Turns out that the rumors were true. Although it's now baren, and the base is steeped in a sea of sand that reaches my knees, the lofty complex witch once held technology that had thought to be gone along with the pre-fall era stands before me. Its towering shadow over the sands was clear evidence that a rocket had indeed launched from here.

It is almost funny, poetic even, that they chose to retake man's next great step here, right upon the same land that we retook our first. It's also disconcerting, the thought of them being diplomatic, the idea of them understanding the cultural importance of the era of the second winds when they were almost barbaric before. It's just scary to think how much they've changed since their defeat almost two decades back. Just exactly what lesson did the Dragon Empire learn at their loss against our forgotten forefathers of Titan?

Besides the rocket coming here was a grave mistake, the trail I had on dark angel has gone cold. This leaves me with few options to go off. Besides the village of Lucas, there is nothing of note to travel towards this far north unless she plans to enter Titans Creek herself. But that's insanity. No... I'll travel to Coubbleston, gather information and supplies there since it's closer than Zannidue. In truth, however, I don't expect to find much in the way of a lead.

I'm sorry master, but I've failed...

Sophie - July 15th, 2764

 

Natalie

She hung firmly above the narrow hallway of the pitch-black base. Her arms and legs pushed firmly against either side of the wall she looked down at the narrow passageway before her.

 

Its twelve-foot drop made it an unlikely place for hurrying guards to stop and check. These men dressed in all brown with hard helmets and black padded shoulders rushed on past her through the halls leading them to the power room that stood just beyond the spot she was hanging from.

 

They entered the inky dark room beyond her with swift confidence of their footing that only people with full use of their senses could have managed that in this, Considering the lengths she took to keep them in the dark this fact worried her. Fuming sparks from the power core inconsistently lit the room beyond in momentary fractions. Being above them in the hall just outside Natalie could see the glow of the means energy through the walls, bleeding through the stone wall like a light dose a clear sheet of ice. She noticed what it was that they were wearing that helped them see in the dark. Over their eyes, they each had a goggle-like object with a single lens protruding out of the center.

 

Natalie never being exposed to such a device in her travels found her gaze transfixed to it. Uncertain on how or why it can help them see in the darkness she mulled over its function with narrowed eyes but that only left her with more questions. Regardless, she was all but certain this was the reason how they suddenly became so well organized despite the lights being out of service. After mulling through the best way for them to move around undetected it left her biting her lip in frustration.

 

I was rash in destroying their core power source. She shook her from the seeping regret. Nothing to be done about it now.

 

In the power room below her laid a number of mechanics, she had to engage them moments after she overcharged the core. She was not sure what could have been done but she could not run the risk of them somehow fixing it and so their bodies remained lifeless on the cold floor, their flashlights still resting in their palms whilst they slumber.

 

It felt like the best cause of action given the circumstance. She thought that whatever it was that they had over their eyes was feeding them info from an outside source. By cutting out the power to the rest of the base shed hoped that whatever data they were being fed from to help see would also be severed. But sadly the plan was a flop.

 

One guard kneeled over one of the passed-out mechanics to check his pulse the others continued to investigate the power core for the source of its damage. Thanks to this they will be tipped off about their presence in no time.

 

“He’s still got a pulse but barely.” One of the men said in a deep but slightly muffled voice as he placed the back of his finger over the man's mouth check his breath also.

 

“They’ve done a number to the power source.” Another one of them grumbled, poking the large unstable cylinder with the end of his rifle sparks suddenly came bursting off it makes him twitch a little response.

 

Someone else sighed a breath later.

 

“You think these guys goofed when they tried tinkering with the thing?” he said after composing himself to look at the others. ”I mean sure they are mechanics but I see Iker and these lot drinking about half an hour before the light went out.”

 

“It has to be. Nobody knows of this place.” Another one of the five said with an audible scoff. “Just because they recently fulfilled their contract.”

