It was a peaceful and restful sleep; everything was tranquil, and I felt at ease. When I lifted my eyelids, I saw it was already 8:14 a.m. It was time to rise and shine. I let out a deep sigh as I saw the time.

I fell back onto the bed with a sigh. It had been an excellent, dreamless sleep, and it felt so good to just rest.

As I stared at the ceiling, I remembered the previous night's events and sat up immediately. My head was pounding, but Kuromaru was still present, curled up in a ball beside me on the bed.

I glanced out the window and saw it was still covered by a metal shutter. I got out of bed and took a look around the room. Moving over to the laptop, I pressed the power button and switched it on. A glaring red message was plastered on the projector screen.

'Emergency Rescue has asked civilians to remain indoors until the situation is resolved. The government is confident it will be able to contain the outbreak within a few hours. If you have been bitten or scratched, please go to the nearest hospital for immediate treatment. DO NOT delay treatment in the event of chaos contamination.'

"Mrow."

The black cat on the bed yawned and chirped before slowly blinking at me.

I felt a little sore, but I didn't feel that bad, all things considered.

"Let's go see how Midori's doing, Kuromaru," I said, scratching his ears.

The black cat stared at me momentarily before he got off the bed and followed me out the door. I got up, walked over to the door, and opened it. I stopped and listened momentarily, then stepped out into the hallway. I walked downstairs, keeping the noise down to not wake anyone who might still be sleeping.

Midori was sitting on the couch, drinking coffee and watching the news. I saw her eyes shift toward me as I walked in. She had changed into a red hoodie and a pair of yoga pants.

"You're up early," She said. "Did you have a good rest, Ikki?"

I nodded and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. "Yeah! Er, how's the crisis?"

Midori sighed and put down her cup on the coffee table. "It's a mess," she said. "The government and Babylon are still trying to figure out how the outbreak started and what caused it. The curfew is still up, so people are for the most part, staying indoors until it blows over."

The sound of a loud, whirring power tool suddenly interrupted our conversation. I flinched and jumped out of instinct, only to elicit a laugh from Midori.

"That's just Talia. Dior took out the Aberrations that were controlling the zombies in our area and brought its remains back for salvage. Talia's at the workshop sawing through one of the Aberration's remains so we can extract its core crystal. The parts are valuable, so we want to salvage as much as we can out of it," she explained.

"Oh!" I replied. "Would she mind if I watched?"

Midori looked at me and smiled. "I'm sure she wouldn't. In fact, she'd be more than happy to have you there. I'll walk you out."

I nodded and turned with her to walk over to the workshop.

We were greeted by the sight and sound of whirring and grinding machinery. Talia was using it to cut through a creepy-looking carcass on a massive table. Like all Chaos Beasts, its exoskeleton was made of an alien material that made it look like it came straight out of a 3-D movie.

It was pretty unsettling, but Talia must have been used to it. She smiled at us once she saw us in the doorway and gestured to the table. Midori ushered me in and flashed Talia a smile before heading back toward the hideout proper.

"Come on in, Ikki," she said, her voice still cheerful and friendly as ever. "You're just in time to join me in cracking this thing open."

I looked at the carcass, which had been reduced to a mangled mass of alien metalloid flesh and metal. The creature was about eight feet long, with a scaly, reptilian raptor-like body and a long scythe tail that curved around its feet. Its eyes were empty, dark black onyx gems that seemed to stare right through me as I looked at it. There were multiple spikes on its back and two sets of massive spiked claws on its hands. Its teeth were sharp, jagged, and curved like daggers. Talia had filed down the spikes on its back, but to sum the sight up — it looked like something out of a horror movie.

Talia motioned for me to come closer as she cut away at the monster's exoskeleton. As I got closer, I could see inside its body and noticed three strange, pulsing crystals connected by energy veins that served as a circulatory system.

I felt myself shiver. The core crystals looked eerie, and their pulsing sent a chill down my spine. I'd read about them but never really seen one up close, and it was far more unsettling than I had imagined.

"They really creep you out, huh?" Talia asked, putting down her tools. "You get used to them pretty quickly."

"I've learned about them," I admitted. "The core crystals make up the true hearts and brains of Chaos Beasts, right? They're what keep the monsters alive and make them function, but we've found ways to convert them into tools to fight them. It's kind of like... playing with plutonium if you ask me."

I walked up to it and poked the carcass with a screwdriver, feeling a disgusted chill run down my spine.

Talia turned to face me and smiled. "So you're not squeamish about them. That's good!"

