Maelstrom (Classic Edition)

## MAELSTROM

AUTHOR'S NOTES CAN BE FOUND HERE, and if you're not afraid of spoilers I highly recommend them because they either explain or apologize for a lot of the weird decisions that younger me made when writing this story xD (it's been a good couple of years so this is... not as well written as everything else).

*I dedicate this book to three very important individuals. (At least, after remember that book dedications are actually a* thing *that people do. The first: Celotape, who was there for the earliest versions of this story and others. I like to think that if you'd look over the writing I've done now, you'd be proud. The second: Jonna. One of my idols, and the first person to encourage me upon my return to writing. It was just the motivation I needed. And the third: James. My most outspoken supporter over the year it took to write this thing. Couldn't have done it without you either, buddy.*

### ***PROLOGUE***

Aaron Wilder, Rank 1 Sentinel knight, sighed in exasperation
as he sheathed his basic shortsword. The last stromlings on the Avant Gardens
plains had, for the time being, all been smashed and there was nothing much do
be done. He walked back inside the Sentinel Base camp, where he handed in his
spoils to Beck Strongheart and sat down, taking off his helmet before rummaging
through his pack to see what he could find. He heard footsteps, and then his
best friend Will crouched beside him.

"Hey." Will said.

"Hey." Acknowledged Aaron.

"You find anything good?" Will questioned.

Aaron kept looking. "No, not really. A few bits and
pieces, that's about it."

"Right." Will nodded. "I'm going to race up
the monument with the others. You coming?"

"In a bit." Said Aaron. "First, I've got to
do a bit more grinding, get a few more tokens-"

"Are you really still looking for loot?" Exclaimed
Will, rolling his eyes. "You could easily rank up if you want to, you know
that."

"I know Will, I just... I just feel like more needs to
be done here. I can keep helping out here." Aaron protested.

Will looked at his friend.

"Fine." He conceded. "But don't be too long.
We'll wait at the bottom of the monument for fifteen minutes, max."

"Ok." Aaron said. "See you there Will."

"See you in a bit." Will agreed, and left.

Aaron put his helmet in his bag before stepping towards the
wall. The stromlings had inexplicably reappeared, as usual, and there were even
a couple of mechs wandering the hills. Aaron unsheathed his sword, before walking
boldly out of the gate. A stromling ran at him, but Aaron coolly blocked the
blade before running through the servant of darkness with his sword. Suddenly,
a strange light caught Aaron's eye. It was a purple glow, and it seemed to be
coming from the Maelstrom Mine. Regretfully, Aaron looked back at the monument,
where his friends were.

"Sorry Will." He murmured, before walking towards
the mine. "But this might take a little longer than fifteen
minutes..."

As Aaron walked towards the mine, a sense of foreboding
overcame him. Nervously, he raised his sword in front of him before walking
into the cave entrance. The whole cave, normally filled with Dark Spiderlings,
was empty. This, whilst good news, was one of the most unsettling things Aaron
had ever seen. There was no life in the cave at all. No insects, arachnids,
infected creatures or plants. It was eerie.

Aaron looked around for what had brought him in, and sure
enough he found the source of the purple glow. Sitting in a crevice between two
boulders at the back of the cave was a small purple gem. It glinted dimly, and Aaron
couldn't help but think how the small glow attracted him in the first
place.

Suddenly a terrible screech echoed throughout the cavern,
and Aaron spun around as Dark Spiderlings emerged from the shadows. He drew his
sword as the lead spiderling shot balls of concentrated maelstrom energy at
him. Aaron dodged the first two and deflected the third, before drawing back
his arm and throwing his sword into the face of the Spiderling who fired the
shots.

The creature screeched in agony, and fell back behind is
brethren. But the other Spiderlings advanced, and now Aaron had no weapon. He
leaped onto the back of a Spiderling, and clung on as it bucked around wildly.
But on seeing the other creatures charge their weapons, he jumped off and let
the Spiderling he had just hung on to be hit by the blasts itself.

Abruptly yet another Spiderling rushed up behind him and
smacked Aaron's head, sending him sprawling. On trying to rise, a blast of pain
shot through his body. Feeling the back of his head with his hand, he detected
a large cut that stung like anything. Surrounded and with no weapon, Aaron
picked himself up and made a mad dash for the crystal, instinct and some
strange gut feeling driving him on.

Behind him, Aaron could hear the spiderlings closing in.
Using all his energy in a final leap, he jumped and grabbed the crystal.

### ***CHAPTER 1: HOSPITALISATION***

Aaron gasped as he sat up quickly, ignoring a
"Woa!" from the room. Breathing heavily, he blinked as sweat rolled
down his face. He looked around, and noticed he appeared to be in a hospital
ward. Parts of his body, notably his head, were wired up to machines. There was
even the stereotypical heartbeat monitor beside him. Also in the room was Will,
who had started when he woke up and was now staring at him as if he had
destroyed Nexus Tower.

"Will?" Aaron asked, trying to rise further but
receiving a spasm of pain for his troubles. Groaning, he slumped back down in
defeat.

"Aaron?!" Will responded incredulously. "What
the brick?! You were smashed!"

"Yeah, I know." Muttered Aaron, not really taking
in what Will was saying. "I feel bad enough."

"No, really." Continued Will. "You were gone,
extinct, kaput-you just came back to life!"

"Wait- seriously?" Aaron opened his eyes fully for
the first time. "Like, actually smashed?"

Will nodded, now deadly serious. "Yeah! The others were
so worried; Skipper, Turbo, Suli, Anna, Plue-all of them were in here at some
point!"

Aaron looked up. "Really? Even Plue?"

Aaron assumed that if he really had been smashed his
girlfriend, Plue, would have moved on to somebody else. Even in a relationship,
it was best not to get too attached to a Sentinel. They were always getting
themselves killed in stupid yet heroic ways. It was what they were most
infamous for, although this was outweighed by the good things about them. Then
again, Plue was a Sentinel herself, so maybe...?"

"How are the others anyway? Are they all still
good?"

"Alive and kicking, my friend." Smiled Will. But
then his positive expression faded. "There is something else you need to
know, though."

"What?" Asked Aaron, urgently.

"Aaron..." Said Will, slowly, "you were
asleep for-"

"Thirteen days." Came a voice from the door, and
Doctor Albert Overbuild entered the room.

"Welcome back, sir." He said. Then he smiled.
"We have a lot to discuss."

Suddenly Aaron's voice failed him, and it wasn't due to the
fact he had just come out of a coma.

"Th-thirteen months?" He murmured.

"Yes." Said Overbuild. "And I'm sad to say
we're losing this war. You had to be moved from hospital to hospital to keep
you from falling into maelstrom hands."

Aaron scoffed. "You make it sound like I'm important."

Overbuild looked at him. "Frankly, you are."

"But... what are you doing here? How am I so
important...?”

Aaron drew off his speech as Overbuild whipped out a mirror
and gave it to Aaron. Aaron looked into it, and the first thing he noticed was
that his face looked the same as he remembered. A good start. He then looked
around, and saw it.

It was hard to see, but a faint image was reflecting off the
window he was sitting in front of. The reflection enabled Aaron to just see the
back of his head.

On the head was an ugly purple scar, which seemed to spawn
the same kind of mist seen in highly infected areas.

For the second time in as many minutes, his voice failed
him.

"I don't... what-"

"Is that?" Overbuild finished. "That is a
maelstrom infected wound, the kind inflicted by servants of the maelstrom and
is the kind that has been responsible for the majority of our casualties
throughout the war. And yet, you have had that scar on the back of your head
for over a year, and yet never even come close to being infected or
smashing. *That,*" he said, leaning in closer, "is why
you're important."

Aaron studied the wound again. It looked like any
common-or-garden cut, if a little oversized. But there was something about its
nature that frightened him. He looked at Overbuild.

"With all due respect sir, I think this is a little too
much for me to take in at the moment."

"Of course." The doctor dismissed. "We can
discuss this later. Right now, I'm sure you'd like to say hello to your
friends. And be nice..." He leaned in closer.

"Remember, for them... it's
been thirteen days..."

A few weeks later, Aaron took a deep breath and stepped
outside the hospital doors, into the sunlight. Instantly he sighed in ecstasy.
The sunlight was beautiful, and it was a gorgeous day. The sort of day that
made you feel glad to be alive. The light that shined down from the sky was
just the right temperature, like a warm shower. Birds flew overhead, and on the
cliffs Aaron could see a rare heard of Triceratops walking along. There was no
trace of maelstrom, and all that could be viewed from Aaron's current angle was
green and blue. The air was perfect, a light breeze, and the sweet outdoors air
flew into the lungs of all those who breathed it, clearing their minds as well
as their respiratory system.

Aaron would have taken in more, but then he saw a group of
people at the foot of the stairs. Not wishing to keep his friends waiting any
longer, he hopped down the steps 4 at a time to greet them. He walked hurriedly
over to his friends, who by now had spotted him and were waving
excitedly.

"Glad you could join us!" Exclaimed Will. Aaron
laughed as he bounded down the stairs.

"Anytime!" He exclaimed.

"Except the last two weeks!" Someone yelled.

"Ah, shut up!" Aaron retorted. "Least it's
not three!"

This got one or two laughs.

"How's the head?" Came a voice. Looking behind
him, Aaron saw his girlfriend approaching. Her long blonde hair was in a
ponytail, and her warm green eyes sparkled with kindness.

"Plue." He grinned, and the pair embraced.
"It's good to see you."

They broke apart, and Plue smiled at him. "You didn't
answer my question." She reminded.

"Oh, right." He said, rubbing the scar. "It's
fine."

Plue raised an eyebrow. "No pain or anything?"

Aaron shook his head. "Nope. Whatever happened, I'm
safe."

She nodded, and chewed her thumb nervously. "Good. Can
I talk to in private for a moment?"

Aaron said, "Sure," and led her away from the
group. When they were alone, she dropped her smile and stared at him seriously.

"Aaron, I'm really concerned about you." She said.

"Why?" He asked. "I'm fine."

"I don't think you are." She replied. "When
you were in the hospital, you kept... your heart kept stopping."

Aaron raised an eyebrow, and placed her hand on his chest.
"It's beating now."

She pulled her hand away. "Yes, and that's good, but
I'm also worried about something else."

"Okay, shoot."

"Doctor Overbuild."

If Aaron had been drinking something, at this point he would
have spat it out. As it was, his mouth flopped open and he had a hard time
closing it and saying:

"Overbuild? Why?"

"Why?" She repeated. "He kept requesting
permission to run all these tests, programs, simulations - my point is that I
don't think he sees you as a human anymore! I think he sees you as an anomaly
to be experimented on, and I think you should be careful!"

Aaron smiled. "I will be careful. I
promise."

### ***CHAPTER 2: STATISTICALLY SPEAKING…***

"So you really remember nothing?" Asked Will, not
for the first time that afternoon.

"No, nothing! Stop asking me as if it's going to
magically improve my memory!" Exclaimed Aaron in frustration.

"Sorry, I'm just curious." Admitted Will.

"I kinda figured that." Sighed Aaron.

It had been a few weeks since Aaron had been discharged from
the hospital, and so far it was business as usual; even if Will was being
annoying in his persistence at asking what had happened. The pair of them were
currently in their Nexus Force lodgings, with Will playing a console game and Aaron
reading.

"I told you, I don't remember a thing. Not even what I
could feel! All I remember is that I didn't have my helmet on."

Will raised an eyebrow. "How would that be
significant?" He inquired. Aaron, in response, turned round and indicated
his still glowing cut.

"Ah." Will said, now understanding, and returned
to his game.

"Besides, it can't be much of a big deal, right?"
Asked Aaron.

"What do you mean?" Returned Will.

"Well, Overbuild hinted that I was important and kept
having to be saved. But I feel like that's more to do with "scientific
potential," or whatever. I'm smart but I can't figure this out." He
sighed, and rubbed the scar. "Besides, it's not like I can do anything
special."

"What do you mean by special?"

"Well... I don't know, say.... uh... walk through
wall-"

This was as far as Aaron went. As he talked, he had sat up
and leaned on the wall beside him. Suddenly, his arm seemed to melt into shadow
and he fell INTO the wall.

Will watched in awe as the streak of darkness that was his
best friend moved spastically around the wall before ending up on the other
side of the room. First an arm stuck out, than a head and chest. Eventually, Aaron
reformed into his physical self and leant on his knees to get his breath back.

"Well, you can't walk through walls," admitted
Will, "but you can PHASE through 'em."

"What..." Aaron began, before breathing heavily.
He tried again. "What was that?"

"I have no idea." Said Will. "You seemed to
turn into shadow... or something? It looked like you were phasing. I think. I
don't know, I wasn't really paying attention."

Aaron raised an eyebrow quizzically. "HOW were you not
paying attention?"

"I was busier wondering how you turned into a
shadow." Retorted Will.

Aaron shrugged. "Fair enough." He said. But as he
stretched out his hand, what looked like a laser blast fired out of his palm
and slammed into a wall, leaving a small crater and a tinge of smoke in the
air.

The pair were silent. Eventually Will said,

"Sooo... you can shoot lasers now."

"That's not all I can do." Reminded Aaron, as he
phased back into the floor before rematerializing behind Will and tapping him
on the shoulder.

"Woa!" Will exclaimed.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this stuff." Aaron
grinned.

"What else can you do?" Asked Will. Aaron thought.
"No idea. We'll have to do some testing. For example." He finished,
before casually flicking his wrist. Instantly maelstrom webbing, the kind you
would get from spiderlings, shot across the room and hit the other side of the
wall.

"I see what you mean by testing." Remarked Will.

"I wonder..." Murmured Aaron. He rummaged around
in his pack, but then he saw something.

"Oh." He said softly.

"What?" Asked Will. "What? What is
it?"

"It's..." Aaron's speech failed him. Sitting at
the bottom of the bag was the purple crystal that Aaron had seen in the mines.
It glowed its eerie purple light, illuminating their faces.

"No. Way." Said Will.

"What..." What IS that?" Asked Will.

Aaron reached into his pack and pulled out the crystal,
holding it in his outstretched hand. It was hypnotically fascinating, and he
could have stared at if for hours if not for Will.

"Can I hold it?" Asked Will. Aaron turned around
and stared at him.

"Will." Aaron said slowly. "This isn't show
and tell at a school. This is a strange, powerful crystal that has given me
maelstrom themed superpowers."

"I still wanna hold it!" Protested Will. Sighing, Aaron
dropped the crystal into Will's hand. Instantly, Will cursed and snatched his hand
back. The gem bounced on the floor before Aaron dived for it and picked it up,
somehow not phasing through the floor again.

"What was that?" Aaron asked.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Exclaimed Will. "It started to
infect me!" Will held out his hand, and Aaron saw the tell-tale purple
mist spreading towards Will's wrist.

"Don't panic." Reassured Aaron. "I've got
this." He held out his hand, and the mist immediately left Will's hand and
travelled to his own. But instead of infecting him, it seemed to disappear. Aaron
himself suddenly felt a rush of energy, as if he had downed a high-energy
drink.

Will kept looking blankly around, his eyes flicking from his
hand to Aaron's.

"Ha-Aaron... what... the..."

"I don't know." Said Aaron mournfully. "I
wish I could tell you I knew, but I can't."

"So now what?" Asked Will.

Aaron shrugged. "We keep testing, to see what else I
can do."

"Experimenting?" Asked Will. "You're not a
test subject, I'm not sure how wise that is-"

"We need to know, Will." Pointed out Aaron.
"This could be- heck, it IS a game changer. It's important that we at
least need to know what exactly my limits and strengths are."

"I'm still not really keen on this." Sighed his
friend. "But if you want to do it, that's fine, I won't stop you."

"Well..." Exclaimed Aaron. "I can't exactly
do this without you!"

"I don't see why." Pointed out Will. "You
should be able to write after materializing, right?"

"Write?" Repeated Aaron.

"Right."

"Right, or write?"

"Right. Or maybe it was write."

"Which right is right!?"

"Write?"

"Right! That's right!" Gasped Aaron. Then he
composed himself.

"Did you purposefully do that?"

Will shrugged. "Maybe. But I didn't originally intend
to start-"

"I don't care." Interrupted Aaron. "Are you
going to help me, or not."

Will looked at him blankly. "No." He said.
"The powers stuff is cool and all, but REALLY? You want to make some kinda
list to know which ones you have?"

"Well..." sighed Aaron. “I like to be
organised."

"Too organised." Retorted Will. "You make
yourself sound like a test subject, and you're more than that. You're my
friend. But if you start treating yourself like..." He trailed off.
"Frankly, you're beginning to sound like the side of Doctor Overbuild's
personality that Plue warned you about."

"What?" Asked Aaron. "Are you serious?"

"Bro, I was there almost every day at some point."
Declared Will. "The only people who were there more than me were Plue and
Overbuild. I'm telling you, Skip was so annoyed. The assembly faction fell
behind schedule because their leader was watching you take a 13-month long nap.
He's really interested in you, and not necessarily in a good way."

