The ride to Foundation Camp was quiet.
Not the comfortable kind.
The vehicle that transported Yesu this ti wasn't a CCD transport. It was military.
Ard soldiers sat across from her in dark tactical uniforms, rifles resting against their chests while rain battered softly against the armored windows.
Nobody spoke.
When the gates finally opened, Yesu understood imdiately why the place was different from the Assessnt Facility.
This wasn't a lab making efforts to resemble a hospital. It was a camp, not like those sumr camps, a real camp. Run by the military.
It was preparation.
Floodlights illuminated long concrete paths between identical dormitory blocks while alarms rang sowhere in the distance.
Children in oversized colored uniforms moved quickly through the compound under shouted instructions.
Blue.
Red.
Yellow.
Black.
Most couldn't have been older than fifteen.
So vanished into buildings. Others sprinted across open training grounds under the rain while instructors barked commands behind them.
The entire place moved with strict chanical rhythm.
As Yesu was escorted forward, she spotted Doctor Heckman near one of the central platforms alongside two Board mbers speaking with a broad-shouldered officer in grey combat wear.
The Camp Commander.
Doctor Heckman noticed her briefly.
Then she rembered his last words before leaving the Facility.
'Just do what you've been doing, survive. The Board will decide the rest.'
That honestly didn't sound very reassuring.
The soldiers pushed open a heavy steel door ahead.
Yesu was led into an enclosed training ground surrounded by towering tal walls.
The floor was reinforced concrete, scarred with old impact marks and burn stains.
High above one side of the arena stretched a massive tinted observation window.
Figures stood behind it.
Watching.
The steel door behind Yesu slamd shut.
A second door across the arena opened imdiately afterward.
Four children were shoved inside.
Two boys and two girls. All around thirteen. Each wore a different colored uniform.
Red.
Blue.
Yellow.
Black.
They looked at Yesu uncertainly.
One of the girls already seed terrified.
Behind the observation glass, the Camp Commander folded his arms.
"Our finest Initiates this year," he said calmly. "One has already advanced to Rank Two."
Beside him, one of the Board mbers frowned slightly. "And they're fighting her?"
"Controlled evaluation," the Commander replied.
The Head Warden beside him nodded toward the boy in red. "The Rank Two."
Doctor Heckman remained silent, eyes fixed on the arena below.
Inside, the boy stepped forward first. Red uniform. Physical Class.
Unlike the others, he wasn't afraid.
He rolled his shoulders once and lowered himself slightly into stance.
His muscles tightened unnaturally beneath the oversized fabric.
Enhancent type. Simple, direct. Easy to asure.
The other three hesitated behind him.
Yesu looked between them quietly.
"…Are we fighting?" she asked.
Nobody answered.
Then the boy moved.
Fast.
His foot cracked against the concrete as he launched forward and drove a punch directly toward Yesu's face.
The punch never landed.
Yesu shifted sideways at the last second with almost lazy timing.
The boy's fist cut through empty air.
His own montum carried him forward and Yesu simply caught his wrist instinctively, turning slightly as she stepped aside.
Nothing elegant. Nothing trained. Just redirection.
The boy stumbled hard past her.
His shoulder slamd against the concrete wall with a loud crack before he lost balance completely and hit the floor.
The entire thing lasted barely three seconds.
Silence settled over the arena.
The boy groaned weakly, trying to push himself up again.
The other three Initiates imdiately shifted backward.
The girl in blue grabbed the sleeve of the yellow-uniford boy beside her while the one in black stared at Yesu like she had stopped being human halfway through the exchange.
Yesu blinked once.
"…Was that it?"
Above the arena, the Head Warden slapped a hand to his forehead.
The Camp Commander remained expressionless as he pressed a button on the intercom beside the observation glass.
"Bring in Campers Two."
The arena doors opened imdiately.
Ard soldiers entered first.
The remaining Initiates were quickly escorted out, none of them protesting. One soldier grabbed the fallen red-uniford boy under the arm and dragged him upright with little concern for his condition.
"Move."
The boy winced painfully as he was hauled away.
Yesu watched them leave quietly.
The doors shut again.
A mont later they reopened.
Four new Campers entered.
Older this ti. Around fourteen. Their uniforms fit better.
So did their expressions.
Unlike the first group, these ones didn't look confused about why they were here.
They looked prepared.
A tall boy in blue stepped in first, clenched fists red hot.
Elental Class
Behind him walked a black-uniford boy whose right arm carried strange tallic plating fused partially into the skin.
Advanced Class.
A yellow-uniford girl entered next, eyes strangely unfocused, almost sleepy.
ntal Class.
The last camper wore red. Broad shoulders. Broken nose. Calm eyes.
Physical Class.
None of them moved imdiately after entering.
They simply spread out slowly around Yesu without taking their eyes off her.
Above the arena, even the Board mbers straightened slightly now.
"These are senior campers," the Head Warden said quietly. "Top of the second-year."
Doctor Heckman folded his arms loosely. Still watching.
Inside the arena, Yesu glanced between the four campers
"…You people actually want to fight ?"
The blue uniford boy answered first.
"No," he said honestly. Then stepped forward anyway, flas shooting out from his fists like a launching rocket.
"But orders are orders."
He rushed at her, throwing fire blasts.
Yesu dodged without a sweat, moving backwards, sideways. Anything to get away.
The boy pursued recklessly, throwing blasts without definite direction.
Yesu noticed his weak stance as they moved.
"Attacking without strategy." Remarked the Commander, distasteful. "Firing without precision."
The Head Warden shifted uncomfortably.
Yesu was now a few steps away from the wall.
The boy ca after her relentlessly, throwing his biggest blast yet.
Yesu ducked beneath the blast and swept her leg sharply against his ankle.
His footing split apart instantly. He grabbed his groin, groaning in pain.
Yesu kicked him again and he fell over, balling up.
Yesu turned just in ti to see the Camper in red zoom to her.
She pushed Yesu to the floor, climbed on top of her and punched her in the face repeatedly, hands flying, landing multiple tis a second.
Blood splattered.
The spectators behind the glass leaned in.
The Head Warden smiled. "She's toast."
Doctor Heckman clenched a fist, eyes wide, as if waiting.
And sothing did happen.
Yesu's head began moving at the last possible mont.
One punch missed.
Then another.
Then suddenly the rhythm stopped working.
"Incredible." One of the board mbers said.
Doctor Heckman stiffened.
The Warden's mouth hung open.
The Commander just watched.
The girl was montarily shocked.
And Yesu seized the opportunity, shoving the girl off her.
The girl rolled as fast as she moved, hitting the wall head hard.
Yesu glanced at the other two.
The girl in yellow stepped forward, eyes narrowed in concentration.
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