The Terra Episode
(a theoretical prequel by magicite54)

Chapter One
The Intruder

       Almost everything was made of steel—the floor, the walls, the ceiling and the levels above and below her. The doors were made of so much more. To the uninvited presence, the doors were walls themselves—impenetrable and indestructible. They’ve kept intruders away very effectively since the day they were made. It has kept the secret of extreme power locked up within—the secret of the highly technologically advanced Empire on the face of the planet.

       And yet, on that fateful night, the door opened to the uninvited with but a mention of its name.

       "Sub-seven D," whispered the female intruder. The door in front of her opened almost instantly with a unified hiss of the hydraulics. The locking mechanism behind the door clapped so loud that it startled her. The sound echoed back through the dark and empty corridor. Her heart raced.

       "Don’t worry. Nobody heard it," assured an unseen presence with an odd-sounding female voice that only the intruder could hear.

       The young woman took a deep breath of relief. Whoever the presence was, she trusted the voice fully. The girl walked into the darkened facility that the door hid from prying eyes so carefully for many unbroken years. Her green eyes would soon be witnesses to the wonders that the "Devil’s Laboratory" held.

       She wore black coveralls for stealth. A black mask covered her face, save her eyes and mouth. Strapped to her back and shoulders was a small black bag, the contents of which were a mystery.

       The room was huge but very dim. The intruder looked around her, marveling at the huge machinations at work. At the very center of the lab was a tall column covered with tiny red lights that blinked incessantly. The column hummed with strong electrical current as it slowly rotated. Along the walls were huge cylindrical glass drums like vats for large amounts of chemicals. Most of them were empty as she noticed but some of them contained clear, bubbling liquid and shadowy specimens within. The tops of the drums were sealed.

       Thick cables of different colors ran carelessly across the floor in different directions. Some of them clearly linked the rotating column and the vats together. Littered all around were workstations. Most of them were powered down at this time of night but some seemed to have been left active. Faint static noises came from different directions. To her relief, there were no signs of trouble.

       The metal door closed behind her with a familiar hiss and a loud clap of the locking mechanism. This startled her again but unlike the first time it didn’t worry her as much.

       "Proceed to the western exit at once. Long exposure to the radiation level of the room could be fatal to anybody who is not wearing a type four bio-radiation suit," instructed the unseen accomplice.

       The girl hurried as directed, carefully stepping over the cables. She passed several of the glass vats that contained various specimens. She noticed that they were different kinds of animals in some kind of a stasis. Some of them were impossible to identify with a quick glance. She didn’t take any chances to stop and try.

       She reached the locked door of the western side of the facility. It was as big as the previous one. The girl looked above the door and read a stenciled sign.

       "Sub-seven D-west," she read aloud.

       The door opened again emitting the same hissing sounds and claps of the locking mechanism. This time she was fully prepared. The door slid open revealing a brightly illuminated room. She quickly stepped inside and closed the door behind her. The floor was different. It was tiled white like the walls and ceiling. Against the southern wall were tall gray featureless boxes. Opposite them were lockers and various kinds of protective gears from boots, to gloves, to helmets. She assumed that they were for the people who worked in the other room with the high radiation level.

       "I’m in," the girl reported.

       "Good. But remember what I told you. From now on I have no complete control over the security measures of the area," said the accomplice through an earpiece.

       "I remember. Just tell me where to go."

       "Take the other exit."

       The girl quickly saw the door opposite of where she came from. It was a normal looking door made of strong wood with a thick glass window that allowed her to see what was behind it. She strode over to it and peered through the window. Behind the door was another steel-clad corridor. She looked at the knob that opened the door. A keypad was installed beside it. Apparently, an access code was needed.

       "Access code," she said simply.

       "Searching…" said the voice. After a moment the voice recited the code. "5-4-2-3-1-0"

       The girl punched in the access code. A confirming beep was heard and the lock clicked open. She turned the knob and the door swung open allowing her to leave the locker room. She felt like she was back where she came from because of the metal surroundings.

       "Go south. Enter third door on the right."

       The girl moved more quietly than before because she wasn’t sure whether anybody else was in the area. Before, her accomplice could tell her with accuracy about the position of the guards in patrol but now her partner in crime couldn’t determine that. Not while she was in the highly restricted area.

       She reached the door that was like the one before except this time it didn’t have a keypad for access code. She turned the knob and just entered without a whit of trouble. The room was utterly dark but was drowned by the humming of various machinations that were oddly distorted. The sounds echoed horribly and reverberated all together into a unified droning note. Above that was a distinct rhythmic sound. One would have to shout above the sound to be heard by another human being within ten feet. Despite this fact, the girl was able to hear her guide quite clearly.

       "You are on a plank. Don’t wander off without switching the lights on," the voice said.

       The girl felt the wall for a switch of some sort. She found a cold metal box with a lever that was pointing down. Taking the risk after a deep breath, she pushed it up. A chain of hanging light bulbs illuminated the catwalk as well as her immediate surroundings. The catwalk hung from the ceiling with strong metal chains that looked treacherous. She clutched at the handle bars tightly when she realized that something was still missing even after the lights were turned on—the bottom. She noticed that the catwalk ran across a manmade chasm that stretched down only as far as the illumination could reach. The droning noises seemed to be coming from below. A strange and faint green glow could sometimes be seen from below also. Above her was a gigantic propeller that seemed to be the source of the rhythmic sound. Warm air came from below.

       "Cross the plank to exit."

       The girl summoned up her courage to take the first step. The catwalk slightly swung sideways. The girl continued carefully until she reached a similar door. The door opened at a turn of the knob. She went through it and found herself in another darkened facility but it was much quieter this time.

       "I’m in another dark room. What do I do?" she asked her partner.

       "This is it. Turn on the lights and plant the devices then get out of there the same way you got in. Make haste. You cannot stay here very long."

       The girl unmasked herself. Her blond hair fell on her shoulders, framing her delicate face. From her looks alone one would place her in between the age of seventeen to twenty. Her green eyes revealed an inherent gentleness and intelligence. It also reflected fear and tension at the moment. She was wearing a small earpiece on her right ear and a tiny microphone around her neck, worn like a necklace. With them she was able to communicate with her unseen helper.

        She removed her backpack and opened it, drawing a black cylindrical object from it. She twisted the top of the object and the object glowed like a lamp. She held it up before her to navigate her way around. She was in a room that was as big as the one with the rotating column and the vats but this time she was surrounded by seemingly inactive computer consoles situated against the walls. Cables still run across the floor from the inactive consoles to odd-looking glass pods hanging from a support beam at the ceiling in rows, barely touching the metal floor. She regarded the pods with curiosity. Just like the vats of liquid and animal specimens in the previous room, the pods were also filled with clear bubbling liquid. And just like the vats the pods contained odd-shaped figures. The pods were bigger than the vats and the creatures inside were obviously larger also.

       The girl held the lamp in front of one of the pods but the thick rounded glass only reflected the glare back making it even more difficult to make out the contents of the pods.

       "Have you found the panel?" the voice asked.

       "N-not yet," she answered, turning away from the pods and walking to the nearest corner of the room.

       The corner was empty except for a metal plating covering something in the wall. The girl opened the plating that turned out to be an accessible panel. It revealed a very intricate web of wires and cables connected to even more mind-boggling devices.

       "I found it," the girl said in a whisper.

       "You know what to do," the voice said.

       The girl, drew a couple of devices from her backpack. They were rectangular in shape. Her hands went through the web of wires and reached for two similarly shaped devices. She held one tight and disconnected all the wires that were linked to it. She replaced the device with her own, reconnecting the wires back in the same order. She did the same for the second device. When the switch was done, she placed the stolen devices in her backpack and closed the panel again.

       "It’s done!" the girl reported gladly.

       "Good. It’ll take me approximately three minutes to integrate myself into that facility’s system. Get out of there now, Branford" the voice urged her.

       The girl immediately went on her way. She was halfway into the rows of pods when—

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Chapter Two
The Encounter

       "Terra…" a voice said in a whisper. She was sure it didn’t come from the earpiece that she was wearing.

       The girl stopped dead in her tracks and spun around suddenly, startled. Her eyes scanned her surroundings. Besides the shadows, she only saw the reflected glare of her lamp from the glass pods.

       "Guardian? Did you just say something?" the girl asked in a soft, nervous whisper.

       "Negative," her partner answered.

       The girl was about to turn to leave the room when she heard the voice again.

       Terra…

       The girl gasped. Her eyes widened and were both alert for a sign of movement. There was no mistaking it. She did hear something.

       "Guardian, I think somebody’s here," she whispered to her partner through the microphone in a nervous voice.

       "Then I suggest that you leave now."

       Help me, Terra. The mysterious whispering voice said again.

       "Who-who are y-you?" the girl asked the unseen presence in a trembling voice.

       "Branford? Whom are you talking to?" the girl’s partner asked through her earpiece but the girl ignored the question.

       Terra. I… need… your help. Whispered the male voice again. The whisper sounded so clear that it could not have been said several feet from her. Whoever was saying it was very close and yet the girl could not see anything. Free me.

       "Who are you? Where are you?" asked Tina, not afraid about being heard by the soldiers she had so carefully avoided in coming here.

       "Branford, get out of there now!" the girl’s partner urgently said through her earpiece.

       You must help me escape. You must help us escape. The mystery voice said with urgency. Oddly, the girl had a feeling that she was hearing the voice from inside her head.

       "You mistake me for somebody else. I’m not Terra," the girl answered back.

       "Branford! Don’t listen to whatever you’re hearing! Get out of the room now. You’re in danger!" the accomplice said.

       Have you forgotten, Terra? Have you forgotten who you are?

       The girl was now intrigued. The girl raised her head and stared into one of the pods. She still couldn’t make out what was inside but for some strange reason, she felt that the voice was coming from the inside.

       "Why do you ask that?" she asked softly. "Why? Who am I exactly?"

       "I will tell you who you are, Tina Branford but you must get out of the room. Something in there is confusing you!" yelled the accomplice.

       Tina removed the earpiece and held it tight in her gloved hand.

       You are Terra. You are the Gate Sentry. The voice answered enigmatically.

       Tina shook her head. "My name is Tina Branford. Rank: Second Class of the Third Infantry. I am no protector. And you… whoever you are… you are just confusing me."

       You are confused, yes. You have forgotten. Your human upbringing has made you weak. It’s not your fault. The voice said in gentle tones.

       "My human upbringing? What are you talking about?"

       But you’ve come back. You’ve come back to save us.

       "What are you? What am I?"

       "Branford! The soldiers are coming!" said the accomplice through the unworn earpiece, her voice sounding teeny.

       "Hold them back, Guardian. I know you can," the girl told her accomplice.

       "Unacceptable! You are jeopardizing your mission. Remember our deal! I keep you safe for as long as you keep to the end of your bargain! I will abandon you if you do not exit the room this instant!" threatened the accomplice.

       Tina ignored the threat.

       "I don’t have much time. Tell me who or what I am!"

       In response, a dim light illuminated the inside of the pod she was staring into. It revealed a humanoid creature but it was far from being human. The creature was larger than the average human with black and brown fur covering its entire body. The creature was very muscular and had clawed hands. The head was a fearsome sight. Its face was covered with short fur making the creature look feral in nature and it had long black hair and huge, thick horns that curved back. A mask covered the mouth and nose to help the creature breathe. The eyes were closed as the creature just floated inside in a relaxed state.

       A computer console behind her activated itself and began beeping and flashing various cryptic images on its display. The console, she noticed, was the computer that the cable from the pod the creature was in was attached to.

       "Please tell me! Who am I? What am I?!" Tina shouted, not caring whether somebody would hear it.

       The lights in the other pods turned themselves on as well as the computer consoles they were attached to. The creatures inside the other pods were shaped differently. Some were humanoid and yet some were shaped like crossbred animals. Others still, didn’t look like they had physical forms at all. And yet, for some strange reason, she knew that they were all alike.

       Then the lights of the entire facility turn on. No shadow was left for her to hide in. It was time for her to leave for the soldiers were coming.

       Tina wore the earpiece again and her mask. She ran back to the catwalk and crossed it quickly.

       "Stop!" her accomplice said. She did so in the middle of the catwalk. "Drop the backpack. Get rid of the evidence now!"

       Without giving it a thought Tina threw her backpack containing the stolen devices into the chasm and then she herself continued on through the exit.

       She was back in the metal corridor. She turned right and ran as fast as she could to return to the locker room where she had gone through before. From almost every direction, she could hear the Imperial soldiers running to find the intruder. She reached the door to the locker room and gave the knob a twist.

       To her surprise, the alarm suddenly sounded and a red light right above her flashed wildly. She had forgotten to enter the access code.

       "Guardian!" she called to her accomplice. "Open the door!"

       "I can’t. I don’t have control over the sector yet," replied the accomplice.

       Tina heard the Imperial troops closing in from behind her, following the sound of the alarm and the sight of the red flashes. She couldn’t stay there any longer. She started to run into the opposite direction. The Imperial guards saw her in her black coverall.

       "There’s the intruder! After him!"

       "Guardian, I’m heading east. Show me another exit!" Tina shouted.

       "T-intersection. Turn right!"" instructed Guardian.

       Tina saw the T-intersection ahead. She ran around the corner to the right as Guardian told her to do but she stopped when she saw a small roaming automaton blocking the way. It was a robot programmed to do patrols in the area. It was obviously a formidable obstacle.

       "There’s a Magitek drone blocking the way!" she said to Guardian.

       "Give me the model!" instructed Guardian.

       "Halt! Identify yourself!" the robot said as it pointed a nasty looking blaster at her. She could hear the soldiers who were after her getting closer.

       "Uh… Silver Drone… model GT-590," she told Guardian.

       "Invalid identification," answered the drone menacingly. "This is a restricted area. Please step away."

       "Alpha-seven-seven-niner," said Guardian.

       "Alpha-seven-seven-niner!" echoed Tina.

       "Identification verified. Awaiting orders," replied the drone as it stepped aside.

       Tina walked behind the robot and gave it a new order. "Don’t let anybody else get past you," she commanded the robot.

       "Understood," the robot replied as it assumed its position.

       Tina continued to run through the corridor. Shortly, there were shouts behind her and short bursts of explosions as the drone fought off the Imperial soldiers. Her command worked and it should slow the soldiers down.

       Tina reached a door at the very end with a keypad situated near the knob.

       "Access code."

       "5-4-2-3-1-0" replied Guardian.

       The door opened leading Tina into a clean room full of shelves that held thousands of records. The room was clear so she simply looked around for another exit. A louder explosion meant that the sentry robot had been subdued. It didn’t buy her enough time as she expected. She reached for the other exit and kicked it open when she saw that it required another access code. The door was weak so it flew open but another alarm blared betraying her position. She was in another branching corridor of the metal labyrinth. Being clueless to where she was in the secret facility she ran aimlessly, taking random turns around corners to lose her pursuers.

       "Guardian, I’m lost! Can you see me yet?" Tina asked, clutching the listening device with her hand.

       "In a moment. Just lose them for a few more seconds," instructed Guardian.

       Tina ran around another corner and she bumped into two Imperial soldiers who were going the other direction. The three of them were sent sprawling onto the ground. Tina scrambled up her feet and started to run back to the opposite direction but she stopped when she saw her pursuers closing in. She decided to just get past the two Imperial soldiers whom she bumped into. Fortunately for her they were still on the ground, dazed. She slid past them quickly and hurried away.

       The two soldiers picked themselves up and joined pursuit. They were the closest to her. Tina made another turn at a corner, which turned out to be a big mistake. She was trapped. In front of her was a big metal door that can only be opened manually. A wheel was in the middle of the door and this needed to be turned to open it. She didn’t think she had enough time but she tried it anyway.

       Tina tugged at the wheel counterclockwise but it didn’t budge. She put her weight into it and the wheel started rotating but very slowly. Alas, the two Imperial soldiers caught up with her. They drew closer, more slowly now, holding their swords up to apprehend the masked intruder.

       She leaned against the big door like a cornered animal. She held her right hand in front of her bidding the soldier to stop.

       "I’m warning you. Don’t come any closer!" she warned revealing to them her feminine voice.

       "Don’t make this hard on yourself. You are trapped and weaponless!" the lead soldier said as he approached her carefully, holding his sword up menacingly.

       The man was right. Tina was weaponless. However, she was not completely defenseless.

       "Fire!" she shouted.

       A blast of angry flame burst toward the lead soldier, knocking him off his feet and back towards the other soldier who stood utterly bewildered. The soldier moaned in pain but he was alive. The fire scorched his uniform and nothing more. Tina took advantage of this moment of surprise by running past them again but the second soldier reacted quickly this time. She tackled Tina to the floor wrestled with her, hoping to pin her long enough for the other soldiers to come to his aid.

       Tina kicked the soldier in the groin and the soldier released her. She jumped up on her feet again and made a dash for it. The soldier sprang forward in another attempt to tackle her but fell short, toppling over his singed companion.

       She ran around another corner. The soldiers were so much closer now as she could hear them shout.

       "Guardian! Help me!" she gasped. She was out of breath.

       She stopped once more as she saw another soldier ahead, blocking the corridor. She turned around to find another way but she saw the Imperial soldiers who have been pursuing her from the start running towards her. She faced the lone soldier again. She’d stand a greater chance of getting past him than the others. She charged forward. The lone soldier drew his sword and braced himself.

       "Fire!" she cried. A ball of fire flew towards the frightened soldier. The soldier ducked to the ground. The fireball flew past over his head, hitting a wall instead. When she was close to the soldier she kicked him hard in the chest. The man dropped his sword but he retorted with a strong shove as he stood up. Tina was thrown back for she was no match to the soldier in terms of strength.

       "Guardian!" she cried for help.

       The soldier went for her throat. He was trying to strangle her. Tina fought hard to loosen the soldier’s grip.

       "Kill him!" Guardian shouted through her earpiece.

       Tina’s magic was indeed powerful enough to kill with but a word but she was hesitant to do so.

       "Guardian!" she screamed, hoping that her accomplice could find a better way to save her.

       "Use your magic, Branford!" Guardian barked.

       Tina started to see stars. The man’s hands around her throat were already doing its damage. She would pass out real soon unless something was done. Finally, she hesitated no longer for it was now a matter of survival.

       "Fire," she breathed almost inaudibly.

       The soldiers’ hands and arms began to burn. Tina was able to breathe again as the soldier released her, screaming in panic. Tina gasped for air and coughed several times. She felt dizzy and the world around her slowly came back to focus. She felt strong hands seize her by the arms. The Imperial soldiers have finally caught up with her.

       The burning soldier still screamed on the floor fighting off the flames that magically appeared on his arms. The other soldiers helped put it out.

       Tina was forced against the wall while her hands were being cuffed.

       "Guardian, help me!" she said aloud. She knew that the soldiers heard her but they had no clue as to whom she was talking to.

       "I can see you now, Branford. I’m sending help," Guardian promised.

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Chapter Three
Follow That Drone!

       "Alright, trespasser. Let’s see what you look like!" the soldier that held her said as he pulled the mask off her head.

       Tina’s hair fell on her shoulders again but it was a different color than before. Her light golden hair developed a greenish hue. The soldiers were a bit puzzled at this but they wouldn’t let something like that catch them off guard.

       "Another word from you and you die. Do you understand?" threatened another soldier.

       "Search for another trespasser. She was calling out to somebody else. I don’t think she’s alone," instructed another soldier who appeared to be of higher rank than the others.

       "Please let me go. I didn’t steal anything," Tina pleaded.

       The soldier who cuffed her pulled her hair back. Tina cried in pain. "I said for you to shut your trap! What part of that don’t you understand?" He then pushed Tina roughly along with them. "Move along and don’t you try anything funny, magic-user"

       Tina walked quietly with them though deep inside she had never felt this frightened in her life before. She wanted so much to ask Guardian for help again but the soldiers might find out that she was wearing a tracking device and a microphone. That would only complicate things because Guardian could only help her if they were in contact. All she could do was wait. She did remember Guardian mentioning a backup.

       So she followed the two soldiers leading the way through the corridors. Another two trailed closely behind her to prevent escape. Her hands were cuffed behind her severely limiting her movement should she try to make a run for it again.

       Suddenly, another Magitek drone appeared from around the corner ahead of them. It was bigger than the first one. It was semi-humanoid in shape. It had an upper body proportionality comparable to humans but it walked on six mechanical legs like an insect. Its arms were its weapons. They can shoot energy beams of differing intensity that can either stun or kill. The weapons were aimed at them right now.

       The two soldiers stopped at the sight of this, glancing at each other nervously. "It’s okay. It’s just here to back us up," said the higher-ranking soldier behind Tina.

       The Magitek drone spoke in its dead synthesized voice.

       "Release the prisoner."

       "What the…?"

       Without warning the drone fired four calculated shots that killed the two in front of Tina and the other two behind her. Tina was startled at this but soon felt relieved. She knew that this must be the backup Guardian promised. The shots were loud and Tina was sure that the other soldiers who were looking for her accomplice have heard it.

       "Turn around, Branford," Guardian said through her earpiece, "and don’t move."

       She did so without question. The Magitek drone fired a smaller and weaker beam that struck her handcuffs. It was so carefully calculated that the cuffs fell apart without harming Tina’s hands. Tina quickly picked up a soldier’s sword trying hard not to stare into their lifeless eyes.

       "Follow the drone!" Guardian instructed.

       The drone turned around quickly and ran through the corridors. For something purely mechanical, Tina was impressed at how agile it moved.

       "The prisoner is getting away again!" said the soldiers who were looking for her accomplice. Once again she was pursued.

       The drone led her around several turns. They came to a narrow catwalk running across another large facility where Magitek Armors were being assembled or powered. A few people working below raised their heads up to see what was going on. Tina ignored them all. It didn’t matter anymore. She was already unmasked and could easily be identified. Her main thoughts at the moment were to escape the facility and escape Vector.

       Escape Vector! She thought with dread. She never thought it was even possible to get into this kind of situation. I’m through! I’m now a traitor. Vector would never tolerate this. Where would I go? How will I get there?

       "Guardian, where are you taking me?" she asked as she ran.

       "Outside," Guardian replied coolly.

       The drone started pelting a weak wall of thin metal plating. It crashed through it making a big enough hole for Tina to go through. They reached the outside in a shadowy part of the Magitek Facility grounds. A tall tower stood in the middle of the grounds that flashed bright red light at the peak. Sirens blared as well alerting the soldiers on the outside.

       The drone suddenly deactivated itself. Then Guardian spoke in her ears.

       "This is as far as I can control the drone. You’re on your own again. Head for your barracks quietly and let nobody see you."

       "Barracks? Why? They know who I am already. I’ll be caught," she said sounding worried.

       "Only six people saw your face. Four of them are dead. Leave the last two to me," Guardian answered. Guardian always sounded like she had answers to everything.