With that, Will turned and walked out the door, the wooden
item shutting loudly behind him. Aaron sighed, and looked at his hands.

"This is getting serious." He murmured.

### ***CHAPTER 3: THE IRONY CHANNEL***

The next day, Aaron decided to visit Plue, at her house, to
talk to her and see what she thought. There was just one problem. A temporary quarantine
had been set up, due to an increase of maelstrom energy in the area.

"Gee, I wonder where that came from." Aaron
muttered to himself as he tried to think. The Nexus Force had ordered no-one
was to leave their homes, and had stationed guards around the area. That way,
the people knew they were serious. But Aaron went by a specific sort of code:
If a rule is stupid, ignore it. And he knew that, whatever power he had, it
wasn't necessarily dangerous. So there was no need for a quarantine. Thus, it
was stupid and he could ignore it.

But he still had to sneak around,
undetected. That was where the powers themselves came in very useful. It didn't
matter if it was teleporting from one building to another, swinging around on
maelstrom webs or phasing into shadow, there were plenty of ways to go around
undiscovered. But he had to admit one thing - this who powers thing? It was
FUN.

There was a knock on Plue's door. It didn't sound forced or
imperious, so it couldn't be the Nexus Force. Wondering to herself, her feet
pressed down on the cold wooden floor of her house as she walked to the door.
But when she opened the door and nobody was there, she grew suspicious.
Reaching behind the door, she silently pulled out a katana and held it in front
of her, ready to defend herself.

Glancing round, she looked down just in time to see a shadow
on the ground that was not her own. She glanced down suspiciously at it.
Suddenly it reared up to take human form.

"Oh." Plue sighed.
"It's YOU."

Aaron arrived at her house around half an hour later, and
knocked on the door cautiously.

"Hello?" He asked. "Plue? You home?"

It was at this point that his tapping on the door knocked it
over, slamming on the ground. Inside the house, all Aaron could see was a large
amount of chaos, damage, and maelstrom.

This was bad.

As Aaron ventured into the house, a sense of extreme
dread began to subtly overcome him. Admittedly the rooms weren't completely
trashed, but there were still signs of a struggle, and remnants of maelstrom
around the place. Lights flickered and sparks flew as Aaron tentatively stepped
across the wooden floor through the house, his shoes creaking with almost every
step.

There was a snap.

Aaron wheeled around. Nothing. Cautiously, he looked to
either side of him. Nothing. Finally, fearing what he might see, he looked up.

Nothing.

Trying to calm himself down and figure out what had happened
at the same time, he lowered his head to its normal field of vision. He placed
a hand on his chin, and the other in his pocket as he tried to think.

Whilst Aaron had a good sense of humour, and was by no means
a mathematical genius, he did have an impressive tactical mind. No-one could
beat him at chess, and he probably would have been promoted several times
through the ranks of the Nexus Force if it were not for his non-outspoken
nature and his inability to get people he didn't know to listen to him.

At this point, the young man thought about all the possible
options regarding both the house being trashed and the suspicious
"snap" noise he had just heard.

Thinking about the new maelstrom abilities he now possessed,
he decided to try and see if they could be any help in the situation.
Concentrating, he suddenly felt a flow of energy into his eyes. Upon opening
them, he discovered he was currently using some type of X-ray vision.
Hurriedly, he looked in all the same directions, now with the ability to see
through solid walls.

Still nothing.

Sighing, he deactivated the power until he realised
something.

There was one direction he hadn't looked.

Down.

Using his power again, Aaron viewed the ground below him.
There were several items of interest for him, but he didn't have long to look
at them as the wooden floor below him opened up and he found himself sliding
along at an almost vertical angle.

As he slid, he contemplated all sorts of things-instincts,
irony and traps. But eventually he landed at the bottom of the slide, and found
himself in a small stone room. There was little in it, save for shadows.
Sighing, Aaron sat down and leaned against the wall. As he did so, he leaned
against the wall, activating a hidden switch. The wall opened, and out popped a
worn Television, playing Star Wars Episode VI.

"Now that's just rubbing salt in the wound." Aaron
complained, as Admiral Ackbar ranted on.

Suddenly, something flew out of the shadows. Aaron couldn't
see it, but the projectile smashed into the Television, sending glass raining
everywhere. At the same time, a person stepped out from the shadows. Their
identity was unrecognisable, and Aaron wasn't sure he knew who they were
anyway. In any case, the figure pulled from their back a wicked-looking blade,
with spikes all along the metal.

"As much as I appreciate you turning off the irony
channel," said Aaron to the figure, "I wouldn't exactly like to be
skewered."

The stranger retorted by lunging with the blade at Aaron,
who dodged and watched as the sharp prongs stuck into the wall instead.

"Whoops." Aaron shrugged, and then zapped his
assailant with lightning. The attacker flew into a wall.

"My goodness!" Exclaimed Aaron, and approached the
stranger, holding out a hand. "I'm so INCREDIBLY sorry..."

The assailant knocked Aaron's hand away, only to have their
own hand covered in webbing.

"Oh." Said Aaron emotionlessly, as the shadow
tried to free its hand. "At least you weren't dumb enough to take my hand,
but still... you're not the brightest, are you?"

The stranger looked at him.

"What? Life is too short to be pretend nice to
idiots."

The shadow responded by seemingly looking up, and Aaron was
taken aback at the crimson eyes that stared at him from the blackness. Suddenly
nervous, he back up cautiously as the shadow stood up.

"Okay." He said. "Not such an idiot then.
Could you please tell me exactly WHAT you are?"

There was no worded reply from the shadow, but Aaron's
cranium suddenly felt cold, and he had to supress a yearning for it to all be
over, and for the maelstrom to win.

He rolled his eyes.

"What a predictable response." He sighed, before
holding his palms out. It looked like a placating gesture, and the shadow
gleefully swept towards him. But suddenly, lasers shot from Aaron's palms,
going right through the shadow. The figure looked at the holes in itself, which
were already starting to close, and crossly back to Aaron.

Aaron looked from the holes to his hands, and then into the
malevolent red eyes.

"In all fairness, I wasn't entirely sure what would
happen and whether it would work, so why don't we just-"

He was interrupted as the shadow dived at him, knocking him
to the ground. Aaron gasped as the assailant's hand clamped around his throat,
and retaliated by making a fist and smacking his attacker on the back of the
head. Amazingly, it seemed to work, and the figure reeled backwards. Grinning, Aaron
kicked out and sent the shadow flying.  Dazed and wheezing,
he climbed to his feet.

Suddenly, the wall opened again and a speaker popped out.
For one terrible moment, Aaron imagined the phrase "*It's a trap!*"
Being played, but instead he heard something almost as bad. There was a
terrible, garbled screeching. Aaron winced and placed his hands over his ears,
so agonizing was the sound. But the shadow stared in... was that horror? The
bright red eyes of the figure were widened for the first time in what looked
like fear. The speaker stopped emitting noise and retracted back into the wall.

Then the ceiling started to descend.

### ***CHAPTER 4: PRIVATE BUSINESS***

Will Adalwin, rank III adventurer, finished the call he was
taking.

"And that's when I learnt," he said to the caller,
"if you want something done right, let someone else do it."

With that, he hung up and leaned back in his chair, his mind
heavy. His friend's general attitude towards his powers had definitely fazed
him, but in hindsight Will had definitely overreacted. It's just... he had
watched Plue get so anxious over Aaron's wellbeing as a result of Overbuild...
he sighed.

"I guess seeing Aaron act like Overbuild would was
unsettling." He thought out loud.

"What?" A voice asked.

Will turned around to see a young girl standing in the
doorway. She was about ten years old, with long brown hair and blue eyes. She
had the appearance of someone who would look stunning in a few years’ time.

"Oh, hi Anna." Said Will, as Anna approached him.

"Where's my brother?" Asked Anna, walking up to
Will's chair and looking fixatedly at him. "Is he out fighting bad
guys?"

"Yeah, you can bet he is." Will smiled.

Anna tilted her head slightly to the side. "Is he
alright?"

Will's brief moment of peace evaporated into the chill
associated with fear. "Why do you ask?" He said slowly.

"You have a special face you make when you're worried
about my brother." Replied Anna. "I've seen it a lot over the past
year and a bit, after all. I thought everything would be ok now that he's awake
again, right?"

"Yes Anna." Will lied. "Aaron's completely
fine."

"So there's nothing to worry about?" Anna
persisted.

It broke Will's heart, lying to a child, but the only other
option was to tell Anna exactly what had happened to Aaron and what he was
currently doing... and he didn't think she was really ready for that yet.

"Nothing to worry about." Will repeated. Anna
smiled, content.

At that moment, there was a light knock on Will's front
door. He looked at Anna.

"Don't worry, I'll get it." He said.

Will opened the door to find a woman his age, about twenty,
standing in front of him. Her caramel-coloured hair went down almost to her
waist, and she smiled at him with sparkling amber eyes.

"Hi, my name's Kaylori, can I come in please?" She
asked politely.

Will remembered himself, and shook his head slightly.

"Sure." He said, and Kaylori gracefully brushed
past him as she entered. Looking round, Will noticed that her attire was
assembly themed. Not blatantly obvious like faction gear, but noticeable. The
two of them walked into the living room, where Will sat down and invited Kaylori
to do the same. She shook her head.

"Sorry, but I haven't come to stay" She explained.

Will raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?" He
asked. Kaylori shrugged.

"I'm Doctor Overbuild's personal assistant." She
said. "I've been sent here to fetch. The Doctor wants to have a talk with
you.

"I think I know what this is about." Said Will.
Kaylori nodded.

"The Doctor told me it was confidential." She
admitted.

Will nodded. "It's certainly private business." He
agreed. "Okay, I'll come. Just give me a moment." And with that, he
walked out of the room.

"Who's there?" A voice asked.

Will turned round and looked down at Anna. "It's a lady
sent by Doctor Overbuild. He wants to see me." He explained.

Anna's eyes widened. "Really?" She gasped. Then
she smiled. "Yay! You can take me with you!"

"What!?" Exclaimed Will. "No I can't,
I-"

"Big brother told us to look after each other, right?
In any case, you can't leave me here by myself!"

Will rolled his eyes. "Fine, you're coming." Anna
grinned.

Will picked up the young girl and put her on his shoulders,
before walking back into the living room where Kaylori was waiting. She raised
her eyes to Anna.

"Who's that?" She inquired.

"That's my best friend's sister, and I've been asked to
look after her with my life. Is that alright?"

Kaylori nodded. "That's fine. She can wait outside with
me while you talk with Overbuild."

A short rocket ride later, Will and Anna found themselves in
Nexus Tower. Walking off the platform, Will couldn't stop a sense of awe and
comfort as he looked at the enormous structure. As long as the tower stood, he
knew there would always be hope. If the maelstrom managed to destroy the
tower... Will shuddered. He had a feeling demoralization would be an
understatement.

The pair, led by Kaylori, continued to walk through the
spotless hallways, occasionally seeing high-ranking Nexus Force members and
saying hello. Will wasn't fazed - he was one of them, after all. They kept
walking, with Kaylori giving Anna a sort of mini-tour, telling her which area
was what and belonged to who, which Will appreciated.

Eventually they ended up in the Assembly area, and by the
ramp that led up to Doctor Overbuild's balcony, from which he oversaw the
Imagination Nexus.

Will looked back at Anna, who grinned.

"Don't worry," she said, "I'll wait right
here with Kay."

"If you're sure." Will shrugged, before walking up
the ramp, to where Overbuild was waiting.

The Assembly faction leader was staring at the Imagination
Nexus intently, gazing into the wondrous beauty of pure imagination. Will
walked up slowly behind him, not wishing to disturb the genius, but the
Doctor's mechanical arms tapped Overbuild on the shoulder, and he turned round
to see Will.

"Ah, Mr Adalwin!" Exclaimed Overbuild, Adalwin
being Will's surname, "It's good to see you!"

"And you, sir." Said Will formally. "Tell me,
why-"

"Did I send for you?" Asked Overbuild.
"You're an intelligent man, Mr Adalwin. You tell me."

"It's about Aaron, isn't it?" Sighed Will.

"I told you you were intelligent." Said Overbuild.

"What's there to talk about?" queried Will
cautiously.

"You know as well as I do the strange effects that
piece of crystal had on your friend." Sighed Overbuild.

"And what are you getting at?" Said Will loudly.
"What's your point?"

"My point." Said Overbuild, "Is we need to
decide what happens next."

"What happens next?" Repeated Will.

"Oh yes." Said Overbuild. "You see, some of
the Nexus Force who know about your friend are scared. There is a great deal of
power surrounding maelstrom, you know. They might take it upon themselves to
eliminate him."

"What?!" Exclaimed Will loudly. "They
wouldn't, he isn't infected like the others, he's-"

"He is thousands of times more powerful than any
maelstrom creature we've encountered." Countered Overbuild. "Of
course some people are nervous. And then there are the Paradox."

Will turned grey. "Oh no." He murmured. "They
have hardly ever gotten the chance to study a STROMLING for very long, and Aaron..."

"You see where I'm coming from?" Asked Overbuild.
"That, and others still believe he has lost his humanity and is now merely
a weapon. And they will try to use him as such."

Will looked into Overbuild's eyes. "What do you suggest
we do?" He asked. Overbuild shrugged.

"I'm not sure. Just... lay low. Get in contact with as
few people as possible. And keep out of trouble."

Will snorted in derision. "Easier said than done,
Doc."

"Do what you can." Sighed Overbuild, before
turning back towards the Imagination Nexus.

Will looked at Overbuild. "I understand what you're
saying, and your comments are valuable." Complimented Will. "But I'm
going to ignore your advice."

"That's not a particularly wise course of action."
Overbuild warned.

Will had turned away and was walking down the ramp, but on
hearing this he stopped.

"I don't care." He said.

Overbuild shrugged again. "As you wish." He said
blankly, still staring at the Imagination Nexus.

Will stalked down the ramp and began purposefully making his
way back to the rockets, followed by Anna. Kaylori, after looking uncertainly
at the pair, walked back up the ramp to talk with her superior.

### ***CHAPTER 5: FALLING AND FIRED***

Will walked back to the rockets with his hand on his chin,
deep in thought. Anna walked up beside him.

"So what did Overbuild want?"

Will groaned. "It's... it's a long story." He
explained.

Anna grinned. "I love stories."

"Wow." Said Will, turning to look at her.
"Did you really just... wow..."

"So?" Asked Anna. "Aren't you going to- hey,
isn't that Overbuild there?"

Will looked in the same direction Anna was looking. Sure
enough, there was Overbuild, racing along the corridor. He hadn't appeared to
notice them.

"Where's he going in such a hurry?" Will murmured.
He turned to Anna.

"Do you reckon you can watch the rocket?" He asked
tentatively. Anna enthusiastically nodded.

"Of course!" She exclaimed. "I'll be fine. Go
see what he's up to."

"Thanks Anna." Will smiled gratefully, before
turning and running after Overbuild.

Despite the mechanical arms, Overbuild could certainly be
quick when he wanted to. Will almost lost him on more than one occasion, and
even went in completely the wrong direction at one point. Fortunately, his
Adventurer's instinct and a good deal of luck meant that wherever Overbuild
headed, Will was never too far behind.

Eventually the leader of the Assembly faction ran up to a
panel on a wall in the Assembly Area. As Will watched, the Doctor typed in a
sequence of letters and numbers.

Abruptly, Will heard a scraping noise, and turned his head
to see a passageway being revealed in the floor. Overbuild walked down it, and
Will was about to follow when he heard someone imperiously clear their throat
behind him.

"WHAT exactly do you think you’re doing?"

Will spun round and did a double take when he saw Kaylori
standing there, hands on hips.

"Why exactly are you spying on my boss?" She
exclaimed. Will stared at her.

"Instinct." He said finally.

Kaylori kept looking at him angrily. "Sure." She
said.

"I know he's doing something weird, Kay. I just don't
know what." Will turned back, but the Doctor and the pathway were gone.

Will exasperatedly waved his hands in the air.

"Great. Thanks. No, really."

"I appreciated your gratitude for my stopping you
spying on-"

"It's called SARCASM, Kay." Will rolled his eyes.

"I know what sarcasm it, you idiot." Kaylori
scoffed. Then she reached out and smacked Will on the head.

"DON'T call me "Kay."" She growled.

Will rubbed his head. "Okay, I won't..." He
grinned. "Kay."

Kaylori threw her hands up in the air.

"Why are you so infuriating!" She exclaimed.

"Because I get annoying when I'm concerned." Will
sighed, and walked into the control room to see if he could find anything.

Kaylori followed him, still talking. "Concerned? I
wouldn't have thought that emotion would suit you."

"It doesn't." Agreed Will. "But that doesn't
mean I can't feel it."

