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Chorus, New Republic Headquarters_

Walking through the corridors of the New Republic's underground command center, Agent Washington made his way to his private quarters, passing New Republic and Federal soldiers alike.

Getting to the door of his room, Washington opened the door before walking and closing it behind him. He took a calm breath through his nose before moving over towards a desk at the end of the room.

Washington pulled out the chair in front of the desk, taking a seat in it as he turned on the nearby desk lamp and pulled out a journal and pen that had been sitting off to the side.

He opened the journal, flipping through several pages, which had already been written in, before halting on a blank page. Holding his pen up in his right hand, Washington clicked it open before placing it down onto the page as he began to write.

"Washington's log entry #14"

"It's been nearly two-and-a half weeks since Hargrove's defeat by the Reds and Blues, and his arrest by the UNSC. The war on Chorus was a destructive and hard-fought one, but the people have started to rebuild, especially since Vanessa Kimball has joined Chorus with the rest of the UNSC. Though I suppose the more accurate name for her now is Madame President."

"As for me and my team, we decided to stick around for a bit and help in the reconstruction. We fought alongside the New Republic and Federal Army through some of the worst dangers we've ever had to deal with. We might as well help with the aftermath. Hell, we've been so busy lately that I haven't had time to make sure my face is clean. I think I'm starting to grow a beard. Though I'm wondering if I should keep it for a little while."

"On the outside, things have been going smoothly for everyone. But for my team..."

Washington then paused in his writing, staring at the pages for a moment before breathing out a heavy sigh. He then went back to writing in his journal.

"We still haven't fully recovered from Epsilon's sacrifice. The last remnant of the Alpha A.I., Church as everyone called him, gone so that the Reds and Blues could make it safely off of Hargrove's ship."

"Everyone has taken it personally in some way. The Reds have taken it somewhat the best out of all of us. I guess that tends to happen when the person who sacrificed themselves for you was once your hated, simulated enemy. Sarge, Grif, Simmons, Donut, and Lopez plan on building a memorial for Epsilon, alongside Chorus's memorial for Donald Doyle. With Doc pitching in."

"Carolina has placed nearly all of her attention to the reconstruction effort, as well as private training sessions she has herself go through every night. I snuck up on her sessions a few days ago. She pushes herself, like she always has, but I can tell she's doing it to hide her pain. Especially since during that session she threw her helmet against the wall and started to cry a bit. I tried my best to console her, but she just brushed it off and retired for the night. It's moments like these when I wish York was still around. He always knew best how to get through to Carolina. Most of the time, anyway."

"Tucker's in a similar state to Carolina. Though instead of pushing himself and training on his lonesome, he's come to me several times so I can help him train with his energy sword and his marksmanship skills. He tends to act the usual way he does around people, but with Epsilon truly gone now, it seems more like a front as opposed to Tucker acting normal. I can't say I blame him. He lost his oldest friend for the third time. And unlike the previous times, I doubt Church will be able to come back."

"Then there's Caboose... he seems to be taking the situation the hardest, yet is equally the most calm about it. He's become more quiet these past days. He still helps people, and tends to give a reassuring remark here and there, but he mostly stays to himself now. If he's not out helping with reconstruction, he's enclosed his room with Freckles. I'd wager Caboose is going through the motions right now. He idolized Church more than anyone else. He even went out of his way to teach Epsilon all of Church's memories to bring back his friend in some way. Every time I ask Caboose if he wants to talk about the incident, he tells me he's fine before getting quiet and walking off."

"Then there's me. I never knew Church or Epsilon as best as everyone else did. He was the leader and teammate to the Blues, and Carolina's personal A.I. for a time. The only experience I have with Church with working alongside him on occasion, working against him when I was under Hargrove, and having some psychological damage from Epsilon being placed into my head. The real issue with me is that I have to watch the rest of my team go through their issues with Epsilon's sacrifice, and I can't do much to try and make things better for them. I'm just a spectator in this situation. And sadly, it seems all I can do is wait and hope for the best that everyone gets better with time."