 

The man who was inspecting the passed-out mechanic lifts himself up and looks around the room. The other four falls silent and acknowledge his presence like one would a leader of a group.

 

“No visible wounds. And there are spikes of temperature forming around his neck and chest area. It could shock from messing with the power supply.”

 

“You think it has something to do with the storm cloud spotted over that nearby village?” one of them said. His tone was a bit more casual than others.

 

The other men went silent, the one Natalie presumed was the leader still inspecting the body.

 

“Not every day we see storm clouds out here.” another agreed.

 

“Then there’s that whole thing with checking the supply tunnels.”

 

“Think it's a concern from that flood? Most of this blade is below ground. And the bowl-like bedrock makes for a good-”

 

“-Quite.” The one in charge cut in all of a sudden.

 

Stepping away from the body he looked up to the door in ponder making Natalie on the other side of it tense up. Just then a dreaded thought ran through her mind. What if the device their devices don’t just somehow help them see in the dark, what if it enabled them to see through walls and at living things just like her? Suddenly she felt the presence of eyes hitting her. With her breath held Natalie’s palms began to grow sweaty making supporting herself above the hallway ceiling harder to maintain. She was all but certain that he could see her through the wall.

 

For what felt like an eternity waiting for a reaction from him she held up. Even fighting the urge to go for a primitive strike she held her ground, willing herself to become the ceiling she had her back up against. After a long moment the likely leader of the five, at last, looking back at his men thus taking a load of Natalie’s mind in the possess.

 

“The com’s to the HQ is down.” he said, “So our ears on the current happenings and ‘rumors’... are not going to be as reliable keeping an eye out until that changes.”

 

Looking at the casual spoken one whilst he bit on the words in diastase as he swayed on a step in slight discomfort. With a satisfied nod, the leader went on.

 

“If there is someone here then they have already done what they set out to do in this room. We will split up into two groups and fan through these halls.” He ordered as he points out two fingers to the men he wants beside himself and prodded them to follow him down the hall opposite Natalie leaving the last two to go down the one to the left of her.

 

With their presence gone Natalie released a breath, she forgot she was holding. There was no longer anyone around. But… even then something felt off. A stir in the darkness made the hairs on her neck stand up. Almost as if…

 

There are eyes on me. Her mind whispered for fear of being heard.

 

This notion betrayed her local train of thought causing conflict to bud within her senses. Even then the feeling of eyes lingering on her was still there, piercing through her back it kept her from dropping off the ceiling. On instinct, she turned around to look at the ceiling to her back.

She spotted a load of activity of various people moving around the many layers of floors and halls, her earlier self-panic paused due to the oblivious nature of the sight before her. It mainly consisted of armed men in search of them. It was all the same old scene she’d bear witness to since she's entered here. There was nobody there who could see her from where she was in such a manner.

 

One of them! Her mind persisted despite everything.

 

The thought echoed in her skull like a hollow bell, as her eyes tried to lock onto each individual that moved past her line of sight to find this ‘one’ amongst them the chill in her body had seeped and settled.

 

It was just to the corner of her eye, up far in the distance. Seven, perhaps eight floors above her own, it was there that both her frozen body and scrambled mind unified to the findings of their rattlement. Their reason for being on edge had found an answer in the shape of a man, the sense that his sighting gave her, terror, sharp and focused. He sat on a stool amongst others. Neither walking nor moving he was all but drowned out by the many armed men marching around the base, too idle to even warrant a passing gaze. And yet... her eyes were glued to his glowing life force as if it were a lonesome sun among shooting stars. His pull on her made Natalie question her own sanity on such a paradoxical man.

 

It was hard to see from her position, from what little she could make out she was all but sure that he was looking directly at her.

 

Impossible! She won’t accept it! She can’t. He was just looking down at what would be the ground to his floor-it had to be. Still... her body would not dare move. It was then when wrapped up in her fear that she spotted the outlines of a sinister smile form on his face.