"So." Kaylori remarked, watching Will search.
"Who are you concerned for? Yourself?"

"Almost." Corrected Will. "My best
friend."

"That's weird." Said Kaylori. "Wouldn't have
thought you have many friends."

"Even if I don't, one's got to be the best,
right?"

"I suppose." Kaylori admitted. "So, why are
you concerned for him?"

Will turned around. "You know that "private business"
Overbuild wanted to talk to me about?"

Kaylori nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, it involves that." Said Will, before
turning back to the control panel.

"Oh." Said Kaylori, watching him. Then she walked
forward.

"Here." She gently pushed Will aside before typing
on the keyboard.

Will looked at her incredulously. "What are you-"

He stopped as a green light flashed and the entrance he had
seen Overbuild walk into opened.

Kaylori stood up and folded her arms.

"I know all the Assembly access codes." She
explained.

Will looked at her. "Thanks."

The pair descended down the stairs, and into the darkness.

As the pair descended, Will thought to himself.

"Kay, can I ask you something?" He said.

"Sure." Kaylori replied. Will noticed that, for
the first time, she hadn't been annoyed at him calling her Kay.

"What was with the change back there? One moment you
were trying to dissuade me, and the next - you're willing to help me.
Why?"

Kaylori shrugged. "I don't know. I guess something
about you acting for your friend as opposed to yourself... you seemed to change
from selfish to kinda noble."

"You flatter me." Will smiled in the darkness.
"Also, I notice that you didn't scold me for my use of the term
"Kay." Why, is it growing on you?"

"Yeah, like mould." Said Kaylori.

Will was about to reply when the pair suddenly walked into a
lit area. Shielding his eyes, Will moved over to where the stairs ended, and
poked his head out of the doorway.

The room inside was relatively minute, with stone walls and
a metal floor. Although either lit up in grey light or remaining in shadow, the
entire area was swathed in a purple fog that impaired Will's vision. However,
he was still able to see Doctor Overbuild approaching the centre of the room.

Kaylori peered over Will's shoulder as Overbuild walked up
to a strange alter, where the mist was concentrated and heavier than any other
area of the room. The mist was the same shade of purple as the rest, but as
Will and Kaylori watched, it took on a darker hue and two red slits appeared,
looking eerily like eyes.

As Will watched, a whisper started to echo round the room,
and a deep voice spoke.

"Overbuild, my friend." It whispered, and the eyes
moved. "What tidings do you bare me?"

The Doctor stood in front of the mist. "The one I told
you about is awake, Typhonus."

Will looked over at Kaylori, who's eyes had widened to the
point of cartoonish proportions. Will imagined he looked the same way.

"My boss..." Said Kaylori. "Is in league
with..."

"The Darkitecht." Will finished.

"But How!" Hissed Kaylori, in an attempt to be
silent. "He's one of the faction leaders, for goodness sake; why would he
be in league with the DARKITECHT! Baron Typhonus?"

"I don't know." Whispered Will. "Now shut up,
I'm trying to listen."

Will turned his head back to the pair, who were still
talking. Thankfully, they hadn't been spotted.

"If he learns how to use his power, Overbuild -"

"I know, Typhonus. He will indeed qualify for the
prophecy made when you became the being you are today. I can't remember the
whole thing, but aren't there three people allegedly supposed to be able to
defeat you? One with the power of his sworn enemy, one a cyborg, and one who
commands all that is good in this world. At least, I think it's something like
that..."

"ENOUGH." Said the Darkitecht angrily. "I do
not wish to dwell on the prophecy any longer."

Overbuild nodded courteously. "My apologies."

"Instead, we must... oh." The Darkitecht paused.

"What is it?" Asked Overbuild. "What is the
matter?"

"You appear to have some uninvited guests,
Doctor." The maelstrom said, and Will suddenly found himself and Kaylori
pushed by some unseen force into the room, in clear sight of both Typhonus and
Overbuild.

"I'll leave it to you." Said the Darkitecht, as
Overbuild walked slowly towards the valiant pair.

"My, my, this IS an unpleasant surprise, isn't it?
Kaylori, my assistant, I TRUSTED you! And, Mr Adalwin, I really did expect
better from you. Pity."

Suddenly the mechanical arms increased their length by
several meters. One wrapped itself around Will and Kaylori, whilst the other
made a beeline for a control panel in a corner of the room. Reaching it, it
pulled a lever and the floor between the duo opened to reveal a seemingly
bottomless abyss. All that was separating them from it was Overbuild's other
mechanical arm.

"Kaylori, you're fired." Said Overbuild. He then
turned to Will. "And, Mr Adalwin... you're falling."

A second later, the arm let them go and Will found he really
was.

### ***CHAPTER 6: MEET N’ GREET***

Will and Kaylori found themselves plummeting through
darkness as, above them, the small speck of light that was the room they had
been in previously disappeared.

Kaylori didn't stop talking to herself. "The
DARKITECHT? Are you serious? I mean, why -"

"Kay." Said Will. "We'll figure that out
later. Right now I'm trying to avoid becoming floor pizza."

"What do you mean "floor!?" Exclaimed Kaylori.
"There IS no floor! There's just blackness!"

Will shook his head. "Look down." He said.

Kaylori looked, and saw that Will was right. There was
ground below them, and it was rapidly approaching. She fell silent.

"Okay." She conceded. "Not hit the floor.
Good plan."

Will fumbled around on his back until he managed to grab a
whip from around his torso. Pulling it off, he unwound it with a
"crack!"

"Alright Kay, we're going to have to-"

Will found himself interrupted as below them a segment of
wall was blown outwards. Will heard a voice say "Got it!" and at the
same time he acted using the whip, he hooked it round a large spike of debris
still on the wall and used the acting force to swing inside the hole. The pair
winced, waiting for an inevitable collision with the wall, but Will opened his
eyes again when they had been closed for several seconds and they hadn't hit
anything yet.

He discovered there was a film of maelstrom energy
surrounding them. Controlling that was Aaron, who was standing in one corner
with a being who seemed to be made entirely out of shadow and black flames.

The power around them slowly faded, and Will and Kaylori
climbed to their feet. Aaron walked slowly towards Will before suddenly pulling
him into an embrace.

"Thanks." Grinned Will. "Something tells me
we would have been floor pizza without you."

"I don't feel like testing that theory." Said Aaron.
"In the meantime, it looks like you've been making new friends as
well."

"Yeah, um, about that... who exactly IS that?"
Asked Will, pointing at the shadowy figure in the corner.

"Who, him?" Asked Aaron, glancing over the figure.
"That's Shadow."

"What?" Asked Will incredulously.

"Well, he doesn't talk, and I figured that was as good
a name as any." Aaron shrugged.

Will was about to say something about the disadvantages of
giving someone a name when suddenly Aaron's left hand whipped upwards towards
Will's face. Aaron coolly caught it with his right hand and threw it back down
to his side. It was over in less than a second, but Will noticed it.

"Uh... what was that?"

"What?" Asked Aaron innocently. "What was
what?"

"That hand spasm. What was that?" Will persisted.

"I had no hand spasm! You must be seeing things."
Denied Aaron.

Will rolled his eyes. "Fine. So, what's Shadow's
story?"

Aaron thought. "Well he was all set to kill me, being a
creature of maelstrom and all, but whilst we were fighting a speaker popped out
of a wall-"

"What?"

"Long story. Speaker came out and basically told Shadow
here that the maelstrom was cutting him loose, and it was gonna terminate him
along with me, all that fun betray-y stuff. So, we escaped the booby trapped
room; which is another long story by the way, and stumbled into this room just
in time to catch you. Literally."

"Okay." Said Will, trying to get his head round
all the information Aaron had just given him at a rapid speed. "So,
Shadow's with us now?"

"Well, he hasn't tried to kill me since we got out of
that room." Said Aaron.

"And THAT means you can trust him?!" Exclaimed
Will incredulously.

"I don't see why not." Shrugged Aaron, casually.
Then he stopped. "Wait, where's Anna?"

"Oh, she's fine!" Exclaimed Will. "I left her
with... the... rockets..."

"What." Whispered Aaron.

"She watched the rockets while me and Kaylori
here," Will twisted round to indicate his friend "trailed
Overbuild."

"You left her... by herself?"

"How was I to know all this bad stuff would be
happening?" Protested Will. "I thought we would be in worse danger
then she would be!"

As Aaron stared at Will, Will noticed small arcs of
lightning leap to and from Aaron's fingertips. Will began to feel seriously
concerned, until Aaron made a conscious effort and the lightning disappeared.

"No" Aaron sighed. "You were right to leave
her there. I just... I can't stand not knowing."

Will placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't
worry, we'll get to her."

Aaron shrugged. "I'm not sure that can be our first
priority."

Will looked at him quizzically. "What do you
mean?"

Aaron looked up at Will. "I may be UNSURE that Anna is
safe, but I KNOW Plue isn't safe."

"What's happened?" Said Will quickly.

"House destroyed. Traces of maelstrom. Trapdoor that
led me down here."

"What!?" Yelled Will. "Who the heck would
take the time, after kidnapping Plue, to install a TRAPDOOR in her house?!"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Said Aaron.
"But it was probably someone with a lot of resources and time.

"Overbuild." Will muttered.

"Who?" Asked Aaron.

Hurriedly Will explained to Aaron what he and Kaylori had
seen before falling to their level.

Aaron stared at them with his mouth open. "No
way." He said.

Will nodded. "Yeah."

"And..." Aaron thought. "There was some kinda
prophecy?"

"Mm hmm." Will confirmed.

"Wow." Aaron sighed. "That's pressurising."

"So?" Will persisted. "What's the plan?"

"The plan?" Aaron repeated. "We wander
around, either finding danger or danger finding us."

Will looked at him, poker-faced. "That's your
plan."

"Can you think of a better one?"

"No."

"Then it's what we're doing!" Declared Aaron, and
marched to the hole what Will and Kaylori had come through.

"You can't get out there." Said Will. "That's
pretty steep and-"

"See ya." Interrupted Aaron as he jumped over the
edge.

"Woa!" Exclaimed Kaylori, as she and Will rushed
to the edge. Looking down, they saw Aaron coolly freefalling towards the
ground. Shadow walked slowly up to their position and, after a few moments,
peered over the edge too.

"So, how are WE going to get-" Will began, then
paused as Shadow grabbed him and Kaylori, and the air seemed to warp around
them. The next moment, they were at the bottom of the shaft, where Aaron had
also just arrived.

"Instant teleportation, huh?" Asked Aaron, walking
over to them. "Not the way I would have done it Shadow, but as long as it
works."

Shadow nodded and then indicated up ahead. There were
several more doors, all leading off in a different direction.

"What the heck IS this place?" Cried Will.

"Some kind of underground facility Overbuild must have
built." Reasoned Kaylori.

Aaron nodded. "Yes." He agreed. "Where, away
from public scrutiny, he could continue with his horrific experiments and
maelstrom collaboration-" He paused to notice Kaylori giving him the
evils.

"Bear in mind, he was my boss until about fifteen minutes
ago." She reminded him.

"Ah. Right." Said Aaron. "Sorry
Kaylori."

"So which door do we take?" Pondered Will.
Seemingly in response, Shadow levitated off the ground and floated into through
the passageway directly in front of them. The remaining trio watched.

"I never knew he could do that." Remarked Aaron.
"Well, I guess Shadow knows which way to go! Follow us!"

With that, Aaron marched through the same doorway, leaving
Will and Kaylori to themselves.

"Sooo... we follow?" Asked Will.

Kaylori grinned and walked towards the door. "Follow,
we do."

Will glanced back up the shaft a final time, where he knew
the Doctor was.

"We're coming for you, Overbuild." He muttered,
before turning tail and walking out the room after his friends.

### ***CHAPTER 7: DEATH, DESTRUCTION, AND OTHER MILD INCONVENIENCES***

As Aaron walked through the narrow tunnel, a slight sense of
unease overcame him. There was something about the dark that comforted him and
scared him at the same time; that would have been weird enough, except a before
his "accident" he had no feelings towards the dark. This meant that
his personality was being subtly altered.

"Whopee for change." He mumbled sarcastically to
himself. Shadow turned and looked at him. In the inky black, all Aaron could
see were the red slits of Shadow's eyes.

"It's fine, buddy." Sighed Aaron. "Don't
worry about it." There were a few moments of silence, then Shadow turned
around and continued to walk.

Suddenly there was a screech from the darkness, and Aaron
reflexively grabbed Shadow before running away from the thing in the dark.
Shadow pulled free of Aaron's grip and ran himself. Pointed objects began
slamming down beside them from the ceiling, whilst at the same time, Aaron
sensed maelstrom energy building up behind them.

Shadow turned to Aaron, who was shocked to hear a small
voice in his head.

"You need to cover our escape."

"Oh." Aaron exclaimed. "You CAN talk!
Although psychically. Which is fine..."

At this point the tunnel the pair were running through
suddenly became a lot wider, which concerned Aaron as whatever was pursuing
them was obviously big, and a larger space would enable it more room to move.

"How am I supposed to-" Aaron began.

"Use your powers." Shadow reminded him.

"Of course!" Aaron focused. "Form psychic
armour!"

Plates of maelstrom began to envelope Aaron's form,
protecting him from the spikes and chunks of rock now raining down upon them.
Unfortunately Aaron became slightly carried away.

"Form psychic crown! And a mean hair do! And-"

"We're going to be crushed!" Reminded Shadow.

"Oh, right." Aaron remembered. "MAELSTROM
PALMS OF FIRE!"

Aaron conjured up handfuls of purple flames, and flung them
wildly at the pursuing creature. The fireballs slammed into the stone walls and
ceiling, causing tons of rock to fall down. Shadow and Aaron were knocked over
by the shockwave, and for a second Aaron thought it was the end. But after a
few moments, whatever had been pursuing them had been blocked off or possibly
destroyed by the cave in.

"That was lucky." Remarked Aaron to Shadow.
"I wonder what that thing was."

"No doubt the Darkitecht keeps some of his most
dangerous creations down here." Shadow mind-spoke. Aaron glanced at him.

"You're REALLY not helping my confidence, you know
that?" Aaron remarked. Then abruptly he felt anger surge through him.
"In fact, why should I even take advice from you at ALL? You were trying
to spike me about half an hour ago! What's to say you won't finish the job when
my back is turned?"

"Because the maelstrom, my creators, "cut me
loose" as you might put it. I have every reason to hate them, believe
me."

"Oh yeah?" Snarled Aaron. "Why is that
then?"

Shadow's red eyes stared right into Aaron's, and the thought
speech that Aaron was receiving suddenly felt like someone was smacking his
head with every word spoken.

"They took my only family. Took my wife away, and
infected my young daughter in front of me. I offered myself to them in exchange
for my loved one's lives. They kept setting me tasks, and said once the war was
one they would undo whatever they did to me and give back my family. Only...
they didn't deliver, as you heard."

"Actually, All I heard was garbled... stuff."
Admitted Aaron. "But... thanks. And I'm sorry. Do you have a name? One
that I didn't give you?"

Shadow looked at himself. "I did. But now, all I am is
"Shadow." The name fits."

"If you're sure." Aaron shrugged. "Shadow it
is. Now come on, we need to head back and find Will and Kaylori."

"Agreed."
Thought-spoke Shadow.

There was one major problem regarding the pair's efforts to
search for the others. The entire tunnel, though large, was pitch black. Here
they could be ambushed or dragged off in seconds, and chances are the other
wouldn't even notice.

Aaron raised his hand, and the purple flames he had thrown
earlier ignited in his palm, lighting up the immediate area. He walked with
Shadow beside him, but every now and then though he heard another noise- a
shuffle, or perhaps a footstep. Uneasy, he continued to tentatively put one
foot in front of the other, reassured that he had Shadow with him as opposed to
against him.

Abruptly, Shadow stuck his arm out in front of Aaron.
Ignoring Aaron's questioning look, Shadow turned round and looked at the area
behind them. They stood there for a few moments, and then Shadow thought-spoke
again.

"I know where Will and Kaylori are." He said, and Aaron
started as he heard the eerie, disembodied voice of Shadow in his head once
again.

"Where?" Aaron asked, peering into the darkness.

"That's the bad part." Remarked Shadow, and at the
same time Aaron heard a scuffle from in front of them. Something stepped into
their field of vision. All Aaron had time to glimpse was a foot of some kind
before Shadow pulled him away from it. As they started to run, Aaron heard
clunking footsteps pursuing them.

The stone tunnels they were running down seemed to be
changing the further they went. As they ran, Aaron used the flame in his hand
to observe the fact that the walls, which had previously looked neglected and
run down, now looked newer, with less moss and cracks. Eventually Aaron noticed
a door, and without thinking held Shadow's arm and ran through it. Flinging his
friend into the room, Aaron backtracked and held the door shut by leaning it.
He could hear an eerie scraping, and a clawed hand burst through the metal at
one point. But eventually, the creatures gave up. He heard them slowly trudging
away.