       Tina continued her escape, ducking under the cover of the shadows with a weapon in hand. She was somewhat relieved to know that there still might be a chance for her to stay in Vector without being identified as a traitor and ultimately being executed. She knew somehow that Guardian would keep her end of the bargain—that Guardian would keep her safe.

       From inside the facility that she just escaped from an explosion was heard. It was louder than the ones she heard so far. She had time to catch a glimpse of it going up in flames before she rounded a street corner, out of sight.

       "Your two remaining witnesses are dead," reported Guardian.

       Tina didn’t feel comfortable at all. "Was that really necessary?" she asked as she walked the darkened streets away from the disorder.

       "It was the most efficient way of dealing with the situation at the time. I waited for them to get close to a Magitek Weapon primary reactor. An overload of the reactor will not link you to any of the events that transpired," explained Guardian.

       "Was that what the explosion was for? You blew up a reactor?! But… what about the other people? The workers at the Magitek Facility?"

       "I cannot control the explosion. They’ve expired."

       Tina felt dizzy all of a sudden. She stopped walking and then leaned against the wall of a building. Everything was quiet in the area so she wasn’t worried about being discovered.

       "They’re… dead?" she asked in a weakened voice. "They’re… they…. had nothing to do with… they were innocent!"

       Guardian didn’t answer. Only silence followed.

       "How many died?" she asked, dreading to hear the answer but she had to know.

       "There were sixteen people in the facility at the time. None survived," Guardian answered without a hint of emotion.

       "What have I done?" she said guiltily, closing her eyes tight.

       "Branford, my concern at that moment was to keep you safe. That was what you wanted, wasn’t it?"

       "But I didn’t want this to happen," she said defensively.

       "Neither did I. This was not meant to happen. The mission was perfectly planned out for you to infiltrate and leave without notice. You know I do not operate like this."

       Tina buried her face in her hands and sobbed. "What have I turned into?"

       "Compose yourself, Branford. You will feel better in the morning. You are not to blame for what happened. It was I that killed them, not you. Now stay focused. You are almost there. Then… I will give you the information that you wanted in return for your service. You will not be disappointed."

       Tina wiped the tears off her face. She had forgotten all about that. She agreed to take on the mission for Guardian in return for the information that she claimed would be of utmost value to her. Though she had her doubts, she hoped that the information would be worth the trouble.

        Tina stood up again and started walking with the soldier’s sword in her hand. She looked very suspicious with it especially when she was wearing a black coverall. She made a mental note to dispose of the sword later because they might trace it back to the soldier in the Devil’s Lab.

       As sudden as the explosion that took the Magitek Facility, a question entered her mind.

       Tina asked, "Guardian… what were those creatures in the Devil’s Lab?"

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Chapter Four
The Devil in the Lab

       Kefka was an odd figure in Vector. He wore the strangest of clothing everyday, looking like a court jester or a clown. That night he was wearing a red and black garment that was puffy on the shoulders. The garment covered his lower body like a heavy robe, revealing only his black pointed moccasin-like shoes. A purple sash was tied around his waist and brightly colored scarf was wrapped around his neck.

       Every inch of his skin that was exposed was painted white by some kind of a make up cream. He had red markings on his face, particularly around his eyes, looking like bloodstains and scars. The markings were too deliberate, though, to be real scars. He had no eyebrows. Instead, two thin red markings of the same shade as the others were drawn above his blue eyes where the eyebrows ought to be. His lips were very thin and seemed to be colored with the same shade as the markings on his face. Without effort, his lips revealed a slight twisted smile. He had strong bony facial features revealed only when positioned at an angle to a light source. His light blue eyes were penetrating. One would think that the marks on his face were to draw the looker to his eyes and entrap them with his scrutinizing stare. His golden hair was kept back and held into a style with a feathered hair ornament only supposed to be worn by women. A long bright and colorful feather and blue and red beads were the main décor of the hair ornament. He wore earrings on both his ears. They were capsule-shaped crystal earrings that hung horizontally in a short chain. His nose was pointed like a parrot’s beak but it wasn’t long.

       Despite of how he looked and dressed like, he was a highly respected figure in Vector. Perhaps the word feared would be more accurate. None would dare make fun of how he looked. None would even ask why. He was the Emperor’s advisor to almost all of the Capital’s affairs. That alone explained his authority and power. He was a calculating tactician and a merciless foe. Even the Empire soldiers feared him. He was hated as well by many for he usually operated like a loose cannon.

       It was assumed, however, that he dressed eccentrically because he was a leader of a cult. Even little was known of the cult. It seemed to be very secretive that even the members were all of unknown origin. The members all wore hooded cloaks of different colors. Their faces were also covered with the same white makeup that Kefka used and painted with their own markings on their faces. The purpose of the cult was a secret as well. It seemed to be very exclusive. Citizens of Vector recalled no memories of the cult being officially or publicly established. They’ve seen nobody recruiting for members or anybody joining. The members just grew in numbers.

       There were guesses as to what the purpose of the cult was. Some thought that they worshipped the gods of the undead. Other’s claimed that they sacrificed humans at their altar. Of course, they were just rumors. Nobody even knew where the cult members met or gathered. Devouts never interacted with outsiders.

       Vector civilians called the members Fanatics. The cult members called themselves the Devouts and their center of authority seemed to be focused on Kefka. People wondered whether Emperor Gestahl was a member of the cult but evidences seemed to disprove that. The Emperor, however, was tolerant of the cult and remained neutral in that matter. What was formally declared between the Emperor and Kefka was the simple fact that Kefka was an advisor of Emperor Gestahl. Kefka had no inherent official military authority for being an advisor but he was so influential that it didn’t matter. If he could convince the Emperor of something then the power would be directly granted to Kefka temporarily that could easily overrule other authorities.

       This has caused great friction between military officials operating under the rule of the emperor such as General Leo and General Fencross. Most of the time that Kefka was given special authority, even the generals were subject to him and never was Kefka a subject to the generals because the Emperor favored him most of the time over others.

       Kefka was not at all pleased to hear the alarming news about the attack in the Devil’s Lab. It was one of his most frequented places and a keeper of the greatest Vector secret. He walked through the bustling corridors ignoring the soldiers running about in chaos. The alarm still sounded throughout the facility. He was headed for the heart of the complex in the most restricted of places. He knew that he would have no problem getting through security for his presence alone was enough authorization.

       A soldier running around the corner bumped into him all of a sudden. Annoyed, Kefka grabbed the soldier by the shoulders and shoved him to the side and continued to walk. The soldier said nothing for he was afraid. The other soldiers who saw this made sure that they didn’t make the same mistake.

       After what seemed like forever, Kefka reached a huge double door that was locked with various security mechanisms that required multiple security checks.

       "Kefka!" he shouted his name at the door. The door made noises as the different locking mechanisms unlocked themselves after his voice was recognized and his presence was verified by different scanners nearby.

       He went through the door and immediately the lights in the big room turned themselves on. He was in the same room that Tina was in just minutes ago. The capsules and the pods were there, though the lights inside them were turned off. Kefka, inspected the room with his scrutinizing eyes. Nothing seemed to have changed or damaged. The only things that were different were the computers along the west wall. He was sure that they were supposed to be inactive and yet about a dozen of them were active.

       He walked closer to one of them and inspected the data that was being processed on their displays. He frowned at this for he found something that only he and a chosen few could understand. He stared at the pods again and into the creatures within in the most suspicious manner.

       "Tayan!" he shouted. His voice echoed within the room.

       A Devout suddenly materialized out of nowhere right next to him. It was a man wearing a gray hooded cloak. His face was hidden in the shadow of his cloak.

       "I am here, master," the Devout replied coolly.

       Kefka still stared at the creatures within their stasis cells. The creatures weren’t moving and showed absolutely no sign of activity.

       "I want a verification of all the data from each of these computers. I want to know if the explosion has damaged any of the systems!"

       "At once, Master!" replied the Devout.

       "And then I want to know who did this!" Kefka hissed.

       The Devout bowed down from his waist and then left the room to fulfill his tasks. It seemed a lot for one person to do but Kefka had complete trust in his second man.

       Kefka still stared at the creatures with hatred. They didn’t seem to be showing any sign of activity but he was almost sure that they were watching him.

       "What are you up to?" he thought out loud. There was no response from any of the capsules and yet Kefka stood there looking at them from one stasis cell to the next.

       Then his ugly frown turned into a twisted smile of triumph. He started to laugh, throaty and softly at first, then it gradually erupted into a maniacal, high-pitched cackle that echoed in the room and out through the corridors beyond the room’s exit. It was the laugh of a madman. A belly laugh originating from some sick and nefarious private joke.

       He was teary-eyed and was still clutching at his belly, sniggering still at the unshared joke when he said something that was barely intelligible.

       "You… you are not… leaving this place! You are here… to serve me! Whether… or not… you are willing! All of you… will… be… sucked… dry!"

       With that Kefka laughed even louder than before. He even staggered back and had to lean on something to keep himself from hitting the floor. The laugh was cruel and sadistic. Nobody in Vector, not even the emperor or his own Devouts, could’ve listened to the laugh and not flinch. It was the kind that brought chills up everybody’s spine. And at that moment, even the seemingly inanimate creatures inside the stasis cells were sure to have been affected by it—that maybe it struck fear or the feeling of hopelessness.

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Chapter Five
First Contact

       "But why can’t you tell me?" Tina asked her unseen friend. She was getting close to her quarters.

       "It’s not important," Guardian simply answered through her earpiece.

       Tina frowned. She felt that Guardian was hiding something from her. "That… creature… whatever it was. It talked to me," Tina started to say. She paused for a moment to wait for Guardian to say something but she didn’t. "Did you hear it, too?"

       "No, I did not."

       Tina believed her. "It spoke to me in my head. I heard the creature’s voice in my head."

       "You were probably imagining it," Guardian said as an excuse.

       "Then how come you were telling me not to listen to it? You knew that it was trying to communicate with me, didn’t you?"

       Guardian fell silent again as though thinking of a good excuse. She was held speechless, though.

       "You know what it is, don’t you? Somehow, you predicted that this might happen. Tell me, Guardian. What were those creatures?"

       "As you wish, Branford," Guardian submitted. "I will include that information to the exchange once we arrive in your quarters. I do not want you to be distracted again."

       Tina satisfied herself with that response. Guardian had never once broken a promise to her. The relationship between them, however, was an odd one. Never have they met face to face. Guardian made contact with her through means of high technological media. The first contact was made through Tina’s own computer in her quarters that was primarily used as her means of communicating mission orders from her commander. Only soldiers belonging in the Third Class ranks and above have these computers in their own quarters. They can be used for other tasks as well like electronically filing for requests such as leave of absence, permissions, queries and reports. And since the computers were all linked to a central computing core they could also be used to send messages to other people with the same access privileges.

**********

       Guardian contacted her for the first time by sending her a cryptic message that Tina first thought was a joke. It was, after all, a common prank between soldiers. The message was direct to the point. Guardian wanted her to go to Vector’s main computer library where they could "talk" to each other. Tina ignored the message the first time thinking that maybe it was just from an admirer. Being a serious soldier, she had no intention of wasting her time with conceited men who had nothing to do but flirt around her. Unlike another female friend who was in the military also, she did not delight in their catcalls. In fact, she hated it. She thought of them as being immature and rude.

       Being one of the very few female soldiers in the military, and being an attractive young woman as well, it was no surprise at all that men from her company and from others would send her messages. Almost all of them have attempted to ask her out. Some were very straightforward and yet some were subtle. Tina saw through all of them. Eventually, she ended up blocking messages coming from about twenty different men. The list continued to grow more slowly. She smiled at this thinking that they were finally getting the idea.

       But then there was somebody who called himself Guardian. After the first message from Guardian, she immediately dumped the source to her blocking list. To her surprise, Guardian got around the blocking program and was able to send her another message the very next day. Both messages were the same: Vector Library of History. Computer Section. Timestrike Ten. Come alone.

       Obviously, this was not enough to get her attention. She blocked the source again and yet on the very next day a third message from the mysterious entity said: You are in danger. A plot is set against you and the time is drawing near.

       Tina was furious at this. She finally decided to go to the designated meeting place but only to make the person sorry for the sick joke. She was very confident that she would be safe. And indeed, she was. Her magical ability alone was unsurpassed. The magic infusion experiment seemed to do extraordinarily well on her. With but a word, a raging fire could be called to be used as her weapon of defense… or destruction. Even without the help of her magical abilities, however, she was still a formidable enemy, skilled in the use of the sword. Nobody expected less from a Third Class Imperial Soldier.

       So she went to the Vector’s Library of History. It was a building outside the Bronze Fortress Compound, the central and collective superstructures that consisted of a giant steel-clad, highly-technological fortress where the Emperor resided, the Magitek warehouses, the Devil’s Lab, various high security facilities and the military quarters where she was currently assigned. In fact, the Vector Library of History was a public place; it was open to Vectorian citizens and was without security access restrictions. It was the only building outside of the Bronze Fortress Compound that was still directly linked to the databases of the central computer in the Bronze Fortress itself.

       Tina entered the building late that night, fully prepared as if expecting a fight. She was surprised that even at that time of day people were still in the library. She easily recognized a few scholars busily translating old Vectorian parchments. Younger looking people were on another corner, gathered around a study table and seemingly being reprimanded by a librarian for the distractions that they were causing. Tina looked around her. Shelf after shelf of books lined themselves parallel to each other just beyond the row of study tables. The inside was very well lit. Vector civilians walked from one shelf to the next in constant search of answers to their immediate educational or researching needs.

       Her eyes watched the people inside intently, looking for somebody that might be a soldier in civilian clothing. Failing to recognize any of them, she made an assumption that whoever Guardian was, he was not from her company. She approached a circular desk at the center of the section she was currently in safely concluding that it was the information desk. An elderly man with thick spectacles smiled at her and pointed the way to the computer section as an answer to her question.

       Tina followed the directions. She went past two rows of bookshelves and followed a very short corridor that led directly to the computer section. It was a big room with about a hundred networked computers on their own desk as workspace. Only a few people were using the computers at the time and they were all scattered. A few more study tables were lined in the same room along the walls. Tina immediately noticed a man who seemed out of place. The man sat on a chair in a slouching position with his hands across his chest and his head bowed slightly down as though in boredom. He had long sliver hair and a strangely pale skin. The man wore a black coat that could only have been made in the Far North. The coat had a high and stiff collar that almost covered the man’s mouth. He wore black leather boots that were metal-soled.

       The man seemed like he was asleep for he did not move. He just sat there as though waiting for someone. Tina wondered if he was Guardian but she immediately threw away that assumption. Many foreigners, after all, visited the library for its wondrous tomes of knowledge presented in the most luxurious way. So it was not uncommon for an outlander, most especially a Jidooran, to be found in Vector.

       Another librarian approached Tina from behind. It was a woman this time. Tina told the librarian her name and asked if somebody was waiting for her in particular. The librarian simply shook her head and went back to her desk. Tina turned towards the study tables again to look at the other people when she noticed that the man from Jidoor was looking at her intently. For the first time she saw his face. The man had multiple scars that must’ve been made by a blade. The scars were deep and all of them were made in different angles. Her guess was that the man must’ve been in some kind of a bar fight. The man sat up straight from his slouching position before he stood up. He was a very tall man and well built. His long silver hair dropped to his shoulders. His long black coat, decorated sparingly with silver and gold weaving patterns on edges, straightened as he stood up without so much as a sign of crease or fold.

       The tall man walked towards her unthreateningly. Tina thought that she had found Guardian. The man stood in front of her. Tina was forced to raise her head to look him in the eyes for he was a very tall man.

       "Tina Branford?" the man asked in a Jidooran accent that sounded snobbish.

       "Who wants to know?" Tina asked in a suspicious tone.

       "Just a messenger who’s been waiting for three days now," the man answered. He neither smiled nor made any attempt to hide his impatience. The man reached for something from inside his coat pocket. Alarmed at the movement, Tina pulled her sword from its sheath halfway. The blade scraped against the interior lining of the sheath and made a sound that echoed in the large room. The people who heard it looked their way. The librarian raised her brows and watched them intently and nervously. It was fortunate that Tina was wearing her military uniform at the time or else the librarian would’ve rushed for a local peacekeeper and have them arrested. The man froze and did not dare move.

       "I should warn you. A sudden move is a threatening move and will be dealt accordingly," Tina warned with a voice of authority.

       "I am reaching for the message. Nothing more," he assured.

       Tina nodded but kept her sword hand around the hilt of her weapon and her eyes on the man’s hands. When the man pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, Tina relaxed her guard. She snatched it from the hand of the Jidooran and started to read it. Tina gasped and then looked at the stranger.

       "Who wrote this?" Tina demanded the stranger for an answer but in a soft voice so she wouldn’t draw anymore attention to herself.

       The Jidooran man smiled weakly before answering. "Should you discover who did, then I will be grateful if you let me know as well. Farewell, Miss Branford. I have no answers. I just follow instructions."

       "From who?"

       "Why don’t you ask him yourself? Or her," the man answered impatiently. He turned away then started to leave. His metal-soled boots made a distinctive sound of footsteps.

       "Wait!" she called out. But the man just continued to walk away. She knew that she should’ve followed the man and demanded more answers but the words on the piece of paper just struck her as puzzled.

       The librarian walked up to her in concern.

       "Should I call the authorities?" the librarian asked her trying to be helpful.

       Tina handed her the note and asked her in an urgent tone, "What does this say?"

       "Pardon me?"

       "What does it say?" she repeated the question.

       The librarian blinked at her in confusion before finally taking the small piece of paper from Tina’s hand. She looked at the message and furrowed her brows. Then she rotated the paper many times as thought trying to figure out which side should be up. Finally giving up, she handed Tina the paper, shaking her head.

       "I’m sorry, ma’am, but I don’t understand what’s written on the paper, although, there are scholars in the study rooms who might be able to translate the language for you. I’m sure they’d be happy to oblige an Imperial Soldier of your status," the librarian said helpfully after seeing a small, embroidered badge on Tina’s left sleeve betraying her rank.

       "That wouldn’t be necessary. Thank you," Tina answered quickly. The librarian nodded and went back behind the desk to continue her work. Tina turned back towards the computers. The desks were number from 1 to 100 and arranged in a neat row-column layout in the room. Convenient spaces between desks were left so people could walk around computers easily.

       She looked at the message again and shuddered once more. She understood what was on the note: Computer 54. But it wasn’t the words that struck her with surprise but that she was the only who was supposed to understand the words. The characters on the message were something she made up for herself. Only she knew about her secret alphabet. She used it for her logs and diaries. Seeing that somebody else knew about the message has also struck her with fear.

       She arrived at the designated computer desk. It was at the very middle of the desk arrangement of the room. The adjacent desks around her were empty except for the one to her left. A man was there with his eyes fixated onto the information being flashed before him on the monitor. Tina sat down quietly only realizing then that she did not know what to do next. The note had not provided her with the next step.

       So she waited, looking around nervously until the man to her left noticed her.

       "Do you need any help?"

       "No, thank you," she answered quickly, smiling weakly as well trying not to look suspicious.

       The man nodded and went back to his reading.

       Tina decided to, at least, pretend to be doing something as she waited. She stared at her computer screen and saw menus and commands to begin a query. Nothing of interest came to mind. Finally, she typed in Guardian. She was expecting an error message for it was not a known command but to her surprise the computer responded with a different screen.

       The screen went black as all the menus and command lists were removed. Instead, a single lined question flashed at the bottom of the screen.

What is your name?

       Tina hesitated before typing her full name on the screen. Then another question flashed replacing the previous one.

Are you alone?

       It was obvious that somebody was communicating with her again but only this time it was more interactive.

       She typed yes.

I am detecting activity from the computer next to you. Is that terminal occupied?

       Yes, she typed.

       Then her screen went back to the normal menus and commands. Seconds later the man to her left started to complain.

"I can’t believe this! What a piece of junk!"

       Tina looked at the man. He seemed upset. He was gathering his belongings on the desk and putting them back on the briefcase. The man looked at her and forced a smile.

       "Well, miss. I hope you have a better luck with these computers. This one just went dead without a warning. It’s blessing in disguise, I guess."

       The man stood up and walked away from his computer desk that showed no sign of activity. As soon as the man walked out of the big room, the computer he was using came back to life again. At the same time, Tina’s screen went all black with a new question at the bottom.

Is the occupant gone?

       She answered yes. Then she followed up her response with her own question. Is the occupant gone?

Open your desk drawer and wear the headset.

       Tina did. She found a gray and light headset inside. It had a pair of earpiece and a microphone. She wore it at once, guessing that the person would want to communicate with her verbally. As soon as she adjusted everything to fit just right a computer-simulated voice of a woman spoke in her ears.

       A computer-simulated voice of a woman said, "Greetings, Tina Branford. I have been waiting for you for a long time."

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Chapter Six
The Guardian

       Guardian never revealed his or her true self. No matter how many times Tina asked for them to meet in person. But Tina’s attitude towards Guardian has changed since that time. Even during that first day that they communicated, Guardian has shown her astounding things about the Empire and clues about conspiracy against her.

       Tina was an orphan. She was raised in a special orphanage. She was told that her parents have been killed in a war. Her father was said to be an Imperial soldier and her mother was an Imperial spy. She had no immediate relatives when they both died for their country. She grew up practically alone. Not once was she given special attention like parents would to their child. The matrons at the orphanage could not offer her this for there were too many children to be cared of.

       Living in the orphanage was not exactly a poor standard of living. They had good clothes and food and were even given free education, all thanks to the generous offerings of the emperor, Gestahl. But a life without parents was a harsh life, emotionally speaking. Even the other children didn’t seem to like her for some unknown reason. There was just something about her, an aura, that makes other children afraid of her. But despite all these Tina didn’t grow up to be a bitter person.

       She has learned tolerance, patience and perseverance. The memories of her dead parents were all she had to live by. So when she had finished her education, she enlisted to be a soldier immediately. It was her driving force to become a hero just like her parents who have died for her and Vector so many years ago. It took a lot of work but she has climbed and conquered many mountains of trials and training.

       She has achieved what many could not in a mere three years—earn the Third Class Ranking. At the rate she was getting promoted, people predicted that she would reach First Class Rank in just three more years.

       Then Guardian came along and revealed to her the lies about her past. The Guardian told her and even showed her some documents about her deceased parents. They were all fakes according to Guardian. She never had a father who was an Imperial soldier and she never had a mother who was an Imperial spy. Tina even embarked on her own research to track down her roots according to the documents that were given to her. She was successful in finding the historical background of her supposed father. The man was recorded to have been born about one hundred years ago and was in the mercantile business. Her supposed mother, Tina found out, was not even originally from Vector. She was a teacher from Maranda that immigrated to Vector. This woman never married and never had a child. It was a shocking discovery. All that she knew about her past was a sham. It made her feel insignificant. It was hard enough for her to not get to know her parents when she was just a child but to actually learn that her parents and their stories about their patriotic deaths being an illusion was just too much for her.