"Of course, there's still another thing on my mind as of late. After we got the Reds and Blues off of Hargrove's ship and we saw Epsilon's recording, they eventually gave us the rundown of the events that transpired. Part of those events that I focus on is when Felix tried to ambush them. They were able to turn the tables on the wiseass, but like usual, his buddy Locus wasn't far behind him. And yet, after everything Locus and Felix did, after everything we went through against them, Locus turned on Felix and activated the communication tower for the Reds and Blues. Apparently by everyone's account, Locus said that he realized his mistakes, and wanted to make amends for them. But he wasn't going to do it from prison. After that, everyone says he cloaked and left the scene. On the one hand, I guess I can thank Locus for helping get rid of Felix and turning over a new leaf in the end. But on the other, he caused a lot of pain and death on Chorus. That's not something easy to put behind you if want to fix your mistakes. President Kimball's put out a warrant for Locus's arrest, but if Locus is great at one thing other than killing, it's hiding. Some people think he might still be on Chorus, while others believe he snuck aboard a UNSC ship and is far away from the planet by now. Even though people on Chrous want to search for Locus, wherever he is, I do hope that he can at least do some good before someone catches him. God knows that I've been down Locus's road before. Granted, it wasn't as violent or extreme as Locus, but I can somewhat relate to him. And I stress the word "somewhat"."

"Anyways, that's all I have to put down for today's entry. I do hope my team can make it through with Epsilon's death. Only time will tell."

"Washington signing off."

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Tokyo, Japan_

As of the moment, Asagi was driving her car through the bustling streets of Tokyo, with her sister riding shotgun. The sun was shining. It was a beautiful Saturday morning. Yet the Igawa sisters sat in Asagi's car with an awkward silence.

Sakura glanced at Asagi, whom held an uncertain look in her eyes as she drove. Sakura took a few more glances at her sister before getting the urge to speak.

"So... is Church talking to you right now? Or... what?" Sakura asked her sister. "Is he even still in your head?"

Asagi still held her uncertain appearance as she replied back. "He's... been quiet ever since I mentioned that woman's name. I think he's trying to remember whoever this Carolina person is. I can hear him humming and quietly talking in my head, but I can't make out what he's rambling on about."

"The name definitely did something to Church." Sakura nodded. "He just upped and vanished when you mentioned it."

Suddenly, as if the devil had been summoned by name, Epsilon Church reappeared right beside Asagi's face.

"Hey, we talking about me?" Epsilon Church asked.

"Jesus!" Asagi exclaimed in surprise, prompting her to swerve the car a bit in the driving lane.

"Woah!" Sakura shouted with with wide eyes as she clung to the seat and the side of the door for fear life.

Asagi was eventually able to start her car back into proper place within the road's lane, though not without receiving an angry honk from the car driving behind her.

Asagi sighed with a deep breath as she looked to Epsilon Church with an angry expression. "Quit doing that!"

"Listen, I'm gonna disappear and reappear whenever I feel like it." Epsilon Church retorted to Asagi. "Don't blame me for your lack of mental preparation."

"A simple warning or signal would be nice." Asagi seethed back at Epsilon Church before placing her eyes back on the road. "You can't do that when I'm driving. An accident could happen."

"Oh, please. I could calculate of sorts of ways to prevent a car accident." Epsilon Church waved her off. "Get your panties out of a twist."

"I'd say my frustration is justified." Asagi said. "It hasn't been one of the best mornings I've had."

"Well given what I've seen inside your head, it's far from one of the worst ones." Epsilon Church said as he crossed his arms. "I've never seen anything as fucked up as the shit you've gone through."

"So you've said all ready." Asagi sighed a bit.

"I mean seriously, your past experiences seem like something Tucker would watch in his alone time." Epsilon Church rambled on. "I'd rather listen to that retarded song Caboose sang about me than having to compile through your past thoughts."

"Who's Tucker and Caboose?" Sakura asked with a tilted head.

"They're my friends... I think." Epsilon Church said as he put his hand to the chin of his artificial helmet. "I'm still trying to regain some of my own memories. It's why I've been quiet for a bit."

Epsilon Church then moved his attention towards the road as Asagi made a right turn. "But enough about me. Where're we going to?"

"Gosha Academy." Asagi stated. "Hopefully when we get there we can see about removing you from my head. At the very least, maybe we can try and get a better understanding of just what you are. There's no documented A.I. as human-like such as you. There especially aren't any that fall from the night sky inside a pod."