 

She wanted to leap out of her skin right then and there. Like a cat under threat, she kept idle praying that the danger won’t react. Suddenly all went white as foot stomped in blocking her line of sight, broken from the spell presence Natalie kicked herself off the ceiling landing back onto the ground spooked. Instantly she shot back up to where she spotted the person looking at her. It was jarring to make out which one was which now that she was looking up to them instead of over her shoulder. But even looking at each one of the chairs she could not find one man looking down in her direction.

 

Did she imagine it?

 

Her racing heart and cold sweaty palms told her otherwise, this made Natalie grit her teeth. Wiping the sweat from her hand onto her purple vest she steeled herself once again.

 

Get it together! She thought, beckoning her will to obey.

 

This was different from last time, she had no plans on getting caught like she had all them years ago. Looking downward with her purple eyes she can just about make out her goal. A room full of people wearing long coats in what was most likely a lab, and just beside their lab in the next room to their right: A cell room with a number of smaller people curled up, each sharing a cell among them. They were the children they’d just kidnapped.

 

The room itself was small, Cages pushed against all the walls taking up most of the space that there was only really leaving space for opening the cages from the middle of the room. Two doors were the only way into the room itself. One led to the lab to its left, the other was guarded by two armed men standing on the other side facing a short hallway.

 

Looking at them curled up made her eyes soften and her chests squeeze tight with remorse. At that moment a plan began to assemble in her mind.

 

They will rue the day! That single thought burned throughout her body like an echo.

 

Having found her focus Natalie stood back up. She knew where she wanted to go but needed Andrew to be able to move freely in order to make it work. Her eyes lock onto the two men that split up from the other three to what was now her right. Still scanning the floor Natalie narrowed her eyes on the group that looked less discipline, she did not pay the closest attention to which one said what but she was that one of them was the man who was running his lips. Gathering her mind for the task at hand she begins her hunt of them for the device over their head.

 

~#~

 

Andrew

 

Having somehow kept himself from being caught Andrew sits there, back pressed to the corner. The darkness of the room blinding and absolute as if blindfolded. Being well acquainted with the blanket of darkness however he just sat there, his back to the wall his only tether to the world. With that small comfort, his mind simply floated adrift. He thought back to what Natalie last did before leaving him there.

 

It had been only five minutes before he became almost certain that he was about to be found and killed. Being thin on options he was holding his breath until he resorted to his last-ditch effort. Reaching out for father's sword he activated his dark knight armor causing it to shroud him in a layer of the dark mist-like energy.

 

Switching his handle to a forehand grip he spins the sword as carefully as he could as to not scrape its edges on the enclosed shelves and wall. Calling forth -lone shadow- the brushing of his cloak fabric rustled a little noise. Hearing this one of the armed men went over to investigate the small gap between the crate and wall leading into the corner. As he peered inside he, however, saw nobody there save for smaller boxes and a spot right where Andrew was. Nobody was there but the spot made him narrow his eyes in confusion. Couching the spot with his finger he mumbles the word 'warm' under his breath before sliding out of the gap to go back to his group. He told them that it was all clear save for a warn patch that was shaped like a person sitting down indicate doing that someone had been there recent;y and so they need to double their search, determined to meet that requirement they leave without a moment's delay putting behind the isle of supply crates.

 

In the corner between the large crate and wall laid a spot that was shaded darker than the already blackened room. From that spot Andrew suddenly emerged back to where he once was, his chest gasping for air.

 

That was too flipping close!!

 

Catching his breath he slumped his head back on the wall to calm himself down. Putting his sword away he fought his bereaving in this throat as to listen out again encase anyone was still around before allowing the much-needed air open passage to his lungs once again.

Ever since then he'd just been sitting in wait…

He tried to close his eyes and calm himself but given how dark it was the effort was hardly fruitful. Putting together a number of theories as to where Natalie could be right now he tried to clog his mind with positive thoughts and just outright distract himself from his long-going and biggest fear.

 

His old friend, darkness.

