Core Foundation Building, Cobalt Sector

Seishin Realm

12:45PM

Having spent enough time at Ms.West's home, Colt and Yuri returned to the Normal Realm in anticipation of the scheduled meeting with the Core Foundation.

"We're not going to the usual room we always go to?" asked Colt as they passed through the halls of the basement.

"No. Since I told them that you were coming with me, they wanted to hold the meeting in an interrogation room."

"Oh."

They reached what looked like some sort of visitor's area for a prison. The walls were enforced with a shiny metal, along with the polished floors.

Sitting at a table in the center was a man in a suit.

The duo joined the man at the table, sitting beside one another.

"Colt, we're glad to have you here with us." said the man, "As I'm sure Yuri has informed you, we've captured another hybrid that Fuchsia has created."

"Yeah," he sighed, "She told me-Wait. What happened to the other guy who meets with us?"

The man's expression darkened, "You mean Johnson? He won't be returning."

"Did he quit or something?"

Yuri pinched Colt's thigh underneath the table, "I'll tell you later..."

Their hesitant responses to the matter fogged his mind with doubt. Yuri was always "hands on" when it came to commanding him, but a little too much haste was thrown in here. Even the man's almost devoid eyes were off.

Not indicative of a simple firing procedure.

However, he kept himself focused on the task at hand.

"By the way, my name is Cooly." said the man.

"Cooly?" Colt chuckled, "Nice to meet you."

"We were planning on asking Yuri to compare the specimen with Mitsuba Summers' condition, but you asked to come, so there's been a change of plans."

"Do you still want me to explain what the other hunters told me?" asked Yuri.

"Yes. We'll begin with that."

"A group of beast hunters found her-the specimen, standing by a graveyard. They managed to restrain it before much of a fight."

"I see. Any core powers?"

"They didn't get a chance to see any." said Yuri, "Can't you people down here figure that out?"

Cooly nodded, "If it were conscious, we could have used a drug to force the use of a core power, but that isn't the case. In fact, the specimen appears to be in some sort of deep comatose. And that's why you're here, Colt. As a victim of Fuchsia's ability, we'll see if you can awaken the specimen."

Colt nodded as he leaned forward, "Did you guys learn anything else while I was gone?"

Cooly nodded, "Yes. Mainly being that Fuchsia growing more active, as we anticipated. Nothing else comes to mind though. We originally planned on running some surgeries on you, but this new specimen gives us a successful product of Fuchsia's power. Given that Summers has yet to be obtained."

Right, she mentioned how she only targeted animals before.

I guess human victims are important.

Folding his paper, Cooly rose from his seat, "Now, we'll have the specimen sit on the other side of the glass. Try to wake it up."

Colt walked over to one of the seats and sat in front of the glass window. Crystal clear glass with not a single stain on it. Quite the far cry from the ones in prison.

Before long, two men dressed in suits came walking into the room on the other side of the glass. With them, they rolled in a young woman on a wheelchair.

Despite the fact that she was asleep, she was restrained in a straitjacket, along with other bindings and such.

Leaving her in front of the window, the two men stood in the back of the room, nodding for Colt to proceed.

"I'm not really used to this kind of stuff, so bear with me..." Drawing in a deep breath, he scanned the young woman.

Why were they calling her a specimen?

She's still a normal girl here...Eh, must be some scientific slang.

"What's up?"

Yuri facepalmed.

"I told you that I'd suck at this," Colt groaned before turning to Cooly, "What's her name."

Cooly flipped through his papers, "The subject's name is Ivy Brooks. Try talking about things high school girls would normally be interested in. That may spring a reaction."

He sighed, "How in the hell am I supposed to know that?" He turned to Yuri, "Any ideas?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I wouldn't know either."

"But you're a girl!"

"I didn't have the typical high school girl lifestyle growing up. I'm a Saint for God sakes..."

"True..."

What's something that Mitsuba would care about?

It's been a while since he had to think of her, but the stinging pain somewhat lessened compared to the other times.

"Um...Ivy? Have you seen the new Kpop bands? Their music is amazing..."

No response.

"I went to the beach yesterday."

Yuri stifled a laugh in the background.

Shit...

Colt cracked his knuckles, "Nevermind. How did you do on the entrance exams? I failed most of mine."

No response.

Giving in, Colt turned back to Cooly, "Look, this isn't working. Did you guys try calling her family here or something?"

Cooly shook his head, "We'd like to refrain from introducing the existence of core beasts to any humans within the Normal Realm. Before you came, you may have heard of them being addressed as cryptids. As of now, the specimen is reported as missing."

"Oh..."

"Try using your core power, it may produce some results."

"Well, she is a core beast..." Colt searched the room before he scratched the back of his head, "I can only heal myself, so I need to hurt myself first."

I just said that I'm tired of this shit...

Snatching the gun from Cooly's waistband, Colt shot himself straight in the thigh.

"What the fuck?" Yuri covered her mouth as Cooly jumped back.

"Ow! That hurts!" Colt hunched over in his seat and healed the bullet wound in his thigh.

Unfortunately, the ringing pain refused to recede. Trying to end things without giving himself a chance to think over the risks was a horrible idea. The gunpowder began to dissipate within his thigh, destroying even more tissue...or whatever was tearing inside of his body.

