Chapter Seven 

Part Two: A Beacon Of Hope

 The daylight shone through the mesh of leaves. The blue sky could be seen in glimpses through tree breaks, tall shadowed pines stretching up like arrows into the sky, with streaks of white clouds against the morning. Wind slipping through leaves, crackling. The forest was a mere speck within the walls of the Evangelist Federation, and yet it still stretched on for miles. The only noise was the calm rustling of the trees from the light breeze, but it wasn’t going to remain that way for long. 

The surrounding air began to suddenly heat up, to the point that the nearby foliage began to rapidly wither and die. In the heart of the forest a rip in space and time began to form; loud crackling filled the air as the forming rift reduced anything it touched into ash. A blast of energy flew from the opening, ripping entire trees from their roots. It was an Abyssiti rift. A large void-like silhouette exited the portal followed by a second, smaller one with several legs. They creeped out and into the forest within Federation territory.

  Dart intently stared at Soleria Illow. She was the one that had them pulled out of their home unexpectedly. An Intrinsic with bright golden eyes of an optimist. Saying Dart was suspicious of her motives was an understatement; she couldn’t place why someone of her status would want anything to do with a Batch like them. 

“My name is Soleria Illow, I’m your new Observer!” She smiled at the three before her. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you! Oh- and goodmorning!”

Quill and Fives were standing next to each other, both had completely dumbfounded looks on their faces. Quill tilted her head quizzically, while a look of puzzlement crossed Fives’ face. They’ve never seen an Intrinsic be this eager to speak to them, let alone thrilled. Yet, she seemed genuinely happy to see the trio, and she was. Soleria hardly got any sleep the night before due to her anticipation for this moment.

“Yeah. Likewise.” Responded Dart nochlantely to Soleria’s greeting. 

“It’s nice to meet you too!” Exclaimed both Fives and Quill at the same time, and manor. It was almost like they rehearsed it. 

Duo was shadowing the group as they interacted with Soleria, but she wasn’t paying them any mind. Duo was cautiously looking around. She could feel a tension building up in her chest. Being back in the Southern Enclosure brought back nothing but miserable memories of her time here. Duo collected herself; she wasn’t in her right mind at the moment. The Captain exhaled and rubbed her fingers up against her temples. As long as “he” wasn’t here, she could manage.

“Now, may you all follow me? I will be showing you all where you’ll be staying from now on!” Beamed Soleria as she beckoned the trio to walk with her. 

“You too, Captain!” She called out to Duo. 

The 4 trailed behind Soleria as she led them further into the Southern Enclosure. The group walked down long empty paved roads as their feet clunked against the brick. Dart was at the back of the pack, with Duo walking ahead of her. Each side of the paths were lined with apartments, which served as units living quarters. 

Fives looked about the Enclosure, he just saw buildings that seemed like they were vacant, coupled with empty weapon racks. Fives felt as if that was odd especially during the day time. The Enclosure he was from was always filled with people, patrolling or at least running about.

“What..is this place used for?” He asked out of curiosity.

Duo was lost in thought, so Fives’ question went over her head completely. Soleria took it upon herself to answer the question. She cleared her throat to explain.

“This District of the Enclosure is used to house our Abyssus Units, the defense of the Evangelist Federation! They fight the Abyssiti head on so we don’t have to!” She said full of pride.

Dart eyed her as though her bullshit meter was ticking into the red zone.

“Tch. By that…which “we” are you referring to?” Mumbled Dart to herself. She was aware that thanks to the countless lives lost, by units like her, the Intrinsic can go their whole lives without ever laying an eye on an Abyssiti. 

However, Captain Duo overheard Dart’s comment and was briefly taken aback by it, but she decided not to address it. As she wasn’t entirely wrong. Dart was walking behind Duo, and scoffed.

“Where is everyone else?” Asked Quill, noticing the area was practically empty.

Soleria paused, she didn’t quite know the answer to that one. When she arrived here first thing in the morning she only saw one or two people at most. The group walked in silence for a moment. 

“Well, to put it simply, they are all either busy hunting Abyssiti…or deceased.” Stated Duo bluntly. 

Quill and Fives exchanged concerned looks. They both didn’t like the sound of that. This place was nothing like the Enclosure they’ve spent the last 7 years in. The atmosphere here was dreary.

“Well now…uh..that really…” Quill was speechless. Fives felt the same way. 