 

Most of all though; he was kicking himself for being unable to do something at this moment in time to assist Natalie in her fight. It was after all why he was in such a compromising place.

Being a dark knight he always found it ironic that although his power got an edge when enveloped in the heart of the night it would (more times than not) be too dark for him to even make good use of it.

 

He would not say he was ticked off about it. Well… not really. It was fairer to say that he found it just plain unfair.

 

Aqua knights would get a sharp edge in a battle when surrounded by water, earth knights had it good wherever they used their affinity around on rock or soil which was damn well often-and he did not even want to get started on the gale knights.

 

‘If he breathes,’ a sharp snort left his nose.

 

All of them gained an edge in their field of affinity. One that was plausible with clear fixed conditions. Whilst he, Andrew Clark son of Shinichi Clark gets the edge at the most inconvenient time of day.

 

What’s worse is that other than his father he knows nobody else who shares the same affinity he has. Just as Andrew was in the thick of finding something to pinpoint his inconvenience towards he heard footsteps edging in closer to his location.

 

Straightening to alert he tries to widen his hearing as to get a sense of who it was that entered. The footsteps were light and had a kind of rhythm to them. Hearing them edge closer to his location he got up on the balls of his feet in caution. His mind tries to make out the intent of the person through sound alone.

 

A part of him was willing to wager that it was Natalie, the rest of him wisely kept its wits about. By the time he came out of his internal debate he heard nothing at all. There was no movement, just the distinct feeling of another presence filling the room. Ears peaked with all his concentration he listens out for a whisper, a breath, anything.

 

“Andrew?” a filmier voice was way too close for comfort whispered making Andrew shoot up and almost trip over his own feet.

 

Recovering he leans onto the wall for support.

 

“Natalie?” Andrew said relieved to hear her, sort of.

 

“It’s just me.” She said, her tone indicating that she just saw his half trip. Uncertain whether to be worried or smile it sounded like she was doing a bit of both.

 

You could have started with ‘It’s just me?’ first. Andrew though.

 

“Where were you?” Andrew picked up. “And you mind guiding me through this gap?”

 

Andrew reached out his hand expecting her to take hold of it, instead, he felt her hand reach towards his eyes, trying to strap a something atop his head.

 

“What are yo-” Andrew said as he tried to counterbalance the tugging and pulling Natalie had to do to attach the stretchy band to the back of his bread-lock hair in a ponytail.

 

As the front part of this device slid over his eyes he was shocked to see what looked to be his palm in front of him except its skin was glowed yellow as it supported his weight against the wall.

 

Not only that but the room itself had taken bizarre colors of purple and blue, far different than what he'd had imagined it. It was not until seeing Natalie behind him on the other side of the gap stepping back, however, that what he saw started to make some kind of funny scene. With a mix of glowing red and yellow’s on her face. Her long hair came out a faint purple. Green and some purple on her chest and the rest mainly a vibrant yellow that Andrew gathered that what he saw was not representative of what was truly there.

 

As puzzling as it was for him to wrap his head around he used this newfound sight to maneuver himself out of the small crate and wall space and stand in front to Natalie. Out of the gap, his curiosity pulls him back to working out what it was that he was seeing. In the endeavor, he tried to remove the device to see what happens but Natalie quickly stepped in and prevented him from doing so.

 

“This will help you see.” She commented as she stepped away again whilst tucking a strand of her purple hair behind her ear with a finger, things just looked so odd like this.

 

“What is this?” Andrew asked, he touched the device to get an idea of what was wrapped around his face. His eyes narrowed when he felt the single lenses sticking out like a short telescope by the bridge of his nose.

 

“Thermal goggles,” Natalie said. “It’s what they are using to move around in the darkness.”

 

“Oh,” Andrew pushed out subconsciously, he was still busy fiddling.