"Aw. Wanting to kick me out all ready? And we were just getting to know each other." Epsilon Church said to Asagi with a mock-hurt tone. "Honestly though, I'm about as stuck on my origins as much as you are. Ironic seeing as how memories are supposed to be my shtick."

"What does that mean?" Sakura asked him.

"Memory is meant to be my primary function. Or... it at least feels that's what it's meant to be." Epsilon Church answered. "Memory is my sole purpose for existing. I'm meant to remember everything I go through, along with the memories of people I've been around. The good. The bad. The batshit stupid. But mine are fragmented right now."

"The pod you apparently were in was damaged when we found it." Asagi told Epsilon Church.

"That would probably do it. If the damage was great enough, it would explain why I was given an emergency eject into your brain." Epsilon Church said to Asagi with a shrug. "For as advanced as I am, I'm still pretty much a glorified computer with a witty and spiteful personality. Translation: I need the word "Fragile" stamped onto me for wherever I go."

"Wait, in a figurative sense? Or a literal one?" Sakura asked in confusion.

"...Yes." Epsilon Church said in a slightly bashful tone as he lowered his head and slumped his shoulders.

"So the reason you're inside my head was because of a safety measure?" Asagi asked Epsilon Church.

"Pretty much." Epsilon Church said before deciding to switch topics. "So this Gosha Academy place... what is it exactly?"

"It's a school funded by the Japanese government to train Taimanin while doubling as an actual school." Asagi explained as she made a down a path beside a green hill, spotting Gosha Academy in the distance.

"I see..." Epsilon Church nodded as he too looked towards the ever approaching visage of the academy. "So what exactly is a Taimanin anyway? I know I've seen inside your head, but it was only really the bad stuff I saw. Nothing too informative of what it is you do... just what tends to happen to you."

"Those are just risks when it comes to being a Taimanin." Asagi said as she glanced off to the side with a frown before bringing her eyes forward again. "In short, we're ninjas with varying special abilities that hunt down demons and monsters that disturb the peace."

"That sounds like the plot to an anime." Epsilon Church remarked.

"If only our job was an anime." Sakura said as she rested her cheek against her palm, looking out from her window. "Then maybe some of things we go through would be easier."

Epsilon Church looked between Asagi and Sakura before he started to think to himself. "Looks like both of these girl's got some baggage to them. Why do I always get stuck with the complicated chicks? Ah, well. It's not like my life is any less complicated than theirs'. It's all just one situation after the next with me."

Soon enough, Asagi pulled her car up to the parking lot of Gosha Academy, parking her car into one of the slots. Epsilon Church could see that there were a decent amount of cars in the area, especially considering how it was a Saturday.

"This place is probably like a college campus." Epsilon Church surmised to himself. "I mean, it is a pretty big academy."

Once parked, Asagi took her keys out of the ignition of her car before pocketing them and opening her door. Sakura doing the same.

"All right. I'm gonna need you to go back inside of my head for now until I say so." Asagi said to Epsilon Church. "I don't want any of the students freaking out if they're wandering about and happen to see you."

"Yeah. Given what happened this morning with you and your sister, I don't want to be bombarded by a bunch of jumpy ninja students." Epsilon Church replied before giving a mock salute. "If you need me, I'll be sorting through my memories. Peace."

The moment Epsilon Church vanished once more, Asagi shook her head, muttering to herself. "This day cannot get any weirder."

With that, Asagi and Sakura headed to the doors of Gosha Academy.

Walking into the academy, Asagi and Sakura were greeted by the sight of a few passing students going about their Saturday. Some were conversing with one another, others were simply kinda their own business, and a few had books in their hands, most likely studying up for tests or future assignments.

"Man, am I glad I don't live on campus." Sakura remarked as she looked around at the students. "Gosha Academy is great, but I wouldn't want to actually live at school."

"That's because you're not the most academic person here, Sakura." A female voice came into view.

Asagi and Sakura's attention were brought to the sight of a familiar face and friend, one whom Sakura smiled at.

"Oh! Hi, Murasaki!" Sakura cheerfully waved at her friend.