Aaron sighed to himself as the stomping of his and Shadow's pursuers
grew fainter and fainter, until it vanished. Satisfied, he clambered to his
feet and glanced around the room they were in.

"Shadow?" He asked. "Are there lights in
here?"

He received his answer by light flickering on in the walls.
He was about to thank Shadow, but the words died in his throat. The whole room
was reminiscent of a laboratory, with shelves full of bottles and equipment
everywhere. The ceiling, however, was extremely high up, several meters. There
were chains hanging from the ceiling, and balconies which led off to more
rooms.

"What the heck is even DOWN here?" He murmured.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Said a
voice. Aaron wheeled round to see Kaylori standing there, gazing in awe at the
room. But she wasn't the one who had spoken. Behind her was a rank three
Buccaneer with two pistols by his side and a cutlass on his back. A small beard
desperately clung to his muscular chin, as the buccaneer sized up Aaron and Shadow.
He turned to Kaylori.

"These your friends?" He asked her. She nodded.

"Guys," She said, "This is Vector. He helped
me out when I got separated from Will in the tunnels.

"Where's Will now?" Aaron questioned. He didn't
see his whip-toting friend anywhere, and Kaylori's words confirmed his
suspicions.

"There were these creatures that chased us." She
explained. "Me and Will split up, and I managed to shake them off. Either
we ran really far away from each other, or he wasn't as lucky as I am."

"Great." Sighed Aaron. "Someone else to
rescue."

"You're here on a rescue mission too?" Queried
Vector, stepping forward.

Aaron nodded. "That's right."

"That's why I was down here in the first place."
Vector explained. "Couple of friends of mine were nabbed by the maelstrom
in a firefight, and I followed them down here." He looked at Aaron.

"Perhaps we can be of assistance to each other."

### ***CHAPTER 8: EW! CHAOTIC MISHAPS!***

"Are you proposing a team up?" Asked Aaron.

Vector shrugged. "We're on the same side in this war
anyway."

"Fine." Agreed Aaron. "But I'll warn you,
neither me nor Shadow are particularly normal."

"I got that impression." Remarked Vector. Aaron
looked in the same direction Vector was looking, and realised that his hand was
still on fire, and he hastily waved the appendage around to put it out. At the
same time, Shadow slowly drifted around the room, rotating silently.

"You guys are pretty obviously weird." Remarked
Victor, not untruthfully.

Suddenly, there was a rending and crashing, and the door to
the room began to buckle under stress.

"What the-" Began Aaron.

"Those things are back!" Said Kaylori.
"Climb!" With that, she jumped onto a table and managed to grab one
of the chains, before starting to pull herself up.

Shadow calmly levitated himself higher, before moving into a
seated position and emotionlessly watching the others struggle. Vector started
to physically climb up the chains as well, whilst Aaron phased into a wall and
rematerialized on the ceiling, his torso hanging upside down whilst his legs
remained two-dimensional, anchoring him to the surface.

The door was finally smashed open, and into the room came a
number of strange figures. They could have been described as maelstrom,
animalistic, mechanical, and demonic, but they seemed to be strange, twisted
mashups of technology, biology and maelstrom energy.

One of the creatures, similar to a fox, leapt onto Vector's
chain and started to pursue him. Another, reminiscent of a wasp, flew towards
Shadow and Aaron. A third creature that looked like a serpent with mechanical
appendages began to climb the wall closest to Kaylori's chain. It climbed to
her height, then suddenly leapt onto her chain. Kaylori kicked out and knocked
it back, but the resultant force caused her to lose her grip.

"No!" Aaron yelled as Kaylori fell towards the
ground.

As Kaylori fell, Aaron quickly extended his wrist, and shot
a spiderling web at her. The web caught her leg, and just before hitting the
ground she was jerked upwards. Aaron was about to pull her up to his level when
the wasp creature landed beside him and started swiping at him with its deadly
stinger. In defence, Aaron reached into his pack and brought out his trusty
sword, Oblivion, the only piece of rank three gear he had. He parried the
stinger and started a bizarre sword fight.

The fox was still climbing after Vector, who was only
keeping it at bay with a well-placed kick whenever it came too close. But
Vector was tiring, and the creature could sense it. It leapt at him, and Vector
was only saved by Shadow flinging black fireballs at it. The fox fell down to
the ground level, and was about to go back after Vector when it saw Kaylori
hanging above the ground by her leg, and went for her instead.

Shadow noticed this, and moved over to defend here whilst she
manoeuvred herself towards a chain she could climb. But before he could attack
the fox, the serpent leapt at him, swiping him with its tail and sending him
flying into a wall. Kaylori finally managed to equip an imagination multi tool,
and proceeded to cut the maelstrom web on her leg. Suddenly, the fox leapt and
knocked her off again. This time, Aaron couldn't help and she fell into a shelf
filled with vials.

As Vector watched, the shelf keeled over and there was
suddenly a burst of green smoke. Aaron knocked the wasp creature away and
phased back down to the ground, before running to check on Kaylori. Suddenly,
Shadow pushed him aside as the serpent whipped its tail at them. The snake
hissed and abruptly spat poison at the pair. Aaron quickly pointed his
fingertips and small arcs of purple lightning jumped out, vaporising all the
liquid heading for them. Shadow then leapt on the snake and started to smack it
on the head, his fists wreathed in flame. The serpent shook him off and fled.

As the serpent fled, Vector whipped out his pistols and
fired several shots at it. The snake creature cowered from the bullets, and
Vector advanced threateningly. Seeing its counterpart attacked, the wasp darted
down and grabbed Vector, wrapping its mandibles around him and lifting him into
the air. Vector yelled, and Shadow flew to his aid.

Meanwhile, Aaron grappled with the fox. It snapped at him,
revealing razor sharp teeth. Unfazed, Aaron raised his hand, and started firing
lasers at point blank range. The fox was hit, and fell backwards. Aaron raised
his hand again, but just then the serpent lunged at him, hissing. Aaron phased
into the floor to avoid the attack, then reformed himself and threw fireballs
at the snake. However, the fox had recovered far quicker than Aaron had
expected, and lunged at him. With no time for Aaron to phase, he raised his
hands in self-defence. But just then, there was a crack, and Aaron found
himself several meters away from his previous location.

Before he had time to marvel, the snake slithered towards
him, and prepared to strike. What neither of them were expecting was for a
large reptilian tail to erupt from the smoke nearby the, wrap around the
serpent, and drag it into the green mist. Not willing to complain, Aaron
prepared to assault the fox when suddenly Vector fell just beside him. Then
Shadow lowered himself to their level, and ignited his palms. The wasp flew to
the fox's side.

The stand-off looked shaky, with Aaron, Vector and Shadow
facing off against the fox and the wasp. However, the snake was suddenly flung
out of the smoke and landed comatose at its counterpart's feet. Realising they
were outnumbered a maximum of two to one, the remaining creatures fled,
dragging their comrade with them. Instead of running, though, they simply picked
up the serpent and dissolved into maelstrom mist. There was a silence. Then
Shadow thought-spoke.

"I do not think they will be troubling us again."
He sighed.

"Glad to hear that." Remarked Aaron, relaxing.
"I wasn't entirely sure we were going to come out of that little
scenario."

"Hear what?" Asked Vector, raising an eyebrow, and
Aaron realised that Shadow's thought-speech could only effect one person at a
time. The next moment, however, Vector's facial expression turned into one of
surprise, and Aaron could easily imagine how he might feel as Shadow
communicated with him.

Chuckling to himself, Aaron walked over to the area that
Kaylori had fallen, to ensure her survival and uninjury. The smoke had about
cleared up, and as Aaron approached he heard a groan, and Kaylori rose to her
feet in front of him. She seemed fine, if a little dazed. However, there was
something different that he couldn't identify.

"You alright?" He asked, as she rubbed her head.

"Fine." She muttered. "I just... I can't
remember anything after I fell into the shelf..."

"Probably hit your head or something." Aaron
suggested. He wasn't a doctor, what else could he say?

"Probably just that." Kaylori agreed. "So...
you guys beat those things, then?"

"Yeah." Confirmed Vector, who was walking over
with Shadow. "We could have fared better, but I don't think any of us are
badly injured."

"We were lucky." Agreed Aaron.

"I just hope that luck doesn't run out any time
soon." Remarked Kaylori.

"Couldn't have put it better myself." Said Vector.
"Now, we need to keep moving, before whatever they were come back with
reinforcements."

Shadow began to levitate upwards, until he stopped at a
balcony, and then proceeded to float into the adjoining area.

"So... Shadow's leading the way again?" Asked Kaylori.

"Yeah." Said Aaron, only half paying attention. He
was still trying to mentally figure out the significance of what he had seen
earlier. It was only after Vector and Kaylori had climbed to the balcony and
left that he understood.

It was only for a brief moment, but he had seen Kaylori's
eyes. Normal now, at the time they had been reptilian slits.

### ***CHAPTER 9: JUST BE BRAVE***

The group continued to advance through the area, with Shadow
leading the way. However, instead of looking decrepit and under-cared for, the
whole place looked new, and active. Whilst the lack of collateral hazards was
one good thing about the situation, Aaron duly noted that if this place was in
this sort of shape, it was in use. And if it was in use, they could be caught.

Their exact location remained a mystery to him. He knew that
there couldn't possibly be this much space under Nimbus Station-not enough for
a giant creature, or such a large maze-like area. There was only one possible
explanation. The holes that they had fallen into had been teleporters of some
kind, and they were in a completely uncharted/unknown area. This did little to
raise Aaron's spirits.

"Are you sure this guy knows the way?" Vector
asked, glancing distrustfully at Shadow.

"The detention cells are less than half a kilometer
from our current location." Shadow replied calmly.

"I'd take that as a yes." Declared Kaylori, as
they continued to walk.

There was a brief pause.

"What do we do next?" Aaron asked.

Kaylori thought. "Rescue our respective friends, fight
our way back to the surface of wherever we are-"

"No." Aaron interrupted. "I mean when all of
this is over. How do we just walk away from something like this?"

Kaylori was saved having to answer that question by Shadow,
who held his arm out in front of them as they walked.

"Something's approaching." Said Vector, as the
team stood together.

"Or someone." Remarked Kaylori.

"Personally, I'm hoping for something." Sighed Aaron.
"Someone might not be..." His speech faded as he stared at what had
lumbered out of the darkness.

It was someone, all right.

The figure staggered out of the darkness, swaying slightly
on its unsteady legs.

"It's a girl." Said Kaylori, staring attentively
at the approaching human.

On closer scrutiny, she appeared to be right. It was a girl,
about their age, but extremely malnourished and injured.

"She..." Aaron murmured. "She needs
help."

He and Vector ran towards the girl as her legs gave way and
she crumpled to the ground. Aaron reached out a hand as she looked up, dazed,
her rough black hair hanging down in front of her face.

"Come on." He said. "We're here to
help."

The girl, with Aaron and Vector supporting her, managed to
get to her feet. She swayed unsteadily, and Vector reached out to support her.

Whilst Shadow hovered above them, making sure they weren't
ambushed, Kaylori looked at the girl.

"What's your name?" She asked softly. The girl
looked up.

"Roseanne." She said, after a brief pause.
"My name... is Roseanne."

"Don't worry, Rose." Kaylori said comfortingly.
"You're not alone anymore."

Rose shook her head. "I am."

"Don't say that." Vector said. "We-"

He was cut short, as Rose's arm suddenly burst into purple
flames.

"Woa!" Exclaimed Vector, hastening a step or two
backwards. Rose swayed unsteadily.

"No-one else knows what it's like." Rose sighed
mournfully. "Not really."

Aaron, who had a feeling he knew what she was talking about,
placed a warm hand on her icy shoulder. She turned around to see him.

"I do." He declared, before lighting his own palm
on fire.

Rose stared, transfixed, at the flames dancing around Aaron's
fingers. She looked back at her own, flaming arm, then back to Aaron's hand,
then back to her arm. The fire on her arm ceased.

"I'm not alone?" She asked, tentatively.

"No." Smiled Aaron, as Shadow descended to reveal
his dark form, "I don't think you are."

The three of them - Aaron, Rose and Shadow - stood on the
ground, regarding each other and seeing the enormity of their connection for
the first time. They were possibly the first three humans in history to have
powers based around the maelstrom.

"Well..." Aaron felt his confidence suddenly
waning. "I have loads of powers, but they're basically the power of every
servant of the chaos, with one or two unique ones thrown in."

"I can disguise myself as maelstrom" Rose said,
smiling slightly for the first time. "Any shape or form, and I can
disguise others as well-but it only works if I concentrate. For self-defence, I
use spinjitzu."

To demonstrate this, she suddenly whirled into a tornado,
which started to spew fire and crystals around the place. She stopped, and
looked round, slightly self-consciously.

"That's impressive." Remarked Aaron. "Shadow
can... I'm not entirely sure."

"Levitate." Volunteered Rose.

"Yeah, that's true." Admitted Aaron. "He
speaks telepathically, and can shoot these black fireballs. He can also summon
this mean sword-"

Shadow interrupted him by summoning the deadly spiked blade
he had used earlier when trying to smash Aaron. Aaron jumped, and Rose giggled
at his surprise.

"That one?" She asked.

"That one." Aaron confirmed.

"Excuse me!" Exclaimed Kaylori. "I don't mean
to barge in on your chummy conversation, but I think we have company!"

Sure enough, faint noises could be heard from the darkness
behind them.

Aaron was about to yell "run" when Rose grabbed
him.

"There are others." She said, hurriedly.

Aaron paused.

"What?"

"I escaped from a... I think it was a laboratory."
Rose said, picking at her tattered clothes. "I remember there were one or
two other people there that weren't insane."

"And the rest were?" Aaron asked. He rolled his
eyes. "This just keeps getting better and better. Can you lead us to
it?"

"No!" Rose exclaimed. "I only just got away!
I don't want to go back!"

Aaron looked Rose directly in the eyes.

"You may not want to go back, but what will happen to
the people still there if you don't?" He reminded her.

Rose looked at the ground in shame. "Are you
sure?" She asked quietly.

"Yes. If there is anyone else still really there, we
have to help them. It's the right thing to do." He said.

Rose nodded. "Okay."

"Right." Said Aaron, standing up again.
"Let's all-"

"Can't do that!" Said Kaylori. "Whatever's
out there is coming closer. Me and Vector can lead it away, while you free
everyone!"

"Are you sure about this?" Asked Aaron. "We
have no way of communicating, and no-!"

"Just go, we'll be fine!" Yelled Vector.

Not wanting to endanger his friend's lives any more than
they already were, Aaron nodded.

"Come on." He said.

Rose ran ahead, knowing the way. Aaron was right behind her,
and Shadow was flying over both of them, watching the surroundings.

As Aaron ran, he felt both jubilant and trepidatious . The
prospect of people like him, with maelstrom abilities, drove him forward.

However, he was drawn back to the present situation as Rose
exclaimed "Woa!"

The next second, Aaron skidded to a halt as he saw what Rose
and Shadow were looking at.

"You have got to be kidding me." He sighed.

The trio had found themselves in front of a hole that led
directly into space.

They seemed to be on another floating chunk of Crux, and
right now they were staring into the heart of the Nimbus System. The maelstrom
resided, in all it's chaotic glory, in the center of every landmass. With a
start, Aaron realised that it was the maelstrom which was ironically keeping
the system together. Without it, all the pieces of Crux would have flown off
into space long ago.

As they marvelled, a roar sounded behind them, bringing
their thoughts crashing back down to the present.

"What do we do?" Cried Rose.

"We have to jump!" Yelled Aaron.

"Into SPACE?" Exclaimed Rose

"Where else?!" Retorted Aaron, before grabbing her
and jumping.

### ***CHAPTER 10: CAUGHT MONOLOGUING***

Will's eyes snapped open.

Looking around, he seemed to be in a relatively dire predicament.
He found himself in some kind of small, transparent tube, which had disabled
gravity. After recovering from the sensation of not standing on solid ground,
Will took a look at his surroundings. The area he was in was specialized for
containment. Cameras, flashing lights and dozens more holding tubes supported
this theory.

Will's next move was to turn his head to the right. Through
the hazy glass of two tubes, he could see what looked like another person
there. He couldn't see much of her features, but it was clear she was not
normal. Every now and then it looked like her arms would begin to morph into
something else, but then get forced back into position by some unseen force. To
his left, he could see some strange creature that was no longer anything apart
from a mess of living being.

Will was brought back to the present by a figure walking
towards, and then stopping in front of, his holding tube. The person peered
into Will's eyes, and through the dingy glass he could see someone in an
Assembly uniform staring at him. The person seemed to raise a pad and write
something, before placing a pair of spectacles on his head and leaning closer
to stare at Will

"I wouldn't try anything if I were you." Said the
person.