       But Guardian provided her with hope. Guardian claimed to know her real origins and that Guardian would give all the information Tina wanted if she would accept to do the tasks in return. Tina forgot all about the emotionally traumatic discovery and looked towards the new hope instead. Finally knowing the whole truth was much better than the blissful ignorance she has lived in.

       This was the main reason Tina was now determined to learn the whole truth about her past and her present. But most of all, she wanted to find out who lied to her about this. She went back to the old orphanage to talk to the matrons but oddly they were all gone. They were either dead or have left Vector permanently. Guardian continued talking to her about a conspiracy about Tina but refused further to tell the whole truth for the reason of their bargain.

       The Guardian only revealed to her pieces of the truth to her. Undoubtedly, Tina was getting answers, only slowly because Guardian would only show her answers after each mission the Guardian asked her to do. The tasks were treasonous. Tina was hesitant to do them at first but she soon realized the present and unknown danger to her life about the conspiracy. The tasks ranged from delivering messages to unknown destinations, to sabotage and demolition. Each time Tina went on these missions she was not alone. Using a nearly invisible device she wears in her ears and a microphone around her neck, she was in complete communication with Guardian all the time.

       Guardian, Tina discovered, had direct access to almost all of the computers that are linked to the main central core. Guardian was essentially everywhere at once. The Guardian could watch a corridor for her through the security cameras installed all over the Bronze Fortress. The Guardian could disable security measures, take control over most of the programmed drones patrolling the inside of the warehouses, and unlock high security doors. She could induce overloads in most reactors as distraction and should Tina get caught. She could prevent Tina’s presence from the internal sensors and could give her falsified documents to give Tina access to restricted areas without question. Almost anything that was connected to the central computer core, the Guardian had almost complete control over. The advanced technological mechanisms inside the Bronze Compound were Guardian’s eyes, ears and hands.

       But even the most accomplished surgeon could not work miracles without a scalpel. Guardian needed Tina to help her have full access to everything that the Bronze Fortress have. There were still certain areas where Guardian could not access. One of them was the interior of the Devil’s Lab. She needed Tina to plant devices in a certain room so Guardian could gain access to all of the systems. This was Guardian’s second to the last request from Tina. And they have successfully done it, although, it didn’t go as smoothly as Guardian had predicted. Still, Guardian managed to clear things up for herself and Tina. Guardian created an overload in one of the Magitek reactors to eliminate the soldiers who saw and identified Tina as the infiltrator.

       The reward for the task was something Tina was looking forward to. Guardian had promised her that everything would be revealed to her. Everything about her past would be hers as well as the names of the conspirators against her and their purpose. Tina kept the end of her bargain and, so far, Guardian had not failed her once, either. Although, there was something inside Tina that kept telling her that maybe knowing the whole truth was not such a great idea. In fact, there were times when she wished she hadn’t gone to the library. There were times when Tina wished she never got involved. She was happy before everything else. Before Guardian revealed to her the truth about her fake parents, Tina had parents, and they were heroes. But the quest for the truth was such a powerful, enigmatic force. The truth meant not merely to quench her thirst for it but it meant her survival. Tina Branford simply had no choice.

**********

       Tina reached her private quarters. To other soldiers, their private quarters meant nothing more than a temporary lodging. But to Tina Branford, it was her home. She had no house of her own outside the military compound and though she had enough to buy one, she had no intention of doing so because there was nothing of special interest out there for her. The room was small. It was probably the same size as the room she grew up in back in her orphanage. The difference was, she didn’t have to share it with other people. So though it was modest in size, it was certainly something she valued greatly. Only soldiers who have reached the Third Class Rank were given these privileges. And the further she gets up the ladder the better the private quarters become.

       The walls were made of bricks and were painted with a dark green interior. It had a small closet and a small shower room. A barred window gave her a spacious view of the training grounds. She had a bunker situated away from the window and against the wall. The bunker was more comfortable than the previous once she had during her training before she was promoted. Next to it was a small unadorned drawer cabinet with a lamp on top of it. An immovable computer was installed to the wall closest to the door. This was what she used to get her messages and file her reports. She didn’t have anything hanging on walls except for a mirror. She had books on top of a table next to the computer. They were books she recently borrowed from the library that the Guardian had told her to check out. They contained basic plans for constructing electronic devices such as the devices that the Guardian had asked her to plant in the Devil’s Lab.

       Two large chests were kept under her bunker where she kept the rest of her private belongings. Soldiers in these quarters still had to go to their designated company mess halls for their meals. There weren’t many in her room that would serve as a distraction for her military educational training. At least, not until she met Guardian.

       "I’m home," she said. She always did everyday as a ritual. But this time she said it as a signal to Guardian.

       "I will start uploading all the information that you wanted into your terminal. You will have access to them any time starting tomorrow if all goes well. Soon, I will arrange for the final task that I will ask of you. It might take time because it is essential that we wait for this incident to settle down. What you do next after that will be up to you," Guardian said.

       Tina looked at her computer screen. There was a progress indicator of the download. It was going slowly. Tina felt excited and nervous at the same.

       "The soldiers are starting an investigation. They are not wasting any time. I will hinder their progress to the point where they will give up. It is not that difficult to do," Guardian said in her usual computer-simulated voice. To Tina it was starting to sound human-like.

       Tina took off her stealth coveralls and dressed into something more comfortable. Then she folded the black suit and tucked it under her bunker. She would need it again for the last task that Guardian had in stored for her. She retired to her bed without removing her earpiece and microphone. It was something Guardian asked her to do in case there was an emergency. She lay on her bed pulling the sheets to up to her neck and then stared at the ceiling with her green eyes. It was a habit of hers since she was still at the orphanage. Back then she would remain perfectly still and blocked the laments of the other children who refused to go to sleep out until she could only hear her beating heart and nothing else. She would then pretend that her parents were there to tuck her in and kiss her goodnight. She would only close her eyes when the matron of the orphanage would turn off the lights.

       She didn't do this every night, only when she was feeling lonely, depressed, or nervous. In her room that night she was alone so there was no need to make the effort of blocking away the noise. But she couldn't picture her faceless parents anymore. They were no longer phantoms but mere illusions, which were, to her, worse.

       The lights in her room were still on. She had forgotten to turn them off before she settled down.

       "Guardian?" she called in a whisper.

       "Yes?" Guardian answered.

       Tina hesitated for a couple of seconds. "Could you please turn off the lights for me?" she asked… sadly.

       The lights went out the very next second. Tina felt a sudden surge of sadness fill her entire body. Tears ran down her cheeks. She felt like she was back at the orphanage when the lights went out but only this time no illusions, no phantoms nor imaginary images kissed her goodnight.

       "Thank you, Guardian," she said through her silent sobs. It was the first time she had thanked her mysterious partner.

       Oddly, Guardian didn't reply.

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Chapter Seven
Sole Survivor

       Tina was first in her company to arrive at the emergency assembly in her brown soldier uniform. A siren had blared signaling an assembly in the training grounds of the Bronze Fortress Compound. She was first in line because Guardian had woken her up before exactly ten minutes before the automatic siren started. She stood smartly and perfectly still, facing her commanding officer, waiting for the rest of her comrades to arrive and join them in the formation.

       "Tsk, tsk, tsk." Her commanding officer looked at his watch and with a frown on his face. He was very disappointed with the reaction time that the others in his company were taking. Then he realized that it had only taken Tina thirty seconds to get to the assembly ground. "Do you wear your uniform in bed?" he asked Tina jokingly.

       "Sir! No, sir!" she replied in a shout.

       Her officer smiled weakly. "At ease, Branford, and fall out."

       Tina relaxed her stance stood behind her commanding officer. The rest of her company arrived almost at the same time in their uniforms as well. They formed a single line all facing the east. There was a gap in the line where Tina was supposed to be.

       The commander counted them. They were all present. The other soldiers from other companies also assembled outside. It was a typical morning except that the siren had blared thirty minutes early.

       "Alright, you sorry excuses for a soldier! Give me twenty! Now!" the commander barked. All the soldiers in her company, save Tina herself, started doing pushups. Their commander turned to Tina and said, "Join the ranks when they're done, Branford."

       Tina saluted and replied smartly, "Yes, sir!"

       Then the commanding officer walked away to congregate with the rest of the commanding officers from the other companies at the very front of the entire formation. Minutes later, General Fencross of the Imperial Army arrived to address the assembled soldiers. He started with a salute.

       "Devenias Gastra!" Fencross shouted.

       "For the Empire!" the troops shouted back in thundering unison.

       Another soldier then rushed to the general's side carrying a heavy rectangular device. The general pulled a mouthpiece up from the device and then turn it on. He held it inches from his mouth and started the address. It was magnified with loud speakers all over the training grounds.

       "As you may already know, at precisely timestrike three and forty-seven counts this morning there was an explosion in the main Magitek Warehouse. Possible cause: Primary reactor overload. The explosion killed fifteen people and destroyed a considerable amount of property. A worker survived…"

       Tina's heart skipped a beat. Guardian had reported that all sixteen people who were in the warehouse at the time all perished from the explosion.

       "…and is recovering with magical aid as we speak. At timestrike six and ten counts, an investigation was launched. The team has not yet found any evidence of sabotage but as of this instant the entire area is in yellow alert. Review your manuals on how to handle an internal yellow alert condition. But let me highlight a couple of particular rules from the book that I want everybody to understand perfectly well. Section 7-1.24-B, ‘Under no circumstances, except by permission from the highest of authority present in the sphere of investigation, should an individual, civilian or not, be allowed to enter or leave the Bronze Fortress Compound until the restriction has been lifted by two other external high ranking authorities’. Section 7-2.3-B, ‘All personnel are expected to file reports and logs of unusual observations of events, individuals, or groups of individuals, etc, etc, etc, until the internal yellow alert has been officially lifted from the area.’ Definition of the word ‘unusual’ can be found on your manual as well on page three hundred and sixty-eight.

       "It is too early to jump to conclusions as to whether the incident was purely accidental or not. Still, his lordship, Emperor Gestahl, does not want to take any chance. Neither does General Leo.

       "I will be handing additional procedures and orders to your commanding officers and they will review them to all of you. If you have any questions, address them to you commanding officers.

       "For the Empire!" general Fencross shouted the salute, marking the end of the very short assembly.

       "Devenias Gastra!" returned the assembled people.

**********

       "Guardian, the Compound is in yellow alert," Tina said. She was back in her quarters with her earpiece on.

       "As is normal," Guardian calmly answered.

       "A worker survived, Guardian. How is this possible? You said they all perished," Tina said worriedly.

       "There have been attempts to revive the people with magic. They were only successful in reviving one. He is a second-class Magitek technician. I doubt that he saw your face during the escape. But should he prove to know too much I shall eliminate him to protect you. It is, after all, part of our deal."

       "Do everything in your power to protect me but please do not kill him! I don’t want to be part of any of that anymore. I didn’t want to be part of anything to begin with!"

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Chapter Eight
Foul Play

       General Fencross was the second general of the Imperial Army of three. He had a long record of battle experience and had earned the respect of many soldiers. In terms of patriotism and bravery he stood second only to General Leo. His merited rank, however, was not to be taken lightly. He was a fierce fighter and a shrewd tactician. His real battle strength lies in stealthy counterstrikes and one to one combats. At least, it was before he was promoted to a general.

       General Fencross entered the lab deep inside the main science complex. Walking about inside the huge room were scientists in white suits. Some wore protective goggles and were operating odd-looking contraptions. Others were simply pushing carts, transporting different equipment from one work site to the next. Others, still, were on desks, logging their findings from a certain experiment to their computers. The scientists didn’t salute to the general because they were just civilians.

       He was in the lab for a reason. He was to meet a team of scientists who were part of the investigation of the reactor explosion. A man in a white suit unlike the others approached him and greeted him politely.

       "Good afternoon, general."

       General Fencross nodded simply. "You found something?"

       "Indeed," Dr. Brown, the scientist leading the science investigation team said as he led the general to another room. "We found a Magitek Drone," Brown said, motioning to a half-disassembled sentry drone. "It’s a Silver Drone GT-590. This specific drone was programmed to patrol the corridors of the yellow section of the Devil’s Lab." Brown pointed his finger to a big colored floor plan of the Devil’s Lab. An alarming discovery came with it. The walls of the corridor where we found it had blast marks that match the drone’s weapon intensity. There were other sets of blast marks found as well and they matched the intensity of a standard issue Bolt Rifle that the guards in the area used. The odd thing is, it was the guards that destroyed this drone."

       Fencross had a puzzled look on his face.

       "Where are these guards now?"

       "They were the same guards that perished in the reactor explosion," Brown answered.

       "Why would the guards destroy a Drone?" Fencross asked shaking his head.

       "Well, we asked the same question and the Drone gave us a bit of an answer," Brown replied as he walked closer to a half-incinerated Magitek Drone. General Fencross followed. "We extracted its memory modules and accessed its most recent command logs. These logs are kept in two different places. The first one is within the Drone itself and the second is in our Central Computer Core. All the Drones within the Bronze Fortress are in constant communication between them and the central computer. This way their actions could be monitored and controlled in the most efficient way, as you may already know. First, we checked the most recent command given to the Drone by the central computer. Everything checked out according to specified parameters—"

       "Meaning?" Fencross asked.

       "It means that the central core gave it a series of commands that it was supposed to. Mainly, to patrol a designated area and to identify intruders, if present, and stop them. We found this very suspicious because it held no records, whatsoever, about the Drone’s encounter with the soldiers. If the soldiers, indeed, opened fire upon the Drone, then it would have registered them as a hostile group. The log mentioned nothing about it at all."

       "What about the other log?"

       "Exactly! Though there are two different locations that the logs are kept, both should ultimately be the same. We extracted the records from the Drone and found them to be physically undamaged. The logs revealed a totally different thing." Brown turned to a subordinate scientist and ordered, "Show the general what we found."

       The scientist nodded quickly and went to the closest computer terminal. He punched in a series of commands and the screen flashed cryptic codes in two parallel columns.

       "Explain," Fencross said.

       "Yes. A line of code represents a specific command at a given time. The codes on the left column are the ones from the central computer. The ones on the right are the commands from the Drone’s memory module. As you can see they are different. We looked up the meaning of the codes and they translated to the following in order. ‘Detection of unauthorized presence’, ‘Identification failure’, ‘Echo warning’, ‘Authorization input failed’, ‘Echo warning’, ‘Authorization input accepted’, ‘High-level security bypass’, ‘Query new command’, ‘New command accepted’, ‘Detection of unauthorized presence’, ‘Switching to attack mode’, and ‘Open fire.’ After that the Drone was terminated by the soldiers," the subordinate scientist explained.

       "Explain, professor," Fencross asked again in a more irritated tone.

       "Er, yes. What my colleague meant was that somebody approached the Drone, gave it a high-level command that overrode all security and gave it a new command to attack the soldiers. This is our best guess, of course, as we have no visual evidence of the particular events but this is the only way we can interpret it. But judging from the blast marks in the area, I am convinced that the series of commands really took place," Brown explained more clearly.

       Fencross’ face grew more solemn. "So we did have an intruder?"

       "It would seem so."

       "We have security cameras on those corridors. Do we have a footage?" Fencross asked.

       Brown and his colleague looked at each other. It seemed like it was a hesitation to answer the question.

       "We have cameras everywhere and they are always online. The Devil's Laboratory Compound has the best security system in the entire city. The security we have there is even more sophisticated than the one we have in the Bronze Fortress. We have a crew that keeps in check this particular security system everyday. We--"

       "What is your point, professor?" interrupted General Fencross all of a sudden as a sign of impatience. "Do we or do we not have the footage?"

       "No, sir. We do not," Brown finally said.

       General Fencross raised a brow.

       "Why not?" he said as calmly as he could. He didn't want to attract attention. Unfortunately, he was also known to have a very short temper.

       "We've checked all the security cameras in the immediate area and they seemed to have inexplicably shut down, just minutes before the Drone was destroyed."

       "Shut down? How is that possible?" Fencross asked, losing his tone of impatience. It was replaced with a tone of puzzlement, much to the scientists' relief.

       "We checked the security system for answers as well as the central computer. Both reported a malfunction," Brown answered. "It's a mystery to us as well, general, I assure you. Our men are accomplished technicians. They could not have made a mistake that caused the malfunction. I stake my career on it," Brown said boldly.

       "What are you saying, professor?"

       "I… well, I know that it's not for me to say this but I think…" Brown paused for a second before continuing. "I think we have a spy inside Vector that has access to the central computer and has found a way around our security system."

       Fencross’ expression changed. It grew very serious, losing any sign of impatience. "Can you prove this?"

       "No, sir, I cannot. But I just think that the crewmembers that maintain the security system could not have made a mistake that would’ve caused the malfunction. They are professionals. And we have a special method of action. They watch each other. Should one make a mistake, the other one would point it out and another would confirm it. This alone makes an effective error prevention method."

       General Fencross moved away from the computer screen that flashed the Drone’s logs and moved closer instead to the big screen that displayed the Devil’s Laboratory floor plan. He stared at it, deep in thought.

       "You said you checked the immediate cameras. What about the others? I only see so many direct paths to where the Drone was found. Surely, other cameras might have recorded something prior to the destruction of the Drone."

       "We thought that also, general. We did check the rest of the cameras and found more puzzling malfunctions."

       Fencross turned to Brown in alarm.

       "Same malfunctions?"

       "We would not have been too surprised if they were the same malfunctions but, instead, they were different. The cameras outside the range of the Drone’s untimely disassembly all seemed to have stopped functioning normally. But they didn’t shut down, exactly. They stopped monitoring and froze to a single frame. The odd thing about it is that the clock continued ticking. It’s almost like it was done deliberately to make us think that—"

       "Nothing strange happened," Fencross concluded, nodding to himself. "This is certainly all too convenient, isn’t it? Signs of infiltration, a fight and a violent destruction of a sentry drone… perhaps pursuit of an intruder and yet no visual evidences whatsoever before and after all these things might have happened. These findings are inconclusive… and yet very disturbing."

       "There is more, general," Brown added. He started walking to another section where another group of scientists was working on another type of Magitek Drone. It had an upper body similar to a humanoid creature and the legs of an insect. The drone was larger than the previous one and it seemed to be completely intact. "We found this outside of the warehouse that blew up. It was about fifty meters away from the warehouse, a long way from its designated patrol sector, and outside the limit of the central computer’s area of control. We found it deactivated, on the south side of the warehouse facing south.

       "No drone is programmed to leave their designated areas let alone leave the Devil’s Lab Compound. This particular drone left its post, crossed two distinct restricted areas, left the Devil’s Lab, entered the annexed Magitek warehouse that blew up and exited that warehouse also. The exact path it took was unknown since the cameras were down but judging from where it was supposed to be to where it was last found, it could’ve taken one of three possible ways."

       Brown turned to another scientist and asked him to show the general a printed floor plan of both the Magitek Laboratory and the annexed Magitek Warehouse on a wide rectangular table. Fencross quickly identified the areas immediately saw three different colored arrows each spanning different paths from a common starting point to a common end point.

       "The exact path it took before it arrived to the end point is not important. But do you notice anything about the three possible paths?" Brown asked.

       General Fencross nodded. "Each goes through the same area in the Magitek Warehouse before exiting the building," the general answered.

       "Correct. In plain sight of the workers in the Magitek Warehouse assigned that night."

       "Six soldiers and nine workers, dead. One survivor, still recovering in the hospital. He’s our key."

**********

       Kefka frowned at the news brought to him by Tayan, his most trusted servant. It was about General Fencross’ findings in the preliminary investigation. Both stood in a round room with a high ceiling inside the Bronze Fortress. Around them were dimly lit glass cases containing very old books, scrolls and parchments. One would first guess that it was a museum. At the very center of the room was a round table. No chairs surrounded it.

       Kefka stood on one side of the table while Tayan waited on his master from the opposite side.

       "An intruder…" Kefka repeated aloud.

       "They said that they have no proof of that and their findings are inconclusive," Tayan reported.

       "Of course, they would think that. The evidence stands in front of them and what do they do with it? Ask it for an identification!" Kefka said with a sinister chuckle. "But who could it have been? No one person could accomplish such a thing. There must be more than one. At least, two. But not too many. Whoever they are they risked everything just to get into extraction room. But for what?" Kefka thought aloud.

       "General Fencross thinks that the surviving worker is the key. They will have guards to protect that man."

       "Fools. I doubt that they know what the man needs protection from. But the general is right. He is the key. How is the man faring?"

       "He is slowly recovering, master. They do not want to risk feeding him with magical aid too much," Tayan replied, always to the point.

       "Another foolish move. Do they not realize that the longer that man stays unconscious and helpless the greater the risk of losing him? The people who did this are after something very specific and we must find out what it is as quickly as we can. They will not allow us to discover what it is. They will try to eliminate that surviving worker."

       "Should I put additional guards of our own, master?" Tayan asked.

       "Oh, stop thinking like them!" Kefka said scornfully. "You don’t need the chest if you have the treasure."

       A twisted smile appeared on Tayan’s face. He bowed in understanding and left the room. Kefka stood alone in the room once again staring at the mysterious pages of the ancient books behind the protective glass casings.

       "The time is close. But emperor moves so slowly," Kefka whispered to himself. "All that is about to change."

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Chapter Nine
The Terrestre Esperizium

       "I do not see how else I can protect you without eliminating the survivor," reasoned Guardian.

       "I said no!" said Tina strongly. She paced back and forth in her private quarters nervously speaking to Guardian. "There has to be a way. I do not want him killed. I may be a traitor but I’m not a murderer!"

       "Then I suggest that you leave the place if you still value your life."

       "Leave? How? The place is locked down. Nobody can enter or leave the area until yellow alert has been lifted."

       "You forget, Branford. I can permit you to leave," Guardian reminded.

       Tina shook her head as though Guardian could see her. "I’m not leaving until I have all the information you promised. What is taking so long, Guardian?"

       "I had to stop the upload while they were doing the investigation. Or else they would’ve traced the transfer to your quarters," Guardian answered.

       "Investigation? How close are they?" Tina asked in utmost concern. She was more afraid now than ever.

       "Whatever they find in the ruined warehouse is not important. They will not get very far with it. But the surviving witness is the threat. He is recovering slowly without magical aid but recovering nonetheless."

       "Please leave him alone! It is not an option. I will not kill him! Do you understand, Guardian? I’d rather turn mys—" Tina faltered at her last sentence. She doubted her resolve. "I’d rather turn myself in," she repeated.

       "That is not an option, either. But ready yourself, Branford. A messenger is coming with a delivery," Guardian said. Tina did not exactly understand this but she wiped her tears and tried to regain her composure as best as she could.

       Minutes later there was a knock on her door. She opened the door and saw a delivery person walking away, scribbling something on his clipboard. The man didn’t even wait for Tina.

       "Pick up the parcel, Branford," Guardian instructed.

       Tina looked down and saw a small rectangular box on the floor, wrapped in brown paper with her name on it. She picked it up and closed the door before anybody else could see her.