Murasaki was a young woman with fair skin, red eyes, and long blue hair. She was currently in her Taimanin attire which consisted of a white body suit that covered her chest and breasts—leaving a window open just above said breasts that led to a white collar piece—that ended a skirt piece. She wore white, sleeved gloves that had a fishnet design at her elbows. On her legs she wore black, thigh-high latex leggings that were covered with metal armor that served as her boots. One more thing to notice about her attire were the pieces of metal that were sparsely patterned on her suit and gloves.

"Hello to you too, Sakura." Murasaki blandly replied to the orange haired Igawa sister.

She then turned her attention to Asagi, a small smile forming on her face as she spoke to the elder Igawa sister with a more happy tone. "What are you two doing here on a Saturday? Have you been called in for assignment?"

"No. We found something... strange yesterday night, and we decided to come here to see if Sugita was in the lab today." Asagi explained. "Though I see you yourself are dressed for a mission."

"I just got back from one. Reconnaissance." Murasaki replied while crossing her arms. "I'm actually heading over to the lab right now. Big Brother called and informed me he and Tatsurou found something strange too and brought whatever it was to Sugita."

"Perfect. Let's get over then." Asagi smiled.

"Of course." Murasaki said.

With that, Murasaki joined up with Asagi and Sakura as the trio of woman walked further into the academy, making their way to the lab.

After several minutes of walking, they eventually got to the lab. Upon entry, they were greeted to the sight of Murasaki's brother, Kurou, standing alongside a Taimanin woman who was inspecting something on a lab table.

This woman was Sugita Karin. She was around Asagi's age with fair skin, wavy black hair that ran past her shoulders and violet eyes. Her Taimanin attire was more concealing than Murasaki's, but still showed off parts of her skin. Her wore a black and silver body suit that covered up her stomach, lower regions, and the sides of her breasts—which had a window in the middle that showed off the crevice her cleavage with a diamond-shaped blue jewel at the top-center of the gap that held the upper part of her suit together. She had a black neck collar that was connected to her long, purple and black sleeves, which ended with her black gloves. Jutting off from the sides of her suit were purple and black coattails. Her legs were covered in armored, purple and black thigh-high boots that connected to her suit via two silver straps. The last and most notable feature about her was that a black and silver mask sat upon her face, covering her mouth, nose, and ears.

However, once Sugita and Kurou looked up to see the trio of women enter into the lab, Asagi was able to notice what it was they were inspecting. Two other pods that were in similar shape and design to the one Epsilon Church was in, but both having a different glow in color.

"Hey, Kurou." Murasaki waved at her brother. "I brought along a few friends with me."

While Kurou himself didn't look directly at either of the Igawa sisters, he crossed his arms and nodded to them. "Asagi. Sakura. What brings you both here?"

"Well we came across something weird last night and we're hoping Miss Karin could help us figure out—." Sakura began before she too took notice of the pod-shaped objects. "Oh..."

Sugita was quick to notice the looks in Asagi and Sakura's eyes when noticed they pods. "Do two you have some familiarity with these objects?"

"Yeah. Familiarity is a word to use." Asagi said as she walked up to the other two pods. "One of these things crashed right beside out house last night. But the one we came across was blue."

"So there are more of these pods out there?" Sugita mused to herself as she and Kurou shared a look.

"Wait, crashed?" Murasaki questioned. "Does this have anything to do with that weird meteor shower last night?"

"That's what seems to be the case." Kurou said to his sister. "Command assigned me and Tatsurou to investigate the two that crashed near the academy."

"After which I was tasked with inspecting them for the time being." Sugita stated as she picked up the pod that glowed aqua in color. "Whatever they are, they are highly advanced. But given how alien they are in origin, I haven't been able to do too many tests on them, lest I end up damaging the pods."

"Well, me and Asagi know what happens when you do that." Sakura chipped in response to Sugita.

This prompted Sugita to raise a brow at Sakura as she set the pod back onto the table. "What do you mean by that?"

"The pod that crashed by our house was damaged." Asagi began to explain. "I went to pick it up, but the moment I did it sent a shock through my body and cause the pod's light to die. At first we didn't think much of it and thought we'd bring you the damaged pod when we got up. But... the moment I woke up, Sakura and I found out that the shock I received had ejected something into my mind. Or rather, someone."

"Someone?" Murasaki repeated as she cast Asagi a concerned look.