Erm. That's one way to interpret my reaction, I guess.

She took her tools and walked out from behind the table. She picked up a metal scoop on the table and walked around the carcass to the opposite side of the table.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

I shrugged, then winced as the movement caused me to cringe in pain. "Sore, but okay. I just woke up about fifteen minutes ago."

"Good. Well, if you're feeling up to it, I can use your help," Talia said, putting the scoop on the ground. "We need to extract these cores, and I figure it'd be good for you to get some hands-on experience."

"Okay," I nodded and walked over to her side of the table. "What should I do?"

She grinned at me. "Grab those Tarisinian pliers and hold them against the veins." She picked up a crowbar. "I'm gonna use this crowbar to pry out the core crystals. When I do, I'll need your help to keep the corpse steady."

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Sure thing, Talia," I said, grabbing the plier and following her instructions.

I gripped the handle as tightly as possible while Talia fit the edge of the crowbar against a crystal. With a loud grunt, she pushed.

"Okay, Ikki! Push back!" she said as the crystallized vein began to crack.

After a few minutes of prying at it using the crowbar, Talia managed to get all three core crystals out. All three of them were roughly the size of a tennis ball, and they pulsed with a soft, almost beautiful blue light. There wasn't any ichor to worry about — which made it all that more disturbing. I felt an uncomfortable chill run down my spine as I watched them glow.

The monster's corpse glowed a bright blue before disintegrating into blue dust. Talia sealed the three core crystals into a small, clear container and smiled at me.

"And voila! That's the end of another Baron and a bounty payday for Dior," She said happily. "You did an excellent job for a first time, Ikki. Thank you!

"No problem," I replied. "It was... something alright."

I nodded, then went over to the table's edge and looked at the blue dust. I looked at the glowing blue dust with a curious yet uncertain expression as it seemed to just vanish.

"The world is just full of mysteries, huh?" I mumbled to myself.

I shook my head and walked back to where Midori and Talia were standing. Talia smiled at me and put the container away in one of the supply cabinets.

"Let's get you back to the den," Talia said, pointing to the nearby staircase to the connecting loft. "Take it easy, and make sure you don't do anything that'll strain your core muscles too much. I don't want you hurting yourself after those beatings you've taken."

I nodded and followed her up the stairs. I looked over my shoulder as I walked up and saw Talia put the crowbar into one of the cabinets. I turned around and kept walking, hearing Midori's voice from down the hall as I walked back into the house proper.

"Why don't you make yourself comfortable on the couch?" Talia beamed. "I'll go get myself cleaned up."

"Thanks... yeah I think I'll just take it easy for a sec," I replied.

She smiled, nodded, and left the room, leaving me with my thoughts. I walked over to the couch and sat down. I had only been there momentarily when something pressed against my leg. I looked down at it to find a familiar black cat sitting at my feet, blinking at me with curious blue eyes.

"Hello there, buddy," I said, reaching down to pet the black cat. I was a little surprised when he pressed against my hand. "I was just away for a bit, Kuro. That raptor beast thing seriously creeped me the fuck out."

I kept petting him, and he began to purr, rubbing his head against my hand. I smiled at the cute, fuzzy cat and kept petting him as he scrambled onto my lap. He was growing on me quickly.

Dior's regular voice broke the silence at that moment.

"Good morning, Ikki!" Dior chirped. "Would you like a nice big cup of coffee?"

"I'd love one," I said.

"Coffee coming right up!" Dior replied.

The girl had returned to normal from her Magical Girl form and was now wearing a baggy white t-shirt and blue shorts.

After she turned back into the kitchen for a minute, she walked in with a mug of coffee. She handed it to me and sat on a chair beside the couch.

"Here's your piping hot coffee, Ikki," Dior said happily, setting the steaming cup on the nearby table.

"Thank you very much," I said, smiling happily at her.

"It's no problem," she said, "Really, it's Dior's pleasure."

Dior smiled at me, hopped out of the chair, and left the room. I picked up my cup and sipped the hot, black liquid.

I felt my body relax as I watched the coffee swirl inside the mug.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath feeling a warm wave of rejuvenation flow through me as I savored the taste of the coffee. The hot, rich liquid slid down my throat, filling my stomach with a satisfying feeling.

It was delicious and gave me a pleasant, warm sensation I hadn't felt in quite a bit.

I took a few sips of the coffee and sat it on the table. I stared at the coffee for a few moments as I felt it heat up my body and wake me up.