       "What is it?" Tina asked.

       "A gift," Guardian said simply. "Open it and keep it safe always."

       Tina tore open the small package with curiosity. She felt strange while she did it. She has never received a gift wrapped inside a box before. She tore off the last piece of the brown paper revealing a light metallic box painted black. She lifted the lid open revealing a beautiful bead and jewel necklace. Tina gasped at the sight of a circular ruby-colored stone about an inch in diameter. It was framed in a small gold circlet connected to a gold chain laced with tiny red globes of beads.

       The beautiful melted away the worries that were with her minutes ago. Try as she might she could not avert her eyes from the brilliantly cut red stone that sparkled in the sunshine that entered her barred window. There was something about the stone that made her feel strange and yet familiar with it. It was as though she had just found a long lost treasure and now she was made whole with it again. She wasn’t even sure whether the stone really was a ruby. She just didn’t care. She found herself wondering why she felt like this. Often, when she was out of the Bronze Fortress Compound she would walk in the streets of the city of Vector passing by shops that sold jewelry and other trinkets and treasures. Never did she pay attention to the brilliantly sparkling diamonds and emeralds screaming at customers from window shops. She has never been interested at them. Their beauty had always failed to capture her eyes. But there she was, fixated on the dazzling red beams that danced within the stone as she shifted the stone in the sunlight slowly.

       "Oh, thank you, Guardian!" she exclaimed. "It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I… how can I…? But why?"

       Guardian’s answer was plain but without explanation. "It is necessary."

       Tina smiled and thought that Guardian would never learn to say thank you. She was very grateful, nonetheless.

       "It is not a mere trinket, Branford. Take my word very seriously. Keep it safe with your life. Never part with it. Should you die then you die with it," Guardian said with a sense of urgency.

       Tina thought of it as an odd way to value an inanimate object. She knew without a doubt that it must’ve cost a fortune but to be overly protective of it was a strange request. And yet deep inside she knew that it would be easy to follow the request.

       She wore the necklace around her neck, removing the other necklace that Guardian gave her that had the microphone. She placed the old necklace on the table. She wondered whether she should wear both of them so that she could still speak to Guardian but Guardian answered her question before she could ask it.

       "Don’t throw away the old necklace. Just keep it somewhere safe. The red beads all have tinier listening devices that work better than the old one. But do get rid of the earpiece and replace them with the earrings," Guardian instructed.

       "Earrings?" Tina asked her eyes going back to the black box. There they were, still inside the box, ignored due to the powerful attraction of the red jewel. They were a pair of red colored beads as well and about the same size as the red jewel. Tina’s jaw dropped as she blinked at the earrings. "I am not wearing these," she said resolutely.

       "They match the necklace," Guardian said trying to convince her to wear it.

       Tina shook her head stubbornly. "No! Have you actually seen them? They’re huge! It’s oversized and… no! Besides, I’ve never worn any kind of jewelry all my life. This necklace alone is suspicious. I am not about to give the men wrong signals about the flirtatious earrings."

       "As you wish. But keep them for emergencies."

       Tina left the earrings in the box. She replaced the lid and kept the box in one of her drawers. "Is it a ruby?" Tina asked Guardian.

       "No. It’s a stone a hundred times more valuable than rubies," Guardian answered.

       "But what do you call it?"

       "Terrestre Esperizium."

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Chapter Ten
The Interrogation

       Tayan walked the corridors of the infirmary without a sound. It was practically empty save for the guards at the entrance of the building. The guards did not stop him for he was invisible. He had mastered the magic of invisibility. Almost always he followed his master, Kefka, invisibly. He did it not to hide from him but to hide from the people with his master. That was what they all did in their master’s presence.

       Kefka, of course, knew about this. They were his personal bodyguards and fanatical followers. They were sword to silence and utter loyalty to Kefka. They would sacrifice themselves to their master without hesitation. They would obey without question and they would fight to the death for their master.

       This was one of the most mysterious characteristics of the enigmatic cult. The members treat their master like a god. It was more than they could say about the soldiers’ loyalty to the Emperor. One would ponder the reason and fail to discover it.

       Tayan reached his destination. He was outside the high security room guarded with two Empire soldiers. The soldiers stood motionlessly and alert by the door.

       Tayan drew closer to them and then he whispered, "Sleep."

       The two guards collapsed to the floor, unconscious. Tayan took the keycard from one of the soldiers and he used it to open the door to the high security room. The door beeped and slid open with a soft hiss. Tayan entered the room, still invisible. It was dimly illuminated.

       A man with half of his body wrapped in bandages lay on top of a hospital bed at the center of the room. To the man’s right were different machines that constantly monitored his condition. A security camera watched the room for intruders. Unfortunately for the security team in charge, the camera was not capable of detecting invisible intruders.

       Tayan looked at the camera and smirked. He proceeded to the machines to the right side of the sleeping witness. He tinkered with the knobs and buttons for a few moments and when he was satisfied at the settings he turned back towards the camera. It had a tiny red light on that signified that it was active.

       Tayan waited patiently for his cue. It arrived promptly. The light on the camera started to blink continuously. He then held the man’s wrist tightly and uttered another magical word of command.

       "Return."

       Both of them vanished out of the high security room not just in sight but in presence as well. The hospital room faded out of sight and was replaced by a slightly larger room with black-painted walls. A single light source dangled above them from a hanging lamp. They were both magically teleported to a different room with Tayan still holding onto the man’s wrist and the injured man was now on a hard, uncushioned wooden table. He was still unconscious.

       Tayan released the man’s wrist and stepped away from the table. He closed his eyes and took deep, soothing breaths. Slowly, he materialized in sight as he relaxed his concentration to maintain his invisible state. He opened his eyes and raised his hand as a signal. Almost immediately, two other Devouts slowly materialized into sight. One of them was carrying a black leather bag and the other was carrying an odd-looking contraption with a strap, wires dangling on one side.

       The two Devouts moved quickly. The one with the black leather bag placed it on the table to the right side of the man’s head and opened it. The other Devout placed the contraption on the floor and pulled the straps and the wires up so it would reach the man. The one with the bag pulled out two small bottles of liquid. One contained clear liquid while the other, gray. The Devout uncapped the bottle with the gray liquid inside. He took a small dropper from the bag and took a sample of the gray liquid with it. The same Devout, then, opened the man’s right eye and squeezed two drops of the liquid from the dropper. He did the same for the left eye.

       The second Devout started strapping the man’s wrist, connecting an edge to the contraption with the wires. Then he wrapped another strap around the man’s forehead, again, connecting the strap to the mysterious box with the wires. After this was done, the Devout flipped a switch on the contraption and it hummed to life. Three gauges on the contraption began to glow and give readouts about the man’s vital signs. Beeps echoed the man’s heartbeats; it was steady and stable.

       "Is everything ready?" Tayan asked the Devouts.

       The Devouts simply nodded, maintaining their silence. They were only allowed to speak if absolutely necessary.

       "Good. Hold him down firmly," Tayan commanded them. "I want to make this fast. I don’t know how long the security camera in the hospital can be fooled."

       The Devouts held the man by the arms and shoulders on both sides of the table. Then Tayan walked closer to the table and held his open hands over the man’s body. He bowed in concentration and uttered a word softly.

       "Heal."

       His hands glowed dimly in the already-dark room. The luminescence lasted for a few seconds, after which it died out. The man’s beating remained stable. The second Devout glanced at one of the gauges and shook his head. Tayan sighed and tried the process again.

       "Heal," he said more loudly. The radiance in his hands was stronger than the last. It lasted for the same amount of time.

       The contraption showed a positive reaction from the unconscious man. The beeps became slightly faster and stable still. The second Devout, again, glanced at the gauge and nodded affirmatively.

       "How long?" Tayan asked.

       The second Devout raised his hand and held up five fingers as an answer.

       Tayan nodded to the first Devout as another signal to continue with the procedure. The Devout released the man’s arm and shoulder and pulled out a syringe from the black back. He removed the safety cover and drew a carefully measured amount from the bottle of clear liquid.

       Without delay he stuck the needle into the man’s right arm and injected the entire measurement into the man’s body. Almost instantly, the needle on the third gauge of the contraption responded with rapid erratic movements. The heartbeat changed pace as well but it was still stable.

       The man began to move and groan. The man’s breathing became labored. The first Devout dropped the syringe inside the black bag and held the man firmly by the arm and shoulder again.

       Tayan let the man try to regain consciousness on his own.

       "Wha… what’s goin’ on?" the man asked softly, as soon as he regain sufficient awareness to answer. His voice was hoarse as his throat dry.

       Tayan spoke softly.

       "Can you hear me, clearly?" Tayan asked in a clear voice.

       The man opened his eyes. They were dilated because of the liquid that the first Devout dropped. The man only saw a blinding light at the center of his vision against blackness. He moved his head from side to side trying to get a clear vision of his surroundings but to no avail.

       "Where am I?" the man asked worriedly.

       "You are safe inside a hospital, Mr. Massarani. Do you remember what happened?" Tayan asked again without sounding intimidating.

       "Hospital?" the man said, his eyes fixated into the light. "Why… am I… in the hospital?" he asked, confused. "My eyes!"

       "Calm yourself, Mr. Massarani. There are doctors around you."

       "What happened?" the man asked in a rising panicky state. He tried to sit up but the Devouts strongly held him down. The man struggled weakly and in pain. He eventually gave up and relaxed.

       "Clear your mind. You are being cared for and are recovering quite well. Your eyesight will return to you soon."

       "Who… are you? What happened to me?" the man asked.

        "I am your emperor, Gestahl," Tayan lied without making an effort to imitate the emperor’s voice.

       The man gasped. "Your majesty?"

       "Yes. It is I. You were in an accident, Mr. Massarani. Do you remember?"

       The man closed his useless eyes and thought hard. "Vaguely, my lord. I only remember an explosion… and then… nothing," the man answered.

       "You died in that explosion, Mr. Massarani. But we were able to revive you," Tayan explained.

       "Oh, bless you, my lord! You… are most… benevolent!" the man replied despite the pain in his head. "I… am… in your debt."

       "I need your help, Mr. Massarani. The entire empire needs your help. We need you to tell me everything that you remember about the accident," Tayan said.

       The man expressed a painful frown. "I beg your mercy, my lord. But… I do not remember… anything. I am confused," the man answered apologetically.

       "We will help you remember," Tayan replied assuredly. "It is imperative that we learn about the accident for it might happen again. Lives are at stake, Mr. Massarani," Tayan said in a very urgent and convincing tone.

       The man swallowed nervously. "I… I… I do not know what to do."

       "We have a special way of making you remember. All you have to do is think as hard as you can and tell us everything that comes back to you. It will feel strange, even painful. But you must endure it. Remember that you are surrounded by doctors. They will not let anything happen to you. Do you understand, Mr. Massarani?"

       "Y-y-yes. I understand, my lord," the man replied.

       "Good. Then we shall begin. Remember… tell us everything that comes back to you."

       Tayan nodded to the second Devout. The Devout flicked another switch from the odd contraption sitting on the floor. A different kind of soft hum filled the air. The man gasped in surprise. A strange sensation filled his head but it wasn’t pain. He opened his eyes and met the familiar blinding light against the dark. He saw it grow, expanding to the dark edges until it covered his entire field of vision. Ghostly images flashed rapidly everywhere. He tried to identify them but they seemed to disappear to fast.

       "Recall the explosion," Tayan instructed. "Don’t try to seize the images. Let it come to you."

       The man ignored the vague forms and followed Tayan’s instructions. He gasped as a vivid image of the explosion came back to him, accompanied by the deafening sound. He screamed and reflexively reached out with his hands for help. The Devouts held them down tightly.

       "We are here, Mr. Massarani!" Tayan shouted. "You are still safe! Tell me what you see!"

       The man was in utter terror but he was still able to answer back.

       "Loud… fire… pain!" the man cried in anguish. "Again and again!"

       "Think back further! What were you doing in the warehouse before the explosion?" Tayan said loudly. He could only imagine that the man was reliving the exact moment that he died.

       "Can’t! Just pain!" the man cried back in visible agony.

       Tayan nodded to the second Devout. The Devout turned a dial on the contraption one notch up.

       "You were working in the warehouse, Mr. Massarani!" Tayan helped. "It’s your job as a Magitek Weapon Technician! Remember!"

       Whatever it was for, the contraption helped. The man’s expression of pain left his face.

       "Yes. I was working," the man said, without a trace of pain in his voice. A new image replaced the traumatic instant of the accident.

       "You were working a shift that starts at timestrike one and ends at—"

       "Timestrike six," the man finished.

       "Good. Tell me."

       "I see Magitek Weapons. A-class. Heavy Armor. Procedure 10-A. We were recharging the Magitek power cores. I see now. I remember."

       "How do you recharge the power cores, Mr. Massarani?" Tayan asked to assist in the process of recollection.

       "Procedure 10-A, my lord," the man repeated. "We extract the power cores from the commissioned Magitek Armors, drain the remaining energy and recharge them," the man summarized the procedure. "And then we—"

       "Where do you get the power from?" Tayan interrupted.

       "A… reactor."

       "Which one?"

       "The… the primary reactor," the man answered. Seconds later his face was filled with pain again as the image of the reactor explosion filled his vision again.

       Tayan turned to the second Devout and gave him a signal. The Devout quickly responded by turning the same dial up one more notch.

       "The primary reactor is intact, Mr. Massarani! It hasn’t exploded! You were using it to power the cores!" Tayan said suggestively.

       The pain-filled expression left the man again as another replaced the image.

       "Y-yes… the cores… procedure 10-A. We followed everything by the book."

       "What caused the explosion?" Tayan asked. He knew that the man may not know the answer but he wanted him to formulate theories.

       "I don’t know, my lord. The reactor was being monitored closely…"

       "Were you monitoring it?"

       "No. I was farthest away from it, extracting the core from the last Magitek Armor."

       "Something compromised the primary reactor, Mr. Massarani. What was it?" Tayan asked in a very direct tone.

       "I don’t know, my lord," he answered calmly.

       "One of the power cores was malfunctioning. It caused the explosion," said Tayan again, suggestively.

       "Impossible," answered the witness after careful consideration. A damaged power core would not do that much damage. Only an overload can do it."

       "What can cause an overload, Mr. Massarani?"

       The man thought hard. As he did his eyelids started to close. He was getting too weak to keep them open. His heartbeat started to become slightly erratic. Tayan looked at the second Devout, waiting for an answer.

       "The drug is quickly losing effect. He’ll go back to coma in a few minutes," he said in a soft but clear voice.

       "Then we must speed things up. Increase power by twenty percent," commanded Tayan.

       The Devout turned the dial again. The man’s heartbeat raced for a few seconds and his breathing became rapid as well. Tayan cast another healing magic to help the man’s body compensate for the surge of energy being fed into his brain.

       "Mr. Massarani, time is running out. Tell me what happened between what you are doing now and the instant of the explosion," Tayan said with urgency.

       "Siren!" the man exclaimed. He was clearly in pain.

       "Siren? Was it from the reactor?"

       "Si-si-si-si-ren!" the man stuttered.

       "The reactor?!"

       "N-n-n-no! No! No!" Apparently, the magical healing had little effect. Images and sounds came back to him rapidly but they were more distinct than when they started.

       "Heal!" Tayan shouted. A burst of golden yellow light came from his hands, engulfing the man’s entire body for approximately three seconds. The man’s breathing became slightly relaxed and his pulse slowed.

       "No! Alarm!" the man shouted the answers as though trying to get heard above the siren that he kept hearing repeatedly.

       "Where is it coming from?"

       "Look! Look!" he said as he struggled to get his right hand free but the first Devout held it fast.

       "Release his hand!" Tayan ordered.

       The Devout followed. Massarani raised his hand and pointed up towards the ceiling. His eyes moved rapidly, though he could not see anything in the room itself.

       "What is up there?!"
       "A plank… a door… lights… red lights!"

       "Which door?"

       "Inner complex… lights…"

       "Is the door open?"

       "Running!" the man exclaimed just before he started to convulse.

       "Heal!" Tayan shouted. The same yellow light flooded the room for four seconds. The beeping from the contraption became really erratic. The lines on the gauges danced wildly as well. "Increase to eighty percent!"

       The man stopped convulsing but his face, again, was filled with agony.

       "What are you running away from?" Tayan asked.

       "N-no! Running! Sh-sh-sh-sh-shouts!"

       "Who’s shouting? What do the shouts say?"

       "S-s-s-stop-p-p-p-p! Stop! Opens! Door… opens!"

       Tayan held the man by the shoulders tightly. "Who’s shouting?"

       "G-g-g-guards! Sh-sh-sh-out!" the man was barely conscious. He could hear Tayan’s voice but he found it very difficult to speak clearly. His muscles continued to twitch in random spasms.

       Tayan’s eyes widened. He was getting close to an answer.

       "The guards? They were after somebody?"

       "Yesssss."

       "Who?"

       The man started to convulse again but more violently this time.

       "Heal! Heal!" The radiance of the magical aura was blinding that the two Devouts turned their heads away. "Increase power to full!"

       The Devout turned the dial all the way. The beeps from the contraption went crazy in no particular pattern. Massarani gasped for air as though he was drowning.

       "Intruder!"

       "Yes," the man shouted. "Running… away… drone… black… lights!"

       "How many intruders?"

       "One… black… c-c-c-c-clothes…"

       "Face! Did you see the face?"

       "Far! Too… far… but drone… with… her."

       "Her?! The intruder is a woman?"

       "D-d-don’t… know…"

       Tayan believed the man. He knew that he wouldn’t simply blurt out something that specific by accident.

       "The intruder was running away from the guards and the drone from the door. How did you know the intruder was female?"

       "I… I… don’t know!"

       "Black clothes. Was the intruder wearing a mask?"

       "No… No…mask…"

       "You saw the face," Tayan said as a suggestion rather than a question to see how the man would respond.

       "No!" Massarani said strongly.

       "Then how did you know the intruder was a woman?" Then an idea came to him. "Hair! You saw the hair!"

       "Y-y-yes! Yes… hair…"

       "Describe it!"

       "Long… hair… long… no mask!"

       "Color! What color!" Tayan was practically screaming at the man.

       "Long! Explosion! Guards! G-g-g-g-uards!" The man was losing control again.

       "Heal! What was the color of the hair?"

       "Red…"

       "Red hair?"

       "Lights…red."

       "Damn it! What is the color of the hair?!" Tayan yelled at the man’s face.

       "Long… hair…"

       "Color!"

       "Lights! Green! Red! Light! Explosion! Guards! Black!" Massarani seemed to blurt out random words.

       "Black hair?!"

       "Fire!"

       "Heal!" Tayan shouted again. "What is the color of the hair?!"

       The man screamed in severe pain as he relived the instant of the explosion. The very next second was utter silence from the man.

       "Heal! Heal!" Tayan shouted. He fed the man’s body with magical energy but it still wasn’t enough to compensate for the strenuous energy directed to the man’s brain to induce the lost images and memories.

       "He’s lost, Chosen Mage. His receptive brain cells are all burned out. He’s in a coma forever," said the second Devout after reading the gauges from the contraption on the floor. The needles stopped moving, though the beeps that echoed the man’s pulse were still constant.

       Tayan, in a fit of anger, grabbed the black bag from the table and savagely threw it to the far corner of the room, breaking whatever was left inside it. The two Devouts stepped away from Tayan, afraid to be a victim of his frustration.

       However, Tayan caught himself before he completely lost his control. He closed his eyes and took long, deep breaths. He did it for a moment before turning to the two Devouts.

       "Let’s get him back," he commanded in a more calm voice.

       The two Devouts removed the straps from the man’s arm and head. After which, Tayan raised both his arms into the air with his palms open.

       "Return!" he cried.

       The room was flooded with white light. At the very next second they were all in the empty hospital room. The man was lying on the floor. The two Devouts carried him up the hospital bed while Tayan reconnected the monitoring devices to Mr. Massarani’s wrist and chest. He put everything else as it was. The monitoring equipment in the room started to register the man’s vital signs again. Obviously, it was different than before. Tayan did not worry. It was the doctors’ problems now about how they would explain the man’s sudden reversal of recovery to General Fencross.

       Tayan looked at the corner of the ceiling where the camera was. The light still blinked, which meant that the security was still down just as he planned it to be. But it would only be a matter of seconds before the security would activate itself again.

       "Vanish!" he said and the three Devouts, including himself, vanished out of sight. They would have to exit the building while invisible because Tayan did not have enough magical energy in him to teleport the three out of the building. He only had enough left to cast Vanish spells on the three of them which used up less energy and concentration than a successful Warp spell.

       The three exited the room and saw the two guards outside of the room, lying on the floor, asleep. Tayan drew something from his cloak. It was a vial of volatile liquid. If they weren’t invisible the color would be green. Tayan removed the cap and held the vial about an inch from the first soldier’s nose. When the soldier started to groan he moved to the other soldier and did the same. The second soldier groaned, too, as though waking up from a tiring dream.

       "Hold them up, quickly!" Tayan commanded the two Devouts.

       The guards very slowly, but surely regained consciousness. The invisible Devouts helped them up as best as they could before they completely regained awareness and noticed that invisible people were helping them up. The guards, in a very dreamy state, stood up almost on their own strength, still oblivious to what just happened. The Devouts released them as soon as the guards were able to balance on their own.

       "Exit without incident," he whispered to the two other invisible Devouts as a last command.

       "Understood," the Devouts whispered back in unison.

       The three started walking away through the corridor. From behind them they heard one of the soldiers say, "Whoa! For a second there I felt dizzy. Did you feel it, too?"
       "Yeah. I thought I was gonna collapse and fall asleep," replied the second one. "Must’ve been something we ate at the mess hall."

       Tayan smiled. They have successfully created the illusion that the soldiers never lost consciousness. In general, the mission was a success. Confirming that there was an intruder alone, was a good find. But he wished that he could’ve gotten more information about the intruder. He could only wonder whether this discovery would please his master or anger him.

**********

       "Y-y-yes! Yes… hair…"

       "Describe it!"

       "Long… hair… long… no mask!"

       "Color! What color!"

       "Long! Explosion! Guards! G-g-g-g-uards!"

       "Heal! What is the color of the hair?"

       "Red…"

       "Red hair?"

       "Lights…red."

       "Damn it! What is the color of the hair?!"

       "Long… hair…"

       "Color!"

       "Lights! Green! Red! Light! Explosion! Guards! Black!"

       "Black hair?!"

       "Fire!"

       "Heal! What is the color of the hair?!"

       A scream.

       "Heal! Heal!"

       "He’s lost, Chosen Mage. His receptive brain cells are all burned out. He’s in a coma forever."

       Kefka stopped the recording of Tayan’s mission. It had been the fourth time he played it, listening very carefully for clues that he might’ve missed. Tayan stood nearby, waiting.

       Kefka wore a frown on his face but not of disappointment.