Asagi breathed in through her nose for a moment before uttering out her next words. "Church. Come on out."

Before Murasaki, Kurou, or Sugita could question about who Asagi was talking to, Epsilon Church manifested beside her head.

"Hey, what's up?" Epsilon Church asked Asagi before looking at Sugita, Murasaki, and Kurou.

He was quick to notice the looks of surprise on Murasaki's and Sugita's faces, and the raised brow Kurou had on his. At least they didn't scream or jump in surprise like Asagi and Sakura did.

"Ah. I see. More Taimanin people. And in spandex. That's fun." Epsilon Church remarked while rolling his head.

"What is that?" Sugita asked as she moved closer to inspect Epsilon Church.

"Oh, great. What is this? The hundredth time I've had to explain this whole A.I. thing to someone?" Epsilon Church asked. "I mean it's not, but it's getting a bit repetitive at this point."

"He goes by the name of Church, but his offfical name is, or perhaps designation in this case, is Epsilon." Asagi said as she motioned her hand at Epsilon Church, who waved his hand at the other three Taimanin. "He was what was inside the pod that we found."

"And we've been roommates ever since." Epsilon Church said in jest.

"Very fascinating." Sugita said as she placed her hand to his her mask-covered chin.

"So this... Church is living inside of your head?" Murasaki asked with an almost perturbed expression.

"Yep." Epsilon Church answered to her. "She's seen some of my thoughts, I've seen some of her very disturbing ones. It's just... it's been great. You know? I think I've never been more disgusted in my entire life."

"He has a lot of sarcasm for a computer program." Kurou commented on Epsilon Church.

"Believe me. I know." Asagi sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose a bit.

"Church even admitted to us that he's an asshole." Sakura added in.

"And I'm a professional at being one too." Epsilon Church turned to look at Sakura before looking back forward. "But anyways, Asagi. Sakura. You wanna introduce me to your friends or am I gonna have to pass out nicknames?"

"Please don't." Asagi spoke in a deadpan tone before motioning to the others. "These two over here are the Yatsu's. That's Kurou and his younger sister, Murasaki. Then over here, we have the Taimanin's top investigator, Sugita Karin."

"Well they all sound like lovely people. Especially given your line of work." Epsilon Church said to Asagi. "So did you bring them all here to show me off, or there is something else going on?"

"Well, Asagi and Sakura did say they came to see me about you." Sugita said to Epsilon Church. "But I was previously brought in to inspect something else. And given light of new information, perhaps this "something else" is something you can identify for us."

"What is it?" Epsilon Church asked.

Sugita moved out of the way to show Epsilon Church the two pods that rested upon the lab table. The moment he made eye-contact, the cobalt A.I. froze in shock, his figure appearing to glitch out for a moment.

"Church?" Asagi asked in slight concern, furrowing her eyes as he glitched out a bit. "Are you all right?"

It was then that Epsilon Church vanished for a moment before reappearing right beside the two pods, placing his hand on the one that glowed gold, even though he couldn't physically touch it.

"Where did you find these?" Epsilon Church asked, sounding a little more serious than he had before.

"Kurou and another Taimanin found them crashed by the academy." Sugita said as she walked up to Epsilon Church. "Do you recognize them?"

"Yeah... they're A.I.'s. Just like me." Epsilon Church said, his tone almost distant. "The gold one Eta, and the aqua one is Iota. The twins."

"Epsilon, Eta, and Iota..." Murasaki muttered to herself. "Like the Greek alphabet?"

"Mm-hmm." Epsilon Church nodded before turning around to look at Sugita. "You said they crashed near your school?"

"Correct. With you crashing at the Igawa Residnece." Sugita said. "And given everyone's account, you and your A.I. friends were the result of a strange meteor shower that occurred last night. Though I'm starting to doubt there may been any actually meteorites within it."

"Strange how?" Epsilon Church asked.

"Well, given from I saw last night, the meteorites didn't shoot off in the same direction." Murasaki stated. "Two shot off to the direction of the acadmey. One shot off towards Neo Tokyo. Another shot off near where Asagi and Sakura live. The rest shot off into different areas of Tokyo, with the largest of them and another shooting off away from the city."

"How many supposed meteorites did you see shoot off?" Epsilon Church asked as he turned his attention to Murasaki.

