Arvast

Noelle has no idea why she still carries the briefcase despite her vehement rejection of using the A.V.E. Perhaps it's just for emergencies or, everything forbid, a sense of security. For now, she has to bring it with her and make sure she doesn't have a DNA lock on her.

As of now, she and other Anti-Glitch Squad members are at the entrance to Faunus Forest, a mountainous forestation that is located at the north side of the city. It is one of the tourist spots where hikers and campers alike can enjoy the natural environment.

But now it has become a battlefield of humans and a titan sized monster.

She surveys her surroundings as she sees groups of officers working on different large machines, some are standard machine guns that have bipods while she can see about two Patchers.

Xing Tian and Aquila are at the forefront of the battlefield with some scouts. The scouts are using binoculars to look ahead to see where the new Glitch is. Consider how large the Glitch is, they could even see it among the foliage.

"Ma'am." An officer approaches her from the back. "Most of us are ready for combat, and the assistance from the military is coming soon."

The woman nods before dismissing the officer back to his position. For now, they have to wait for the monster to approach them. She didn't know why, but she has a feeling many things will go wrong this time.

Not that the previous times are not bad on it's own. They have their own fair share of things going wrong due to the unpredictability of the Glitches. But her gut feeling tells her it would go south if they didn't prepare enough.

'Hopefully we did, or else everything we did will be for nothing.' She grimly thought, clenching her hands in anticipation.

"Incoming minion Glitches!" One of the scouts announces, putting everyone into combat ready.

'Now or never.' Nu readies her Magia and takes aim in the general direction of the Glitch approaching. The first shot is fired and the skirmish begins.

Xing Tian and Aquila take pot shots to any incoming minions, but are well aware of their role in this skirmish. They have already made clear that as soon as the titan Glitch appears, they will spearhead the assault.

Everyone continues as usual, taking down Glitches at a distance until they have to back out to keep their distance.

That is the routine until the ground begins to quake. Everyone sees this as a signal that their true battle is coming and doubles down on their effort to ensure the minions will not cross their defense.

"I'll morph and take into the sky to see if I can snipe the Glitch. While at it, do more ground support with your A.V.E." Xing Tian nods before the two A.V.E users morph into their armored forms. As soon as it completes, Casper-Sky takes flight into the air.

The Defender watches her commander ascend to the sky before turning to her enemies. She observes the Glitch minions continue to flood the field. 'Might as well try the new weapon,' she thought to herself and thrust out her hand.

"What's the code word…" She mumbles, racking her brain for the command before she has a eureka moment. "Materialize number 38!" She commanded before a small tear materialized, dropping the Tiger's Bite out of the hole.

She takes hold of the handle mid-air and swings it vertically with two arms a few times to test the weight. She feels nervous as she never used a sword, and she hasn't gotten any training from Noelle.

"I suppose I should wing this." She charges into the battle and swings the falchion to cut a Glitch. It misses, leaving an opening for a minion to hit her. Without hesitation, she removes her right hand from the handle and punches the minion.

'Perhaps using the sword now is a poor idea.' She sweat drops at her own failure before picking up again and tries again in her attempt to cut down another minion.

In the air, Casper-sky surveys the field before putting all her attention on the titan monster. She joins her hand together and changes her form into the bulky form. The cannon hums for a moment as power is charging before firing a neon blast on the Glitch.

The blast collides the shell of the monster and blows up, creating a smokescreen that forces Casper-sky to be alert. She needs to make sure the blast did something to the monster.

She instinctively swivels to the left and a green laser shot grazes her. She quickly looks back and bit back a curse. Her strongest blast barely did anything to the shell, so that means she needs to hit vulnerable parts.

'Based on that shot, I think it's safe to say the turrets react to incoming attacks and counter it.' The woman clicks her tongue at the potential annoyance and danger this new Glitch is.

She has to look for a weak spot now or nothing can be done at all. She flies towards the Glitch to get a better sight, trying to discern any possible weakness. As she approaches, the turret on the shell suddenly turns to her direction and begins firing.

She quickly backs off, outmaneuvering any oncoming attacks and creating distance between her and the monster. Once far enough, the turrets stop firing and the monster continues its march.

Casper-sky mulls over the new revelations despite being nearly taken down by the bombardment a moment ago. She finally has a conclusion and forms a plan in her head before descending to the ground, looking for a certain bispecticle woman.

Nu takes cover on a fallen trunk, trying to recuperate from the extensive battle. The battle is starting to exhaust her and many other officers, with the constant quaking and flood of Glitches creating problems for them.

A barrage of lasers flies past overhead, taking down any Glitches before Casper-sky descends in front of her. The eagle armored woman dematerializes her arm assault rifle before walking up to Nu.

"I've more or less figured out what we can do with the titan Glitch." Casper-sky reports before continuing. "But there is a problem, the turrets on its shell are automated and have a 1 Kilometer range. I can only do real damage if I am near enough."

Nu nods before asking her one question, "What can we do to help? Disabling the turret seems to be out of the option."

Casper-sky nods, agreeing that disabling the turret is out of the option. "Which is why I want you to use the new A.V.E."

Nu freezes from the new command. She didn't believe what her commander had ordered her to do, and that is to be the user of the new A.V.E. "M-ma'am," she stutters out of fear. "I cannot use it even if it is compatible with me."

"Why is that?" Casper-sky asks coldly. "You are definitely our best choice right now, and if you allow your past fear to get hold of you, then this operation is a bust!" Nu flinches, she can tell her commander is not in the mood for apprehensive officers right now.

"Nu," the commander grabs hold of her shoulder tightly. "Get a grip of yourself now. If it's still too much for you then we'll deal with it later!"

Casper-sky picks up the briefcase that Nu still carries around. "See, you're carrying it around! I don't know what it means to you but…" She shoves the briefcase to Nu. "...I would rather have you use it than give it to some inexperienced idiot!"

Nu bit her lips, staring at the case. Her commander is right about her getting a grip, and starts helping. But even so, she can still feel anxiety creeping into her. Years of being released from her past has made her complacent, and now it returns to haunt her.

She pushes her fear away with a deep breath and schools her face into a cold demeanor. For now, she must use her old persona. Her face becomes stone cold and her breath stills. Opening the briefcase, she picks up a black Downloader and a grey D-USB with a white letter 'A' on it.

She straps on the Downloader, waiting for the announcement that it is DNA-locked to her. She slots in the D-USB with some hesitation, still having reservation towards being the next one to use the A.V.E before fully slotting it in.

[MATERIALIZING ARVAST SET]

A black dome surrounds Nu as her body begins to morph into the new form, starting from her limbs. A short trident materializes from the ground, rising up until the dome cast off and a scaly hand takes hold of it.

The new figure has a grey bodysuit with a pair of black scaly, sharp gauntlets. She has a pair of black sabatons and knee guards to protect her legs minimally. Her elbow guard has sharp points at the tip of the joint, and her main body is protected with a boobplate that didn't protect her midriff. Around her waist is a storage belt, small enough to not impede her movement. The most distinguished part is the snake helmet, with the grey colored eye visor and fang mouthguard.

The short trident she carries is black in color with purple tip and razor edges.

The new figure looks at her hands for a moment, clenching it a few times before turning to Casper-sky.

"Agent Arvast is on duty, what are your orders now ma'am." Arvast coldly asks.