       "I’ve failed to get a good description of the intruder, Master. I have failed you," said Tayan not as an apology but pure admittance.

       "On the contrary, Tayan. The mission was a complete success. I believe I know who the intruder is," Kefka answered with an ugly grin that quickly replaced his frown.

       "Indeed, Master? But the man wasn’t even sure whether he saw a man or a woman. It’s possible for men to have long hair, too, whatever the color," Tayan said in doubt.

       "Whatever the color, my Chosen Mage? I think not." Kefka rose from his chair and stared into Tayan’s eyes. "Black clothes. Red…" Kefka stopped and waited for Tayan to complete what he was to say.

       "Lights," Tayan finished.

       "And green…"

       Tayan was lost. He never thought about why the man blurted out the color green. There were different lights of signals in the warehouse but green light wouldn’t be flashing if there were an emergency. Then, as sudden as the explosion was to the witness, it dawned on Tayan.

       "Green hair! The intruder had green hair!"

       Kefka grinned, pleased by Tayan’s answer but his face grew solidly stern suddenly.

       "Looks like our little magic-user has been up to no good lately. I predicted that this would happen but the Emperor wouldn’t listen to me. So I think I’ll just assume control of the situation with or without his authority!"

       Kefka cackled in delight as ideas rushed into his mind. He plotted with cruel, calculating thoughts, conspired with guile, and executed with sharp and systematic efficacy.

****************************
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Chapter Eleven
Reassignment

       They were in a briefing room the next day waiting for the new assignments. The area was still in yellow alert and none of them saw it being lifted any time soon. The assignments ranged from cleaning up the mess in the ruined reactor to making a sweep search of the surrounding areas for clues that might have connection with the infiltration of the Devil’s Lab. Tina Branford, sat in the farthest corner as always where she found herself to be least bothered by tiring questions of his comrades.

       She had calmed down after receiving the necklace from Guardian. Although, she would’ve been happier if the information she asked for was completely hers. The Guardian did tell her that the upload was done and that the entire information about her secret past and her hidden background, as well as the confidential knowledge of the Devil’s Lab experiments were already on her computer. But Guardian strongly urged her to wait for the yellow alert to be lifted before accessing them. Only then could she safely absorb the knowledge that was worth many times the value of diamonds to Tina. For without them, she lived without meaning. Without them she was hopelessly lost in purpose.

       Her commanding officer started handing out sealed documents to each of them. Half of them groaned after finding out that they would be assigned the ruined reactor for cleanup. Half of them gave sighs of relief after discovering that they were simply to patrol certain marked sectors within the boundaries that the yellow alert were in effect.

       The commanding officer handed Tina her assignment last. She didn’t read it immediately. She didn’t care where she was assigned. She had her share of tediously clearing up debris from the Magitek Warehouse. She felt guilty, looking at drawn lines marking where the dead bodies were found. But she kept telling herself that it was Guardian’s fault and not hers. She did not want it to happen.

       Her commanding officer went back to the front of the briefing room and announced, "Like last time, everybody is expected to abide by the strict procedures written by General Fencross himself. The better and faster you do your duties, the sooner we get out of this yellow alert. If there aren’t any more questions then you are all dismissed."

       The soldiers started to rise from their seats, talking loudly while comparing assignments with each other. Tina remained seated and waited for all of them to leave. She took the time to look at her own assignment. She was assigned to patrol a certain section of the very hospital that the comatose witness was in. She thought it odd at first but refused to draw conclusions from it any further.

       As the last soldier of her company exited the room, she rose from her seat and went on her way when her captain stopped her.

       "Branford, may I speak with you please?"

       Tina walked to him without delay.

       "Yes, sir?" she asked without any formal salutation for it wasn’t needed after being dismissed.

       "Do you have any questions regarding your assignment?" he asked rather nicely. Tina suspected that he was being extra nice to her because she was a woman. She hated it. She hoped that he was different from the other soldiers.

       "No, sir. I understand everything, sir," she answered.

       "Well, that’s good because I have a question for you," he said. "Why?"

       Tina was confused. "Sir?"

       "Why did you make that request to be stationed in the hospital?" her commanding officer asked.

       Her eyes widened but she was able to suppress the rest of her puzzled expression. Maybe it was Guardian who made the request for her. She left the earpiece in her private quarters during the assembly which was probably why she didn’t say anything.

       "Well, I… um… I…" she started thinking of a good lie.

       At that moment a Devout walked in with his hood drawn back revealing his painted face.

       "Pardon the intrusion, captain, but master Kefka wanted to speak with you," the Devout said, straight to the point.

       "Kefka? Speak with me? What in the world would he want from me?" the commander asked suspiciously. He has never spoken with Kefka before in his life though he knew Kefka’s infamous repute.

       "He said it’s about the interrogation. The master needs your assistance immediately," The Devout replied without the unpopular scornful tone that Devouts usually carried with them when they spoke.

       The commander sighed and gathered his papers on the table. "Very well. As long as it’s official," the captain muttered. Then he turned to Tina. "You may go, Branford."

       Tina saluted and hurried out the room, escaping the Devout’s watchful eyes. She headed immediately to her private quarters before reporting to her duty. She had time to do so and she needed to make contact with Guardian.

**********

       "I made no requests, Branford," Guardian said.

       "But if you didn’t, then who did?" Tina asked.

       Guardian had an answer immediately. "According to the records, you did."

       "But, Guardian, I swear that I did no such thing," Tina insisted.

       "I believe you, Branford. There are plenty of possible explanations. It maybe computer error or human error," Guardian answered.

       "Do you think somebody knows?" she asked nervously.

       "It’s a possibility," Guardian answered flatly.

       "That’s it? That’s all you have to say?" Tina asked haughtily.

       "I do not have enough data to draw conclusions from. I have access to the ongoing investigation reports. They are very far from identifying you as the suspect—close to impossible, in fact. Even the survivor is no longer a reliable source of information. Early this morning, his brainwave activity has gone below normal without signs of re-stabilization. He is as good as dead," Guardian reported.

       Tina gasped. "How did that happen?" she asked with concern. She felt responsible once again for what happened.

       "Unknown. But you must remember, Branford, that the energy surrounding the ‘revive’ magic is very unstable. Its working is still a medical mystery to the Vector scholars of magic. Experiments to magically revive a subject who has been dead for ten full minutes have failed ninety-two percent of the time. It was pure luck that they were able to revive him at all after thirty minutes of being dead. With the condition he was in, brain damage was one of the possible results," explained Guardian.

       "Is his recovery still possible?" Tina asked in sympathy.

       "The subject is alive in body but not in mind. There is no known magic in the history of the world that can restore brainwave activity to normal. His chances of regaining consciousness are slim. Should he regain awareness there is also a possibility that he will have a permanent motor damage in the brain."

       Tina frowned. Then she asked Guardian what she had been meaning to ask before but did not have enough courage to do so. "Does he have a family?"

       "Affirmative," Guardian simply said.

       Tina took a deep breath and summoned her courage to ask another.

       "Does he have… children?"

       "Yes. Two daughters."

       Tina choked. She never thought asking such questions would ever upset her. She was, after all, a soldier. Death should matter much less to her. But perhaps it was the thought that the witness was not a casualty of war that upset Tina the most. Perhaps it was also the thought of the senselessness of it all.

       Tina swallowed her emotions bitterly and concentrated on her present problem. "What should I do, Guardian?"

       "Since you are expected at the hospital, I think that you should follow your assignment. The section you are assigned to is one level below where the witness is. Just stay in your section and everything should be fine. Do what you are assigned to do as normal. Suspicious actions will only lead to trouble. I will watch your back until the end of your duty within the hospital," Guardian promised.

**********

       "You wanted to see me, Kefka?" Tina’s captain asked.       

       "Indeed, captain…"

       "Wells," the captain finished.

       "Follow me," Kefka said as he led the captain to a private room inside the hospital. It looked like an emptied out office. The room was absolutely bare. The white walls had no windows and no picture frames decorated them. There were no chairs or desks. The room had been cleaned out of everything save the bright electric light on the ceiling. Even the security camera that was supposed to be in every room of the building had been ripped off the wall.

       Both stood in the middle of the room. A Devout closed the door for them from the outside. Captain Wells waited patiently for an explanation.

       "I will get right to the point, Wells, but what we are about to discuss will not leave this room," Kefka started. Captain Wells frowned, seeming to dislike being called by Kefka without the proper title. "We suspect that at least one of the soldiers under your direct command is responsible for the sabotage. I will not mention the name yet but we need your full cooperation to help me bring these people to justice."

       "One of my men?" Captain Wells asked in disbelief. "I doubt that very much, Kefka. My men all have outstanding records of service. I train only the best. Where is your proof to this accusation?"

       "Captain, records mean nothing to me whatsoever. Traitors come in different colors that a man of your status could be easily fooled," Kefka said bluntly. He noticed Captain Wells clenched his fists. "But you asked for proof and, therefore, you shall have it… later."

       "Kefka, I have my own orders to follow from General Fencross with regards to the investigation. He commands me. You do not. Why should I even give you the time—my time—to listen to what you have to say?" Captain Wells asked. Already, he disliked talking to the cult master.

        "Because if you do not, the secret of Vector will be exposed to those we call enemy. What I want you to do is simple, Captain. I want you to call an unannounced assembly of your company sometime after midnight in a place that I have yet to arrange. We shall conduct an intensive interrogation of your men and—"

       "Like I said, Kefka. I answer to General Fencross only while the yellow alert is in effect. Unless you have the proper documents, I cannot participate in your… interrogation," he answered adamantly.

       "I will have the proper documents, Wells. I just want us to be clear about one thing. We keep this to ourselves until the time is right," Kefka said with a sly smile.

       The captain sighed. "Until then," he repeated flatly. He turned towards the door was about to exit when Kefka grabbed him by the arm to stop him. He looked at Kefka in surprise and irritation.

       "Didn’t you want to see the proof? Stay a while. I guarantee that you won’t be wasting your time," Kefka said. He laughed shortly after.

****************************
****************************

Chapter Twelve
The Murderer

       Tina Branford arrived at the entrance of the hospital. About five soldiers were there at the entrance, armed and alert. There she presented the documents that were given to her by Captain Wells. She was allowed inside without further question. One of the soldiers accompanied her. The soldier, she noticed, was of a lower rank than hers was. They both took the elevator to get to her designated patrol area.

       "The elevators will be shut down in the case of an emergency so use only the stairs," explained the soldier. "The witness we are protecting is on the fourth floor of the building. The entire floors above and below that have been evacuated. The patients that used to reside on either floors have been moved. You are ordered to patrol the—"

       "Third floor," Tina finished. "I understand."

       The soldier nodded. "There will be five other people on the floor making similar rounds with you. You will be relieved of duty after eight hours by another. During your rounds you are not to leave the floor even during an emergency situation unless otherwise ordered. Food and drinks will be delivered by—"

       "Yes. I understand. I know the procedures," Tina interrupted with impatience.

       "Of course, it’s just that I’ve been given orders to review these to you," the soldier replied.

       At that moment, the elevator door opened revealing an empty and quiet hallway. They both stepped out and stood by the entrance of the elevator. The soldier looked at his watch.

       "The others have started their rounds. They are about somewhere. Be sure to report to them before starting yours to avoid confusions. Questions, should you have any, must be directed to the front guards through the floor’s communication system. They are all over the place so you can keep in touch with the others."

       Tina nodded simply. The soldier saluted to her and then reentered the elevator. A few seconds later she was alone in the hallway. The hallway was unlike the steel-clad corridors of the Magitek Warehouse. It was made of strong concrete and painted white. They were brightly illuminated and very sanitary. None would expect any less from the high-security infirmary of Vector.

       Tina approached one of the communication panels on the wall just a few feet from her. She pushed a button and spoke clearly.

       "Branford, Second Class of Third Infantry reporting."

       Her voice was heard all over the entire floor from the speakers. From the same speakers a response was heard.

       "Just in time, Branford. This is Hossbach, First class of the fifth infantry. I am the patrol leader of this shift. Please proceed to the floor’s main office to get acquainted with the rest of the team. North side of the floor past the waiting rooms."

       Tina pushed the button again and replied, "Yes, sir. On my way."

       Tina started walking towards the only obvious direction. Her footsteps echoed loudly as she moved. The patrol leader’s voice was heard again.

       "Team, rendezvous at the floor’s main office. Please report. Over."

       As Tina continued to walk she heard different voices over the comm system responding to the team leader’s order.

       "Friar, here. I copy. Over."

       "Collins reporting. On my way. Over."

       "Derek. Third Class of First infantry. On my way. Over."

       A few seconds have passed and the last soldier hasn’t reported yet.

Hossbach’s voice was heard again.

       "Fletcher? Fletcher, do you copy?" A lengthy round of silence followed. "Robert Fletcher, do you copy? Over."

       Tina raised her brows, intrigued. One of them hasn’t reported in yet. Nevertheless, she maintained her calm as she continued to walk to the meeting place.

       "Fletcher, report!" Hossbach's voice sounded annoyed.

       Tina reached the main office of the floor. The team leader was there, waiting behind a desk, playing with the buttons of the communication system controls. He signaled for Tina to take a seat.

       Hossbach leaned forward towards the microphone and spoke again.

       "Robert Fletcher, report this instance!"

       Two people appeared at the main office. Both looked puzzled. They nodded at Tina Branford and then saluted to the team leader. The team leader just waved them to take a seat.

       "Did any of you see what he was up to?" Hossbach asked.

       "No, sir," answered one of the soldiers.

       The other shook his head, too. "Friar was last with him in the east section of the floor.

       "Where is Friar then?" Hossbach asked.

       "He reported a while ago. He should be here any second now," answered Tina.

       Hossbach could not wait. "Jonathan Friar, report,' he called through the comm system. After what seemed like a full minute, there were no responses, yet.

       "Fletcher, Friar! Report to the main office immediately!" he said angrily. His voice boomed across the empty hallways. He cursed then turned off his comm panel. He stood up from his chair buckling his weapon around his waist, giving the soldiers who were present orders.

       "Let's arrange a search for them. If you see anything unusual, you report it at once to the front door post, understand? Keep in touch every minute using the comm panels." Hossbach's eyes went to Tina Branford. "Oh, by the way. This is Tina Branford. Branford, this is Derek and Collins," he said quickly as an introduction. The three just nodded.

       They all split up to search the various sections of the floor. It was huge. Tina noticed that the security cameras were still on. This gave her an idea. She drew an earpiece from one of her pockets and wore it on her left ear as always.

       "Guardian? Can you hear me?"

       "Yes, Branford, I can," came an instant response. It never seized to amaze her that Guardian was always at her disposal with the microphone and earpiece. It was as though Guardian was always present in... well... wherever she really was.

       "You have access to the security system of the high security infirmary, right?" Tina asked although she was already sure what the answer was going to be.

       "Yes," Guardian answered, nevertheless.

       "We have two missing people somewhere on the floor. Can you see them?"

       "Negative," Guardian said the very next second. The response was so fast that one would doubt that Guardian did any effort at all to check. Still, Tina trusted her.

       "Keep searching," Tina ordered as though Guardian was a subordinate soldier. "I have a bad feeling about this," she mumbled to herself.

       "Hossbach, reporting. I'm going to check each of the rooms in the Intensive Care Section. Over," Hossbach's voice boomed over the entire floor.

       Tina became more apprehensive every second. She approached a comm panel and said, "I think we should report this to the front desk immediately. It's been a long time already. If they were napping somewhere, they would've woken up by now with the noise we're making."

       "I agree," seconded Derek. "This is not like them at all."

       "That makes sense," Hossbach replied. "Collins, do you agree?" Hossbach waited for ten seconds before he asked again. Ten seconds were always enough to find another different comm panel. "Collins? Collins, report!" Hossbach swore aloud. A louder recording accompanied by a siren filled the air.

       "An emergency has been declared! Proceed to the nearest exit and evacuate the building in an orderly fashion. Attendants must assist the patients."

       The voice in the recording struck Tina as puzzled. It was Guardian's voice!

       "Guardian, what's going on?" she shouted above the racket.

       "Branford! You must--"

       Guardian's voice was cut off suddenly. Silence and darkness filled the hallway at the same time. The entire building has lost power. Light from the windows provided little illumination of the inside.

       "Guardian?" she whispered. "Guardian, can you hear me?"

       Guardian did not respond. It was as though the transmission was cut off with the recording.

       "What's going on?" Hossbach bellowed from somewhere in the floor. "Team, report! Team, rep--"

       His voice was cut off abruptly, too. Tina drew her sword and started to run towards the direction of the echo. "Hossbach!" she shouted. "Derek! Collins!"

       Nobody responded. She dashed through the hallway towards the main office. That was Hossbach's last command. She wasn't sure what happened to her team but she hoped to find the culprit. Her fears suddenly melted away. At that moment, she was a soldier doing her job.

       Tina arrived in the main office. There was less light in the room than the hallway. She wondered when the emergency power would go online. She took off the earpiece because she needed her senses to stay their sharpest. Her eyes roamed the shadowy corners and listened for sounds other than her breathing and heartbeat. Nobody was there.

       A breaking of glass was heard all of a sudden from nearby. Tina bolted towards the direction, rounding corners swiftly. She stopped suddenly when she saw a soldier slumped unconscious on the floor in the middle of the hallway up ahead. She could not identify the soldier from her distance but she was sure that the crashing sound originated there because she could see broken shards of glass on the floor surrounding the body.

       Tina moved slowly, this time. She approached the body with her sword in hand, poised to strike. She neared the body without incident. Tina took a quick glance at the soldier and saw that it was Derek. His blood oozed out of a small head wound on his forehead and onto the floor. She checked for a pulse; there was none.

       The shards of glass were all over the place. She surmised that it was probably a big crystal vase that decorated the hallway once. It was what knocked the soldier down but it was not what killed him. Tina saw upon closer inspection that a dagger was sticking out of Derek's right side close to his waist.

       "Guardian?" she whispered again. She wore her earpiece on her left ear once more and waited for a reply. There were none. Tina stood up slowly, and backed away from the dead body. There was only one think left for her to do. Since the comm panels were down she had to find a way to the front door and alert the guards, assuming that they did not know what was amiss yet.

       Tina remembered that the elevators would be shut down as well so she followed the signs pointing to the nearest stairwell. She hurried towards it with her senses on full alert. Whoever committed the crime made sure to silence possibly all five of her team patrol. She might be next.

       She arrived at the northwest stairwell. The door was ajar. She thought it to be very suspicious. Tina kicked the door open and sprang inside with her sword ready to strike at an intruder. Instead, she saw another soldier. This time it was Hossbach, leaning against a wall with bloody hands clutching at a similar looking dagger that he had pulled from his belly. His uniform was all bloody and he was breathing very slowly.

       "Sir!" she exclaimed.

       Hossbach tried to talk but no sound came out of his mouth. He was at the end of his strength. Tina tried to help him up but Hossbach pushed her away. Then he pointed towards the flight of stairs that led up to the next floor. It was the same floor that the witness was located.

       "You need medical attention," she started. "Let me go get help," Tina offered.

       "No!" Hossbach managed to gasp. "Wit... ness..." he said through labored breaths.

       Tina understood completely. She thought that the soldiers from downstairs would've noticed already that something was wrong. Backup must be on their way. It was up to her now to stop the intruder and save the witness' life.

       She left Hossbach's side and ran up the stairs. A question suddenly entered her mind. Who would want to kill the witness? It was definitely something that didn't make sense to her since she and Guardian were the only—Guardian! she thought. Guardian is going to kill the witness! She never thought it possible. Half of it still didn't make sense since Guardian had reported that the witness was as good as dead. Yet, Guardian had told her earlier that she didn't see anything through the security cameras. The emergency recording had her voice and she stopped responding to Tina's calls at the same time the power went down.

       Tina stopped before going through the door to the floor of destination. She smelled a trap. My assignment here was no mistake. She must’ve falsified the documents herself. But why?

       Tina opened the door very slowly. The first thing she spotted was a drop of blood on the white tiled floor. Her eyes went to the dark corridors. They were as silent as the floor below. It being the floor where the witness was, the guard detail would’ve been doubled—tripled, even—and yet the place looked deserted. One thing was different, though. The security cameras seemed to be active. The lights on the cameras were on and they continually scanned the area. Tina immediately stepped out of the view of the cameras. If Guardian really were her enemy, then the cameras would work against Tina’s favor. Tina removed the earpiece and the microphone and threw them in a corner.

       She neared a camera while it was looking the other way and destroyed it with her sword. She kept doing this until she reached where the witness was being held. The place was littered with dead bodies. They were the guards stationed to protect the witness. Whatever killed them, it was swift because she noticed that none of them even had the chance to draw their weapons. Their blood practically covered the only corridor that led to the witness’ room. A set of footprints led to the witness’ room, too.

       Tina ran through the corridor, fearing that she might be too late. She reached the entrance to the room. The door was closed and two more guards lay on the ground, lifeless. Tina opened the door using a keycard taken from one of the dead guards. The door hissed open and a flurry of movement followed that caught Tina off guard.

       Tina staggered back as a man in blood stained white robes shoved her back but she was able to stay her balance. Tina identified the man as the same Devout that talked to her captain about an hour ago back in the briefing room. The man held a mean looking dagger in his right hand similar to what injured Hossbach. Tina made a slash to prevent the Devout from making another move. To her surprise the Devout ran back inside the room where the witness lay on the hospital bed.

       She ran after the Devout but the man suddenly turned towards her and cast a spell that blew her back out with a freezing blast of wind. Her sword flew out of her hand and onto the floor.

       Tina was sent to the floor, shaking uncontrollably, struggling to get up as fast as she could. The Devout turned away from her and to the witness lying on the bed in a calm slumber. The Devout raised the dagger above his head quite deliberately as though to show Tina that he was about to kill the man.

       "Fire!" she shouted with outstretched arm.

       She created a small ball of fire that shot from her fingertips towards the attacker. The fireball struck the man in the back and a bright green flash followed it. The fireball bounced back towards her. She ducked just in time, narrowly missing her head and burning her hair that just turned green.

       She sprang up towards the man but she was too late. The man had stuck the dagger into the witness’ chest. Tina grabbed the man by the shoulders and pulled him back away from the witness. The Devout simply turned around and made a grab at her neck. Tina tried in vain to escape the murderer’s strong grip.

       "Fire!" she gasped.

       Again, a green flash blinded her momentarily. It was the sign of the magical barrier that the Devout was wearing. It repelled her fire magic, deflecting it elsewhere. She wasn’t sure where it was deflected to at the moment for it was the least of her worries. Without her sword and the effectiveness of her magic she reached for the only weapon within her reach.

       She grabbed the dagger that was protruding from the witness’ chest with her right hand and pulled it. She held it high preparing to strike the fanatic. The enemy saw this so he released Tina’s neck and caught her wrist just in time. Tina called all of her strength to plunge the dagger into the Devout’s heart but the man was stronger than she was. Tina needed a little help. She struck the man in the stomach with her knee.