Will tried to reply, but found himself unable to speak.

"Please." Said the man. "Don't make any
attempts to reply. The gas being pumped in your tube, while allowing you to
breath, prohibits your ability to talk. Like I said, I wouldn't try
ANYTHING."

After seeing that the man was right, will stopped trying to
speak.

"Thank you." Said the man. "Now, I've taken
the liberty of placing a number of nanomachines inside your brain. One wrong
move, and... let's just say your intelligence will drastically decrease. Is
that clear?"

Will, glaring at the man, nodded.

"Now," Continued the man, "I want to talk to
you. I want to explain a few things to you. Doubtlessly you are confused, and I
feel the least you deserve for your courage thus far is a reasonable
explanation for what you have seen so far."

"First of all, you're probably thinking: "How is
Doctor Overbuild on the side of the Maelstrom? How is one of the faction
leaders being controlled by the Darkitecht? The answer, unfortunately, is
simple. He isn't."

Will's confusion must have shown on his face, because the
man laughed out loud.

"Ha! You're even more confused now, aren't you? I'll
make things simple, and give you two piece of information. Number one. The
Doctor has seen the chaos of this universe first-hand. He's been on the front
lines. He knows the full extent of the maelstrom, and chaos, and he has a very
good idea of it's capabilities. Number two. Doctor Overbuild and Baron Typhonus
were childhood friends, and the quest to the Imagination Nexus was originally
their idea. The only reason Duke ended up in charge was because he was the
natural leader amongst them."

As Will thought, the man watched him intently through the
glass. There were a few moments of silence, whilst Will processed the
information that he had received. Eventually, he put the pieces together, and
glanced at the man.

"You've figured it out!" Said the man.
"Excellent!"

"The Doctor is trying, essentially, to do good. He
believes that with his dreams and imagination, and the Darkitecht's power, he
will be able to create a utopia, and bring balance to the Nimbus System.
Unfortunately for you, he's convinced a large number of his faction that it's a
good idea. At the same time, Baron Typhonus has been corrupting and twisting
the Paradox faction. These statistics mean that roughly a one in four members
of the Nexus Force..."

The man grinned evilly.

"Are traitors."

Will stared in horror at what the man was saying. It
couldn't be true. It couldn't. But he knew that whoever this person was,
whatever he wanted, he wasn't here to lie.

The man laughed again at Will.

"Oh yes. And it only gets worse for you." He
sighed.

"The faction members who have turned traitor are now
guarding the entire landmass you find yourself in. This means that as well as
maelstrom to worry about, there are a number of people standing in your
way."

"Oh, and before you ask, I'm telling you this because
I've been ordered to. Overbuild sent me here specifically to give you this
information, to taunt you. He knows you don't have a hope of stopping
him."

As Will listened, he vaguely noticed the door open behind
the man, who didn't seem to notice.

"That's right again. You're going to be stuck here,
with all the Doctor's test subjects, whilst he brings ultimate order to the
world. And yes, I believe in what he says. There must be chaos within the
order. But this war must also end. The Doctor is the only one who can make that
happen. He-"

The man was suddenly cut short. There was a clang, and Will
saw a body slide to the floor. He then saw another figure, much smaller,
approach the cell he was in. There was a pause, and Will heard a distinct
hissing sound coming from around him. The tube suddenly opened, gravity started
working again, and Will flopped onto the floor, coughing.

"That." He gasped. "Wasn't a pleasant
experience."

"It didn't look very nice." Agreed his rescuer.

Will looked up to see Anna standing over him. He held a
wrench in one hand, and Will realised that she had knocked his tormenter out
with it.

"Anna?" He asked. She nodded.

"But we left you in Nexus Tower!" Will exclaimed.
"How did you-?"

"I followed you when you were sneaking around."
Explained Anna. "When you fell down that hole, I used the rocket to track
you. Once here, it was only a matter of using the remote tracker I have to find
out which room you were in."

"But..." Will still couldn't get his head round
parts of Anna's story. "When did you learn to fly a rocket, and hotwire a
tracker? And when was I specifically trackable?"

Anna rolled her eyes. "Those flying simulator games I
play are based off actual rocket controls, the tracker is detachable, and
you're specifically trackable because everyone is. Their Nexus Force equipment
is equipped with small trackers in case a situation arises when they're
needed."

Will tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I'm in civvies."
He pointed out.

Anna raised her eyes. "You never go anywhere without
that hat, which happens to be a piece of rank three Adventurer gear. You're
detectable wearing that."

"Wow." Said Will, finally at a loss for words.
"That's impressive."

"It's not THAT impressive." Said Anna.

"Did you miss the bit where you, a ten year-old girl,
whacked a full-grown man on the back of the head with a lug wrench?" Will
reminded her.

Anna looked sheepishly at the ground for a few moments.

"Okay, it was impressive." She admitted.

"Yeah, it really was." Will looked at Anna with a
newfound sense of admiration. Despite her age, she hadn't only looked after
herself, but she had ended up saving him.

It was at this point the wall caved in.

The explosion was so forceful that Anna and Will were blown
off their feet. Will quickly sheltered Anna with his own body as rubble fell
around them. Eventually the dust cleared, and Will saw three people standing in
the hole. There was Aaron, Shadow, and a girl that Will didn't know.

"I sincerely hope everybody saw that," exclaimed Aaron
wildly, "Because I will NOT be doing that again."

"Aaron?" Asked Will, rising to his feet.

"Will!" Exclaimed Aaron. "Buddy, it's good to
see you." Then a puzzled look appeared on Aaron's face.

"We thought you were captured. Did you escape?"

"Actually, I was freed." Said Will, and turned to
reveal Anna standing behind him.

"Anna..." Aaron gasped. Suddenly he was on his
knees, embracing his sister.

### ***CHAPTER 11: MEAT OR POTATOES?***

The five people, now reunited, scoured the room looking for
items of interest. Each person there had their own goals and objectives, and
looked around for them.

"No sign of Plue." Reported Aaron after all the
tubes had been checked.

"There could be more rooms like this?" Suggested
Will, half-heartedly.

Aaron shrugged. "Maybe."

Rose had been looking in the pods as well, and now
exclaimed, "This person isn't insane!"

"How do you know?" Asked Anna as the group hurried
over.

"I was..." Rose faltered. "I was here for a
while. I've seen everyone, the best and the worst."

"Well, let him out then!" Exclaimed Will. "We
can't just leave a mostly normal person in there to remain an prisoner!"

Shadow immediately flipped a switch on the wall, the tube
opened with a hiss, and the man inside fell straight onto the smooth, white
floor.

There was a \*smack!\* as he flopped into contact, and the
group winced. However, he picked himself up, brushed down his clothes, and
glanced around at the surrounding people. Aaron and Will glanced at each other
as he took in Shadow's appearance, Rose's haggard expression and Aaron's left
foot being unexplainably on fire from their dramatic entrance without showing
any kind of emotion.

"Hello," He said. "My name's Jacen..."

There was a brief pause, and then Jacen slowly fell to the
ground once again.

"Is he alright?" Exclaimed Anna.

"Should be fine." Remarked Rose. "People do
this when they get out of those after a certain period of time. He's been in
here for a while."

"Okay, any others worth taking?" Asked Aaron.

"That one." Pointed Rose, to the tank that Will
had been beside. The team watched as the girl inside's arms once again began to
polymorph, then return to normal. Will looked nervously at Rose.

"You sure?" He asked.

"Pretty sure." Said Rose.

This time the girl didn't even say anything before falling
unconscious.

"That it?" Asked Aaron.

Rose nodded.

"Yeah, everyone else here is either insane, evil, or
not really alive."

The group started pulling the comatose subjects out of the
lab, but instantly Will could tell there was going to be a problem. They
couldn't support two unconscious people without everyone helping, and then they
would have no defence if they were spotted.

As they began to walk down corridors, Will paused when he
noticed a room that was strikingly different from any other room they had
passed. Instead of being clean and light, it was wooden on the inside, filled
with dusty shelves, and dilapidated. However, on those shelves Will could see
all sorts of equipment and gadgets, which might have come in useful.

"Guys, there's something there." He pointed out,
and explained his suspicions to the rest of the group.

"Good idea." Said Rose when he had finished.
"We'll hide in this room here. You and Aaron can look for anything that
might be useful."

"Works for me." Shrugged Aaron. Anna nodded,
whilst Shadow said nothing.

Aaron and Will entered the room, and started looking around
the shelves. They stuffed the equipment they found into their packs and
prepared to leave, but Aaron stared at the back wall, encompassing the whole
room in his vision.

"There's one thing I don't quite understand." He
mused. "Just now, a strange smell has appeared. It wasn't hear earlier.
And it smells like food. Is it candy? Some kind of consumable? Perhaps even
Armour Shine?"

Will turned round, and realised what Aaron was talking
about.

"Toffee Apple." He said.

Aaron turned around to see what Will was looking at.

There was a pair of Assembly soldiers standing in front of
the entrance. Even as Will and Aaron watched, a third man appeared. Only, this
man was almost twice as tall as anyone else in the room. He towered over both Aaron
and Will, and the two Assembly grunts, one of whom was holding the tell-tale
toffee apple in his hand.

Unfazed, Aaron pointed first at the big man, then at the two
grunts.

"Meat?" He asked Will. "Or potatoes?"

"I'm a vegetarian." Will replied, and was about to
move when Aaron shot a disdainful glance at him.

"Really?" Aaron asked. "That's your big
line?"

Will turned to the Assembly troops.

"Give us a moment."

They nodded.

Will turned his attention back to his stubborn friend.

"Okay, would you prefer "My ten minutes are
up?""

"Not only is that one of the most nonsensical things
I've ever heard," Aaron declared, "But I feel like that's plagiarism
of some kind..."

"Whatever." Said Will, and abruptly doffed his hat
and flung it at one of the Assembly goons. It smacked him on the nose, and he
reeled as a result. The other one approached Will angrily, only for Will to
swing his fist and catch him on the jaw. Unfortunately, the first man recovered
and flung himself onto Will's back.

While this was happening, the big man approached Aaron, who
looked still unfazed as they stared each other down.

Suddenly, Aaron flattened his hand and started slapping the
giant with his palm, catching him several times across the face and chest. The
tall man tried to retaliate, reaching forward, but the reaches were clumsy and Aaron
easily whacked them aside.

Will found an Assembly fist connecting with his face, and
fell backwards before recovering and hitting his opponent so hard, the grunt
went careering off to the side. In the meantime, Aaron attempted to whack the
big man again, but the giant calmly grabbed his wrist out of the air. This
prompted Aaron to sock him on the jaw in an attempt to free himself.
Unfortunately, this only enraged his assailant who lifted him clean off the
ground.

As Aaron's feet left the wooden floor he couldn't help but
squeal in a comedic fashion, before finding himself being flung at a table so
strongly that he slid across the whole surface and off the other end, taking
every item that was previously on the table with him.

Glass, Metal and Wood showered Aaron as he rammed into the
wall. On the other side of the room, Will pulled off his coat and wrapped it
round one of the Assembly's head, before grabbing a frying pan from a shelf and
repeatedly smacking the goon with it.

As Aaron attempted to struggle to his feet, the big man
slowly approached him. Aaron quickly grabbed a metal pole, before stumbling and
feigning being dazed.

"One moment please." He slurred to the giant.

"I'm in no hurry." Said the giant, civilised.

Aaron struck fast, first knocking away the giant's arms
before whacking him in the leg with the pole. The giant fell, but before Aaron
could strike the pole became caught on a support, and the big man grabbed the
pole.

Will found himself being strangled by one of the Assemblys,
as the other one came at him from behind. Unfazed, Will leapt and kicked the
approaching grunt in the face before flipping right over the first, knocking
him to the ground.

Beside him, Aaron and the big man were wrestling for the
pole, when the giant pushed unexpectedly, smacking Aaron in the face with the
pole. Now legitimately dazed, Aaron offered little resistance as he was flipped
onto the table, before the burly man started trying to drag him off by the
legs.

Will was grabbed by a grunt, and the two made a beeline for
the nearest shelf, knocking several glass bottles and items to the floor.
Through the gap they had made, Will could see Aaron being dragged along.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Never better." Declared Aaron sarcastically as he
held onto the end of the table with all his might.

"Hold still." Ordered Will before punching the
grunt and quickly pulling out his whip. Before Aaron could protest, Will
cracked the whip and it flew towards Aaron's assailant, wrapping round his arm
and dragging him to one side, demolishing a shelf entirely. Unfortunately, the
giant didn't seem to appreciate this, and turned to attack Will instead.

After dodging a couple of furious punches, Will appeared to
be saved as Aaron leapt forwards in an attempt to tackle Will's assailant.
However, the grunts had picked themselves up and now flung themselves in Aaron's
way, to stop him from helping Will.

On their own, it didn't take long for the giant to overpower
Will, grabbing his neck and shoving him against a wall. Will kicked in
retaliation, but he was losing both air and strength fast, so his retaliation
attempts amounted to little.

In front of him, he could see Aaron smacking the goon's
heads together, and they fell like sacks of potatoes. Aaron then, instead of
helping Will straight away, rummaged around on the shelves. Before Will had a
significant amount of time to wonder, Aaron re-emerged, holding what looked
like a disastrous attempt at the recreation of a tuning fork. However, when Aaron
pointed it, maelstrom electricity flowed through both him and it, and struck
the big man hard. The giant fell to the ground, comatose, and Will gasped for
breath.

"Aaron." He said finally. "What is
that?"

His friend held up the device and scrutinized it.

"I don't know." He said at last.

"Why didn't you use your powers until then?" Will
exclaimed, realising that the fight could have been a lot shorter and easier. Aaron
snorted in derision.

"Plue warned me that Overbuild was interested in me,
and now you say he's in cahoots with the Darkitecht. I'd rather not reveal
myself in a way which would put us all in more danger than we already were,
especially to members of his faction. Kaylori excluded."

"Makes sense." Shrugged Will. "Have to admit,
I'm surprised none of them sent out any kind of distress call..."

He trailed off when he saw the body of one of the grunts. On
his wrist was a device which was currently showing a red exclamation mark.
Abruptly the whole room, and perhaps the entire facility, lit up in a bright
red light as an alarm blared.

"You jinxed it." Said Aaron glumly.

### ***CHAPTER 12: EXIT SIGNS POINT THAT WAY***

Crimson lights and raging sirens shattered the tranquil
atmosphere that had previously been the forefront of the facility.

Stumbling, Will and Aaron raced across the corridor and
entered the room containing the rest of the group. Kicking open the door, Aaron
sprinted inside the close space.

"We need to go, NOW." He said.

"What about Plue?" Asked Will, as everyone
frantically began to rise.

Aaron grimaced. "The needs of the many outweigh the
needs of a few. Right now I need to ensure everybody's safety, and then I'm
coming back for her."

"And... Vector and Kaylori?" Said Roseanne
hesitantly.

"I don't know." Shrugged Aaron. "I wish I
did, but the truth is they could be anywhere. It would be a waste of time
trying to look for them. We just have to hope they made it out on their
own."

"We can't just-" Rose was interrupted by the
waking up of Jacen and the other girl from the containment sector. Jacen looked
round, noted the blaring alarms and flashing red lights, and raised an eyebrow
as he looked at the assembled people.

"Talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire,
what on crux have you been doing?" He exclaimed, amused and annoyed at the
same time.

Anna rolled her eyes. "No gratitude. None."

Meanwhile, the other girl opened her eyes drearily, then
stumbled backwards, obviously disorientated from her change of location and the
sirens/lights

"Who are you? Where am I? What's going on?" She
said, her voice growing louder and more inquisitive every yell.

"Not enemies, an underground facility, and we've been discovered."
Aaron garbled in response before Shadow grabbed the unsteady girl and placed
her over his shoulder in a fireman's lift.

"Hey!" She yelled, but Shadow ignored it and began
to fly out of the room.

One by one Shadow (With his passenger), Rose, Will, Anna,
Jacen and Aaron flooded into the corridor.

"Exit signs point that way." Volunteered Will, and
the team ran down the corridor.

The group sprinted (and flew) down the hallway, as the
alarms continued to blare and turn the world crimson. Footsteps sounded as
their feet grazed against the metal ground. As fortune would have it, the
entire base's security system had also been set off, and even now blast doors
were descending and cutting corridors off from each other.

Despite Aaron lazering through one, Will hotwiring another
and Shadow slicing through a third, they couldn't keep running and performing
evasive maneuverers forever. Their energy was almost expended by this point,
and fatigue was beginning to set in. However, as they passed an abandoned security
office, an idea came into Aaron's head.

Quickly, he ran into the room and began searching, hoping
that he would find the option he was looking for. Suddenly he saw it, protected
by a steel case that was only unlockable by a key, which presumably the guards
were in the possession of.

After melting the case, Aaron smacked the button and then
returned to his friends, who had only just noticed he wasn't among them.

