Natalia Locke

"Hmmm? You're finally awake, Icarus?"

Beo could sense Icarus's awakening as he began to take control of Bo again. Having had his fun, he allowed him to take complete control again as they continued to walk deeper through the maze-like laboratory. They began walking down a long corridor that led into what seemed to be another large room, but this time, it was filled to the brim with countless people.

"This is where Nifla's vision ceased, huh? I'm sure Nifla and Tip would've helped evacuate these people, but there's no sign of them."

The people stood in a daze, and no contact with them knocked them out of their trance-like state. They stood upright, facing the stage before them without making a sound.

'I see why they didn't bother with these idiots.'

'That's unnecessary, Beo.'

'I don't give a shit.'

They stopped as the voice of a woman interrupted their thoughts, coming closer to them. Their guard tense, ready for an ambush.

"Hey!"

Moments later, a woman came into view, wearing a black t-shirt and jean shorts, and her hair had solid red lines running through it. Tattoos reached from her torso to her neck in the shape of roses, and her t-shirt had what seemed to be the brand of some sort of rock band.

Bo reluctantly responded.

"Hello."

"You're with those people, right?!"

"Please stop yelling. I'm right here."

"O-Oh. Sorry... You came with those people right?"

'I assume she's talking about Tip and Nifla.'

"Yes I'm with those p-"

She began tugging on Bo violently, but he barely budged.

"You've gotta go help them! They're in danger!"

"What happened to them?"

"Once they came to this room, I was directly in front of the door, see, and the guy that had us all in this trance took them both away with his weird magic. They just went poof. The only reason I'm able to move now is because that girl touched me before she was teleported away!"

'Nifla's touch stopped the hypnosis?'

The woman frantically looked about until Bo stopped her movement with his fore-arms.

"Calm down. I'm sure they're fine. What did this man look like?"

"H-He had this formal suit that had a weird dark glow to it--It's real hard to describe-- His hair was split into two sides; one was white and one was black. The black part glowed whenever he took them away."

Bo stood for a while, and the woman kept fidgeting from anxiety while Bo thought.

'This is bad. The person she just described…'

Bo began walking through the crowd of people, avoiding making contact with any of them.

"Follow me."

"Ok…sir."

They walked through the crowd of people and through the door that lie at the rooms end. The woman grabbed onto Bo's shirt as they attempted to navigate through the tunnel. Bo attempted to make contact with the rest of the Trio through walkie talkie but was unsuccessful. The girl looked up toward Bo.

"What's your name, mister?"

"Bo."

"Really? I thought you'd have a lot of a cooler name that that."

Bo made no response, but she continued to speak, attempting to fill the silence with a strange urgency.

"W-Well, you can call me Talia. My full name is Natalia Locke."

Beo's voice rang through his head.

'I think I've seen this woman before... That isn't her name.'

"Ok, Talia."

Eventually, they came across another room that had more decoration than the others, men sitting at a table playing poker. They continued to play their game as Bo and Talia silently approached, hiding behind the frame of the door.

"Climb onto my back and close your eyes."

"O…ok."

She reluctantly climbed onto Bo's back as he turned the corner. She didn't peek over his shoulder, gripping his clothing tightly as she pulled herself closer to him. Bo walked into the room silently. They didn't notice him, so he grabbed an alcohol bottle off of the counter adjacent to the door.

Bo pounced toward the men, cracking the bottle on one man's head and thrusting the sharp end of the bottle into another man's face. The other men fumbled for weapons, but Bo was quicker. He grabbed a revolver off of the counter and took out six men, one per bullet. After emptying the gun, the remaining two men fled, but before the men were able to leave the room, Bo gripped the gun by the barrel and threw it at one of the men's head; causing him to fall instantly and the other man to trip over him.

The remaining man held his hand toward Bo, motioning for mercy.

"Woah! Woah, now! We can talk this through."

Bo reached for the man grabbing the sleeve of his trenchcoat. He had an odd accent, not something typical of the Eastern District.

"There's no need for that. I left you alive so that you can give me information."

"Ok! I'll tell you anything you want as long as you won't kill me during nor after."

Bo helped the man to his feet and led him to the poker table he was just playing at. The man sighed after looking at his deceased friends. He had short, messy hair with stubble lining his face, and he wore a trench coat with long pants with boots.

"I find it a bit unnecessary to have killed all of my drinking buddies here. I really did like 'em."

"Those are my orders. I'm going against them by promising to keep you and your friend alive. So be quiet and answer my questions, or I'll change my mind."

The man looked down at the man Bo had thrown the revolver at. He noticed that the man was unconscious rather than dead.

"I won't hold it against you. Now. Ask away, bud."

"The people of Hinansho. Why did you go after them?"

"The boss said since we haven't done anything big in while, we should take all of the people out of Hinansho since it's a major Eastern District City that's under the direct control of the Central Government."

'That's definitely not the reason, but his expressions show that he's telling his own version of the truth.'

"The Warbeasts, how do they come into play?"

"Lady Zena knows how to control them, so using the Jumpers would make making the entirety of Hinansho disappear possible."

'Entirely possible, but controlling Warbeasts? Headmaster needs this information.'

"I'm guessing that this 'Lady Zena' is of General rank."

The man gulped, having entered the point of no return.

"Y-Yes."

Bo rose from his seat, and the man followed.

"That's all I want to know. I'll be taking you now."

He reached his hands out, expecting to be handcuffed.

"That's fine. As long as I can stay intact."

Bo grabbed onto the man's hands and applied pressure. When he lifted his hand, the man's arms had been sewn together through his skin.

"What the he-"

He waved his arms about, unable to move his wrists apart as they'd be conjoined by the skin itself. Applying too much force caused pain to travel through his arms and to his heart, making him fear what Bo'd done to him.

Bo spoke as he pulled the man toward him, causing him to feel even more pain until he willfully followed.

"Lead me through this place."

"F-Fine."

Talia remained attached to Bo's back as they walked slowly through the facility. Their footsteps echoed as they approached another room, but there was nothing inside. Talia spoke from upon Bo's back, directing her voice toward their new hostage.

"What's with you guys and white rooms?"

He didn't respond as they continued through the room, approaching the lone door-frame at the other end, but he eventually spoke, his head aimed toward Bo as they came closer.

"You got two personalities or something? You sound like some kinda horror movie villain."