       The man groaned but held onto her wrist tight. Tina struck him again. This time he was weakened momentarily for him to lose support. Tina was able to push him back until the man was practically lying on top of the dead witness. Tina continued to push the dagger pointed to the Devout’s heart. The Devout was losing strength being in a more clumsy position. The dagger neared the Devout’s heart, winning over his hands’ failing strength.

       "Halt!" shouted somebody from behind.

       "Drop the weapon now and surrender yourself!" commanded another.

       Tina didn’t dare turn her attention away from the Devout. She knew that they were Imperial soldiers. She decided to continue to fight the Devout until the soldiers were near enough to see that she was on their side.

       "Time for me to go, Terra. It’s been fun," the Devout breathed as he struggled. Tina’s eyes widened at the mention of the name Terra. The Devout smiled a nasty-looking smile and uttered, "Escape."

       The man suddenly vanished without a trace. Without the Devout’s hands fighting Tina’s, the dagger plunged into the dead witness’ stomach. Tina gasped and stepped back, pulling the dagger from the dead man on the hospital bed.

       "She killed the witness!" exclaimed one of the soldiers.

       Tina’s face froze in fright as she looked at the soldiers, holding the bloody dagger in her right hand. The Devout was nowhere to be seen and the witness was dead. For the first time also, she noticed that half of the room had caught fire, presumably from the deflected magical fire that she cast while defending herself from the man’s strong grip.

       "Drop the weapon!" barked the lead soldier. They all approached her slowly with their swords raised.

       Tina dropped the bloody dagger on the floor.
       "I didn’t kill him!" she protested. "I swear, there was another man here!"

       "Turn around with your hands up, now!" roared the soldier, ignoring her words.

       "A Devout killed him! He’s escaping. He could still be in the building!" she explained in her defense.

       "Do as I say! Now!" the soldier shouted again.

       Tina raised her hands in the air slowly, shaking her head.

       "N-no. This can’t be happening!" she said, her voice quivering in fear. "I didn’t do it! I swear! I didn’t do it!"

       Two soldiers rushed inside the room and seized her by the arms. They forced her to turn so they could cuff her hands behind her back, then she was dragged outside the room. Another soldier entered the room carrying a fire extinguisher. He successfully put out the growing fire before it could cause major damage to the scene of the crime.

       "I-I didn’t do it!" she said again. "A Devout killed the guards and the witness. I was only trying to stop him!"

       The soldier held the edge of his sword against her neck.

       "And where exactly is this Devout?" asked one of the soldiers, skeptically.

       "The Devout escaped using magic. He may still be in the building. If you hurry up and search the area, you may catch him still! You have to believe me!"

       "What is going on here?" roared another soldier running down the corridor towards them, accompanied by more Imperial guards. It was her commanding officer, Captain Wells.

       "Captain!" she called.

       The soldier pulled her hair back and ordered her to be quiet.

       "Sir, caught the murderer, red-handed. She used that dagger over there to kill the witness."

       "What?!" the captain exclaimed in surprise, looking at Tina disbelief. Then he rushed inside the room and found the witness covered in bloodstained sheets. The machines around him all indicated no sign of life from the man on the bed. Then he went out of the room and walked towards Tina. "Why did you do this?
       "Captain, I did not! You must believe me. Another man killed the witness. I saw him with my own eyes. I tried to stop him," she answered quickly in defense.

       "Who did?" the captain asked.

       "It was a—"

       Tina was about to mention the Devout when Kefka arrived at the scene and interrupted her.

       "Silence!" Kefka bellowed with furious eyes. "You killed that helpless man. You were responsible for the explosion in the Magitek Warehouse killing those soldiers and workers that night," Kefka accused. "And you have come to here to finish the job! What do you have to say in your defense, magic-user?"

       Tina tried to say something but to her horror no sound escaped her lips. Kefka had cast a Mute spell on her when he yelled the word silence and nobody even noticed! She would’ve pointed a finger at Kefka but her hands were cuffed behind her.

       "Speechless are we? We’ll see what you have to say during your trial, or perhaps your execution," Kefka said evilly with a deathly grin. "Take her away!" he ordered the soldiers.

       "Wait!" Captain Wells ordered. "Let me talk to her first!"

       "Captain Wells, there is no time!" Kefka insisted "We must act quickly or it might be too late!"

       "Too late for what?" the captain asked, not completely understanding what Kefka meant.

       Kefka drew closer to him and whispered, "Not here, captain. I’ll explain everything when we’re alone but it is important that we see this criminal in her holding cell as soon as possible."

       Captain Wells still didn’t know what the urgency was all about but he figured that the only way to find out was to follow Kefka. He took one last look at Tina who stared back at her with a frightened and pleading look. Then he nodded slowly, thinking that he would get the chance to talk to her later

       "Take her to her cell now in the maximum security detention building. Double the guards and never let her escape" barked Kefka

       The soldiers glanced at captain. The captain simply nodded quietly. It was enough for them to follow Kefka’s orders. The soldiers dragged Tina through the corridor as she struggled. It seemed odd of her to struggle without protesting or saying a word.

       "I don’t want her harmed! She still has to be proven guilty!" Captain Wells added.

       Kefka and the captain were left at the scene alone.

       "You did the right thing, captain," Kefka assured"

       "I did it because I want an explanation from you," Captain Wells retorted.

       "You wanted proof that our culprit was under your command. There is your proof!" Kefka replied scornfully motioning to the people walking away from them. "But remember what I said about the infiltrator having an accomplice. We have reason to believe that she was not working alone. She could not have sabotaged the reactor by herself, nor could she have killed all the guards in the entire area alone—might I add—disable the main power and the auxiliary power! We have to find the others as well and fast!" Kefka stressed urgently.

       "We have no proof yet that Branford really did kill the witness!" Captain Wells argued in her defense. "Just because she had the bloody dagger in hand, it doesn’t immediately make her a criminal. She has the right to defend herself in the Imperial Court and there are procedures for doing this!"

       "Oh, open your eyes! Your very own soldiers saw her plunge the dagger into that man’s chest! Her hands were covered with blood—the witness’ blood! She even tried to burn the room down—possibly the whole building—to cover her tracks! She is as guilty as the sun abandoning the world after sunset! Do you honestly believe that she had nothing to do with this?" Kefka argued, his voice echoing through the hallway.

       Captain Wells was struck silent for a moment. "She mentioned another man who—"

       "—is nowhere to be seen!" Kefka finished. "It sure sounds like a desperate lie to save her skin."

       "Whatever happened in that room today, Kefka, we have proper procedures to follow. We have laws to properly deal with this. I am a man of the Empire. I will do nothing less!" Wells said adamantly.

       "I am not asking you to do any less, captain. But I am asking you to do more," Kefka said more calmly. "If you wish to go on with the investigation and your… proper procedures… then who am I to stop you? What I’m asking you to do is simple and not against any of the laws we have. We must find out who the accomplice or accomplices are. Because as soon as they hear about her capture they will flee the place like roaches from the treacherous light."

       Captain Wells listened.

       "What exactly do you want me to do?" he asked.

       "Call for an emergency assembly of all of your people in Warehouse 5. It has been emptied to accommodate them."

       "Why my people?" Wells asked suspiciously.

       "Because whoever the accomplice or accomplices may be, we assume that they are in constant contact with Ter—" Kefka stopped, catching his mistake just in time. "Tina Branford," he corrected himself.

       "The accomplice could be anyone. You can’t possibly carelessly assume that more of my men are guilty!" he said defensively.

       "True. But it’s a start, don’t you think?"

       Wells shook his head. "I will not allow you to harass my men without enough evidence in hand!"

       "Wake up, captain!" Kefka hissed angrily. "Do you really think it will look good on your record to have a traitor operating under your nose?" the captain’s face grew solemn in thought. "What about two? Or three? Or even more?!" added Kefka. "Your men may be treated unfairly during the interrogation but wouldn’t it be worth it to discover the whole truth? Who knows? Maybe the interrogation could be the very key to prove Branford’s innocence even though I find it to be very unlikely."

       Captain Wells stared into his eyes for long moments, looking for a sign of deception or hidden motive from Kefka. He apparently found none from him at the moment or it was also possible that Kefka was able to hide it very well.

       "What exactly will take place in this… interrogation of yours?" Wells asked.

       "Your men will be questioned one at a time. While this is going on their private quarters will be checked for questionable items that might have anything to do with this crime or the previous one," Kefka answered quickly. Captain Wells frowned at that idea. Kefka noticed this and immediately added, "You initiate surprise searches of the barracks and private quarters once every two months anyway, captain. Why should this be any different?"

       Wells thought it carefully. Kefka smiled inwardly as he saw that Captain Wells was close to being convinced. He waited no further to put the topping on the ice cream.

       "There is nothing questionable with what I’m asking you to do, captain. Anyway it plays out, your call for the interrogation will be looked upon by everybody as a positive action to search for the truth. If we get lucky and capture the accomplices, you may even get a medal… or perhaps get promoted," Kefka said slyly with a grin.

       Captain Wells did not share his grin but deep inside everything made sense. He would not be violating any rule, nor would he be acting irresponsible in front of the Imperial Army. The interrogation would also be a good idea to learn the truth about everything. He could also get Tina Branford’s testimony later on.

       "Very well, Kefka. You will have your assembly in Warehouse 5 on one condition. I must be present when you interrogate my men," Captain Wells demanded.

       Kefka smiled triumphantly. "I insist that you will be there as well."

       "Then it is agreed," Wells said sternly. "I will report this to General Fencross and—"

       "Do not trouble yourself, Wells. I will personally make sure he knows all that has transpired here myself. He will have a lot on his mind, for sure."

       Captain Wells nodded. At the same time, the power in the entire building was restored. The lights once again illuminated the hallways much better than the light from the outside. A team of soldiers could be heard coming to the scene of the crime. They were obviously there to start their investigation. Captain Wells started to walk through the corridor to meet with the soldiers and give them instructions. Kefka was left alone at the scene and was about to magically teleport himself out of the building when he heard a teeny sound coming from an unknown source. The sound was barely audible and yet he was sure it was there.

       Kefka looked around for a moment and found something on the floor in a corner that used to be covered in shadows before the lights went back. It was a tiny receiver. He bent over and picked it up. Sure enough, the sound was coming from the device. Slowly, he raised it to his right ear and listened.

       "Branford? Branford, can you hear me? Branford!" said an odd-sounding female voice. It sounded as if it were a recording. Kefka wore an ugly frown. He knew that it was the accomplice. He wanted very much to talk to the accomplice but was afraid to frighten her away so he just kept silent and continued to listen for clues. "I can detect your presence in the infirmary. Let me see you through the security camera," the accomplice said.

       Kefka looked up ceiling and found a single security camera monitoring the entrance to the witness’ room. The security camera moved slowly in a rotational angle towards Kefka. Kefka didn’t move to hide from the camera’s view. He just stared at it. He knew that the accomplice had control of the security system. Kefka wanted to see how the accomplice would react to him.

       At last, the security camera stopped moving. It focused on him for a few seconds. Kefka stared at it as though he was staring into the eye of a criminal. He wanted the accomplice to fear him. He thought this to be a bad idea but he just couldn’t resist it.

       The reaction was quick. The earpiece emitted a high-pitched sound that hurt Kefka’s ear but not enough to do any real damage. Kefka pulled the earpiece from his ear as fast as he could and held it in his right hand. The sound lasted for approximately five seconds then it stopped abruptly. Kefka opened his hand and looked at the device closely. It had completely burned itself out. It was a clever self-destruct mechanism to cover the accomplice’s tracks.

       Instead of finding himself infuriated, Kefka laughed maniacally as he tossed the broken device back to the floor. With another word of command he was gone, leaving only the echo of his manic laughter.

****************************
****************************

Chapter Thirteen
Rescue

       Fright, panic and confusion did not go well together. Tina was hopelessly lost in putting things together. The chain of events did not fit. There were holes, gaps and extra pieces that blurred the whole image into a chaotic mosaic.

       Tina sat on a cot inside a small cell with no windows. The only exit was a steel reinforced metal door. An electric lamp flooded the whole cell with sufficient light, eliminating even the smallest of shadows. The cell was clean. It was not what she expected. She thought that the other prisoners might consider it a luxury. She, of course, did not.

       I don’t belong here! This is all a mistake! She thought as she paced back and forth in her cell. Her hair was starting to return to its original color. Her hand was still stained with dry blood, as well as her uniform. She tried in vain to wipe it off with the clean sheets of her cot. Her voice returned shortly after they threw her inside. She had been yelling and protesting but nobody seemed to care. She soon gave up and calmed herself a bit. But her mind was still at work.

       I did not kill the witness. A Devout did, she thought, reviewing how she was going to explain it to her trial. With any luck her captain would hear her out later. A Devout killed the witness… but why? Guardian abandoned me. The Devout called me Terra. And Kefka prevented me from explaining myself. The creature in the Devil’s Lab called me Terra. It can’t be a coincidence. They must be working together and against me! I was set up! Oh, Guardian, I trusted you!

       Tina Branford sat on her cot and buried her face in her hands. I should’ve seen it coming. I was naïve. I should’ve known that Guardian would eliminate anybody that had contact with her. She would do it to protect herself. She killed the workers and soldiers without hesitation. I should’ve known that she would do it to me once I’ve outlived my usefulness.

       But what is Guardian’s connection with Kefka? Is she a Devout herself? Tina suddenly remembered that she was not even sure whether Guardian really was a woman. She only communicated through indirect means using a computer-generated female voice.

       ‘Why don’t you ask him yourself? Or her,’ she recalled Guardian’s Jidooran messenger say long ago, on the day they first made verbal contact. For all I know the Devout who killed the witness could’ve been Guardian. Maybe even Advisor Kefka! I’ve been framed. I was the scapegoat—the fall guy! Vector was looking for an enemy and I was right behind the curtain the whole time!

       Tina thought about her chances of getting out of her predicament. She felt foolish, somehow, thinking that Guardian would soon save the day as she always have in the past. She was alone… again. Her only chance was finding somebody she could convince about her innocence.

       She thought it hopeless. She would gladly take the chance to try and escape on her own. Even without her weapon, she could still use her magic. She just needed the right moment. She had been holding back on the Imperial Army about her true magical powers of the fire element. After the infusion a long time ago, she told the lab directors—as Guardian advised—that her magic had worn off just like the other test subjects of the infusion procedure.

**********

       "Well, played, Tayan. You’ve done well," Kefka said in praise of his Chosen Mage.

       Tayan smiled gleefully. It was rare to get such a compliment from his master. He truly was the favored one among the Devouts. "I await your next order, master."

       Kefka moved closer to the window overlooking a spectacular view of most of the Bronze Fortress Compound. They were inside one of the tallest towers of the Bronze Fortress. It was his private sanctuary. His eyes watched the miniaturized Warehouse 5 from above. It was the closest storage warehouse to another Magitek Powering Facility.

       "Wells will send word about the surprise assembly of his troops soon. We must execute the next phase before this happens. Summon these people on my list and have them report to Captain Wells in Warehouse 5 as well," Kefka said as he turned away from the window. He drew something from his pocket and handed it to Tayan, who took it with his bloodied hand. It was a folded paper containing a list of people.

       Tayan read the list quickly and then kept it in his pocket. "Forgive my ignorance, master, but may I ask why it is important for these people to assemble in Warehouse 5?" Tayan asked.

       Kefka grinned and stared out the window again before answering.

       "These are the people who know too much—Branford’s comrades, old acquaintances and the soldiers who arrested her in the hospital."

       "What do they know that is critical, master?" Tayan asked again.

       Kefka slowly turned away from the window and then stared into Tayan’s eyes.

       "They know… that she exists!" Kefka replied coldly. "With any luck, one of them might be her accomplice."

Tayan still didn’t fully understand and chanced another question.

        "But how would interrogating them get us anywhere?"

        "It won’t!" Kefka answered before bursting into laughter. It was the same kind of manic laughter that sent chills up somebody’s spine. It lasted for a full minute. To Tayan, it seemed to have lasted forever.

**********

       The door flew open suddenly, startling Tina in the process. She stood up, hoping to see her commander. To her disappointment he was not there. Instead, four Imperial soldiers, with their swords drawn entered.

       "Turn around and don’t make any sudden movement," ordered the first soldier.

       Tina did as she was told. Two of the soldiers approached her and seized her by the arms. They cuffed her hands again and made her wear a metal collar around her neck. The soldier pushed a button on the collar and it beeped twice indicating that it had been activated. Tina was unsure what it was for but she had a feeling that escaping would now be close to impossible.

       "Follow me," ordered the lead soldier. "Don’t try anything funny or we’ll be forced to respond accordingly," he warned.

       Tina faced them and was led out of the cell. They marched through the metal corridors of the detention building. Two soldiers led the way while two tailed her, making it impossible to escape. On the way out of the building, four more soldiers joined them. Clearly, they were not taking any chances with her. She was being escorted somewhere.

       "Where are you taking me?" Tina asked nervously.

       "Magitek Lab 14," answered the lead soldier with a slight grin. "You have been scheduled to spend a full hour in the Magic Diffusion Chamber. So say goodbye to your powers, magic-user!"

       "I hear it’s quite painful to have magic stripped away from you in that chamber," added a soldier from behind her. "Some say the chamber itself is still in its experimental stage."

       The other soldiers laughed cruelly. Tina swallowed nervously. Her hands started to tremble and her heart started beating fast.

       "B-but I’m innocent," she pleaded. "Don’t I get a trial?" she asked.

       "Oh, don’t worry. You’ll get your trial," the lead soldier said mockingly. "You’ll get your five minute trial before your execution!"

       The soldiers laughed louder this time.

       "How does it feel, murderer? To know that your time is almost up?" asked a bitter sounding soldier from behind her.

       Tina wanted to explain but she knew that her words would only fall on deaf ears. She decided to march with them with dignity.

       "Hey!" yelled the soldier who asked the question. "Did you hear me at all? I asked you how it feels!" he said angrily. Tina ignored him. This angered the soldier even more. He grabbed her by the shoulder and stopped her from walking. They all seized their march. "Don’t you ignore me, you witch! You killed my brother back in the reactor! Tell me how you feel now! Are you nervous? Are you scared? You should be!" The man’s face was red with fury. He was practically screaming in her face. Tina tried hard not to break in sobs.

       "Back off, Hobbes! Get back in line!" the lead soldier ordered the infuriated man.

       "Shut up!" retorted the angry soldier. "This is between me and her!"

       "You are out of order! Now get back to your position!" barked the leader.

       "Why the hell are you defending her?!" retorted the furious soldier at the leader.

       "Are you out of your mind, Hobbes?" yelled one of the other soldiers.

       "You’re losing it, man!" commented another one.

       "You stay out of this!" snapped Hobbes at the two that spoke. "I don’t understand why we can’t just finish her off here. I mean, let’s just tell them that she tried to escape!"

       "Get back to your position!" shouted the team leader, his face red and ugly with anger. "I just gave you an order!" shouted the leader at the top of his lungs.

       Hobbes lunged at the leader with his fist flying. He struck the leader straight in the face. The leader went down from the blow. Two other soldiers grabbed Hobbes by the arms and wrestled him down on the floor to stop the fight, while another two helped the leader up. The leader’s nose was bleeding. When he realized it he went berserk himself. He shoved the two soldiers that helped him up out of the way and then kicked Hobbes while he was still on the ground.

       "You bastard! You stupid piece of—" he raved as he kicked Hobbes another time.

       The two soldiers who helped him up ended wrestling the leader down as well to stop the fight. Opportunity was screaming at Tina’s face but she still had to take care of the two other soldiers who were eyeing her closely with their swords drawn. She could not have found a more perfect moment.

       "Fire!" she screamed out loud. A burst of flame knocked the two soldiers ten feet back from her. Without further hesitation she ran out of the building and into the shadows of the nearby structures. It was already dark out, making for her a perfect blanket of shadows for cover, but only if she could lose them.

       "Don’t let her get away!" bellowed Hobbes. The two other soldiers were still pinning him down on the ground.

       "After her!" commanded the leader.

       One second, they were at each other’s throats and the next second they shared the same thought—the witch must not escape.

       All eight soldiers picked themselves up, including the ones who were slightly burned. Tina Branford didn’t dare look back. She ran, searching for a place to hide, her hands, still cuffed behind her back. She made a turn around a dark alley, hoping that it was not a dead end. To her relief, it was not. It led through a narrow passageway between two buildings into another clearing. With any luck, the soldiers might not have seen her go through the alley. She reached the other side with no sign of the soldiers behind her. The utter surprise she gave them bought her enough time, at least, to get this far.

       All of a sudden, a high pitched sound filled her ears and sharp pain coursed through her entire body. Her knees weakened as she ran until she couldn’t support herself any longer. She fell on the ground roughly, fighting away the pain pulling her to utter paralysis.

       It was the metal collar that was doing it. She felt it vibrate as it squealed to life. She screamed out loud not only in pain but also in hopes that the soldiers would hear her and eventually catch up with her so they could deactivate the collar. She just wanted the excruciating pain to end.

        "There she is!" hollered one of the soldiers.

       She didn’t see them but she knew that they were coming. The pain stopped suddenly. They must’ve turned it off when they found her on the ground. Tina took the remaining moments to catch her breath. Her eyes were closed and her head rested on the ground in submission.

       The running footsteps of the soldiers steadily grew louder as they approached. She weakly opened her eyes and waited for them to arrive. She thought about using her magic to fend them off as her last desperate act but she was too weak to even lift her head off the ground.

       It’s over, she thought. Either I die tonight or after my trial… it doesn’t matter.

       The first soldier to reach her was Hobbes—the one who hated her the most in the group. There was a triumphant grin on his face as he waved his sword menacingly before Tina.

        "On the other hand," he started to say, "you don’t have to tell me exactly how you feel. I think I can take a guess!"

       Hobbes raised his sword in the air preparing to strike, like an executioner. From somewhere she heard somebody shout, "Don’t kill her!" But it didn’t matter. By the looks of Hobbes’ face, it was a command he would risk ignoring just to avenge his friend.

       The sword started to fall. The entire picture slowed down for Tina. A flash of white covered her sight for a brief second. There was a sharp explosion that came from somewhere followed by the sound of the clatter of a dropped blade against pavement. When the blinding flash cleared she saw Hobbes’ body on the ground a few feet from her. Hobbes’ sword lay harmlessly beside her.

       Tina had no clue what happened during those fast seconds but to her it changed nothing. She still couldn’t pick herself up to continue her escape and the soldiers were still coming to retrieve her. Then the soldiers stopped dead in their tracks as a mysterious figure suddenly materialized out of thin air between Tina and the soldiers. The figure wore a flowing red cloak and his back was turned towards Tina. It was a Devout.

       The soldiers looked at each other uneasily, not knowing what to do. Finally, the leader, whose nose was still bleeding, spoke boldly.