"What was that?" Asked Jacen as they kept running.

"I disabled all holding pod security." Aaron
explained.

"What?" Asked Jacen.

"The prisoners are free. With so much chaos it'll be
much easier to slip away unnoticed."

"I hope you're right." Sighed Jacen. "Some of
those things are hardly people. The Darkitecht's warped experiments were in
some of those pods, and now that they're released-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get the picture." Said Aaron
hurriedly. "Thanks for the morale boost."

"Thanks for the sarcasm."

"Touché."

Aaron rolled his eyes at Jacen as they kept running, but
decided to continue the conversation anyway. It wasn't like he had anything
better to do.

"I'm assuming you were a prisoner here for a
reason?"

"You assume correctly." Said Jacen. "I happen
to be strangely immune to maelstrom infection, so my theory is that Overbuild
brought me in here so he could work on a cure for the maelstrom."

"The depressing thing," explained Aaron, "is
that would be a really good thing to get behind if it weren't for the whole
major kidnapping and experimenting operation."

"Yeah." Agreed Jacen. They kept running for a few
moments, before Jacen said "Do you even know where we're going?"

"Not really. My idea was just to blunder around until
we found something promising."

"That's not the most effective strategy."

"But it's the story of my life, pal. My life is based
on a true story, and this story is being played out now. Which is also my life.
Which is the story." He paused for a moment. "I'm thinking I've been
messed with by a time traveller."

Will himself was about to butt in, when another security
door slammed down in front of them, causing the group to halt and giving one or
two members a much-needed chance to recuperate.

"So how do we get through this?" Asked Will, as Aaron
and Jacen stepped forward.

"Leave it to me." Shrugged Aaron. But before any
lasers could be unleashed, a circular portion of metal inexplicably dropped
from the ceiling. Through it jumped Kaylori, Vector, a samurai, a shinobi and
another man in vaguely Sentinel-themed gear.

"How?" Asked Will.

"Who?" Asked Jacen.

"Why?" Asked Anna.

Aaron didn't say anything, but rather ran over to and
embraced Plue, who had removed her helmet and revealed her identity.

"No way!" Aaron finally yelled when he stepped
back. "How did-"

"We find her?" Finished Kaylori. "Not hard.
She was in the same cell block Vector's friends were in."

Aaron groaned inwardly as he realised more tedious
introductions were soon to be underway.

"I see we've both met with more company." Vector
mused, looking at Jacen and the other girl still being carried by Shadow.

"Indeed we have." Said Will. "This is Jacen,
who was down here because he's immune to maelstrom infection, and... we don't
know who she is yet." He sighed.

"That's because you haven't ASKED yet!" She yelled
irritably. Shadow put her down and she turned towards them, brushing her
unkempt dark brown hair out of her eyes.

"My name's Gaia, thanks for asking, and as to what I
can do... There's polymorphing my limbs, varied control over maelstrom substances
such as flames, lightning and mist, and the strength of my powers varies
depending on how much maelstrom is in the area. Comprende?"

There was a brief silence, as all the other people stared at
Gaia, with the exception of Aaron whispering to Will:

"That was what I meant when I said organisation!"

"Well... thanks, I suppose..." Said Will, unsure
how to react to an such an outpouring of information.

Gaia sighed. "You're welcome. I guess I should be more
thankful that you're rescuing me-I was there for years."

"Well, at least you're amongst friends." Offered
Anna. Gaia shrugged.

"Wouldn't call them friends just yet."

"So who are these people?" Asked Aaron
impatiently, indicating Vector's friends. "I'd rather just get this over
with, as we are slightly pressed for time."

Vector nodded.

"This is Dilip." He introduced the shinobi, who
bowed. "And this is Stu." He continued, pointing at the sentinel who
dramatically loaded a gun just after his name was revealed-coincidentally or on
purpose, no-one had any idea.

"Nice to meet the pair of you." Said Will
politely. "Now can we please-"

Will was cut short by the door opening of its own accord to
reveal a small army of mostly Assembly and Paradox soldiers, with a few
exceptions. At the head was...

"Doctor Albert Overbuild." Growled Aaron.

### ***CHAPTER 13: THE SPLIT***

"I wish I could say it is a pleasure to talk to you
again," sighed Will, "But it really isn't."

"Touché." Said Overbuild. "I'm still trying
to get over how inexplicably rude you and my former assistant were, spying on
me in the privacy of my own Nexus Tower portion!

"It's not THAT much privacy!" Protested Kaylori.
"That place is huge!"

"Silence!" Declared Overbuild loudly. Aaron
suddenly felt a wave of rage flow through him, and he felt his fingertips
involuntarily catch alight once again. This time, however, the rage was far
from inexplicable.

"You have been plotting against the Nexus Force,
freeing dangerous creatures and prisoners-"

"I resent that!" Shot Gaia angrily.

"And, if left unchecked, your powers and abilities
could bring ruin to all we have built over the years."

The Doctor sounded so passionate that Aaron almost believed
him for a moment.

"Sorry Overbuild, but I can't stand hypocrisy. And
considering you're in league with the Darkitecht, that is some of the most
hypocritical stuff I've ever heard in my live."

As a show of defiance, the people behind Aaron raised their
weapons/fists, but it seemed futile. Twelve people, against a quarter of the
Nexus Force?

Aaron snapped his fingers, and suddenly a combination of
fireballs, lightning and bullets pelted the corrupt troopers, who scattered for
cover behind piles of rubble and inside different corridors. Gaia was in front,
her eyes burning with a purple fury as she let lose all of her power on her
captors. One shinobi tried to impale her from behind, but she swiftly turned
around and started a bizarre sword fight with the doubtless confused shinobi.

As the rest of the minifigs attacked, Aaron noticed Kaylori
hanging back, her hand on her head. Concerned she might have been hit, he
sprinted over.

"You all right?" He asked.

"Yeah, I just feel... weird..." She slurred, still
clutching her head. She blinked, and Aaron gasped.

Her eyes were, once again, reptilian slits.

Aaron leapt back in surprise.

"Woa!" He yelled out loud, then immediately
regretted it as Kaylori looked up at him, startled.

"What? What is it?" She asked.

"Erm..." He thought frantically.
"Nothing..."

He thought Kaylori would pursue the matter further, but to
his surprise she just shrugged.

"Whatever. I'll be fine, go and help the others."

Aaron obediently turned around and viewed the fray for
himself. He was unsurprised to find absolute carnage, as his group defended
themselves with every ounce of formidable strength. Gaia was still leading,
with Stu and Jacen backing her up. Dilip and Vector kept the left side open,
whilst Rose and Will took the right. Shadow stood in the center with his sword,
whilst Plue was protecting Anna from the chaos that was now raging.

However, it was clear that they were not likely to win. They
were heavily outnumbered, and the traitors had by this point recovered and were
pushing back. Thinking quickly, Aaron used his lasers to carve a hole in one of
the walls to the right.

"This way!" He motioned. Taking the hint, the team
began to flee into the hole and subsequently into the next room. Shadow grabbed
Anna and flew quickly through the doorway. An engineer tried to grab Will, but Aaron
webbed the grunt in the face, enabling Will to escape. Once they were all in
the next room, Gaia focused and a wall of fire erupted, blocking the way.

"There's not enough maelstrom here!" She yelled,
perspiring with the effort. "I can't hold it for longer!"

"Let me!" Yelled Aaron over the roar of the
flames. Stepping forward, he began adding his flames to hers, and soon the wall
encompassed the entire hole, trapping their pursuers on the other side. The two
of them slid to the floor, panting, and Aaron turned to the group.

"Should... buy us some time..." He gasped.

"I sincerely hope so." Muttered Stu as the flames
drowned out the yelling of the angry traitors.

"What do we do now?" Asked Kaylori. Aaron glanced
worriedly at her, before breathing a sigh of relief at the fact that her eye
seemed to be back to normal. Clambering to his feet, he suddenly realised with
a jolt that most of the Assembled people present were looking at him,
potentially for orders.

"What?" He asked.

"I think they're looking to you." Plue murmured
beside him.

"I know that." He muttered back, "But WHY?
It's not like I've proved myself the most competent, or strategic, or-"

"All your life, people try to take accomplishments away
from you." Plue scolded him. "Don't take them away from yourself.
Some of the people here know you already, and know you're clever and
resourceful. Most of them trust you, or have fought beside you, and know what
you're capable of. People respect power, and you seem to have a lot of
it." She finished, giving him a meaningful glance.

Aaron awkwardly put his hand behind his head. "Um,
yeah... I probably should have told you sooner."

Plue smiled. "Don't worry about it." Then her
smile faded. "One thing though. Don't go out of your way to protect me, or
anyone. We can take care of ourselves."

To emphasise the point, Will cracked his whip and Gaia
started to allow bolts of lightning to dance around on her fingers.

Aaron nodded. "Fair point. But there is one person whom
I insist on protecting."

Aaron outstretched his hand, and felt Anna's tender fingers
slip into his.

"Anna stays with me." He declared, and felt
satisfaction as he saw the assembled people nod.

"Okay." Aaron said. "I think we need some
kind of plan. Does anyone know about Overbuild's plan?"

To his surprise, Will raised his hand. "Yeah, I know
his intentions."

"How?"

"Long story.

Aaron folded his arms. "It's a good job I adore stories
then, isn't it Will?"

Reluctantly, Will confessed to Aaron everything that the man
had told him whilst he was a prisoner, with Anna confirming what he said,
having been in the room for the majority of the time. When he finished, Aaron
began frantically pacing up and down the floor, scratching his head and
obviously in deep thought. Gaia leaned over to Plue and asked:

"What is he doing? He looks like he's having a
controlled spasm."

"That's his "I'm concentrating and in
thought." motion." Plue explained. "It's how he comes up with
strategies."

"Whatever he dreams up, I hope it works." Gaia
hissed.

Plue nodded optimistically. "It should."

"And you trust him?"

"I trust him with my life."

"Do you reckon he knows what he's doing?"

There was a brief silence, before Plue admitted,

"I'm not sure I would go that far."

Aaron re-joined his comrades, and signalled for their
attention.

"Okay everyone, my though is that we should split into
two groups."

The group looked up-this was not what many of them were
expecting.

"I've been studying the signs on the floor," He
revealed, waving a hand to indicate the lines streaking across the ground.
There was a murmur of understanding, and Aaron continued.

"From the looks of it, there's a teleporter not far
from here, just a few corridors down. I think that one team should use the
teleporter to get back to Nexus Tower, and warn the rest of the Nexus Force
about what's going on."

He turned to Will.

"I'd like Will to lead this time. Vector?" He
asked, and the buccaneer looked up.

"You, Dilip, Stu and Kaylori go with him." He
ordered, neglecting to inform them of the strange lizard-y things he had seen
going on. There were far weirder things going on.

"I can do that." Said Will confidently. Behind
him, the minifigs Aaron had chosen to go with him nodded in agreement.

"Oh, by the way." Said Aaron. "I want you to
take Anna with you."

### ***CHAPTER 14: EN ROUTE TO DANGER***

"What!" Anna exclaimed. "That's not fair, I
can help, I can-"

"Anna." Said Aaron slowly, kneeling down so he was
her level. He gazed at her lovingly. "You are the bravest person I've ever
met. You're intelligent, kind and courageous. And I don't want you to throw
that away."

He indicated with his hand to the group he had chosen to go
with him.

"What we're doing is extremely dangerous. If we
succeed, the war might finish. But if we fail..." He tailed off, unable to
put into words what she already knew.

Anna's sky blue eyes lit up. "But then, all the more
reason for me to come! You need all the help you can get!"

Aaron didn't answer. Instead he looked Anna directly in the
eyes, placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled comfortingly.

"Listen to me. Do you know why big siblings are born?
What their purpose is?"

Anna shook her head. Aaron leaned in close and whispered in
her ear:

"To protect the younger ones that come after
them."

He leaned back, and looked at Anna again.

"That's what I was born to do. And right now, the best
way I can do that is for you to go to Nexus Tower with Will, and go to safety.
Okay?"

Anna looked at him solemnly, and nodded.

"Okay."

There was a brief pause, and then Anna flung herself into Aaron's
arms. Aaron returned the embrace, holding in tears, and murmured,

"Stay safe, Anna."

"I will." She whispered. "I promise."

Aaron rose to his feet again, as Anna obediently walked over
to Will's side. Will and Aaron shook hands, and then Will's group walked down
the corridor towards the teleporter. Before they rounded the bend, Anna gave Aaron
a final, desperate glance. Then she was gone.

For a few moments, no-one spoke. The flimsy ceiling lights
flickered as Aaron stood stock still, staring at the place where he had last
seen his sister. There he remained, motionless, until he heard the tell-tale
energy hum of a teleport. Once it finished, he turned to the assembled people.

"Come on." He said brusquely. "Let's get this
over with."

Plue quietly walked up to Aaron's side and slipped her hand
into his.

"Did you mean that?" She asked quietly.

Aaron looked down to her.

"I meant every word." He said softly.

"Good." Plue nodded, satisfied, and then re-joined
the other people.

Aaron continued staring for a bit, then shook his head and
regained his composure.

"Right! Our mission!"

The others all looked at him expectantly.

Aaron wringed his fingers together. "It's essentially
taking down the Darkitecht."

There was a minor uproar when he announced this. Gaia
shouted "Yeah!" enthusiastically, Rose paled but said nothing, Jacen
loudly exclaimed "That's stupid!", Plue gasped and Shadow remained emotionless.

Aaron waved his hands to calm everyone down. "Sorry,
sorry, that was a slight bombshell, I know, but hear me out!"

He continued as the rowdy people finally quietened down and
listened.

"The way I see it, we have two problems. Doctor
Overbuild's allegiance with the Darkitecht, and the Maelstrom's existence. Now,
if we manage to sort out the second and latter problem, namely the Darkitecht
himself, then the first will no longer exist. Overbuild will be outmatched and
we should be able to defeat him with little trouble.

Gaia nodded. "I say it's about time someone did
something around here, and that's the particular something I've wanted to do
for a very long time."

Shadow said nothing, but merely floated over to Aaron and
positioned himself beside him, to show everyone who he supported.

Plue nodded. "It makes sense, I suppose. Besides, I
wouldn't back out now that we've come so far."

Jacen sighed, unhappy with the unfolding events.

"You lot are going to be the death of me one of these
days, aren't you?" He grumbled. "Fine. I'll go."

Rose glanced around nervously, before slowly shuffling
towards Aaron and offering her hand to shake. Aaron shook it warmly, and turned
to his team.

"Okay!" He announced.
"Follow me!"

"Watch out!" Alerted Jacen. "Patrol ahead!"

Aaron flattened himself against the wall and held his breath
as a rouge squad of Paradox soldiers marched past his hiding place. After the
footsteps faded, he cautiously stuck his head out of the gap and looked around.

"All clear." Jacen reported over his earpiece.

"Thanks." Aaron murmured back before re-entering
the main corridor. Behind him, Gaia, Plue and Shadow emerged from their refuge
looking as exhausted as he felt.

"We can't keep this up." Plue wheezed. "There
are too many patrols, and we've made little progress."

"That's because of the insane amount of security this
facility has." Informed Rose. "We've had to mostly lead you in
circles to make sure you don't get spotted."

"Well, we appreciate it, even if Gaia won't admit
that." Sighed Aaron. "How's things on your end?"

"Decent." Replied Rose from the other end of the
radio. "I have to admit, Jacen's a dab hand with some of this tech. He's
successfully hacked the security cameras, the earpieces we gave you, and the
door that leads to this control room!"

"I'll admit, it was kind of impressive." Said
Jacen, sounding pleased with himself."

"Yeah yeah, great work and all that, where do we go
next?" Interrupted Gaia.

"Right." Jacen sounded a little more on task now.
"Walk to the penultimate exit on this level and take a left."

As Aaron walked, he heard Gaia say:

"How can you be sure we're going in the right
direction?"

"The scanners in here indicate the highest
concentration of maelstrom in this facility is located in a specific area.
Given what sort of powerful maelstrom-y things are in here, it can only mean
the Darkitecht. If you don't trust me..." Jacen tailed off. "I've got
an idea. Your powers get stronger or weaker depending on the amount of
maelstrom in the area, right?"

"Right." Gaia confirmed.

"Could you use that factor, in any shape or form, to
lead the team to the Darkitecht? That way you won't have to rely on me if you
don't want to."

Gaia thought about Jacen's proposition, before admitting,

"That COULD work..."

"Great." Said Jacen from the control room.
"Now you won't have to listen to me all the time if you don't want
to."

"Whoopee." Gaia murmured before switching her
earpiece off.

Holding out her hand, Gaia focused and the group watched as
a faint mist gathered over her hand. As it solidified, it began to trail off in
all directions. But in one direction it started to become more obvious, and
less clear.

