It was a starry night. The almost pure scent of the summer wind blew through the air, bringing Colt back to his youth. After the day concluded, being spent playing all sorts of games with your friends, it was time to reel it in; However, it was these times of night where the true beauty of summer shone through.

With most of the world calling it a day, the only sounds that could be heard were the endless songs of the cicadas-

Shit!

Colt sprang from the ground, groaning as the warm embrace of his own blood leaked from the wound in the back of his head. This pain brought him back into the now.

"I'm surprised you survived that," spoke the cicada beast, "Allow me to try a bit harder."

"You big ass roach!" Colt put his guard up as he sized down the absurd creature, "Try pulling-"

"Roach? How dare you?" The creature held its arms out above it, as if it were flexing its bulky physique, "I am a core beast!"

Core beasts can talk? Does that make it stronger than all of the other beasts that couldn't? No...Intelligence probably isn't proportional to strength. I'm not getting those chills I got when me and Jax fought that A-Ranker.

"Why are you looking for me?" asked Colt, "I'm sure I would've remembered seeing an ugly bastard like you if we ever met!"

Instead of receiving an answer, the beast's fist smashed into his skull, nearly knocking him from his feet. Just like before, the beast's movement was practically invisible, forcing Colt to take a step back.

As he infused his fists with core energy, the beast vanished once again.

He was swept from his feet as the beast grabbed him by the hood, flying through the dark skies of the night. Nausea crept in as he was thrashed about in the sky like a loose cart on a roller coaster.

"Put me down, you dick!" Colt flailed his arms, attempting to break free from the beast's grasps.

"As you wish."

They soared even higher into the sky, barely leaving the buildings below visible.

From this height, Colt was released from the beast, left to freefall like a comet. Popping eardrums, heightened senses of panic, a natural instinct to scream out as he gazed into the destination he was headed.

I'm about to die!

Thankfully, he came crashing through the roof of a nearby house, smashing through the table of a family of six. Splinters and stray shards of glass lined up and down his arms and back, bringing a groan forth.

If Jax's words about using core energy for defensive purposes hadn't come back to him, that landing could've been far worse.

Even with that added defense, he must've nearly sprained an ankle, and broke a finger in his descent.

"Uh-S-Sorry about this." Colt pulled himself out of the wreck and cleared his face of the debris, "You guys should-"

The beast came shooting through the wall, destroying all that stood in its path.

In the midst of the chaos, Colt met the beast's tackle with an explosive kick, shooting its blood across the ruined floorboards of the home.

The victory of landing his first blow was short lived, with the beast snatched him by the leg and hurling him through the gaping hole it left in the wall.

The world was spinning, but Colt found his bearings by the time he came crashing into a truck parked on the road.

We're back outside?

Screams and cries of terror filled the streets as onlookers caught a glimpse of the horrifying creature. While some fled the scene, others sought to stand by and record the spectacle. The brief moments of capture ended once a swarm of small cicadas flooded the scene, prompting any stragglers to flee.

"I don't need an audience." said the beast as it stood before Colt.

It can control other cicadas too? These animal core beasts are something else.

With his options narrowing, he scanned his surroundings for an advantage. Soon, the key to his victory became clear as he grabbed a hold of the nearby truck.

Using his core energy to boost his strength, he hoisted the car into the air and slammed it down on top of the beast, cracking the concrete beneath them.

"No matter how big you get, you're still a damned bug that can be crushed!" Colt fell back against a wall and let out a shaky gasp.

"Why are you speaking lines as if you had already won?" The beast tore through the car and approached Colt, "This battle is far from over, Colt West."

How?

He was sent shooting down the street as the beast struck him with another mighty blow. Using this momentum, Colt regained his balance and fled into the parking lot of the movie theater.

I need to get faster! I'm getting used to its hits, but if I can't hit back, I'm losing for sure...

As the beast charged forward once more, Colt met it with an explosive right hook. The sensation of the force shooting through his entire arm, as he watches his enemy reel in pain, it felt so good.

Wait-If core energy is enhancing my punches, wouldn't it work for running too?

Channeling core energy into his feet, he jetted his way towards the beast, smashing its skull straight through the entrance of the movie theater, spilling the fight into the halls.

I just got an idea!