        "That prisoner is to be delivered to the Magic Diffusion Chamber. You are interfering with our mission by blocking the way. Step aside or we will be forced to—"

       Another explosion cut short the leader’s warning as a bolt of lightning shot through the Devout’s fingers. It struck the leader dead just like it did with Hobbes. The other soldiers raised their swords and charged at the Devout. At the same time, five more Devouts wearing either black or red cloaks appeared out of thin air. They finished off the remaining soldiers with Lightning magic. The soldiers stood no chance. They died within the few seconds of the altercation between Imperial soldiers and the Cult fanatics

       Tina didn’t know what to make of it. She didn’t know whether she was being rescued or simply being thrown into a bigger fire.

****************************
****************************

Chapter Fourteen
The Slave Crown

        The entire Compound went to red alert once the news of Tina Branford’s escape had spread. The soldiers in the area of effect all searched everywhere for her except the ones in Warehouse 5 who were ordered to remain where they were. Patrols and sweeps were organized and managed by General Fencross. Even General Leo had been called to assist in the search. He was expected to arrive later towards midnight with his own infantry.

        Searchlights from towers ceaselessly spied on shadowed areas. Trained dogs called Vector Pups were released to help in the search. So far, they hadn’t had any luck. Almost all the structures were searched and every street scoured. They even took to the sewer access just in case. The soldiers even employed upon the aid of advanced tracking devices. Spitfires, Aerial Magitek Units, took to the skies to conduct the search from above. But their prisoner was nowhere to be found. Pretty soon, an order to search beyond the boundaries of effect would be issued. General Fencross was not at all worried. He knew for a fact that it was virtually impossible to run away from the entire Imperial Army.

        Tina Branford’s whereabouts was the last place anybody would look in the whole of the Bronze Fortress Compound—inside the Bronze Fortress itself. The Devouts that abducted her from the clutches of the Imperial soldiers took her there shortly after finally losing consciousness from the harsh effect of the collar she was made to wear. She awoke still feeling the burning sensation around her neck and the dizziness of the experience.

        She was on a chair that was inclined back and strapped from her heels to her neck. All she could see at the moment was the high metal-clad ceiling with pipes and cables running across it. She still wore the same brown Imperial uniform that she was wearing back in the hospital. Blood was still all over it.

        "She is conscious, Chosen Mage," said a Devout softly but audibly.

        "Then summon the master!" ordered another Devout. His voice sounded familiar to Tina.

        Tina’s chair started to move in its upright position slowly. For the first time she saw a number of Devouts busily doing something on several different equipment around the room. None seemed to pay any attention to her except one.

        "We meet again," said a Devout wearing white hooded cloak designed with red cryptic markings all over. Tina tried to focus her eyes as hard as she could through the shadow of his hood. The Devout, as if reading her thoughts, drew his hood back to reveal his painted face. He had short black hair, gray eyes and a sharp nose. He had a strong cleft chin and a high hairline. "Remember me now?" he asked.

        Tina recognized him at once. He was the same Devout that killed the witness in the hospital. He was the one that she tried to stop. Tina didn’t say anything as a response, perhaps out of fear.

        "My name is Tayan. It means simply ‘Chosen Mage’ in a forgotten language," he introduced as though he was making small talk. "Do you know what your name is?" Tina just stared at his gray eyes with hate and said nothing. Tayan sneered before continuing. "I doubt that you do… Terra!"

        Tina’s faced changed to a hate-filled expression and into a fearful one. She wanted to ask him to explain but something inside told her not to. She just averted her eyes from Tayan’s sneering face and tried to ignore him.

        "I know that you have a lot of questions that you want to ask right now. I know I would if I were in your shoes. I mean… you killed the witness and all," Tayan said mockingly.

        "You murderer," she muttered with hatred.

        "Me?" Tayan asked in feigned disbelief. He shook his head with a surprised look in his face. "I believe that you are mistaken! I would never do such a thing! I mean… killing a human being is just too much for me!" he said and then he laughed aloud.

        "Why?" she asked in a quivering voice.

        Before Tayan could answer the question, Kefka walked in with an ugly grin on his face.

        "Well, well, well!" he said aloud as he entered the room. "It’s been a long time, Terra."

        "My name is Tina—"

        "—Branford. Of course," Kefka exclaimed with a smile on his face. "You go by that name. You go by your given human name!"

        Tina remembered what the creature back in the Devil’s Lab said about her ‘human upbringing.’ Since then she wanted to know the whole truth about herself but she didn’t want to discover it this way.

        "What do you mean…?" she said. Her voice faltered at the end of the sentence.

        "As precisely as it sounds, Terra—"

        "Tina!" she cried. "My name is Tina Branford!" Her anger somehow managed to surface above her fear.

        "Tina Branford is nothing more than a wanted criminal now!" Kefka said scowling at her. "Tina Branford is an expendable individual. She is a fake, a sham and a fraud! She’s a criminal soon to be tried and found guilty of treason, sabotage, collaborating with the enemy and mass murder! You have been a very bad girl. Do you even realize what the charges are for committing all those premeditated acts?"

        "I did none of them!" she protested but it sounded like a pathetic lie.

        "Oh really?" Kefka paced back and forth as though in thought. "The witness clearly mentioned seeing an unmasked intruder with green hair, running out of the Magitek Warehouse just seconds before it blew up, killing sixteen people. And you have also been in contact with somebody who has access to the most secured systems of Vector." Kefka moved closer to touch her hair. Tina flinched at his touch. "It looks green enough to me!"

        "You set me up, you monster!" she spat.

        "We didn’t need to!" Kefka said quickly sounding like he was giving an excuse. "Your own crimes would’ve put you in the same predicament as you are now. We simply sped things up a bit. Skip the trial and get right to the execution," explained Kefka.

        "If you want to kill me then why don’t you get it over with?" she said boldly.

        "But we don’t want to kill you!" Kefka asked feigning surprise. "We want to kill Tina Branford—not you! Not only that, we also want to eliminate everybody who knows Branford’s existence."

        Tina didn’t understand what he meant by that but she knew that no answer would make it sound any better.

        "If you don’t plan to kill me then what do you want of me?" she asked with dread.

        Kefka laughed a hellish, throaty laugh. "Everything!" he exclaimed as he threw his hands up into the air. "You cannot possibly comprehend how valuable you are to the Empire!" he shouted. Then he drew closer to Tina, close enough for him to whisper into her ears. "You cannot possibly comprehend how valuable you are to me." Kefka moved away from her again wearing the same ugly grin he was wearing when he entered the room.

        She didn’t want to hear any more but deep inside she just had to ask.

        "Wh-what am I… exactly?" she asked softly with a breath that almost failed to become a voice.

        "You, my dear magic-user, are the key to great power. You are destined to unlock the gate to my destiny. You are Terra, the Appointed Gate Sentry!" he proclaimed aloud and melodramatically. "That is who you are… and you don’t have a clue!" Kefka laughed again.

        Tina shook her head, stubbornly refusing to accept everything she heard from Kefka as the truth. "You… you have the wrong person. I had human parents. They were from Vector who died for the Empire in the early wars. I am human. I have to be…"

        "Ordinary humans cannot use magic," Tayan said as an answer.

        "I took the magic infusion proce—"

        "The magic infusion process does not give the individual permanent powers like yours," Tayan interrupted again. "Nor does it make your hair change color whenever you use magic."

        "Which means throwing you into the painful process of magic diffusion will do nothing at all," Kefka interjected. "Of course, those fools didn’t know that. They think you’re… well… normal."

        "I am normal!" she cried but Kefka only ignored her.

        "They don’t know anything about you. They know far less than what you know of yourself. In fact, only a handful of people know the secret. The Emperor knows the secret, as well as General Leo. So you see… nobody gives a damn about Tina Branford. She’s just a deluded individual thinking she was conceived by loving and heroic parents. An image given to the lost and confused youth to feel protected and… loved," Kefka said mockingly. "How pathetic! This was the Emperor’s ‘subtle’ solution of bringing you up when you were just a child... in the orphanage of a hundred matrons!" Kefka laughed again at some cruel joke nobody else could share.

        "You lie!" Tina screamed in denial before she broke in tears.

        Kefka continued to laugh his sinister laugh in front of Tina. It lasted for a few more seconds before he could stop himself completely.

        "But don’t cry," Kefka started to say, sounding sympathetic. "It’s better that you discover this now, don’t you think? Consider this a part of the preparation for your foretold future. By this, I mean your future of unconditional service to your master—me!"

        "Never!" she screamed louder than before. "Never, you monster! I will never serve you! I would die first! I will kill myself first!"

        Tina continued to cry as Kefka and Tayan stared at her in silence. Kefka nodded to Tayan and Tayan immediately left his master’s side to retrieve something from the closest table. It was a black box marked ‘SC-203’ in big letters. He returned to his master’s side without delay. He opened the box for his master and Kefka took the content from it carefully with his hands. It was a thin strip of gold-colored metal headband about an inch in width. She eyed it with dread, remembering the collar that the soldiers put around her neck.

        Kefka held the headpiece in front of her, as though showing it off. Then he said, "I believe this gift will change your mind… literally!"

        "I will die first," Tina repeatedly fiercely.

        "Unfortunately, it is no longer a matter of choice. It’s not even a matter if will. You see, my sweet, little magic-user… with this slave crown I’ll practically own you! With it, you’ll follow my commands without question or hesitation. You will even betray to us your accomplice." Kefka drew even closer to put the crown around her head. Tina struggled in vain. It didn’t take long for Kefka to put it around her. "There. You see? It’s a perfect fit!" Kefka said as he stepped back to look. "Almost."

        Tina moved her head in sharp sudden moves trying to shake it loose but the strap around her neck made it impossible for her to do so.

        "Don’t panic, Terra. It’s not even activated yet. That process takes…" Kefka turned to Tayan and asked, "How long does the process take?"

        "Approximately three hours, master," he answered.

        "Wonderful. Just enough time to set up the stage. You see… there is one last thing that we need to take care of. We need to get rid of the people who might prove to know you too much. I want to give Tina Branford a new and convincing image in the eyes of the Army. I want them to think of you as a terrorist from the resistance group, the Returners. For that to happen we need to eradicate the people who know you well like your comrades under Captain Wells’ command. Not only this, I also want to convince the Emperor and General Leo that you are out of control. That way, they’ll allow me to leave the slave crown on you giving me total control." He turned to Tayan again and gave him an order. "Proceed immediately, Tayan. I don’t want delays. This is a critical part of the plan."

        Tayan bowed and replied, "Yes, master."

        "Allow my Chosen Mage to entertain you during the process as I must make preparations myself. Might I suggest that you ask all the questions you have because this really is your last chance. In three hours time you will be nothing more than an empty shell."

        With that Kefka departed.

        Tayan removed the crown from her head and examined it closely.

        "It’s not quite as perfect as it looks. It needs to be refitted slightly before the process. I will make haste," Tayan said.

        "Please!" Tina pleaded. She hated herself for it. "I did nothing wrong to you or your master. Let me go."

        "I’m afraid I can’t do that, Terra—"

        "I’m not Terra!" she cried.

        "Yes, you are. You should be proud of that name. That is your real name," Tayan explained calmly but coldly. Tayan addressed the other Devouts. "Let’s start the process! Everything as we did during the simulation!"

        Lights from the different machinations in the room blinked to life. Then Tina’s chair tilted back as it was when she first came to. Again, all she could see clearly was the high ceiling. Tayan walked around and to her side. He stared at her bloody uniform and then shook her head.

        "We need to get that changed. Master Kefka wants you to look like a rebel from the north. But I suppose we can do that af—"

        "Tell me about my name," Tina interrupted. After Tayan mentioned that Terra was her real name she became more intrigued. "Who gave me that name?"

        Tayan smiled. "Your parents, of course!"

        Tina paused a moment. "Who were my parents?"

        "Your mother was, if I recall correctly, Madeline Brandfire. She was one of the science expedition team working for Vector twenty years ago. That’s all I know about her. Her records were sealed after her death. Not too many people know this. But at least you know now where we got your last name from."

        "My father? Who was my father?"

        Tayan grinned. "Unlike your mother, your father is still alive. In fact, he is somewhere inside this building—the Devil’s Lab."

        "Where is he? Let me see him, please! I beg of you, let me see him just once," Tina pleaded with tears in her eyes.

        "I’m not allowed to do that, Terra. We simply don’t have any time." Tayan was approached by a Devout and whispered something to him. Tayan nodded in response. The Devout left and went on his business.

        "It’s time to begin, Terra. You should be more excited about this. You are going to partake in the making of history!" he exclaimed.

        Tina’s chair trembled slightly and the machines around her hummed louder in activity. It made her forget about her questions of origin.

        "What’s going to happen?" she asked nervously.

        "First of all, we are going to… remove your very consciousness from your body leaving only an empty shell. So in essence… you will die," Tayan said bluntly. "We will then feed your brain with programmed instructions that will basically allow us to control you. These are all in theory. The slave crown itself is an untested prototype. The Emperor scrapped the research many years ago but we continued it secretly." Tayan rubbed his hands together as he got ready with the process. "The process, however, is painless so I wouldn’t worry too much."

        "Wait! I change my mind. I’ll cooperate! I’ll do anything you tell me. This is not necessary!" Tina lied as her last desperate attempt.

        Tayan scowled at her. "That choice was never given to you in the first place, Terra. Now hold still while I put the crown around your head again."

        "No!" she screamed, shaking her head side to side. "Fire! Fire!"

        Tayan laughed. "Your magic may be permanent but you’re still susceptible to Rasp. We took precautions. But seeing that you’ll make this as difficult as you can then I have no choice but to put you to sleep first."

        Tayan waved her hand in front of her face and uttered a word of magical command. The next second, Tina stopped her struggling. She was in a magic-induced sleep, helpless.

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Chapter Fifteen
Control

        Wells’ company looked apprehensive. He could easily tell this. He sounded a surprise meeting in Warehouse 5 and everyone was present except for Tina Branford who was still in hiding as he was informed by the ongoing search party. He wanted very much to hear her side of the story. He still couldn’t believe that a traitor was operating under his very nose. But he was forced to wait until after the investigation. He gave Kefka the benefit of the doubt because he wanted to protect himself, too.

        He had sent word to Kefka that he was ready for the interrogation. All he needed to do now was wait. His men stood in formation, motionlessly. He looked around him within the warehouse. It had been cleared out of most of the crates containing who-knows-what. Some of crates where still there, stacked on top of each other against the west wall, covering the second exit of the building. The only exit was located on the south side. It was a regular door with both manual and automatic locks. There were windows high above them that allowed light inside during the day. They were all out of reach.

        Suddenly, another group of soldiers entered the warehouse with their uniforms on, through the south entrance. Captain Wells raised his brow in curiosity. He approached them and the new arrivals saluted to him. He returned the military gesture and then asked them a question.

        "What is your business here?"

        One of the soldiers who arrived glanced at his companions, looking like he wasn’t sure himself.

        "We received orders to report to you ASAP, sir!" the soldier answered smartly.

        "Who gave you these orders?" Wells asked.

        The soldier looked nervous. "Y-you, sir."

**********

        It was pitch black and utterly silent until a familiar voice shattered it all. The entire conversation transpired in Tina’s mind.

        "Branford! Can you hear me?"

        "Guardian?" she replied as she recognized the voice. "What is happening?"

        "Slave crown program feed. They are erasing your thoughts and consciousness and replacing them with instructions that will interface the crown with your entire neurological structure. The process is essentially fatal."

        "Wh-what are you doing here? I thought you left me. Are you here to save me?"

        "Saving what is left to be saved," Guardian answered.

        "What does that mean?" she asked nervously. "Please tell me."

        "I am rewriting some of the instructions."

        "Rewriting? Can’t you stop the entire process?" she asked in panic.

        "I am capable of doing that. But I won’t."

        "Why not!" Tina screamed. She didn’t hear her voice but she knew that she did.

        "It would serve no purpose. They will simply reinitiate the process until they succeed or until you can no longer withstand the mental pressure."

        "Then what are you doing here? What exactly are you changing?"

        "I want to make sure that you do not reveal to them anything about me," Guardian replied coldly.

        "You are saving yourself?! You… you monster!" she cried out angrily. "It’s because of you that I am in this mess! I was happy with my life. I had a dream and a future until you contacted me. You ruined my life! Murderer!"

        "You’re wrong. I was trying to save yours. You were never safe living the life they gave you. The Slave Crown Research was continued in secret by the cult solely for you. Without my intervention this end would still have been played for sure. I gave you a chance by introducing myself to you. I do not rejoice in the fact that we’ve failed to work flawlessly," Guardian explained. She was as convincing as ever.

        "Then please help me," Tina begged. "Don’t leave me here. I risked my life for you… a complete stranger with the promise of answers. Help me one last time!"

        There was a pause. It was a short one but it was clearly a moment of hesitation. Finally Guardian said, "One last time. I will do the only safe thing for both of us. I will not allow the process to completely eradicate your consciousness. Instead, I will try my best to preserve it. This is something that I’ve never done before. I cannot promise you that it will work."

        "Just do it please," she pleaded. "I don’t want to die."

        "Do understand, Branford, that for as long as the slave crown is on your head you are under their control. And that the odds of full recovery from its influence are thin. It is not as simple as taking it off."

        "I accept the risks. I don’t have a choice," she answered with a definite tone of despair.

        "Then it is done. I wish you luck in finding your freedom," said Guardian. It was the first and only sentimental sentence she has ever heard from Guardian even though it was said in her usual computer-generated voice.

        "Thank you, Guardian. I’m sorry I doubted you."

        "I must know one last thing before I go. Where is the Terrestre Esperizium?"

**********

        "Terra, awake," commanded a dreadfully familiar voice. Tina heard it and wanted to ignore the command but her eyelids opened on their own. There she saw Kefka staring at her with his usual ugly grin. "Terra, stand," he said simply.

        To Tina’s amazement, her body obeyed without her mental consent. She tried in vain to resist but she could not control her body anymore. Even the pace of her breathing was uncontrollable.

        "Success, master," mumbled Tayan from out of the corner of her eyes.

        "Too early to tell. But there is only one way to find out," Kefka replied. He turned around and faced the Devouts around the room. "I need a volunteer," he declared. The response was instant. Everybody stepped forward without hesitation. "Hmm. Looks like I have to choose one on my own." His eyes fell to the nearest Devout. "You. Give her your dagger," ordered Kefka.

        The Devout did as he was told. He drew a dagger, similar to what Tayan used to kill the witness at the hospital and offered it to Tina. Tina didn’t do anything but stared straight in front of her with her emotionless face and dead green eyes. However, she was very aware of what was happening around her. She was nervous only in mind. Her body no longer responded to her thoughts and feelings but only to external forces such as heat, cold and gravity.

        "Terra, take the weapon," said Kefka.

        Her hand moved quickly and suddenly that she was startled. Her hand took the dagger by the handle and held it firmly. She could feel the cold metal hilt in her hand. She tried to release the dagger to no avail. It was a strange feeling.

        Kefka smiled evilly. "Terra… Kill him!" he hissed.

        Tina plunged the dagger into the Devout’s stomach. The Devout gasped with a shocked look on his face. Tina would’ve screamed if she could. In her mind, she did. She was terrified as ever. She began to wonder whether being conscious and alive was bad idea after all. Help! She called out to Guardian but her link with Guardian was no more.

        The Devout fell to the ground, clutching at his mortal wound.

        "Permission… to heal myself… master," he gasped.

        Kefka thought about it and finally said, "Granted."

        "Heal…" the Devout gasped. Immediately, his wound closed although he was still weak from the inflicted damage. The Devout rose slowly to his feet and was suddenly stabbed again by Tina.

        No! Tina screamed again in thought. Stop it!

        Kefka laughed nefariously. He was expecting this since his command was to kill the Devout. He was pleased to see that Tina would not stop until her order was accomplished. The other Devouts said and did nothing. Tayan watched with delighted interest. Tina stabbed the Devout again. Blood was all over the floor. With one final scream the Devout died on the floor lying on the pool of his own blood.

        Kefka was laughing uncontrollably. Deep inside, Tina was crying. It took a while but the moment finally arrived. Kefka regained control when he remembered about his plan.

        "So, Terra… You will now tell me who your accomplice is."

        "Captain Steven Wells," Tina blurted out with an empty tone of voice. She was shocked. Her answer was a complete lie. Guardian’s precautions must’ve worked. But whether or not it did, she was not pleased to name somebody who was innocent.

        Kefka raised his brows with interest. "Really? How utterly convenient!" Kefka turned away from her and started to walk to the room’s only exit. Before he disappeared through the door he barked one final order. "Proceed as planned! Sleep, Terra. And awake in thirty minutes."

****************************
****************************

Chapter Sixteen
In Motion

        Tina returned to consciousness with a scream that might’ve woken up the dead. Unfortunately, her present condition was far worse. She was in pain; a kind of pain she had never felt before. It was the kind that could only be felt by the mind but not the body. It was pure fright made a hundred times more intense. It was a feeling of being locked in dark damp cell made simply unbearable. It was the kind that made people wake up with a start from their nightmares, or the kind that made them refuse to fall asleep again. Madness was the only possible way out. But like death, it was no longer her choice. Like Kefka said, it was not even a matter of will.

       She couldn’t move a muscle at will. Her eyes stared straight at the bare wall. She came back to a stable state of awareness after a few seconds. The pain had dissipated at the same time she stopped screaming… or rather, at the same time she stopped trying to scream.

       Guardian? Guardian, are you there? Nobody answered back. She didn’t know what to do. She had absolutely no control over her own body anymore. Not the blinking of her eyes nor the pace of her breathing. She was nothing more than an uninvited entity trapped in an empty shell—a slave in her own body. She wondered why she even thanked Guardian for preserving her consciousness. The experience was intensely frustrating. She wanted to call out a name to help her but she was utterly alone now. She remembered Guardian telling her that she would no longer have contact with her. Even if she had somebody to depend on she still would not be able to call that person. What was more terrifying that she learned quickly was the fact that even though her very thoughts and emotions were intent upon crying and sobbing, her body would never enacted. Not a drop of tear appeared in her eyes or a muscle that constituted a frown flinched on her face. Her lungs forced no sobs and her throat never swallowed out of fright.

       The experience was maddening and time lumbered by so slowly. It was torture. In her field of vision only a small area at the very center was clear. The outer rim was blurry. Her hearing still worked, however, but she had lost the ability to only concentrate on a sound amidst many others. Her tactile sense was more sensitive to almost all stimuli. This she noticed as her right hand held the cold steel hilt of her sword.

       Her sword was drawn and she just realized this. She could not explore her surroundings with her eyes and yet she knew that she was back in her own quarters.

       Finally, a movement! Without having the ability to do anything else she was left to wonder and dread what command Kefka had given her to accomplish a treacherous deed. Her head turned to her left and her eyes focused on the drawer of her unadorned table. She moved quickly towards it and opened with utter and deliberate carelessness that the whole drawer fell to the floor with its contents. A black box was revealed. She opened it and took out the contents. They were the Esperizium necklace and the earrings. Though, it was not the time to be concerned about small things, she was rather glad that she had the necklace with her.