"Ten in total." The blue-headed Taimanin answered.

"Ten meteorites... me, Eta, and Iota..." Epsilon started to mutter to himself as he placed one hand to his chin and the other under his elbow.

"What are you thinking about, Church?" Asagi asked her new A.I. companion.

"There's something I gotta tell you." Epsilon Church said as he looked at Asagi. "When I said I was an A.I. I was only being partially true. To be more precise, I'm a fragment of an official A.I., same as the twins, same as all of the other fragments. We're all fragments of the A.I. that's referred to Alpha. From then on its Beta, Gamma, Delta, Theta, Eta, Iota, Sigma, and Omega."

"Huh. Looks like you were right about the Greek alphabet thing, Murasaki." Sakura said to her friend.

"Ten meteorites. Ten pods. Ten A.Is." Epsilon Church said while putting up his fingers emphasis. "All scattered across Japan. And believe me when I say you're gonna want to find them all before someone else does."

"What's the issue?" Kurou asked.

"Each of us have a special ability. A personality trait we each have from the Alpha." Epsilon Church began to explain. "I'm memory. Eta is fear. Iota is happiness. Beta is failure. Delta is logic. Theta is innocence. Gamma is deceit. But the two you want to look out for the most are Omega and Sigma."

"What's special about those two?" Asagi asked.

"Omega is rage. He hates just about everything and everyone, and is just looking for an excuse to start killing and beating the ever-loving crap out of anything that moves." Epsilon Church said while pointing his finger out. "But Sigma is the baddest of us all. He represents creativity, and not the good kind. He's your basic evil A.I. that will do anything to get what he wants. He'll use every underhanded tactic he can think of. And what's worse, is that he can manipulate people within their heads. Sometimes to the point where they do everything he tells them to."

"That sounds bad." Sakura said with a worried look.

"You don't know the half of it." Epsilon Church replied. "He once turned one of the strongest and most reliable soldiers in the galaxy into a cold-blooded monster that killed and destroyed as Sigma saw fit, without remorse."

"Yeah, that sounds really bad." Sakura said her worried look increased.

"Believe me, you're gonna want to find these pods before someone else does. Cause if they find Omega or Sigma, there's going to be danger." Epsilon Church stated as he tightened his right hand into a fist. "And it's not going to be a pretty sight."

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Neo Tokyo, Japan_

Within the alleyway it landed in, the orange glowing pod continued to pulse with its demonic hum, the sun reaching down upon the pod's metal shell.

Soon enough, the sound of footsteps entered into the alleyway. It was then the pod found itself in the hand of a young woman.

She was petite with light skin, golden eyes, pointy ears, and short pink hair. She wore a suit similar to the design of a Taimanin's. It was pink in color with a collar and zipper that ran down the middle, as well as having small fishnet sections on each side of the suit that were outlined in black. She wore long black gloves that were fishnet around her elbows, with the hand-end of her gloves covered in pink padding. Her suit ended just right around her hips as her feet were covered with black and pink boots. Lastly, she had a katana sheathed onto her back.

The young woman analyzed the orange glowing pod in her hand with curious intent.

"What are you?" The young woman asked in an almost child-like voice.

The pod continued with its hum for a moment before it did something that caused the young woman to widen her eyes in shock and surprise.

"My name is Sigma." The pod spoke back to her with an eerie yet calming voice, pulsing it's orange glow with each word. "Who, pray-tell, might you be?"

Scene fades to black

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Author's notes

So, here's the new chapter. Finally, I know.

I wanted to get this out sooner, around three weeks ago, but I was having trouble on figuring out how to start the chapter off. Then that following week, I was visiting family in Tennessee. So the last two weeks I've been working on this chapter. The biggest reason why it was being down so slowly was because I was also thinking about how to do the first chapter for my revision of X-Force, which reminded very prominent in my head until I started to focus back onto this story.

But anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. They'll be another armor voting chapter real soon so keep and eye out for that.

Speaking of, it's time to reel in the polls from the first armor voting.

A: Helioskrill: 9 votes

B: Fotus: 1 vote

C: Copperhead: 7 votes

So when I get to the Taimanin characters with A.Is getting their armor, Ingrid will be wearing the Helioskrill armor.

I will see you all next time. Peace.