"That way." Declared Gaia, before marching off in
said direction. The others followed suit, save for Aaron who hung back and
talked to Jacen.

"This is the right way, right?" He asked.

Jacen nodded. "Yeah, she's going the same way you would
have gone anyway."

Aaron shrugged. "Well, anything for reassurance, I
suppose."

"You got that right."

Aaron quickly caught up with the others, and they continued
to walk through the facility.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps. Another patrol! At the same
time, he heard Jacen yell into his earpiece, "Get to cover!"

"There's no time!" Responded Aaron, and a second
later a cluster of maelstrom rounded the corner. Aaron winced, and prepared for
a massacre.

But nothing happened.

Aside from one or two shifty looks from stromlings, they
were completely passed by. Aaron was about to ask what that was, but he looked
down and understood.

Thanks to Rose's power, Aaron, Gaia and Plue were coated in
a layer of maelstrom which made them look like any old maelstrom-infected
being. Shadow remained the same, but Rose obviously hadn't seen any point in
trying to disguise him, with his black-flamed form and crimson eye slits.

"Thanks Rose." Plue sighed into her communicator.

"No problemo." Replied Rose's voice, sounding
tinny over their communication. "You're almost there, guys!"

"Great." Muttered Gaia. "Now we get morale
support."

"Better than nothing, right?" Shot Rose. Gaia
sighed.

"I guess."

"Listen, we'll contact you again when you arrive in
th-"

There was a sharp silence.

### ***CHAPTER 15: TRAP***

"Rose?" Aaron spoke into the earpiece.
"Jacen? Anyone?"

All he heard was a hissing static.

"That." Murmured Plue. "Is NOT good
news."

Aaron turned to Gaia. "Gaia. You're on. Lead us to the
Darkitecht."

Gaia raised an eyebrow, but it was Plue who voiced what they
were both thinking.

"You intend to just leave our friends?"

"I have complete faith that Jacen and Rose can protect
themselves." Replied Aaron solemnly. "Besides, we're probably closer
to the Darkitecht now than we are to them. Going back would only cost us the
one chance we have of ending this war."

Plue folded her arms. "I still say we need to do
something."

Aaron rolled his eyes. "Fine."

He then turned to Shadow.

"Find them, and make sure they're safe."

Shadow immediately nodded and flew off.

Gaia stared after him, then turned to Aaron. "You
seriously think the three of us will be enough to take down the
Darkitecht?"

"No." Aaron replied. "That's why I did two
things. Number one, I also telepathically informed Shadow that once he finds
the other he should help them come here, and two, sent Will off to fetch the
Nexus Force."

"I still have my doubts." Admitted Plue, once Aaron
had finished.

"I don't." Replied Gaia. "You're pretty
clever, you know that?"

Aaron shrugged awkwardly. "Thank you."

"Now let's keep moving!" Gaia yelled, and marched
off before Aaron or Plue could stop her, leaving them with their only option
being to follow hurriedly, lest more patrols find them.

"I hope Shadow finds the others with no trouble."
Fretted Plue.

"He will." Aaron reassured her. "And we can
do this. Trust me."

Plue turned to him. "THAT I can manage."

"Then I shan't ask much more at this time." Aaron
replied soothingly. "Just trust me, ok? I'll be fi-"

He stopped as he grimaced and slowed down. Plue turned
around and looked at him quizzically. "Are you alright?" She asked.

"Fine." Aaron winced, clutching his chest. "I
just... feel..." He paused. Plue waited impatiently for a few moments as Aaron
regained his balance. Suddenly, he seemed to recover and began to run on after
Gaia. Plue sprinted after him, curious, but all she received was another
"fine."

Suspicious, she nevertheless forced it out of her mind as
they ran after Gaia, who was eagerly soldiering on ahead. To make matters more
difficult, Gaia's excitement soon overcame her to the point where she used the
mist to levitate herself to move faster, and any patrolling squads they came
across were immediately smashed by the influx of maelstrom Gaia was at the
center of.

Finally, they found themselves in front of a huge pair of
metallic doors. Plue and Aaron hesitated; Gaia ploughed forwards and smashed
clean through the doors, sending one sprawling onto the floor and the other
swinging on its hinges.

"DARKITECHT!" Gaia roared, chaos energy spewing
from a small tornado around her. The maelstrom presence was so strong here that
Gaia found it practically effortless to open her hands and turn them into
maelstrom flamethrowers, torching the entire room.

When the flames died down, the trio scanned the room.

There was no-one there.

No Darkitecht, no Overbuild, no soldiers.

Aaron was about to ask what happened, how it happened, what
on Crux was going on, when a growl from behind him told him everything he
wanted to know.

Another door, stronger, slammed down behind them as the
creature-machine hybrids Aaron had fought earlier. As well as the fox, the
snake and the wasp, there were several other creatures creeping towards them.

Gaia's eyes burst into flames, and without consulting either
of her companions, she leapt into battle.

Gaia moved faster than Aaron or Plue could have imagined.
Electricity crackled round her as she sprinted towards the first creature,
smashed it across the room, and turned to the next one without even pausing.
The snake tried to intervene but received another blast of fire, and it retreated,
hissing. The wasp and a falcon both zoomed down from above, but mist enveloped
them and they vanished.

A lion, a bear and the fox mashups all charged her at once,
but a wall of mist and electricity formed out of nowhere, blocking them off.
Perspiration ran down Gaia's brow as she threw everything she had into the
battle. Kicking one creature aside, setting another on fire, shocking and
paralyzing a third, she fought on. Eventually the snake managed to return and
whip its tail across her face, sending her sprawling.

Gaia attempted to rise, but found herself pinned down by two
of the creatures whilst the bear loomed over her. Using all her energy, she
raised her legs and used her powers to enhance the blow to the extent that the
servant of darkness was sent careering into a wall, which bent and broke under
the force. The bear dropped to the ground. Gaia turned to one of the creatures
pinning her down and, using her eyes as an exit point for the power, she
blasted the creature backwards

She stood up, and as she did so tendrils of mist began to
rise from the ground, under her control. They grabbed and immobilised the
creatures one by one. Bleeding from the cheek thanks to the snake's tail, Gaia
raised her head and clenched her fist. Immediately whatever robotics that were
inside the creatures failed, and they all dropped, powerless, to the floor.
Gaia knelt down and stared at the ground, panting heavily.

"Well done." Came a voice from the shadows.

Aaron shook his head and regained control of himself as the
speaker stepped into their view.

It was the Darkitecht.

"Very well done indeed."

"I understand now." Spat Plue, taking a step
forward and keeping her hate-filled gaze on the Darkitecht. "This was a
trap."

The Darkitecht made no effort to deny her accusation,
instead shrugging almost innocently.

"I'll heartedly agree with you. It was a trap. Why not?
After all, it appears to have been taken care of by your... friend here."

He walked over to Gaia, who looked up at him with anger and
fatigue in her eyes. However, she did not speak.

"I did not predict that she would be with you. I had
presumed she would be either still imprisoned or insane by this point." He
turned his gaze back on them. "And the others as well, even the turncoat
you have dubbed "Shadow." When it comes to gathering allies..."

"You, sir, have truly surpassed my expectations."

Aaron stared at him, emotionless.

"I would say I'm grateful." He declared, "But
that would mean accepting a compliment from you, and I don't think I'd like to
do something like that."

Instead of losing his temper as Aaron expected, the
Darkitecht raised his arms.

"But of course," he crooned, "I apologize for
my lack of sensitivity. You are torn, no?"

"Torn?" Aaron repeated, quizzically.

"Torn." Confirmed the Darkitecht. "It must be
difficult for you, having the power of your sworn enemy. And WHAT power! One of
the most powerful maelstrom creations I've ever encountered, all in that tiny
crystal!"

Aaron suddenly drew Oblivion and pointed the razor-sharp
blade towards the Darkitecht.

"I am not." He growled. "Any simple
"creation.""

The Darkitecht simply looked Aaron directly in the eyes...
and then the malevolent gaze moved down to Aaron's chest.

"I wasn't referring to you." He said simply.

### ***CHAPTER 16: BRAWL TIME***

Aaron suddenly became aware of a horrible burning sensation
in his chest, and he found his legs buckle underneath him. He was vaguely aware
of Plue yelling "No!" But that didn't seem to affect him. He was
somewhere else, he wasn't here. The next thing he knew, the Darkitecht was
standing over him, diamond tipped cane in hand.

Then he felt the strike on his head, and keeled over onto
the floor. He realised numbly that he was being hit again and again by the
Darkitecht's cane, and there wasn't anything he could do about it. In a vague
and melancholy fashion, he concluded that he was currently relying on Plue to
assist him, as he was unable to move for some reason, and Gaia has spent all
her energy destroying the hybrids.

His faith was not unjustified as he saw, through blurry and
sideways vision, Plue step over him with katana drawn, and take on the
Darkitecht one-on-one. He tried to tell her to stop, that it was too dangerous,
but his mouth wouldn't work. Not only could he not control himself, but he
could feel something moving inside of him. It was impossible for him to explain
to himself what he was feeling, but he had little doubt there was another force
that had been awakened, and one that did not show compassion for its host.

As Plue and the Darkitecht fought, staff against sword, Aaron
also noticed Gaia dragging herself towards him. Her dark hair fell around her
face, and her eyes revealed a deep weariness and pain as she looked at him.

"Can you stand?" She asked, as he stared at her.
"We need to support each other."

Aaron once again attempted to talk, but found himself struck
mute. It was as if he had come down with an abrupt case of shell-shock.

"Fine." Gaia grunted, and Aaron gave a small start
as he realised that, despite all she had fought, despite her imprisonment and
her pain, she was not only walking unaided but actually supporting him as well.

He found the strength to look at her, full of admiration.

"Come on." She muttered.

As Aaron was dragged away by Gaia, he managed to turn around
to watch Plue fight.

Despite his girlfriend putting up a remarkable fight, it was
clear to Aaron that the fight was still extremely one-sided. The Darkitecht was
hardly putting in any effort to fight, casually swinging his cane as Plue
attacked ferociously using her katana. She was knocked backwards, but protected
herself with a roll, and drew her bow and fired in one flowing motion.

The Darkitecht calmly caught the arrow in mid-air.

He glanced at the flames, and then idly blew on the arrow to
put it out. Undeterred, Plue proceeded to fire several more arrows whilst
yelling to Gaia and Aaron, "Go! Go! Go!"

Gaia turned to Aaron, and for the first time he saw a
genuine sympathetic expression in her eyes.

"Sorry." She smiled, and then Aaron felt himself
drop to the ground as Gaia ran to aid Plue.

"Well, isn't that just a punch in the pants." Aaron
grumbled to himself. He was still unable to move, and struggled to ignore the
sensation that felt like he was at war with himself.

Suddenly, a circular portion of the celling once again
dropped down beside Aaron, and down jumped Shadow, Rose and Jacen.

"I'm not going to ask what you're doing down
there." Jacen remarked as he glanced down upon Aaron's motionless body.

"Good idea." Aaron remarked. "I'm fine, just
go and help the others!"

Shadow immediately nodded and flew towards the Darkitecht,
his spiked sword materializing as he went. Jacen reached into his pack and
pulled out a space marauder blaster, and Aaron presumed he had stolen it during
the brief corridor showdown. With his weapon, Jacen took aim and started to
slowly advance towards the fray. Rose, however, nervously glanced over at the
fight and then back to Aaron.

"I can't fight." She murmured. "I just...
can't."

"...Have to..." Aaron groaned. Rose shook her head
stubbornly.

"I physically can't." She confessed. "My
powers are for stealth and defence. I'd be useless in a fight."

"Then..." Aaron rasped. "Pro...tect..."

Rose's eyes opened, full of clarity.

"Okay Aaron. I can... I can try."

With that she picked herself up and ran towards the
Darkitecht, using her spinjitzu as she did so.

With that dilemma sorted, Aaron tried to regain control of
his body, but what he instead found was he had to fight off his own left hand,
which seemed intent on strangling him. He was forced to repeatedly smack his
own hand with the hilt of Oblivion to prevent it from closing round his throat.
Whilst he was doing this, the whole time he felt a burning pain in his chest.
which kept spreading all over his body and forcing him to convulse in momentary
pain before it faded, only to re-emerge a short time later.

Because of this, Aaron found himself unable to spare many
glimpses for the ensuing battle, but he did manage to see, to his satisfaction,
his group holding their own against the Darkitecht. As he had suggested, Rose
used her powers to shield whoever she could from the Darkitecht's multitude of
attacks. Shadow kept lobbing fireballs and hacking at the lord of chaos with
his sword, whilst Plue performed a similar routine with her sword and bow.

Jacen mainly stuck to his blaster and other items he had
stolen, his only power being immunity to infection. It did come in useful,
however, as he had to be shielded considerably less than any of his teammates.
Lastly, there was Gaia, who couldn't contribute much due to her low energy
levels, but still managed to use fire and lightning to take pot-shots at the
Darkitecht whenever he was least expecting it.

Shadow leapt up and scythed his weapon around, forcing the
Darkitecht backwards. Plue took the chance to fire a flaming arrow at his back,
whilst Gaia blasted him with lighting. The Darkitecht tried to regain his
balance but Jacen and Shadow fired at him, knocking him over. It looked like
they genuinely stood a chance.

Then things started to go wrong.

As Shadow wheeled round for another attack, the Darkitecht
this time was ready and knocked Shadow away. Rose went for him, inside her
spinjitzu tornado, but the Lord of Chaos simply reached it and closed his fist
around her neck. As Jacen advanced, the Darkitecht threw Rose at him, sending
them both to the ground.

The Darkitecht then turned to Gaia, who blasted him in the
face with one last magnificent wave of fire - an attack which must have used up
all her energy. The Darkitecht simply swatted the flames aside and laughed.

"This is fun, puny people! Do you have any more
tricks?"

"Call me the magician." Plue retorted from behind
him. The Darkitecht turned around and received a grenade, some armour shine and
a few flaming arrows in the face as a reward. He recovered, and advance angrily
towards Plue, but Jacen fired the blaster, sending the Darkitecht sprawling
onto the floor. He recovered quickly though, and snapped his fingers, tying
Jacen and Rose up in electric threads.

Gaia tried to rise, but the Darkitecht waved his hand idly
and more maelstrom lightning wrapped itself around her, leaving her
immobilised. In one fluid motion the Darkitecht swung his cane, sending Shadow
flying across the room so hard when he hit the wall chunks of it fell on top of
him, which the Darkitecht used to surround and imprison him.

With just Plue remaining, the samurai raised her katana and
whirled it round her head like a helicopter blade. The Darkitecht shot a bolt
of lightning at her, but she dodged and flung her sword at him. Just as Aaron
thought it was going to hit him, the Darkitecht hit it and it came flying back
towards Plue. The blunt end hit her in the stomach and she fell to the ground.
The Darkitecht coolly walked over to her and raised his cane, preparing to
strike.

This is when Aaron snapped.

### ***CHAPTER 17: IT’SSSS THE LIZARD!***

*However long it was*
since the group was separated earlier...

Will opened his eyes and blinked, uneasy around the brightly
lit Nexus Tower interior when compared to the dark and dingy underground
facility he had been in for the last couple of hours.

After several seconds, his eyes adjusted to the light and he
glanced at his team. Vector, too, was rubbing his eyes in exasperation. Dilip
was on the ceiling (?), Stu was glancing round the room with a pistol at the
ready, Kaylori was rubbing her head, and Anna was impatiently tugging on Will's
sleeve. He looked down to see her anxious face.

"Help! Remember? Nexus Force! Traitor issues! Come on,
Will!"

Will focused himself as he remembered their task.

"You lot!" He yelled. The group immediately
stopped faffing around and glanced at Will, awaiting his orders.

"Remember the plan! We need to warn the Nexus Force
about what's really happening down there!"

"Good plan, but where do we start?" Butted in Stu.

Will glared at him. "That's what I was coming to. I
think we should go to Duke Exeter first. As leader of the Nexus Force, his
backing is imperative if we're to take action."

"You sure?" Asked Kaylori. "He might not take
kindly to you accusing one of his best friends of collaboration with the
Darkitecht. I highly doubt he'd thank you."

"Okay, so there's a risk." Will sighed, his
patience running dry. "We face risk all the time. We faced risk there, and
it's best we get our side of the story ot Exeter before Overbuild can think up
a cover story and make us look like the bad guys."

He waited for more objections, but this time there were
none. The group understood his point and were now willing to go along with it.

"Right. Right, right, right." He muttered to
himself. Then he looked up to the ceiling.

"Dilip, run ahead and make sure the path is
clear."

Dilip nodded before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"And the rest of us..." Will continued after
clearing his throat. "will wait for Dilip."

As the team waited for Dilip to return, Will turned to
Vector and Stu, having just figured out what was on his mind.

"Why were you guys taken anyway? It's not like you have
an affiliation with the maelstrom, what were you doing down there?

