Colin's posts

"Nothing else." Sharp replied.

"Do whatever you need to, but I want results." he warned them.

"Do NOT disappoint me." he finished, before leaving them in the office.

".....wow..." Illias muttered.

"This is huge." he said, looking at the paper, and then looking at Kiah.

"...also... wait until the sun goes down?" he asked her confusedly.

Sharp just sighed.

"My resources run deep, but they are not limitless." he told them.

"Any and all of the members of the Unit are at your disposal, and if you need them, then that shall take priority over all else for them, NO questions asked." he went on.

"As for financial aide, take your usual budget, and increase it by 300%." he then said further.

"Beyond that, if you need to exceed that limit, then come to me with permission for the requisitions." he finished.

"Is that acceptable?" he asked.

Hal had decided to wait in her office, and nodded when the two of them showed up.

"Here." he said, giving them a sheet of paper.

"What's this?" Illias asked.

"It's what's left of what Aedan was able to salvage from that records room." Sharp told them.

"I need that analyzed and the blanks filled in. It's the chemical recipe for creating those statues that have been murdering people." he explained.

"If we know how to create it, we'll know how to destroy it." he then reasoned.

A few seconds later, Sharp entered the room they were in.

"Are you busy?" he asked.

"A little." Illias responded.

"Give us a few minutes, and she'll be free to discuss whatever it is you need to talk to her about." he told him.

"This concerns the both of you." Sharp told them in response.

"In the sense that you're both the best in the lab." he then clarified.

"So I will wait until you are finished." he added.

Vincent nodded, and then left.

Some time later, as the attacks were continuing, Kiah and Illias were in the lab, getting ready to test a compound, when they heard Sharp's voice ring out from the entrance to the lab.

"Doctor Fyrane!" he called out.

"...woah." Illiad muttered.

"You know it's serious when he calls out for you formally like that."

Vincent shook his head.

"I think that's all." he said.

"We... should probably catch up at some point, when there are less pressing matters to attend to." he suggested.

"For now, I'll talk to Sharp about getting Agent King to check on those records." he continued.

"Thank you for doing this, Reveka." he then said.

"And I AM sorry it turned out this way."

Vincent blinked a couple of times when she said that.

"Ty?" he asked.

"OH!" he then exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "Agent King!" he realized.

"Ah yes, he's a regenerator. He would come back from that, and it would be safe." he said.

"How much of the records did you get through?" he asked her.

"All of them? Some of them? Most of them?" he asked further.

"There's not a whole hell of a lot in there, so it'd be pretty easy to guess at a glance." he added with a bit of a wry chuckle.

Vincent crossed his hands over his chest, and thought for a moment.

"Hmm." he mumbled.

"I'll need someone that can... essentially survive dying." he said.

"Lindsay fits that bill, but his rather firey rebirth will be a hazard..." he went on.

"I may just need to do this myself." he sighed.

"And just... hope that I manage it without another of those statues showing up."

".....hmmm." Vincent muttered.

"That sort of behaviour indicates that it's either acting entirely on instinct, desire, or programming." he said.

"Meaning it might have sentience, but it's so limited that they're only aware of what gets them to whatever their intended goal is... which is probably something short-term, such as killing those that they see as 'alive'." he went on.

"But all this is pure conjecture. Hopefully the remnants of your father's work can shed some light on it." he continued.

"...and you are right. I should check down there to make sure everything is still there and intact." he muttered.

"But I now question going there alone. If the same would happen to me, then the aftermath would not nearly be so... trivial? I suppose?" he finished, struggling to find the appropriate word.

He wasn't saying Aedan having her neck snapped was something to merely disregard entirely, but that the same treatment was far worse for those that were not like her... such as himself.

Ryker just looked at Eke with warm, caring eyes, and nodded in response.

"Sure thing, Eke." he replied.

With that, the two of them made their way to the bed, and he laid down on one side of it, making sure there was enough room for Eke... but that wasn't hard, given the size of the bed.

"In the end, I only know of one thing that I can do to help." he said.

"And that's be there for you." he told him.

"No matter what happens to you, Eke, I'll be here for you. Until the very end. And nothing will ever change that." he said further.

"I promise."

Vincent pondered on what she said, his brow furrowing.

"...well, I know ONE individual that comes to mind when you mention humans can't do it." he said. "But it's wise to never jump to conclusions, no matter how wise or logical they may seem." he reasoned.

"Also, one CAN argue about your state of being. But that is an entirely different debate. One that is academic at best, and detracting from the larger topic at hand." he went on.

"Regardless, I'm sorry this happened to you." he then apologized.

"Now, we need to find out more about these things. Like if they have intelligence, or memory, or any kind of sentience." he went on.

"If they do, that secret room of records has been SEVERELY compromised."

Ryker was silent, before sighing and looking at the bag. He then got up and slowly made his way to Eke's bedroom, knocking on the door lightly.

"Hey, Eke?" he said through it.

"I know you might be too old for this, but I thought I would offer it, anyway." he went on, pausing for a moment.

"But if you want someone there for you, to help you get to sleep, I can come in and lay down." he offered.

"You know, like what used to happen." he added with a subtle warm smile.

Thankfully, Hal hadn't managed to get very far after he left, and he'd heard what Aedan had said.

"Trust me, I know!" he called back to her.

"He does." Vincent confirmed. "Was pretty much the first thing he mumbled to himself when we got down here." he told her further.

"...still. I didn't think something like this could happen." he admitted.

"It would seem that nobody is safe from these... things." he went on.

"Who on earth could have created these? And how? Why?" he wondered further, scratching at his chin.

Ryker was silent for a moment, and sighed.

"Well... first of all, sounds like a good idea with Aly." he told him.

"I hope that all works out." he said.

"Secondly, there's alcohol in the bag." he admitted.

"But! It's coolers. Like, the kind of drinks that have alcohol IN them, but it's nearly impossible to actually get drunk or anything off of them." he explained.

"They taste good." he finished with a shrug.