"Hey, Ikki?" I heard Talia's voice from the kitchen. "How's brunch before we head back? We don't have a lot here at the safehouse, I'm afraid. Just a bunch of cans, instant noodles, and boxed meals."

"Yeah, that sounds good enough," I replied, walking into the kitchen. "You know what? Why don't I help cook a bit?"

I stood up and walked over to the kitchen, finding Talia cooking up a storm at the stove. She used her right hand to stir a big pot with spicy udon noodles. She nodded at me as I walked into the kitchen.

"It's okay," Talia said, "I don't mind it. Help is always appreciated."

I smiled and nodded, and set to work, frying up some luncheon meat with a skillet, followed by some canned mushrooms and vegetables. I watched as Talia used a pair of chopsticks to scoop some noodles out of the pot, separating them into four portions.

After she finished, she set the pot down on the stove, smiled at me as I finished, and poured the chopped meats and vegetables together. Then, I dumped my stir fry into a big bowl for the table.

"Just set it down anywhere you can on the table, okay?" Talia said, putting the noodles into the bowls.

"Sure thing," I replied, setting the bowl on the table.

Midori and Dior came in a moment later, sniffing the air.

"What smells so good?" Dior asked, looking around.

"My Udon and Ikki's stir fry," Talia said, giving me a big smile. "These are far from the nutritious meals we had yesterday, but well, it could be worse given our circumstances."

The four of us began to get the food together, and soon, we were all sitting in the dining room. We ate and talked with one another as we ate, laughing and enjoying each other's company. After a while, I got up, grabbed the dishes, and put them in the sink.

"Don't worry about it," Talia said, shaking her head. "I'll take care of them."

I shook my head, "No. I insist, you guys have shown me so much hospitality. I'll clean up."

Talia smiled at me and nodded, thanking me for the help. I nodded, went over to the sink, and began scrubbing the dishes. After I finished with the dishes, I wiped down the counters and returned the utensils to their proper places.

I heard a gasp behind me and turned to see Midori sitting on the couch, looking at the TV.

"What's going on?" I asked, walking over as I dried my hands off. Dior and Talia trailed in behind me.

"There's something pretty nutty on the news," Midori said, looking at us worriedly.

I turned to the TV and saw a news report about City Hall in chaos. It showed scenes of violence and destruction.

But it wasn't because of the Chaos Beasts.

The news cut to a street camera timestamped at 4:07 a.m. A squad of heavily armed men was storming a building near City Hall labeled 'NovaGen Pharmaceuticals'.

"No way," I said, looking at the screen. "What's all the commotion?"

"While officials were preoccupied with the Chaos Event last night, masked criminals raided an Escathos Industries research facility near in Downtown Shoreline," the newscaster said. "Security personnel have also allegedly suffered casualties. It's unknown if the perpetrators have taken any hostages at this time. We'll be back with more on this developing story after the break," the I looked at the screen and saw they had cut to a commercial.

"I wonder what's up with that?" Midori murmured, narrowing her eyes.

"I don't know," I said, "But it certainly can't be good news. The timing with the Chaos Event is a little too... convenient if you ask me."

"Maybe these men had something in the works in the event of another attack?" Talia asked.

Dior's expression became more severe as she stared at the television screen. "Everything okay, Dior?" Midori asked, looking up at Dior.

Dior stayed quiet for a second.

She just turned to Midori, her eyes narrowed severely. "It's nothing. Just Dior thinking," she said.

She simply turned around and began to trudge out of the room.

"Dior, where are you going?" Midori asked, looking at Dior.

Dior didn't answer and began to walk upstairs.

Talia walked over to Midori and put her hand on her shoulder with a soothing touch, before sharing her gaze toward the stairs.

Midori shook her head worriedly. "I'm going upstairs to check up on her, Talia."

She got up and followed Dior upstairs.

I heard the door to one of the bedrooms close and Midori's muffled voice as she called out to Dior. I sighed, taking a deep breath.

"That... gets me on edge, too," I said, looking at the stairs. "Is there something I should do?"

"Don't worry," Talia said, touching my shoulder. "Maybe it's nothing. I'm sure Midori can handle it. She has a way with people."

"You know... you're right," I said, sighing in trepidation. I guess it was a good idea to trust in Midori for now.

I glanced over at the television again, seeing the breaking news report. I didn't know what the connection was here, but it seemed like the city was going to shit all at once. It felt like I was in the middle of everything, yet completely in the dark.

It was a strange feeling, to say the least.

But what could I do?