FALTER

CHAPTER 56: A new challenger appears.

Further away, the trio of Ari, Yarane and Willow were darting through alleyways, inching slowly closer to what seemed like the center of the battle. They could hear a distant, violent clash, but the footsteps of Ari's new armour covered up much of the noise.

The combination of the adrenaline pumping through his veins and methodical thunk of metal boots on the floor gave Willow a break from the whispering. Still, as they ran through the tight alley, he had to rush right through transparent spirits with glowing eyes.

Ari seemed to be dead-locked onto her destination, but just as she was about to leave the alleyway, Yarane grabbed her by the collar and pulled the young woman back.

She gripped her daughter's shoulders. It was a gesture Yarane had been doing for a long time, as a physical means to ground Ari when her hyperactivity would spike up. As expected, it worked, and the raven haired woman finally took a deep breath.

The long run had helped Ari calm down a little. The flood of memories and the spontaneous appearance of armour on her legs had basically lit a spark in her, and Ari was just running forwards until she was about to explode. Still, it was easier to process who she was now. Vivid images of a black haired woman holding her hand in childhood, of meeting a young boy in a basement, and of the fire raging all around her - she was slowly filing away all of them.Ari smiled at her mother with the euphoria of finally being a complete person. It was a little embarrassing as Yarane did not return the warmth, causing Ari to cup her mother's gaunt face.

"Are you... Is it... still in there?" She whispered.

Yarane held her daughter's hand. "It comes and goes. But I can sense this- it's anger. It's attention is on something else. Someone else."

Ari's heart skipped a beat. The blanks in her memory being filled meant she now understood the extent of destruction they were facing. Her friend - her best friend, whom she had spent 15 years running away from - was alone in front of the monster who had taken everything from them.

"We can stop it now." She said, trying to reassure both herself and her mother. "This time... things have to be different. We can fight."

"I don't want you to fight," Yarane whispered. "Neither of you. You should've just been... you should have more than this..."

"Mom, you... you let me have more. I lived with all this buried in the back of my mind, but *he* didn't. Now is my -our- chance to finish this. We can all be free."

A shadow flickered over the old woman's face. For a moment, she felt just like she had that night. A pang of grief echoed in her heart. She had known, of course, that Ari would eventually find her way back to this mess. That's the stubborn daughter she had raised. And when she looked into Ari's bright red eyes, she saw a fire blazing in them. Her little girl had outgrown the walls Yarane had sheltered her in.

She sighed.

Yarane grunted quietly as she grabbed Ari's prosthetic arm. She ran her fingers over the forearm for a second, feeling for a small depression in the metal. When she found it, she pressed it, and Ari's prosthetic opened up with a hiss. Immediately, it went limp as Ari felt the connection between her and the arm sever.