Saya interrupted them after ten minutes.

Aimee took another week of rest, and the two had their first date after, though Mia wasn't sure if their dinners before counted or not. Aimee had joked about her finally getting a girlfriend and falling in to coma right after, and the two had laughed, comedy being tragedy plus time. Mia still hunted and stayed over with Marisa most days, though Aimee had gotten to see her new ice freeze a man alive just in time for one Rider-hit to shatter him.

In early October, Mia was leaving the gate with Marisa, then heard Aimee shouting her name behind. She turned and the two kissed, Marisa grinning beside.

"H-Hey." smiled Aimee. "Needed you to come see something. Marisa too. Think they, uh, found Rayaka."

The three set towards Aimee's mansion. Makoto opened the door, smirking like Marisa as she led them inside, television already on.

"Two lovebirds are here." she said, and one Dmitri head nodded as he shifted to make room on the couch. The news was one.

"Residents across various counties have reported body parts appearing in their sinks, showers, and toilets. Now, we must advise you, these images are very, very graphic, and not appropriate for children to see…"

An amputated arm came on-screen.

"That's it?" yawned Makoto. "Boring."

"Boo. -- Boo." said Dmitri mock-ruefully, and the five, along with Atori, laughed.

"Maintenance crew got uh, sent down to the sewers near here." Aimee kept her hand on her girlfriend's; it helped reassure her Mia didn't suddenly hate her. "Only person that could transport those bodyparts everywhere is Rayaka."

"Probably in the sewers." Makoto leaned back. "Might just flee again, though. I fucking hate water Revenants."

"Then kill them quicker." said Atori.

"Uh, then we're back to nothing, Scarface."

Dmitri's two heads spoke. "Decant has the -- sticky acid, maybe."

"Uh, Mia." said Aimee. "Do you think if I um, enhanced you - could probably freeze with good range, right?"

"It did work on that one dude." shrugged Marisa. "Uh, or what was left of him."

Mia nodded. Aimee had to put that kill in manually; there hadn't been anything left to scan.

"Yeah." said Aimee. "Uh, so me, Mia, Marisa - one team. Atori and Dmitri another. Anyone want to go with Makoto?" Without waiting: "Okay, she can solo. Good luck."

"Fuck off." laughed Makoto.

+++++

The six went through the city and in to three different manholes, Atori & Dmitri one, Aimee & Marisa & Mia another, and the pink-haired brat got to solo.

Mia climbed down in to the sewers, concrete paths along the tunnel, green river between, Marisa&Aimee already standing.

Aimee nodded to Mia, and a single fire scarab appeared in the air. It burst open in a tuft of orange flame -

- and the air around burst in to flames -

- but an ice scarab snuffed it out before the methane could explode, Mia nodding, having already trained her counterscarabs. The two hugged Marisa, and the fashionista started swinging along the tunnel, hearing someone whistling a minute away & past the corner -

- to an expected sight fifty feet ahead, Marisa upping the pace of her swinging as he turned on the horizon -

" - you again!" laughed Rayaka, throwing his coat in to the pool - " - what do I owe the honor of these three bitches coming after me -"

" - enhance!" shouted Aimee as they landed, Rider's tendrils in Mia's veins; Mizuchi's enormous form burst out of the green river -

- but a swarm of ice scarabs froze the entire moat, Rayaka laughing as he leaped up to Mizuchi, serpent's form filling the tunnel and head swaying, icicles slicing his coat in two -

" - another fucking theft! You get around, don't you - Schultz!" he shouted; Mizuchi's head smashed the ceiling behind the three -

- and the rain of rubble blocked their retreat, concrete chunks falling behind as Marisa aimed her palms there -

" - Boudoir!"

- a dozen strands erupted from her palms -

- and slammed a dozen bits of concrete right through Mizuchi's fangs; it screeched as it staggered back, Aimee rushing up as Rider's tendrils went taut -

- and Rayaka was in Mizuchi's mouth in the next just as Aimee was on its back, knife slashing and carving, foe disappearing within his Revenant's maw. Screeching again, it thrashed the upstart off its back and in to another wall, glob of venom following behind -

- but an ice scarab froze it in midair, Mia with some pride at her usefulness as Aimee appeared beside; underneath another sweep dodged the three, and Marisa relayed an idea then.

Ahead, Mizuchi's open maw shot towards them -

- and the next scene was instant. Marisa ripped her blade out of her dress; Aimee dipped her tendrils in Mia's veins; Mia set Boudoir's blade alight as Marisa threw it forward -

- and the keen end of the flaming blade went straight down Mizuchi's throat; they heard Rayaka screaming inside, green serpent charring black, form starting to wilt as it slumped down -

- and the three saw with aghast eyes Mizuchi's form split in to two, two serpents rising out of the green moat -

" - fuck." sighed Aimee, and in the next instant -

" - FTL!"

- Mia turned -

- and appeared in the middle of an abandoned street in the next, Dreadnought's form disappearing from her vision ahead; she shot up with scarabs readied, glancing back, burnt husks of buildings around. She felt something behind up the street, and as she turned -

- she saw a car thrown towards her -

- but a wall of ice burst up ahead, and in to the barrier smashed the car, keeping her safe as she stepped back -

- just in time to avoid a glass-eyed woman bursting out of the ground ahead, drill carved out of her head and claws on her hands; and the two hit the ground fighting. In a whirlwind of blows they fought along the frozen wall, ice scarabs growing to repair it & lengthen it across the entire avenue, and as a single scarab flew below the woman's boot -

- it froze her step to the ground; Mia swiped for her neck -

- but caught only air as the woman arched back, drill hitting the ground -

- and underneath the asphalt she went again. Burrow's hole still left, Mia held her palm in to it -

" - Worldwide!"