“That really… sucks.” Muttered Fives, completing Quill’s sentence for her. 

They continued on their way, with Soleria guiding them to their next location. She was leading the group, front and center, as everyone else staggered a bit behind. Almost like the reality of what Duo said didn’t sink in; Soleria seemed to be the only one still motivated. 

During their walk, unexpectedly, they happened to pass a team of three on the pathway. It was a Batch of Abyssus Units and they were about to cross paths with Soleria’s small party. They were walking at a casual pace; then the other trio stared at Dart, Fives and Quill with distaste. Fives felt crushed by their judgmental glare. Quill made eye contact with a tall guy with blonde hair that was pulled back into a wolf tail. They exchanged looks. Quill turned away and refused to look back; his eyes had nothing but cruelty behind them, and it scared her. As the two groups passed by each other, the leader of the Abyssus squad made brief eye contact with Dart. She couldn’t make it out, due to the morning sun, but it looked like his hair was gold. His sharp teal eyes glared at her as he scowled. Dart was unfazed by his intimidation and returned the look; the Abyssus Unit in response, simply grinned and continued on his way. 

“Who are they, Captain?” asked Dart to Duo, while looking back at the girl of the group. She had lavender hair that bounced with each step she took.

Duo waited for them to walk far enough away so they couldn’t hear. Soleria glanced back at the group, as she didn’t know much about the Human Restoration Project, other than the common knowledge for a member of a council.

“Those are a trio of Abyssus Units. If I recall 253-T is their Batch leader, however I would not suggest speaking with them, for your own sake keep your distance.” Ordered Duo. 

They continued their commute until Soleria stopped in front of a large pair of doors. It was the double doors of The Beacon. She placed her hand on the keypad, however before opening it she turned to Dart. 

“Is this the place where we’ll be staying?” Asked Dart.

Soleria smiled. “Yes, this is your living quarters now.”

Fives looked up at the towering facility with twinkles in his eyes. He couldn’t even see the top. “Woah! It’s huge! Like 3 no 10 times larger than our Living barracks!” He cheered. The Beacon was far larger than his inaccurate comparison. 

Soleria pushed open the giant metal doors with all her might. As it creaked it revealed a chamber. Everyone peeked inside, and to their surprise the large entrance room was completely empty, with stairs on both sides leading to a hallway. Directly in front of the entrance was an elevator, presumably to get to the other floors of the tower. It was the Lobby of  The Beacon, it’s architecture was quite bland for Soleria’s taste, but Five’s mouth dropped on the spot. To the Batch from the Front Line Enclosure this standard looking room was a spectacle to them. 

“Whoa!!! This…This is unreal!” Exclaimed Quill, her voice filled with childlike wonder. Soleria was thrilled by her reaction. She beamed. 

“Ah! I’m glad you like it-” she waved her hand as though she was pulling something out of the sky- “I had to pull a lot of strings to be able to get this entire building for you all!”

She was exaggerating a bit, but she wanted them to feel appreciated. Like she would put in the hassle for them. 

“This is the ground floor. Rather, the lobby.” Began Duo, as she took the lead. 

Duo pointed to the elevator in front of them. “This elevator leads to the other 10 floors and 2 basements. At the very top floor is the Arboretum.” She explained. “The bedrooms are on the second floor. You can either take the stairs or the elevator.”

Dart folded her arms and stayed quiet while Fives and Quill marveled at their new home. Dart was a bit skeptical. 

“It’s…almost too good to be true.” Claimed Dart. 

Soleria took note of that. “Well it’s true 773-A! This facility needs to be spacious enough for all six of you, units!” Stated Soleria.

Dart and Quill looked at each other and then back at the Intrinsic before them. It was obvious there were only 3 of them, not counting Duo. 

Quill immediately felt compelled to investigate.

“Six? There’s only three of us, who are the other three?” Asked Quill curiously. 

Duo pulled out an Slate, and began to swipe at the screen. She was searching for that information.

“I requested for two Batches! Batch:26A is one, and the other…” Soleria pondered for a moment. She never confirmed with Arsyle who the other 3 units would be. She said it was up to him. “I suppose it's a mystery! Not even I know who they will be.”

Fives was stumped. “If you don’t know who they are, they aren’t here.” Fives paused briefly for dramatic effect. “Then…where are they??”