, brought her attention to her superior. "Yes?"

"I want you to team up with Hideyo's squad," she instructed.

Matoi raised her eyebrows and pouted. "What? Why?"

Makina's intimidating eyes burned through Matoi's personal bubble with every passing second. "They're stationed on the B7 Highway, I want you there immediately." Before she was able to continue, a voice spoke through her earpiece. Makina covered her right ear, muting Matoi's incessant complaining. "There's two Stage Three Compactors surrounding Hideyo's squad."

Kiku jumped up and down, waving her hands cartoonishly. "Can I go? I wanna go! I-" Asuka elbowed her in the side before Kiku finished her pleading.

Makina dropped her hand and looked back to her squad. "Matoi and…," she pointed to the Omega instead, forgetting their name. "You. You two meet up with them at B7, go!"

Just as their jet packs lit up and they started lifting up from the ground, a deafening sound flooded through the area accompanied by a violent earthquake. Dust kicked back up and the buildings surrounding them rattled, some crumbling under their own weight. Makina stepped forward, staring down the highway as she witnessed a massive, one hundred foot Compactor stumbling straight through a building, destroying it.

Makina clenched her fists and bent her shoulder blades back, triggering the jet pack. The vents inside glowed red and the humming of the motor inside started up. She bent her knees, locking her eyes on the creature approaching them. "Listen up! Stage Three's are nothing to fuck around with! They're incredibly strong and have a raging appetite! Although they're not hunting for us, they will have no problem at all chewing you to bits in the most painful way possible."

The Compactor took another step, crushing the ground beneath it and sending a nauseating shock wave yards out. Makina's mind went back to her final day at training. The imagery of her captain's death, the destroyed arena, and the blood-thirsty expression the Compactor had when eating her instructors flashed back to her.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Asuka, I want you on my right. Kiku on my left. I want the three of you behind me; one above, one below, and one in the middle. I'll charge through its stomach and try to puncture a hole to its core. I'll take all the force of the push while the middle Omega with charge in and sever its core."

With another earth shattering step, the Compactor faced directly towards them, ready to charge.

"I want Asuka and Kiku to cut off its arms so it can't attack us as easily. The top Omega will blind it and the bottom with cut its ankles if it tries to run. Understand?!"

"Yes!"

Makina extended her neck and took another deep breath, tasting the dust in the air. Her eyes opened, burning with passion. "Now!"

She kicked her heels off the ground and charged towards the titanic creature. Her jet pack hummed and pushed her into the air, the vents tilting her in her desired direction. Streaks of color from their jet packs flew behind them as the Compactor came closer.

Gripping her handle, Makina swung her blade into the monster's stomach. She pressed the button beside her hand, triggering the blades to spin incredibly fast. Along with the momentum gained from her jet pack, Makina pushed through the Compactor's stomach and out the other end, providing a clear tunnel for the other Omega to find the core and smash it.

Suddenly, a shadow hovered over the Omegas. Makina peered up, squinting her eyes because of the harsh sun. A Stage One Compactor was standing over them on the nearby tower, observing. Before Makina could warn them, the Compactor jumped off the roof and exploded into a blinding light. Panicking, Makina flew away before it fell on her and the others, accidentally steering herself into a pile of cars.

The light dimmed down, allowing her to get a better look. The Compactor, now transformed to a Stage Three, stood up off the highway and next to the other. The black, elastic material from its tentacles was stretched around its body as armor. Bone protruded through its back like thorns and its eyes were empty with gray.

The other Omegas, who were knocked to the ground, stammered away into the sides of random structures waiting for Makina's instruction. Before she could do so, the thumping of another Compactor came from behind her. Makina climbed up the pile of cars and peaked through a window, a heavy feeling invading her gut as another Compactor came into view.

"Makina!" Asuka shouted. "What do we do?!"

The Omega clenched her teeth, cursing under her breath. "Two of you finish off that first Compactor! I want the other two to take on the other one!" Makina stepped up onto the car in full view of the Compactor down the road. "I'm taking this one on my own!"

"Yes, Captain!"

Makina lunged off the pile of vehicles, falling to the crumbling highway before her jet pack powered on and guided her to the enemy. The tips of her heels scraped across the burning cement, incinerating the road beneath her instead. She swung her blade into the creature's ankles, the black, gooey armor splattering across her face as it fell to one knee. The vents in her jet pack shifted and Makina directed herself towards the other ankle. Before she was able to sever it, however, the Compactor suddenly lifted its foot and over Makina.

"Shit!" Makina pushed her shoulder blades together again, forcing the jet pack to a stop before she started it back up. The shadow above her grew darker as the scarred, blackened foot of the giant approached her. "Aaaaah!!!"

She blasted off in a streak of red, but not fast enough. Makina let a scream escape her lips as her left leg got caught underneath its heel, tearing it off her body completely with the momentum she had built up. Makina tumbled through the cloud of dust from the impact as the blood from her thigh spun around in the air like a sprinkler.

Before she was allowed time to catch her breath, the Compactor was already approaching her; its mouth agape as it was prepared to face plant straight in Makina's direction in an attempt to devour her. Makina watched in terror as it fell straight on top of her, its mouth completely encircling her. Its body bounced with the force of the fall, uprooting the road around it and sending streetlights, trash bins, trees, and buildings up in the air.