"What kind of gun is this?" he muttered between groans.

"It's a specialized weapon used to assassinate people!" Cooly snatched the gun away from Colt, "If the agent that's inside of that bullet even comes close to anything vital, it's fatal! Why would you shoot yourself?"

"I-I needed to get injured somehow...I really should've thought that through." His vision grew blurry as he struggled to keep himself balanced in his seat.

Yuri ran over to him, most likely checking on him; However, her voice grew distant as a deafening silence fell over him.

It's not healing?

I don't have enough core energy to heal this...

And just like that, everything had returned to normal. The wound on his leg had healed, with any traces of pain vanquished.

"N-Nevermind, I just healed it." said Colt as he rubbed his leg, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Yuri and Cooly glanced at one another before turning back to him.

"Colt, you just stole some of my core energy-"

Ivy threw herself against the window pounding her skull against the fortified barrier. Thick veins ran up and down her face and neck, with her bloodshot eyes tearing wide open.

"She's moving!" Cooly ran over to the window to get a closer look. "Ivy, do you remember what happened to you-"

Shredding through her restraints, she lunged after the two men in the back of the room, unhinging her jaw like a snake. Blood spilled across the room as she sank her teeth into their skulls, bringing brief, yet gruesome ends to their lives.

Cooly pulled out his handheld transceiver, "I need backup in the sub interrogation room! Two employees have been murdered by the specimen-"

Shards of glass scattered through the room as Ivy burst through the window, snatching Cooly's head from his shoulders.

"Ivy! Snap out of it!" shouted Colt as he shielded himself from the blood splatter.

Summoning a shotgun from a small cube, Yuri sounded off a series of shots, blowing several chunks through Ivy's body.

Death lingered in every corner of the room. Ravaged remains of four people who were just alive and well, reduce to piles of nothing. A wave of nausea crept through him as he stumbled backwards.

"Yuri, why did you do that?"

"Are you serious?" She turned to him, "She's a fucking core beast!"

"But...What if she could have-"

"Colt," She blew the smoke from her gun, sending it back inside the cube where it resided. "You were the only person who got that lucky with Fuchsia's attack. Anybody else, even me, would be turned into a core beast. Ivy was gone the moment she met that crazy bitch."

"I know, but....you didn't have to shoot her like that."

"Colt, she literally just killed three people."

A group of men armed with guns burst into the room, "Where is she?"

"I already got her." said Yuri as she dragged Colt past the men.

"Wait Ms.Whitlock."

She glared at the man addressing her, "Don't call me that."

"S-Sorry. But you're needed in the discussion hall on the third floor for an urgent meeting. I also need to inform Colt of his next mission."

"Ugh, whatever." She let go of Colt and left the room.

"I have another mission?"

I really wanted to prepare for that CCU exam, but I guess it'll have to wait.

"Yes. However," the man leaned into a whisper, "I need you to promise me that you won't tell Yuri about this mission at all."

"Why?"

"It's vital that you don't tell her."

"I guess so...I'm getting kind of nervous now."

"Have no fear. Your mission is another one similar to your first one."

"Another capture huh?" He sighed and scratched the back of his head, "I failed last time..."

"Well of course. It was your first mission, and you faced off against the greatest threat to humanity. This task will be easier for you, I promise."

"Fine...Serve it up."

"Have you ever heard of the CCU exams?"

"Wait-Yeah!"

"Excellent! That saves me the explanation. For this mission, you will be tasked with enrolling into the exams to capture a participant, named Hiroaki Whitlock."

"Is there a reason for that?" asked Colt.

"It's his core power. Something about it lets him manipulate souls. We believe that it would be a vital asset in defeating Fuchsia. With our research leading us to believe that she also involves some form of spiritual manipulation, he'd serve as a good countermeasure."

"Can't you guys just ask him? I'm sure he'd be down to help if he knew what was going on."

"We tried, but the Whitlock clan aren't too keen on sharing assets with others."

"Whitlock? Isn't Yuri a part of that clan?"

"Yes, which is why this must be kept a secret from her, it's too personal."

No matter what, going behind Yuri's back to practically kidnap a member of her family was just wrong.

"I know you're uncomfortable with this mission," the man rested his hand onto Colt's shoulder, "But you'll be doing Yuri a favor as well. The Whitlock clan keeps their talents hidden from the outside world, with this year's exams being an exception. We're not sure why he's here, but we can't let this chance pass!"

I know I've already taken on a mob boss and fought Fuchsia, but this feels a little too major for me.

"Will I rank up if I succeed?" asked Colt.

"Perhaps."

He huffed, "I guess I'll do it."

"Perfect!" he reached out to shake Colt's hand, "Have a wonderful day!"

Colt left the room and shook his head.

We just had a conversation in a room of corpses...

But I'm still not sure about this. How would forcing Yuri's clan member to work help her at all?

While he did have his doubts, he couldn't deny the intrigue of this Hiroaki guy. With the horrific images of Ivy fresh in his mind, something had to be done about Fuchsia. Maybe someone like him was needed after all?

Should I ask Yuri about it?