The Five Evolution

『"The world’s bigger than you’ve been told."』

Every member of the Five stood assembled inside the Command Center.

Director Hale stood at the front beside Maya and the three reinforcements.

Amara expected another briefing on Tokyo. Perhaps new intelligence about the Apostles. Instead, Director Hale activated the central display.

He gestured, and the holographic map zoomed in on a small town in what Amara recognized as rural Montana.

Across its outskirts, red markers pulsed repeatedly, most likely representing a threat that needed to be neutralized.

"Thank you all for coming quickly," the Director said once they’d assembled. "I’m pulling you from training early because an opportunity has presented itself."

"You’ve been assigned a field operation." Director Hale folded his hands behind his back. "As of six hours ago, a newborn vampire nest has surfaced approximately four hundred miles north of here."

There was only a brief moment of silence before the questions started pouring in.

"I’m sorry," Hiro said slowly. "Did you just say vampire?" He looked at the others. "Did he just say vampire?"

Raj blinked. "Like... capes? Bloodsucking? Dramatic hissing?"

Director Hale’s face remained perfectly serious. "Yes."

Immediately, the room exploded into more questions.

"Vampires are real?!" Hiro yelped.

"Blood Suckers? No way," Sophia said.

Hiro looked at her. "Oh, you believe in ghosts but vampires are where you draw the line?"

Sophia rolled her eyes at him. "You’re equally surprised as I am."

"Are we talking Dracula?" Raj asked.

Amara raised her hand. "Do we need garlic?"

"So is it vampirist to say stuff like ’I vant to suck your blood... blah, blah, blah’?" Hiro added.

Director Hale let the chaos continue for a few more seconds before clearing his throat, signalling instant silence. "I’ll only take serious questions," he added.

Then Sophia raised one hand. "So... werewolves too?"

"Yes."

Raj nearly choked. "Wait, what?!"

"Fae?" Amara asked.

"Yes."

Hiro scratched his messy hair. "Zombies?"

"Occasionally."

"Ghost pirates?" Raj asked.

Director Hale’s eyebrow went up, and that was an answer on its own.

"Oh..." Raj’s shoulder slumped.

Then Meredith stepped forward. "The Sun branch is only one of twelve Institute divisions." A new holographic display appeared and twelve sigils rotated slowly on it.

"Your branch primarily handles Chaos Sea breaches and Malice containment." She gestured toward the others. "But there are other things to monitor in the supernatural ecosystems."

The Five stared, all of them trying to process the staggering scale of it all.

"The world is significantly larger than you’ve been told," Meredith said. "And tonight, you get your first look."

Björn hefted Aurvandill onto his shoulder. "It has been many moons since I sent a bloodsucker screaming into the dirt." He grinned. "My Spirit Weapon grows hungry."

"This is a chance to test yourselves and prepare for the Tokyo deployment under controlled conditions," the Director said.

Amara crossed her arms. "Okay, can we start asking practical questions now?" She pointed. "Like for one, does garlic work?"

"What’s with the garlic questions?" Raj asked.

Amara’s gaze dropped to the floor. "I don’t know... movies?"

"Useless," Meredith answered.

Amara pressed. "Sunlight?"

"Weakens older bloodlines. Kills newborns slowly," Meredith answered.

Hiro snapped his fingers. "Wooden stakes through the heart?"

"That immobilizes them," she said.

"Crucifixes?" Sophia asked.

Meredith chuckled. "Psychological intimidation at best."

Raj raised his hand. "So what actually kills them?"

Meredith’s expression hardened. "Decapitation usually does the trick."

Ethan frowned. "I’ve read reports, but I didn’t think we’d ever actually encounter one this early."

Director Hale nodded to signal question time was over.

He then pulled up additional data. "This nest is young and disorganized. They’re making mistakes, drawing too much attention. We need to eliminate them before they become a larger problem or before civilian casualties mount."

"So we’re going vampire hunting," Sophia said slowly, still processing. "We’re actually going vampire hunting."

"Yes," the Director confirmed. "You’ll deploy with Meredith as primary lead. Björn, Ishigami, Dante and Yelena will provide support. Maya will coordinate from here. This is a field operation... your first real mission outside the Institute."

He looked at each of them seriously. "Gear up. Final briefing in two hours. You deploy in three. And remember... these may be newborn vampires, but they’re still vampires. Don’t underestimate them."

"You keep saying ’newborn,’" Hiro said. "How new are we talking?"

"Less than six months turned," Meredith answered. "They’re stronger and faster than humans but lack the experience older vampires have. More feral. Way less powerful."

The Director nodded and stood up. "Requisition will have specialized equipment ready. UV flashbangs for the newborns and wooden stakes shotguns."

"Dibs on wooden stakes shotgun." Raj grinned.

The Director paused. "But then again, I highly doubt Awakeners such as yourselves would need them. Your Spirit Weapons remain your primary assets."

"Sir," Amara spoke up. "Not questioning the mission, but... Tokyo is in three days. Shouldn’t we be focused on preparing for that?"

The Director nodded, expecting the question. "This is preparing. You need field experience before deployment."

He gestured to the map. "Consider this a final exam. Real stakes, but controlled conditions. We’ve got three Awakeners backing you, which gives us a margin for error Tokyo won’t have."

That makes sense. Amara thought to herself. Terrifying sense, but sense nonetheless.

"Dismissed," the Director said.

As they filed out of the Command Center, the reality of what they’d just learned began to sink in. No one spoke as they left. Even Hiro, usually incapable of silence, stared ahead like his brain had finally short-circuited.

"Vampires," Amara said finally to no one in particular.

"At least it’s not ghosts again," Hiro offered weakly.

"I’d take the ghosts," Sophia countered. "We’ve at least dealt with ghosts. Vampires are new."

"New can be good," Ethan said, though he sounded like he was trying to convince himself. "New means we’re learning... expanding our horizons." He spread his arms in an exaggerated gesture.

Meanwhile, transport alarms began sounding throughout the Institute as dropship bay doors opened up.

Behind them, Director Hale remained at the command display, his jaw tightening as Tokyo’s threat projections glowed across the screen.

***

[MISSION PARAMETERS]

- Target: Newborn vampire nest (30-35 hostiles)

- Location: Rural Montana

- Threat Level: Moderate (appropriate for first mission)

- Primary Objective: Eliminate nest before civilian casualties increase

- Lead: Meredith Zawadi

- Support: Björn J. Sigurd II, Yu Ishigami, Unit 11-B

- Deployment: T-minus 3 hours

DAYS UNTIL TOKYO: 3