It laid there, still and silent as the surroundings fell back into place.

'Makina, you always cry for everyone else- but when it comes to your own pain, you're silent. You won't survive in this cruel world as a push-over.'

'But, Captain… I do it so others… can find comfort in my empathy. Maybe if I cry for them, they'll have less pain to burden knowing that its shared with me.'

'That's what your parents taught you, isn't it? Of course. Makina, they were soft. That is why they were killed.'

'No, that isn't it at all! My parents were strong!'

'I'm not saying they were weak. I'm saying that they neglected themselves in favor of others. That mentality is the reason the Compactors were able to reach them. If you truly want to avenge your family, you need to abandon that mindset and accept yourself as the person you really are: an Omega; a ruthless, brutal, cold hearted soldier.'

Makina's screams echoed from the mouth of the Compactor, her vocal cords strung to their limits as she wailed. Without warning, Makina busted through the Compactor's skull. Steaming hot blood and black goo rained down on her as she shouted into the empty sky. She climbed out of its gaping head and crawled towards its chest in a fit of rage. Her eyes were so bright with red that they defied any known shades of color. She ripped apart its stomach, intestines wrapping around her shoulders. Shoving her fist deep into its entrails, Makina pulled out its core and crushed it with her bear hands.

The Compactor's explosive death followed soon after as Makina bathed in its blood. With a single breath, Makina collapsed to the ground, nearing unconsciousness.

"Captain? Captain!" Kiku's static voice cried over her earpiece. "Where are you?! Captain?! The others are dead, Asuka is barely clinging on! Please, p-please! Help us. Makina! Oh god, Makina… Captain! There's another one, a Compactor! A C-c-com-c…" With that, Kiku's pleas were cut short with a faulty connection.

Makina remained on the slabs of concrete, blankly staring at the tops of buildings as her vision went in and out of focus. Just as her environment started getting blurry, a figure strutted towards the edge of a tower, overlooking Makina. Two Stage One Compactors followed behind the person, watching the crippled Omega before retreating.

Makina lifted her hand up to her earpiece, trembling as she buckled under her own weight. With eyes locked on the fleeing enemies, Makina groaned into the mic. "M-Matoi… help us."

Matoi lunged through the window of a falling building. Desks, chairs, lights, and wires flew past her as the building leaned ever so quickly to destruction. She flung her head to the right as the noise of falling concrete flooded her ears. She rolled to the ground, covering her face as a massive chunk of ceiling flew past her. She jumped back up as the floors, walls, and ceilings behind her crumbled away. She ran as fast as possible as she angrily elbowed her malfunctioning jet pack. Taking a deep breath, Matoi leapt from the falling skyscraper and into the hazy sky.

She spun her weapon around her wrist, pressing a button on the handle. Her robotic blade suddenly transformed into a massive and bulky gun. Plummeting towards the ground, she aimed the barrel below her and pulled the trigger. A blinding blue light emitted from the gun, exploding the street beneath her. The force behind her attack pushed her back into the air and onto the roof of a nearby mall where she crashed.

"Makina?! Are you still there?! I'm almost to your location!" She lowered her hand from her ear and peered out into the seemingly infinite amount of ruins. "Damn it."

Suddenly, two Stage One Compactors ran past her and jumped from the roof. Matoi followed after them, shocked at the opportunity in front of her, but as she approached the edge, the monsters disappeared.

"Wah!"

Matoi spun her head towards the sudden outcry, recognizing it as a male. "A survivor?" She stumbled to the other end of the building, puzzled and frightened. Her eyebrows pushed together in disappointment as she made eye contact with Akino, who stood in the middle of the road beside the mall. "Akino! What are you doing here?!"

He put his hand to his chest, sweating as he struggled to defend his actions. "You didn't tell me you were coming out here to be slaughtered!"

Matoi jumped from the roof and sped towards Akino, angrily. "This mission is strictly for Omegas. Get out of here, Akino!"

Clenching his chest harder, Akino leaned back to her, staring her in the face. "If I have a core and your blood pumping through me, then I'm an Omega too."

Matoi backed away, sighing, then looking out towards the direction of the highway. "I don't have time for this. Makina and her squad is in danger, we need to go!"

"What?!" But before Akino could get an answer, she was running.

The two stared as Makina, Kiku, and Asuka were carried into the busses in stretchers. Makina, covered in blood, was hooked up to a defibrillator and the clothing around her leg was missing. Kiku had her arm in a cast and Asuka was strung up to an anesthetic machine with bandages covering her entire body.

Hideyo walked up to them, her body seeing its fair share of wear and tear as well. "Come on Matoi, Akino. We're going back."

"B-But I told you that I saw two others a few miles back!" Matoi cried, pointing behind her.

"That is not Hetsu's order. Come on," she insisted, heading back towards the busses.

Matoi frowned, her gaze low as she treaded her way to the vehicle. Akino stood, frozen in place. Shivers swam down his spine and butterflies filled his stomach as he turned back to the wasteland of the North District.

"Stage Threes… can really… do this?"