Jade, still disoriented from the vivid nightmare, tried to activate her special vision, seeking rity within the ominous ck sea. Her eyes, glowing with small white embers, revealed thousands of ck indicators swirling in the darkness. Just as before, in what was now a recurring nightmare, a ck spike shot towards her. Reflexively dodging in her dream, she woke up with a start.
Covered in sweat, she quickly surveyed her surroundings as the red rm red overhead. Her clock disyed "5:00 AM," prompting a groan, "Ugh, so early. They probably won''t call me, though."
As the rm ceased, an inte voice specifically summoned, "Jade, please report to the debrief room."
Yawning, Jade noticed the sharp edges her bed had assumed — a clear sign of her powers acting out in her sleep. "I gotta stop doing this to my beds," she sighed, acknowledging the repeat urrence of her only dream so far. Changing into a white tracksuit with blue lines, she thought, "This could be a little stylish, I guess? I really gotta doundry, though."
Fully dressed and after quickly sshing some water on her face, Jade rushed out of her door with a quickened pace. To her surprise, she found her way to the briefing room effortlessly, where Victoria was standing outside, waiting.
"G-good morning, Victoria. Surprised to see you up so early," Jade remarked, ncing at her. Victoria looked tired, her hair a bit of a mess, which was uncharacteristic of her usually impable appearance.
"Yes, I recall you having trouble finding your way, so I went ahead and waited for you out here," Victoria responded, her voice carrying a hint of fatigue.
"I see, thank you," Jade thought to herself, realizing Victoria probably had been running herself endlessly with all the alertstely.
Victoria then opened the briefing room door, gesturing for Jade toe inside. "Pleasee in here so we can discuss the current problem and get you on your way," she stated, indicating the seriousness of the situation awaiting them.
Jade surveyed the room, her question cutting through the silence, "Who will be going with me?"
Victoria''s expression remained unchanged as she delivered the news, "You will be going in alone. There are a few other issuesing up right now in other countries, so we''re dispatching support there."
Jade''s concern deepened. "So, there''s no one else that can help out right now?"
"Not exactly," Victoria replied, her voice steady. "But the Director specifically requested you for this mission. That''s just how it is."
She then tossed an envelope towards Jade. "This mission shouldn''t be like anything you''ve encountered before. It''s a good opportunity to test some things out. And," she paused, pressing a red button on the table, "the Director believes your... ''ugly pet'' should apany you." A small cage door swung open in the corner, and V emerged,nding on the table which frosted over at his touch.
Jade, eyeing the creature, began, "Aren''t you Vul—" but was swiftly interrupted.
"Just call me V. I don''t live by that old name anymore; I no longer deserve it. Besides, I no longer want it. Thank you again for choosing not to eat me, Lady Jade."
"Whoa, what''s with this formal attitude?!" Jade eximed, taken aback.
"The Director taught me how to show respect to those I, uh, well respect," the creature replied, its small and stout form just as Jade remembered. "Nothing more, nothing less."
"I see. Well, I hope to find out how strong you can get and if we can get you back to your original state."
V looked at Jade. "Well, can''t you just use those eyes of yours, Lady Jade, to see what you need to do again?"
"Well, no, it doesn''t show me—" Jade was cut off as Victoria interjected, "That''s nice and all, but you can discuss once you get onsite. Just set up the barrier and await the creature to spawn, then kill it. Any questions?"
Jade, opening the folder, saw additional details beyond the basic information:
Risk level: Low (Green)
Attribute: None
Typing: None
IQ: Animalistic
Environment: Forested Area, Night
Weather Conditions: Misty, with reduced visibility
Known Abilities: Enhanced speed, agility
Weaknesses: Susceptible to high-frequency sounds, light-based attacks
Mission Objective: Capture if possible, neutralize if necessary. Collect samples.
Jade, processing Victoria''s exnation, nodded, her mind on the forting challenge. "Okay, I think the only question is, what exactly is the creature I''m fighting, and why is the area set in the woods?"
Victoria exined the operational basis of their detection system, "First off, the machine isn''t magic. It just detects simr anomalies thate from the portal and generates the most likely creature appearing. Thanks to the disruption of space and the energy needed for a portal to even open, it gives us time to get people together and headed out."
Jade, curious about the choice of terrain, inquired further, "Oh, I see. And what about the forest?"
"That''s the safest location right now. This setting should make it hard for it to use whatever type of speed advantage it has," Victoria rified, highlighting the tactical reasoning behind their choice.
"Do you have any other questions? You have about 10 minutes until you need to depart," Victoria prompted, ensuring Jade had all the information needed.
Jade, with a final query, asked, "Just one more. What if someone were able to summon a portal almost right away? Would the machine detect it?"
"Yes, but by the time it did, it would be far toote to react and get the right team out. But that''s only happened once," Victoria acknowledged, revealing a rare vulnerability in their system.
I see, I suppose that makes sense," Jade murmured, trying to shake off the haunting memory of holding Ty in her arms.
"Let''s just get this over with. Thank you, Victoria, for the assistance."
Victoria nodded, her demeanor professional as always, before leading Jade to a smaller room. "The butler will be by shortly to give you the cross," she informed Jade, setting the stage for the next phase of the preparation.
Left alone with her thoughts, Jade couldn''t help but reflect, "I will have to learn how those work one day,"