- and a jet of water erupted from her hand; beside, her ice wall shattered as she froze within the entire burrow - she shot up to glance back up -

- and saw her mole foe dragging herself out of the ground ahead, dozen icicles having claimed her body; ahead, Mia saw her new foe twenty feet away, eight eyes with white tentacles dripping out of them. Four tentacles shot to her wrists -

- but her body covered in water couldn't be gripped, letting her slip out as she swept to the side -

- dodging the next volley of four that came. She glanced back and noticed something odd about his tendrils, and in the next instant -

- and the keen end of a dozen claws entered her back; she shrieked as she stumbled forward -

- but another dozen stalactites burst out of her back and impaled her mole foe behind, horrific shriek erupting from her female foe as the corpse fell off of her hedgehog-like back.

Bacteria suppressing her nerves, her eyes kept forward as her male foe staggered back forty feet away, and as his 8-eyes disappeared -

- she swept back just in time to avoid four tentacles shooting from her right -

- but the next four came from her left & shot through her blade; she stumbled back with her weapon lost, noting that the tentacles always had to extend their full length as three of them disappeared ahead -

- and three tentacles burst up from below -

- but another step back & they caught only air as they grew; a spray of ice hit their bases and froze them halfway up their length -

- but she cursed as the tips curled & bashed their frozen prisons before they retracted, swift spray of fire melting the frozen shards to steam before they could be thrown back at her.

Weapon shattered & needing space first, she rushed back up the sidewalk & away, setting her hand to a building's outer wall as she ran past a bent lamppost. Across the street, eight tentacles shot towards her -

- but the next scene was instant. A swarm of fire scarabs burnt eight holes in the wall, and in to the crevices went the tendrils -

- just in time for a frozen spray to freeze their tips in place, trapping them there as Mia swept underneath them and rushed back to the lamppost, with her eyeless foe staggering thirty feet away.

Hands flaming, she gripped the lamppost and ripped a section out of it, freezing the pipe solid as she rushed at her foe; as she came within range, she heard the tentacles breaking out of their prison behind -

- and one superheated pipe bashed his head apart in a shower of steaming gore, and in a second sweep on the return -

- smashed his nose apart in a mist of red, and in a third hit -

- that compressed his skull in to a mess of flesh-colored goo, and she kept bashing until she was sure that he was dead. A little proudly, she smiled to herself as she stood -

- and two right arms gripped her with the strength of a thousand back; she thrashed and shrieked, scarabs flying in to her foe she knew was there -

" - GIVE WORLDWIDE TO ME!" his otherworldly tone filled her ear as she grunted, her pipe swinginf wildly back -

- and he slammed her with the strength of a million against the ground, one boot rising as her right arm rose -

" - W-Worldwide -" she panted as he stomped -

- and her pipe turned frozen in time to hold his vicious stomp back; grunting as she rolled away, her weapon fell out of her hands as she stood twenty feet away -

- and one stomp shattered it to metal shards, Dreadnought turning to her now, one four-fingered hand gripping the lamppost beside -

- and ripping it clear out of the ground; as it was thrown towards her, her body covered in ice -

- and the projectile turned frozen as soon as it hit her armor, swift shove of it away before it could damage her, twenty feet separating the two, Mia's wounds dripping heavily.

"W-Why - why are you -"

" - give Worldwide back to me - I'll fucking kill every single -"

" - you - why are you GIVING it to me -"

" - FTL!" he shouted and disappeared, and in the next instant -

- two fists hit her back and smashed her in the ground; she gasped as she rolled to her back -

- and two hands gripped her with the strength of a thousand down, scarabs swarming to try to burn him, flames growing & turning to white; Dreadnought paused, two right arms still pinning her as she thrashed and screamed -

" - WORLD - WORLDWIDE!" she shouted; a spray of blue fire erupted from her palm -

- and charred clear through his arm; he screamed as he staggered, grip unclenching in time for another spray of purple to disintegrate two of his fingers clear off, scarabs starting to burrow in to her skin and biting her fingers -

" - WORLDWIDE -" she panted, scarabs burning purple -

- just in time for one four-fingered fist to go through her chest & out again, still-beating heart still-connected out of the ghastly aperture, fear in the otherworldly tone -

" - hollow vessel in the form of woman - heed the will of your new master -"

- and her movements slowed as a reflection in a disturbed pond; she couldn't move her limbs and her eyes wouldn't respond because some invisible force was glueing her hands to her sides as he stood off of her and set her heart back in, and she didn't feel anything but the unholiness of the scene as her legs dragged her up until she was standing and staring right in to his eyeless face, agony of her first wound repeating every time she wanted to move or have any thought of her own until she felt a pair of fangs slash open her back -

- and she fell back to the ground again; Rayaka was there and standing over her, shouting at the end of her hearing that he'd gotten her for Ryumi, but the only scene she could see was Dreadnought's two hands grabbing him by his legs, hanging him upside-down, and as a man might snap a wishbone -

- tore his body in two, and as he discarded the grisly halves over his shoulders she heard him say a date & town she didn't remember until after he was gone, six fingers digging in to his own chest and peeling it open to reveal four hearts, ripping one out and shoving it down her throat enough that she didn't need to swallow as her wound healed and the swirling mist disappeared from her head when she was back at Aimee's side.