Breaking the silence, an absent smile formed on Mitsuba's face. "I'm glad I found you here, Colt."

"Y-You were looking for me?"

She pulled him through one of her portals, arriving in some dark space between reality and dreams itself-or whatever. Darkness shrouded around them, leaving nothing visible but their bodies.

The moment she released his hand, a deep itch coursed through his veins. "M-Mitsuba, do you remember me now?"

Her smile faded, "If you're referring to our encounter in the Normal Realm, yes. I remember fighting you, but I am not here as an enemy."

Why did he even ask her again? Fuchsia made it a point to prove that his Mitsuba was gone. What kept that small flame of hope burning within him?

"What do you want then?" he asked through his frail lips.

"You seem disappointed, were you expecting a different answer?"

"Yes!" he interjected, "Mitsuba, what did that monster do to you?"

"Lady Fuchsia is no monster. She's a-"

He covered her mouth with his hand, trembling as his rough fingers met her smooth skin. The outline of her lips burned into the crevices of his memory, only reminding him of the vacant resting place on his own.

"D-Don't finish that sentence. I won't let you use Mitsuba's body to say something so stupid!"

She backed away from him, "Can I please get on with my task?"

The despair looming over him converged into a spiral of anger.

The person standing before him was no more than an impostor. A core beast's soul implanted into her body, piloting it as if she were some mech.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"If you're wondering how I found you, the answer lies in your scent. Some core beasts Lady Fuchsia planted within the Serpent's Forest reacted to a powerful core beast signal, and it turned out to be yours."

"I'm not a fucking core beast."

"I followed the signal, and it led me here." She shrugged, "It's long gone now, but there are no other powerful core beasts around here but you. That's the only explanation."

"I've taken a fool proof test already." His head went light as he struggled to keep himself standing, "If you came to scare me, it ain't working!"

"For your safety, Lady Fuchsia asked me to inform you that your signal will begin to attract other core beasts. You're quick on the uptake, so I'm sure you understand why this is an issue."

"I don't have a signal, since I'm not a core beast!"

"I'm sorry for inconveniencing you." She handed him some strange cellphone, one a few years ahead of the latest phones in the market now. "It's our means of communication. Meeting should be easier from here on out."

"What is this, some sort of game? You do know that I'm still supposed to capture you, right?"

"Of course. Your trivial pursuit of me ends here. With my ability to travel through portals, catching me won't be easy. I'll call for backup on the spot."

"Okay then. What about this dumb phone? What's stopping me from handing it over to someone in the CCU?"

"Nothing's stopping you, but there's no data to decrypt." said Mitsuba. "It's merely a device that pings me whenever you wish to meet up."

Her words sparked forward another idea, but he chose to keep that one to himself for now. She may have genuinely reconsidered this phone idea if he brought it up.

"I will be your advisor from this point on," said Mitsuba. "So, anything you wish to tell Lady Fuchsia will go through me first."

He chuckled, "And now I'm working with you guys? Keep dreaming."

"As expected, Lady Fuchsia did say that you were stubborn, but I'll leave it at that."

"Wait-" As much as he tried rejecting her existence through his words, he couldn't leave things on that note. In truth, he never knew how to quit. "Can you just say my name one more time?" He lowered his head as tears burned their way into his eyes, "I-I don't want to sound like a creep, but I just miss her so much."

Why now?

Why did she have to show up now?

I was doing just fine.

Staring into the darkness beneath him, it only reminded him of how deep into the pit of madness he truly was. All of his time with everyone else was a distraction, a drug to blind him from his internal hell.

The CCU ID for the S.S. Suzy, capturing Hiroaki during the exams, finding a way to get rid of the Junkyarders.

Just when did he earn the right to smile? Too much work still had to be done.

"Colt."

The darkness faded as the insurmountable pressure lifted from his chest. The burning in his throat only intensified.

Her voice was as delicate as he had always known it. One word was all it took. The box containing all of his memories trembled again, flooding his mind with an endless stream of images. In each of these images, Mitsuba was there.

"Colt," She averted her gaze, "Who is Mitsuba?"

"Huh?"

"Not me, but your Mitsuba."

The genuine curiosity lacing her words shattered his soul.

"Sh-She was a wonderful woman. I could never describe her in words." He lifted his head to meet her gaze, "She was the love of my life."

Mitsuba held him by the chin, "I see. It makes sense for you to feel the way you do then." Wiping his tears away with a delicate stroke of her thumb, a single tear fell from her own eyes. "D-Don't cry."

Pressure swelled within his head as his heart threatened to pound out of his chest. With her close proximity, she brought more pain and agony along with her.

I-I can't do this.

Pushing her away from him, he poured every ounce of core energy within his body into his fist, driving a hole straight through his own stomach. Blood spilled onto what should've been the floor, with his senses fleeing in different directions.

"C-Colt!"

Don't heal...

Don't heal...

Please don't heal...

Mitsuba's voice grew faint as his vision clouded, leaving him in a true pit of darkness.