He fled into the bathroom at the end of the halls, leaving a considerable gap between himself and the beast.

The bathroom was your standard public bathroom, with a few sinks and stalls placed about the space, along with a few urinals.

He rushed to flick off the lights and close the door behind him. Gazing throughout the bathroom, he was surrounded by the very weapon that'd lead to his victory. He kicked the faucets and urinals from the walls, spilling water all throughout the room. The toilet seats soon followed after.

With the intense water pressure of the pipes, the water shot out towards the sky, casting a makeshift rainstorm above his head.

The beast burst through the bathroom door and came to an abrupt stop. Completely soaked in the dirty water, it glared over at Colt. "What is this?"

A sadistic smirk formed on Colt's face as he pointed at the beast, "There's our guest of honor!"

"I see...You're using the water from the room to weigh down my wings?" the beast chuckled, "You possess quite the brain."

"I don't need a pat on the back from a fucking roach."

This guy's an idiot. I'm not weighing down its wings, cicada wings are water repellent. In any case, the cold from the water is gonna slow it down. Shouldn't it know about this?

"Yeah. Normally, you'd turn into a core beast, leaving no trace of your humanity behind at all. The fact that not only your human body, but human thoughts and memories are intact makes you an anomaly."

Yuri's words from their first meeting played through his mind, only instilling more confidence into him.

I forgot, most people and creatures that Fuchsia convert into core beasts undergo some sort of memory wipe. This thing probably barely knows about its own strengths and weaknesses. Otherwise, it would've never been startled by me turning off the lights.

"Colt West, which shall reign supreme?" asked the beast, "My senses, or your wild nature? We're both plunged in this darkness together. You've merely given me an advantage!"

There it goes. It probably just caught on. If it tried flying, it'd realize that the water isn't affecting it too...

Colt put his guard up and stepped forward, "Shut up."

The beast reciprocated the gesture.

The two combatants found themselves in a rapid exchange of blows. Punches, kicks, anything at their arsenal was utilized in the brutal onslaught.

While it appeared that they were on equal footing, the beast's blows began to slow down, as Colt's only grew faster.

The saying goes as iron sharpening iron; However, one piece of iron began to chip, while the other continued to hone its fine point.

The beast soon came to a glacial pace, taking a moment to catch its breath. With this miniscule opening, Colt continued to push forward.

Deeming the beast as incapable of even fighting back anymore, Colt abandoned defending himself with his core energy, pouring it all into his right fist.

Compared to the weight of all the punches he threw before, this one stood above the rest. His fist sank into the chest of the beast, smashing through several layers of its durable exoskeleton. In the midst of the attack, sparks of core energy exploded from the point of contact, blowing a hole straight through the beast.

The grotesque creature was sent barreling into the end of the bathroom, staining the clear white walls in deep stains of red. With that, the evidence of their intense battle would remain in their wake.

Colt stood over the beast, catching his breath as he gazed at his hands.

What was that? It felt like my hand was being sucked through a portal for a second...

The energy that had exploded from the beast flowed into Colt, sending a surge shooting through his veins.

"I stole his core energy after killing him?" Colt grinned as he leaned against the stall door next to him, "This is like a videogame, kill a guy and take his loot."

Looking at his body, he was still covered in dried blood stains, but no pain resided within him. In fact, he wasn't even exhausted after all of that extraneous effort he put forth. Even the wound on the back of his head had faded away without a trace.

"Did the core energy heal me?"

Is my core power developing?

Dakota and Yuri did mention that he had to think about what he desired in order to manifest his core power. From that moment until now, the only major thing he experienced was that meeting with the CCU higher ups. Besides exhaustion, he didn't feel much else.

His stream of thoughts was cut short by a dead voice as it reached into the bathroom.

"Cicada, how did you lose in such fashion? I thought you were supposed to be a B-Ranker."

That voice...

Standing at the entrance of the bathroom was a young woman wearing a black and purple wetsuit. Her delicate footsteps managed to echo through the silent space, shooting waves of dread into Colt's heart.

Her dark green hair reached down to her waist in a beautiful cascade of despondency. Her dead pan eyes casted shame down upon the beast that she addressed.

Right on the side of her neck was a small birthmark, just like he remembered.

He stared into her dark purple eyes as his body shook uncontrollably.

"M-Mitsuba?"