       Tina couldn’t help but be amazed as well at the fact that her body moved as agilely as it would with her total control. It was as though her body had been given a new and different soul that has pushed hers aside and imprisoned to witness everything as part of a great irony against her. Tina stopped before the small rectangular mirror on the wall that’s barely big enough to see the reflection of her face. She saw herself through her dead, staring green eyes. It was a most frightful sight for her to also see the golden headband that was the Slave Crown prototype. Her face was clean. She expected to see herself dirty with blood and scratches from her attempted escape. She dropped the sword carelessly on the floor and started to wear the necklace around her delicate neck. The coldness of the metal band was again intensified by her sense of touch. It felt painful to her as though it burned her skin. And even though she felt the pain not a muscle twitched as reflex. It was a pain she was forced to bear and that could not be relieved by even in the slightest involuntary muscle movement, a short gasp, or a wince.

       Her body didn’t react by itself. It simply moved on its own volition. Her fingers worked to put the earrings on. At this time, she had no power to protest. Tina tried again to regain control of her body. The same pain that woke her up returned to torture her ego. It seemed as though any attempt to reconnect herself with her stolen body was being violently impeded. Again, her only choice was to yield.

       Her eyes focused on the dropped sword on the floor. This quick movement of her head gave her a quick glimpse of what she was wearing. It was a short red dress she had never seen before illustrated by flower designs all over. Around her waist was a pink-purple sash held in place by an elegantly decorated leather belt. She wore matching red sleeves that weren’t part of the dress itself. Equally decorated were bronze shoulder plates. If it weren’t intricately designed they would’ve looked out of place. She wore a pair of almost-clear stockings with thin purple lines of flirtatious patterns. The ensemble was completed with a matching pair of feminine, brass-toed boots patterned over the red-centered, parallel color of her dress. Reaching down to retrieve her sword she also noticed that she was wearing a metal band around her left wrist.

       Nobody she knew would ever recognize her as Tina Branford. She almost didn’t.

       For what seemed like an eternity, she stood up straight, still staring at her reflection in the mirror with her sword in hand. She remained motionless until the lights in her room went out. As though taking it as a signal, Tina hurried out her quarters and ran out the building towards a clear back alley that led one of the Magitek Facilities, just a couple of blocks from the ruined facility.

       It was the start of Kefka’s plan.

**********

       "She’s on the move, Master," Tayan reported from atop one of the Bronze Fortress’s tower with a spy scope in hand.

       "Good," mumbled Kefka. "Tell the others to keep an eye out for her. She is not to be discovered just yet."

       "Yes, master. Should I alert the M-Facility team as well?"

       "Are they still in there?" Kefka asked angrily.

       "Yes, master," Tayan calmly answered.

       "Then tell them to get out of there! And remind them not to leave a trace."

       Tayan left the spy scope by the window and picked up a communication device. "M-Facility team, you are running late! Power up the Magitek and leave immediately. Leave no mark. Your failure is your doom," Tayan said darkly.

       A raspy voice answered back, "Understood, Chosen Mage."

       Kefka picked up the spy scope and used it to watch a different structure below. It was Warehouse 5—the place where Captain Wells was supposed to assemble his troops and a few others. Kefka grinned maliciously.

       "Give me the comm device," he ordered. Tayan handed him the small rectangular device that he was just using to contact the Devouts. Kefka punched in a combination of numbers and then spoke in a loud and clear voice.

       "This is Kefka. I have spotted the escaped prisoner, Tina Branford, going inside Warehouse 5. Lock it down and sound the alarm. I repeat. Tina Branford is inside Warehouse 5. Sound the alarm and dispatch an assault force!"

       It took only about five seconds for the alert to be sounded all over the Bronze Compound. But it was enough to get the attention of the majority of the soldiers in the search party deployed in the look out for Tina Branford.

       Kefka turned of the long range communication device and laughed.

        "Captain Wells is in for the surprise of his life!"

**********

       All were chatting now, given the command to be at ease, waiting patiently for the interrogation to begin. All but Captain Wells. He sat waiting on one of the steel reinforced crates. He knew not what the boxes were there for and he didn’t care. He grew angrier every minute. He was never the man to waste time. And he has decided not to start today.

       Wells jumped to his feet and was about to dismiss his troops when an indoor siren blared, startling everyone inside, including himself. His momentary distraction was replaced by his readiness and alertness.

       "Exit the building!" he instructed everyone above the loud siren.

       It was all too late, though. Something they hadn’t expected happened. It started with the only exit, automatically locking itself. Then steel blinds dropped down to cover every unreachable window, sealing every possible exit. They were locked inside. The troops started looking around in confusion. The lights dimmed down until only the red emergency lights were left.

       "What in the blazes is going on?" Captain Wells asked aloud. He pushed his way past the soldiers until he reached the door. Double reinforced metal beams latched together tightly as a secondary locking mechanism. He punched in a key combination to try and override the lock but the door answered only with a buzz. He tried it again but to no avail. In frustration, he took a step back and kicked the door with all his might. It was a futile action. He cursed out loud in frustration.

       "Will somebody please kill that siren?!" he bellowed. A few soldiers who heard him looked around for a switch box of some sort but the siren stopped blaring before they could even find it. All that was left of the alert warning was the red emergency lights and the murmurs of the soldiers still in bafflement. "Everybody, shut up!" Wells cried furiously. "Find something we can use to ram this door open. Check those boxes. Now!"

**********

       "They are gathering outside the warehouse, master. They will attempt to initiate contact in a few minutes," Tayan reported as he spied through the scope.

       "And Terra?" Kefka asked.

       Tayan switched view towards a darkened, barely illuminated area behind different structure not far from the warehouse. "She should be making her entry momentarily. The M-Facility team all reported out. They are clear."

       "Now the fun begins," Kefka said with a giggle.

****************************
****************************

Chapter Seventeen
Fifty

       General Fencross arrived at the assembled troops outside Warehouse 5. Their weapons were all readied as they had the structure surrounded. None have seen any activity from within the structure just yet but they were about to initiate contact with whomever was inside. They didn’t know about Captain Wells’ troops inside. They were just following a tip about the warehouse being the current whereabouts of their escaped prisoner, Tina Branford.

       "Activities?" Fencross asked.

       "None yet, sir," a captain answered.

       "Are your men, ready?"

       "They have the place surrounded, general. If she is really there then she is trapped."

       "Is she armed?"

       "We can only assume, sir. The warehouse is a storage area for low-security equipment. She will not find a weapon she could use that will be a threat to us."

       "Don’t be so sure of that, captain. She is her own weapon." Fencross took a megaphone from the captain but before using it he barked a few orders around him. "I want her alive for questioning. She has information that could expose rebel activities within Vector Capital. Use stunners only!"

       "Should we gas the place, general?"

       General Fencross looked back at the structure and found that the windows and doors were all sealed.

       "Good idea. Ready a launcher, three smoke gas grenades and two teams for assault and put them on standby outside both entrances. We may need to make a hole on the wall first as all the openings are sealed shut. Remember—she can use magic!" The captain saluted once and then went off to carry out the order. General Fencross then raised the megaphone to his mouth and spoke.

       "Branford! You are surrounded. All exits are covered. Surrender peaceably now and you will not be harmed." Fencross thought about how much time was needed to get the soldiers in position. "You have five minutes to come out with your hands up! If you do not do this after five minutes then we’ll just have to do it the hard way!"

       A response came immediately. It was a jolt of the metal door as though it was hit from the inside with tremendous force. Then came another after a few seconds. Then another…

**********

       "One, two, three charge!" shouted Wells.

       Six soldiers carrying a long, sturdy box like a coffin charged the door and rammed it in an attempt to break outside. The door shook as it thundered but it still showed no sign of break or wear. The soldiers stepped back to retry. Once again, Wells gave the signal. "One, two, three, charge!"

       Thud! Crash!

       It appeared that the long, sturdy box wasn’t strong enough. The bottom of the box collapsed and the contents spilled out on the floor. Wells cursed out loud.

       "Well don’t just stand there! Get these junk out of the way and find me another box!"

       The soldiers enacted his order immediately.

       "Captain?" called out one of the soldiers who were trying to gather up the spilled contents of the first box. "Correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t these…"

       "Explosives!" exclaimed another soldier upon seeing the objects on the floor.

       Captain Wells took a closer look. They were right. They were all explosive materials in marked canisters with red warning labels.

       "Good gods! What are these doing here?" asked another.

       "Stay back!" Wells barked. "Don’t touch them!" He spun around and faced the other crates piled on top of each other. He drew his sword and approached one of the boxes. He raised his sword above his head and struck the lock on the crate, completely breaking it apart. He opened the box and saw more explosives in shells.

       "Captain!" shouted a soldier from behind him. They all stopped and turned towards the direction of the soldier. "I hear something from the outside!"

       Everybody hushed until they could all hear.

       "That was your last warning!" said a man from the outside, his voice booming with the use of a megaphone. "If you do not come out this very minute we will open fire!"

       Captain Wells’ eyes widened. His thoughts were echoed by the questions of his troops.

       "What in the world is going on outside?"

       "What did we do?"

       "We’re gonna die!"

       Captain Wells wasted no precious seconds. Whatever the soldiers outside were up to they had no time to figure out. So he did the only thing he could do at the moment.

       "Get these crates out of the way now! The second exit is behind them! Move it! Move it! Move it!"

**********

       Portion of the wall fell easily with a well-aimed fireball magically shot by Tina Branford. It left a hole in the wall of the Magitek Facility. The alarm within the facility blared as well but with the red alert siren howling in the entire Bronze Compound it was easily ignored. The alertness of the soldiers was focused on one structure—the locked down Warehouse 5.

       Tina Branford went through the entrance without incident. Inside a single, fully-powered Magitek Armor waited for a rider. It stood ten feet tall with, looking like a beast ready to pounce out of its burrow. It resembled a stooped animal with two legs, a fearsome mouth and two arms. It had heavy metal armor plating for a skin. The arms were its secondary weapons while the front was its primary blaster.

       Tina climbed stepladder that was readily set up and waiting for her. She mounted the top of the Magitek Weapon hastily where the Armor could fully be controlled and maneuvered. The Armor was already active. Like natural instinct, Tina flipped switches, pushed buttons and steered the Magitek as though she had been trained to for years and yet she hasn’t. The knowledge must’ve been added to the Slave Crown’s programming.

       The Magitek Armor moved forward towards the closed bay door. The stepladder fell. It stopped just a few feet from it where she waited. Within the controlled body, a prayer…

       May the stars that have guided me for years help the souls who will suffer this night.

**********

       "She’s in position."

       "And so is everybody else. But we wait for a few more seconds. I want Wells to feel the terror for just a few more seconds!"

**********

       "The minute is over, sir. Still no response from within."

       "Then ready those blasters and aim high for the windows. Once they’re open fire the gas!" Fencross ordered. "On my signal! Ready… aim…"

**********

       Tina heard her own voice. If she only had control her heart would’ve skipped a beat.

       "Fire!"

****************************
****************************

Chapter Eighteen
Hostile at Ground Zero

       Boom!

       A very loud explosion originated from behind the assembled troops outside Warehouse 5. Everybody was startled by it that some were seen to have ducked reflexively. The troops all lowered their weapons pointed at Warehouse 5 and turned around to face a different structure where the explosion came from.

       It was from a Magitek Facility. The main gate was on fire and smoke screened the inside from view. The troops were all benumbed, staring at the burning entrance with alarm. Then, a familiar figure emerged from out the thick smoke. It was a powered Magitek Armor in battle mode.

       The front of the Armor that resembled a dragon’s mouth slowly opened as a dazzling blue energy spiraled inside.

       General Fencross’ eyes widened in shock. The Armor was preparing to fire at them.

       "Take cover!" he shouted as loudly as he could. The order was not necessary. When they saw that the primary blaster energized, they all started running away. General Fencross hit the ground, as did many others.

       Crack! The Armor shot an angry energy bolt at Warehouse 5. What followed was a thundering explosion that shook the ground. The warehouse went up in furious flames. A second explosion came from the warehouse again, though the Armor had not fired a second shot. And then another. The explosives within were set off, grinding down what remained of the warehouse to vapor. The blast killed all that were inside as well as some outside who weren’t quick enough to take cover.

       The heated air scorched the back of their necks. The roaring of the flame drowned the shouts and yells of the soldiers around. The area was lit with the red flame’s light. The siren did not cease though the situation had become worse. After a few seconds, General Fencross risked raising his head up to spy on the Magitek Armor that fired. It was moving towards them slowly. They were unsure what the rider would do next but one thing was all on their mind—they had a heavily armed Hostile in the Bronze Compound and it had to be taken down as quickly as possible.

       General Fencross stood up ignoring the aches he felt all over his body. He wasn’t sure whether he was injured for it was simply not the time. He ran towards another soldier who was on the ground, too.

        "Soldier! Soldier, give me your radio!" he barked. He barely heard his own voice above roaring of the fire.

       The soldier did not move so Fencross assumed that he was unconscious. He turned the soldier on his back and snatched the communication device from the soldier’s weak grip. Fencross pressed the emergency button and shouted to be heard over the commotion.

        "This is General Fencross, Vector-three-zero-ten-gamma! Heavily armed Hostile in the Bronze Compound! I repeat! General Fencross, Vector-three-zero-ten-gamma! We are under attack by a Hostile in a Magitek Armor. We need reinforcements now! Get me some Magitek riders and lock down the Bronze Fortress!"

       Static hissed for a while then an answer was heard.

        "We copy that, general! Can you give us your position?"

       Before General Fencross could answer a smaller explosion was heard as the Magitek Armor fired another shot at the running soldiers. The radio hissed again. "General! Can you give us your position?"

       Fencross was enraged. "Position?! Warehouse 5! South of Magitek Facility… at sector—oh, just look out the damn window!"

       Fencross pocketed the radio and then grabbed the unconscious soldier’s blaster. It was set on stun as he ordered it to be just a minute ago so he reset it to maximum blast intensity. He knew that it would not be enough to bring the Magitek Armor down but he had to do something to keep the Armor from firing at the retreating soldiers who were all outgunned.

       He fired a volley of shots at it and continued firing until he got the rider’s attention. The Armor faced his way and he stopped firing.

        "That’s right. I’m over here," he thought aloud. "You just keep your eyes on me now."

       Fencross ran away for cover as he fired a few more shots. The Armor fired back a quick energy bolt from the front blaster. It was a thinner blue beam compared to a fully charged one that blew up the warehouse. It was less accurate, too, for the shot missed him by a few feet. Fencross fired back a few more shots that actually struck the hulking Magitek Armor. They did no damage, though.

       The Armor retaliated with three quick shots that almost found their mark had Fencross not jumped for cover behind a parked utility vehicle. The vehicle absorbed the energy bolts. Though the vehicle could never be back in service ever again, it has certainly saved the general’s life. But General Fencross’ problem was not over yet. He stuck his head out to take a quick peek and saw that the Magitek Armor was powering up for a stronger blast. He knew it was too late to run away so he took a few steps backward from the vehicle, held his hands in front of him in a defensive position and cast a spell on himself.

       Safe!"

       A magical barrier formed around him in the shape of a sphere. At the very next split of a second the already ruined vehicle in front of him exploded, sending it up in the air and deadly, flying shrapnel in all directions. The barrier glowed bright yellow like the sun for a quick moment as it absorbed most of the physical threats. But the energy beam from the Armor was just too strong and he was just too close to the vehicle. He was thrown a good ten feet back by the blast and landed roughly on his back. He hit his head roughly on the pavement as well, making him lose his consciousness. Despite the damage that his own body had received, the magical barrier had done a marvelous job keeping him alive.

       The rider turned her attention away from him thinking that the threat was dealt with. The rider soon found new targets.

**********

       "Are you getting all of these, Tayan?"

       "Yes, master. Every move is being documented."

       "Perfect! Just remind the cretins to keep Terra safe at all cost. Though the chances are slim, we cannot afford to lose her."

**********

        A red beam shot straight for one of the barracks. The building caught fire and was quickly burning down to cinders. With the alarm siren having gone off minutes ago, it was likely that the barracks had been evacuated. Two watchtowers came crashing down next due to another red blast from the Magitek Armor. The consciousness deep within the enslaved shell was horrified more than ever at the carnage. The screams coming from everywhere beat on Tina’s conscience as though she was totally at fault.

       From the dark sky, two Spitfires, airborne Magitek Weapons, dove at her while they shot bullet after bullet at an incredible rate. The bullets that hit the Armor simply ricocheted off while the ones on the mark for the rider disintegrated before they could pierce flesh. Only a telltale yellow glimmer that surrounded the rider could explain it.

       The Spitfires past Tina overhead as they regained altitude to try another attack. Her Armor swiveled around and faced the retreating Spitfires. Since the primary blaster was immovable and could not aim at high targets she had to rely on the secondary blasters.

**********

        "Switch to the guided missiles and destroy the Spitfires," Kefka said through his radio.
 

**********

       The arms of the Armor moved as they aimed for the flying threats. Four small missiles shot out from each of them and raced towards the Spitfires as they circled back. The first four all found their target. The Spitfire towards the left exploded in the air, sending broken pieces back to the ground in flaming heaps. As for the other four missiles, two missed while the other two were direct hits. The last Spitfire was out of control. After a few seconds of clumsy attempts of emergency landing the aerial Magitek Weapon crashed into the side of the Bronze Fortress itself.

       Ricocheting sounds were heard from behind. Tina maneuvered the Armor around and saw a line of soldiers with long range blasters, firing a barrage of energy bolts at full intensity. She opened fired still using the secondary blasters. Rapid shots of ice energy did their job of sending the formation into disarray buying her enough time to charge up the primary weapon again.

       Shoom! Hummed the furious red fire beam targeted at the soldiers. It struck the pavement that the soldiers were standing on leaving a crater. The soldiers who were not fast enough in running felt the shock and died instantly.

**********

       "Master! They’ve deployed five Magitek Armors and more are coming!" Tayan said in alarm.

       "Then it’s time to get her out of there. Give my Devouts the signal."

**********

       The first Magitek Armor fired an ice beam at full blast which was dead on target, however, a green magical barrier took the bulk of the blast. Tina’s Armor shook and her console flashed a warning sign. It was damaged but not heavily. Tina fired back with a full Bolt beam. It missed the Armor that fired at her but it completely destroyed another Magitek Armor right behind it.

       The first Armor fired an ice beam again. This time, it missed. Tina initiated a standard evasive maneuver that successfully dodged three other beams from the other Armors. Tina fired rockets from the secondary blasters and they all found their marks. However, the four remaining Armors were only damaged but not completely taken out of commission. Tina followed the rockets up with a fully charged Fire Bolt that finally destroyed the first Armor.

       This caused the three remaining Armor to scatter to change their tactics. One of them fired back two quick Fire Bolts from the left. They hit her Armor squarely to the side. The magical barrier absorbed some of the damage but this only made it weaker. Her Armor was more advanced and more capable than the deployed ones which was why the Empire soldiers were having a hard time to bring it down. But being outnumbered, Tina could never stand a chance in the end.

       Smaller blasts came from behind her again. Another group of soldiers was attempting to take her out from behind. From above three Spitfires arrived to join the fray. They kept circling around waiting to get a clear shot. Her magical barrier was slowly diminishing. Tina stood up from her seat and sent her own fireballs towards the group. Half the soldiers in the group went up in flames, screaming while the other half tried to douse the flames. Tina sat right back down and drove the Armor hard to the right just in time to dodge another red beam from the Armors. She fired back a few of her own but they all missed. She was surrounded now.

       The three Spitfires dove at her in a triangle formation, unleashing a barrage of bullets. The bullets ricocheted off the thick armor plating again while the ones that were on the mark were vaporized by the Safe magic she had on herself. Even that was slowly fading away. The Spitfires flew past her again and circled back together to try again.

       Three red shots from the Armor to the right were fired. Two hit her Armor but the damage was small. One Bolt beam hit her dead on from behind. The Armor rocked roughly, momentarily losing her control. The magical barrier around her had completely dissipated.

       Tina regained control as quickly as she could. She targeted the closest Magitek Armor and fired. Boom! A third Armor exploded. She maneuvered her Armor around to look for the last two Armors. She found them close to each other. Her secondary blasters fired the last of the smaller rockets to keep the Armors off balance. Most of the rockets missed but they served their purpose of keeping the Armors on their toes. The three Spitfires circled back and started pelting her again with bullets. The Safe magic held still but for the last time. Tina stood up from her seat once more and shouted with her right hand aimed at the middle Spitfire.

       "Fire!" she shouted.

       A great ball of fire hit it directly, engulfing it in flames. The pilot lost control and collided with the second Spitfire. They both crashed on the ground in flaming heaps of metal. The third Spitfire lost control as well and crashed into another watchtower.

       Tina wasted no time. She fired a fully-powered blast of Fire beam towards the fourth Armor and put it out of commission permanently. The last Armor fired a weak shot that nevertheless damaged her Armor since her magical barrier had gone out. Tina retorted with her own fire magic aimed at specifically at the rider rather than the Armor. Fortunately, it was all that was needed. The rider jumped off his Armor, screaming in burning pain.

       Tina’s Armor was low in energy and more were coming her way. She could never survive another confrontation with one Magitek Armor again. From a speaker installed on her Magitek console, Kefka’s voice was heard.

       "Game over, Terra. The cavalry’s coming. Stand down your weapons."

       Indeed, smaller types Magitek Armor raced towards her own. They fired shots of Bolt energy that did not do much damage even without her magical barrier. They kept coming fast. One rammed her bigger Armor on the right side that almost tipped over her own. The other two rammed the front and left side.

       The rider from her left side climbed out of his seat and up to hers. She noticed that it was a Devout. The rider grabbed her by her wrist and uttered a single word that made them vanish from the scene.

       "Warp!"

**********

        "Death toll approximated to be sixty. Damage of at least one million kirians worth of property. Elapsed time starting from the destruction of Warehouse 5... ten minutes and forty-three seconds. Hostile threat neutralized by Devouts. Master, this is a new record. The first fifty died in under three minutes."

        "Fifty in three?" Kefka thought. "I think I can do better next time."

       His mad cackle filled the room again.

 ~ END OF THE TERRA EPISODE~

Message from the Author: 

This is just the first part of an ongoing project that I am writing.  The sequel to this story is already up.  It's called The Celestial Rise and you may see it on my website at The Last Magicite.  The sequel focuses on Celes after The Terra Episode.  It tells the story of her ascension to generalship, and the underlying conspiracy of it all. 

If you have questions, please contact me in either of the following means below.
EMAIL:  magicite54@yahoo.com
AIM:  magicite54

Again, my URL is http://www.sealed-gate.net/~magicite.  Please go check it out and spread the word! 
Thanks!

~Lenny (a.ka. magicite54)