 

If he said he understood what that meant he would be lying. What he did gather however was that this device is enabling him to see. He could not make up his mind on how he felt about the inch-long nozzle sticking out the already thick goggles but he will have to make do. It was then that he noticed Natalie looking up at the ceiling, holding her arm she looked withdrawn, like she was exposed to unwanted eyes. A detail he would have overlooked if he could see with his naked eye he felt, this device made the art of seeing a new experience, highlighting her presence to him in a vivid glome of colors.

 

“What is it?” Andrew asked before he recollected.

 

Natalie turns around to him, he could almost forgive her forgetting that he was standing there. Closing her eyes she takes a breath to relax, shaking her head while doing so.

 

“Nothing.” She mumbled. It almost sounded like she was trying to convince herself. This made Andrew pause.

 

“You saw the children right? Is that where there they are being kept?” Again his mouth just moved without thinking.

 

She gave a dismissive shake of the head as she looked back at him.

 

“Let’s keep moving. I’ll explain what’s happening as we reach them.”

 

She makes her way through the isle of crates that led out of the room. Andrew nodded to himself before he followed suit.

 

The two of them ran through the tall halls of the blacked-out building, cutting corners and knocking down doors with Natalie leading she rushed through hallways whilst ramming doors past doors. All the while she catches Andrew up on what she discovered and what she had done since their time apart.

 

“They are further underground?!” Andrew said in shock.

 

Natalie ramd through another door, almost toppling she lowers her center to the ground as to land on her feet and cut to the right. Andrew latching onto the wall flung himself around the same direction and picked up his pace. Natalie was now running at full sprint.

 

“Not just the children, all the armed men in the building have all suddenly started to gather lower underground,” Natalie said whilst mid-sprint. “I don’t like this!”

 

This explained to him how they are so free to run in the hall like they are whilst talking so loudly. It also explained why Natalie was in such a rush. But even so, something was bugging him.

 

“When we get them how are we going to get them out of the base?” he asked.

 

Natalie suddenly slides to a halt right around the corner of the hall they were running down. Putting her hand out to signal Andrew to stop he did so sticking himself against the wall much like she was. Moments later Andrew hears the constant tapping of boots echoes through the floor of the hallway coming from around the corner.

 

They fade soon after behind the sound of a door closing. Natalie leaning against the wall looks back to Andrew now more relaxed than a moment ago.

 

“I made the mistake of cutting off their core power source.” She whispers. “This means they are all using the flights of stairs on either side of this place to get down since the elevator is out of order.”

 

“So we have to likely guide the children out of here through the line of the enemy?” Andrew asked.

 

He watched her as she looks up at her own hands.

 

“If I can become a power source for the lift. We can take them to the ground floor, slip them through this loophole I foolishly made.” She looks back at Andrew who nodes in response. He was all on-board for it until her eyes darkened. “We will likely get caught from this point onwards, so we will have to distract them until they escape out of this place.”

 

“When do you think we will likely blow our cover?”

 

“The labs,” Natalie said looking down. “I can only just make them out from here. But there’s something happening around there. I can make out the cells which they are in. Of course, it’s neighboured to the lab for the sake of convince.”

 

Her voice turned cold by the end of her sentence.

 

I guess it should be no surprise that she knows these things. Andrew pondered to himself.

Meanwhile, Natalie peered through the confounds of the walls with her purple eyes to assess the current situation. Deeming them satisfactory she taps Andrew out of his daydream.

 

“Those men have reached the floor they wanted. It’s clear.” She said as she moved around the corner and passes the double doors to her right. Andrew taking point just behind her.

 

A long flight of steps lay spread out before them. Both of them begin traveling down them as fast as they could. Their steps echoed as they met the steel stairs. Even in this fast descent down however Andrew could not help but notice Natalie take this moment to once again look upward. He could not fathom what it was that could be up there that had captivated her now twice in a row. But whatever it was, if it was anything at all he could feel the pressure of it weighing in on him. As they went down deeper into the belly of the beast that weighted feeling grew more and more profound which was oddly comforting.