Vector shrugged. "I was down there to rescue my friend,
and as for them..."

"We saw too much." Interrupted Stu. "Me and
Dilip saw some traitors bundle an escaped test subject to a teleporter. We must
have been spotted, because that's all I remember until I was freed. I expect
Dilip's story is the same, although I haven't had time to ask him."

Will nodded in understanding as Dilip reappeared in another
flash of smoke. However, he didn't bombard Will with information as he had
expected. All Dilip said was, "Everyone's gone." and then walked
outside the room.

"What do you mean?" Asked Anna, as the people
began to leave the room in an attempt to understand what Dilip meant. However,
as Will was about to leave; a groan stopped him, and he wheeled round. Kaylori
was bent double, hugging herself tightly.

"Kay?" He asked, concerned, as he approached
cautiously. "You alrigh-"

He was cut short as Kaylori, with lightning speed, reached
out a hand and grabbed Will's wrist tightly. Will looked down and was shocked
to see what looked like scales on a patch of Kaylori's hand. She looked up
desperately and Will gave another start when he saw her eyes, which currently
resembled the eyes of a reptile.

"What..." Will tried to gasp, but the words
wouldn't come as Kaylori winced again.

"Those are some... STRONG... chemicals..." She
gasped. Then she seemed to focus and looked at Will again.

"Just go. I'll try and sort this out, and then come and
meet you."

Will shook his head, of the opinion that leaving her alone
was a bad idea.

"Kay, I can't just-"

"GO!" She repeated. Will gave in, and politely
averted his gaze from his friend as he quietly vacated the premises.

As Will walked out of the room, extremely unsettled by what
he had just seen, he found the others are realised something that almost took
his mind off Kaylori's dilemma.

The halls and corridors of the tower were completely empty.

"This doesn't make sense." Remarked Vector.
"The Tower's never this empty."

Stu nodded. "Normally there are at least cleaners
roaming the halls, even if no-one else is."

"That just makes this all the more suspicious."
Remarked Anna.

"Agreed." Added Will, stepping forward.
"Something is quite wrong."

"What do you suggest we do?" Asked Dilip. Will
shrugged, not knowing a certain answer. Eventually he said,

"Let's head to Duke Exeter's office anyway. Even if
he's not there, we might be able to get some answers."

"Is that the best idea?" Asked Vector. "If
anyone sees us looking around the Duke's office, chances are they won't ask
questions."

"Do you have a better plan?" Retorted Anna. Vector
shook his head, and Anna continued.

"They I say we go with Will."

"Thank you, Anna." Will said, appreciating her
support.

Sedately, the people began to plod towards Duke Exeter's
office. The faint blue walls, ceiling and floor shone with an aroma of
cleanliness and purification, with the coloured indicators in the floor the
only exception to the blue colouration of the building segment. As they walked
past the Imagination Nexus, Will managed to steal a glance at it. it shone in
all its magnificent glory through the case, it's light blue glow illuminating
the entire room.

Will was glad to look at it, thinking that even the entire
force of chaos would have a hard time getting to the Imagination Nexus again.
But then he remembered the traitors, and his positive feeling melted away
inside of him.

As he passed a darkened corridor, hastening to catch up with
his team, a voice called out "Psst!" from the darkness.

Curiosity overtaking him, Will stepped inside the corridor,
only to be grabbed by a strengthened pair of hands. He struggled.

"Will, it's me!"

"Kaylori?" Will's voice lowered in shock as he
stopped struggling and stared at Kaylori.

"Yeah, it's... it's me." She admitted, and Will
could hear her shuffling around nervously.

"What actually happened? It's dark here, and I
can't-"

"Oh. Right. Give me a second." She replied. A
moment later, the lights flickered on and Will gave a start of surprise.

He was expecting it to be a lot worse, but Kaylori's
appearance still caught him unawares. Her height had increased significantly,
her skin was a shade of green and scaly, and her eyes were reptilian. The only
drastic change was the lengthy tail she had grown, which slid away from the
light switch and began swishing around behind Kaylori as if it had a mind of
its own.

"That's... not as bad as I expected." He said
finally, after several drawn-out moments of silence.

Kaylori snorted with derision, showing her old personality.

"What did you expect? I'm a mutant!"

Will narrowed his eyes and focused on her appearance more.

"Well, you only really got a tail and an extra set of
eyelids, so really you're more of a... mini-mutant."

Kaylori rolled her eyes.

"Great. I feel so much better after that unflattering
description."

"What did you expect?" Will quoted, and Kaylori
smiled for the first time, albeit only briefly.

"I guess I deserved that." She admitted.

"Yes. Yes, you did." Agreed Will. "Come on,
let's go catch up with the others."

To his surprise, Kaylori shook her head adamantly.

"I can't. I'm going to try and get used to these
mutations MYSELF before revealing them to anyone else."

Will nodded. "I can respect that..."

Then he realised something, and his eyes narrowed.

"Then why did you tell me?"

Instead of giving an answer, Kaylori shrugged cheekily.

"You tell me."

Will thought.

"Because you trust me." He answered.

"Correct."

And because I'm essentially the leader."

"Correct."

"And... because you like me?"

"Don't push it."

Will grinned and hurried after his team.

### ***CHAPTER 18: THERE AND BACK AGAIN***

As the five continued to walk through Nexus Tower, towards
Duke Exeter's office, Will felt a subtle sense of unease overtake him as the
halls continued to remain desolate and lifeless, save themselves.

"Where's Kaylori?" Asked Anna, worriedly tugging
at Will's sleeve again.

"She's fine." Will assured her. "She's
just... resting?"

Anna gave him a glance that said more than words ever could.

"I'll tell you later." He promised.

Will's team walked into the control room, and started to
split up and look around. Stu began tapping at control panels and pushing
buttons, trying to get information. Dilip climbed up a wall and onto the
ceiling, in an attempt to get a better look at their surroundings. Vector went
to check out the training area, whilst Anna and Will climbed up to Duke Exeter's
private balcony/war room.

"Look!" Exclaimed Anna once the two were up there.

"The Sword of Duke Exeter..." Will breathed.
Indeed, it was.

The famous, imagination infused blade glowed softly in the
dimly lit war room, it's golden hilt a stark contrast to the dull silver and
blue of the blade itself.

Will tentatively moved towards the blade, expecting some kind
of horrible trap. Nothing happened. Still cautious, he reached down and,
through instinct not his own, picked up the sword.

His first reaction was that it was lighter than he had
expected. He had wielded several swords over the course of the war, and given
the blade's chunky build and extreme length, he had definitely foreseen it being
heavier than it actually was.

As a test, Will swung the sword around a few times. He could
see why it was so renowned -  the blade
felt able and dangerous without being cumbersome or unwieldy. He was careful
not to raise it too high, as he knew all about the massive blasts of
imagination it could unleash.

"Sloppy." Will heard someone say. Wheeling round,
he and Anna saw Duke Exeter himself standing on the balcony, blocking their
only escape.

"This'll be easier than I thought."

"Duke Exeter!" Exclaimed Will, surprised, dropping
the sword with a loud clatter.

"Thanks for stating the obvious." Sighed Anna,
dejectedly, as Duke advanced threateningly, cracking his knuckles.

"Wait!" Yelled Will, leaping backwards. "We
just came to talk!"

"Then why are you stealing my sword?" Retorted
Duke

"I... I..." Will faltered, knowing precisely how
bad his circumstances looked.

"He was curious!" Anna jumped in, defending her
brother's friend. "That's one of the most powerful swords in the history
of the Nimbus System, we find the tower deserted, why WOULDN'T he at least pick
it up?"

"The tower," Duke said exasperatedly, "is
abandoned because the entire Nexus Force has been ordered to take on the
Darkitecht."

"What?" Asked Will. "That can't be right,
he... he isn't there!"

"And what makes you so sure?" Asked Duke. "We
have dozens of agents who would disagree with you.

"Listen." Will ploughed on. "There's a secret
facility, on a chunk of crux, where-"

"I know." Duke shrugged, as if it were no news to
him. "Overbuild told me about it. It's a classified Nexus Force hospital,
and the fact that you know is... worrying."

"Not as worrying," Anna told him, "As the
fact that this so called "hospital" is actually a secret facility
where maelstrom is researched. And I'm not talking about Paradox style, I'm
talking about messed up, imprisonment style."

Duke raised an eyebrow. "That was never
mentioned."

"I'll bet it wasn't" Muttered Will.

As the two men stared at each other, unaware what to say to
continue their conversation, Will heard voices as Vector, Dilip and Stu entered
the room, and stared at the leader of the Nexus Force as if they were seeing
him for the first time.

"Your accomplices?" Duke snarled after a brief
silence.

"Accomplice?" Vector scoffed, stepping forward.
"I assure you, I am no accomplice."

His proud words rebounded off the white walls, and both Duke
and Will shot him an angry glance. Duke's was accusing, whilst Will's
expression contained the phrase "not helping."

"We." protested Will. "Are no enemies. The
real enemy is operating behind our back, you need to listen."

"I see no reason." Retorted Duke, eyeballing Will
angrily. "You come to me with no proof, no plan, and no backup."

"Is that so?" Came a voice from the darkness.

The group looked around, confused, until a familiar tail
swiped across the floor and knocked Duke over.

"Their proof," Continued Kaylori, stepping into
the light and revealing herself, "is me."

Everyone stared, apart from Will, who flashed her a grateful
smile.

"Their plan is to use this golden opportunity fate has
handed to us to end this war once and for all." Kaylori continued, her
voice resonating with authority and power.

"And our backup?" She
finalized, staring directly into Duke's eyes with her own. "We were hoping
that would be you."

"I hope you know what you're doing." Remarked
Duke. He had summoned the entire sentinel faction to his aid - not wanting to
take a chance, even though he was still dubious about the whole story. He had
also contacted Hael Storm, who had sent a token force of Venture League
soldiers. Duke didn't try Assembly or Paradox. Will had explained the whole
thing to him, and the last thing Duke wanted was to risk disloyal troops. Right
now, he was busy shouting orders at the troops as they entered the teleporter
one by one.

"Okay, your turn Rick! No pushing! Send Damian over
there, I'll talk to him later! Stirling, Peregrine is NOT your tackle bag!
Jess, WHAT are you doing with that? Yes, that way, how many teleporters do you
see?"

Eventually, the soldiers of the Nexus Force made it through
the teleporter, and lastly the group entered, arriving back inside the cursed
place. Instantly, Will received a message via his communicator, a piece of tech
the entire Nexus Force carried. Answering, he heard Rose's voice on the other
end.

"Rose? You're alive!" He exclaimed, getting funny
looks from several people around him.

"Not for much longer!" He heard her yell on the
other side, almost muffled by the sound of chaos. "I hope you brought
backup?"

"The entire sentinel faction."

"It'll have to do. Just get down here quickly, REALLY
BAD things are going down. You know where we are?"

"Receiving co-ordinates now."

"Good. Now hurry up, please!"

Will switched off the communicator, and began sprinting down
the corridor. Behind him, he could hear the sounds of the sentinels and
Ventures following his lead.

After finally arriving at the co-ordinates, with Kaylori and
Duke Exeter at his side, Will threw open the doors.

### ***CHAPTER 19: EVERYTHING GOES WRONG***

Will only needed to take a single look to tell just how bad
things had become inside the room. Whilst the rest of the people cowered or
were trapped under debris, Aaron and the Darkitecht were having a showdown in
the center of the room. Both were harnessing the entire maelstrom spectrum and
using in against their opponent. In a few moments alone Will saw mist, fire,
webs and teleportation all used. The two sides seemed to be evenly matched -
neither could land a single blow on the other, as they were both using phasing
and teleportation to escape being hit.

The bad news? Will could sense, could feel, that the
Darkitecht was holding back. This was nothing compared to what he and other people
had felt when they were close to the heart of the maelstrom, for instance on
the Venture Explorer. The Darkitecht was clearly toying with his friend,
waiting till he tired and then dealing the finishing blow. Aaron, on the other
hand, was quickly expending a lot of his energy, and wouldn't last much longer.

Thankfully, not everyone was as awestruck and paralysed as
he was. Duke Exeter stepped forward and roared,

"Concentrate fire on the Darkitecht!"

Instantly the room was lit up as the Sentinels and Ventures
opened fire on the lord of chaos. The Darkitecht saw the projectiles aimed at
him, and instantly seemed to fold in on himself and disappear.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" Yelled Duke, but some of
his soldiers had by this point become overexcited and hyper, and with the
Darkitecht gone instead aimed their weapons at Aaron. The lasers and bullets
flew towards the maelstrom person, who randomly waved his arms and either
dissolved or deflected the shots.

"STOP!" Roared Will, and at last the firing
ceased.

Will, once the firing had ceased, instantly sprinted over to
his friend. But he stopped, however, when Aaron fixed him with a chaotic purple
gaze. Will skidded to a halt, abruptly startled into both silence and being
stationary. Kaylori sprinted up to him.

"What is it?" She panted, her voice full of
concern. "What's wrong?"

"I..." Will faltered, then shook off his paralysis
and tried again. "I don't think he recognises me."

Will turned around in an attempt to distract him from his
friend, and spotted the other minifigs who had gone with Aaron hiding behind a
large chunk of the celling, which had caved in during the fight. Rose took one
look at the center of the room, gave a small shriek, and darted back behind the
rock as she accidently gave herself the appearance of being infected.

"That's terrifying." Muttered Jacen, glancing at Aaron
in the center of the room.

"THIS." Remarked Duke, placing his helmet on his
head, "is your friend?"

"Yeah... but something's wrong."

"What gave you that impression?"

"Shut up Kay." Will muttered, approaching his
friend slowly.

"Aaron? I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm here
to help. Don't worry...."

Aaron, instead of replying, pounded the ground with his
fist, causing a shockwave to ripple across the room. Some stumbled - others
fell.

Will bit his lip and struggled to control his fear as his
friend seemed, in metaphorical terms, to suddenly tower over everyone else in
the room. Whilst no match for the Darkitecht, he was still the extremely
powerful at this particular moment, and he didn't seem to be in control of
himself either. All Will saw, when he looked into Aaron's eyes, was malevolence
and hate, so strong he felt as if he could see them in his friend's eyes.

"What happened, do you think?" Kaylori muttered,
both of them keeping their gaze on Aaron in case he did anything.

Will shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps the fight with
the Darkitecht threw him out of whack-"

Aaron suddenly slumped to his knees and groaned, practically
on fire with indigo flames as this point. He looked up, and Will could see his
expression soften.

"Will?" He gasped. "What's... I don't
know..."

"Shush." Will hissed. "It's ok, right
Duke?"

Duke nodded. "I think the crisis has passed." Duke
turned on his headset and began giving orders, starting to unposition the
snipers stationed around the room. Duke was no fool, and knew what he had been
getting himself into, so the second they had entered the room he had sent
groups of sentinels around the room, and the upper levels in particular, to act
as a safety protocol. Now that it looked like Aaron had calmed down to an
extent where he would be willing to co-operate, Duke began acting and calling
his troops back down.

However, one trooper remained. He was a rookie, Private
Gunnerby, and things didn't look ok from where he was stationed. He intended to
obey Duke's order, but things looked suspicious. He could see that maelstrom person
full of power, the others cowering before him. However, what happened next
wasn't entirely his fault. He couldn't have predicted it.

Gunnerby aimed and fired the sniper rifle.

Directly at Aaron.

The bullet whizzed through the air, heading directly for Aaron's
head. It looked like it was going to hit him, but at the last moment Plue leapt
in front of him. The bullet smacked into her and the jolt sent her flying off
askew, landing awkwardly on the ground like a broken toy.

Roaring, Aaron aimed his palms and fired twin beams of
energy that cut through the balcony Gunnerby was standing on. As Gunnerby was
about the fall into the lasers, Kaylori leapt up with all the strength in her
legs, making a gargantuan leap and catching Gunnerby, before grabbing onto the
wall. Aaron ceased his fire as Kaylori leapt daintily to the ground, and the
surrounding Nexus Force troops cheered at seeing Gunnerby saved.

Aaron then turned back to Will, and Will blanched as he saw
the weakness in Aaron's eyes had completely gone, replaced with confusion and
hate.

"You did this." He rasped.

"What?" Gasped Will, waving his hands frantically
as he focused on the sight of Kaylori kneeling over Plue, along with the other
misfits. "No, no, no, I didn't do this Aaron!"

"You lied to me." Aaron continued.

"You shot at me."

"I didn't shoot at you! We can still sort this out, I
know we can-"

"I KNOW." Roared the Maelstrom Person. "THAT
YOU'RE MY ENEMIES! ALL OF YOU!"

The troopers, having relaxed, quickly raised their weapons
again.

"Nononononono..." Will moaned as he stood between
his super-powered best friend and over a quarter of the Nexus Force.

Duke stalked forward, raising his legendary sword as he did
so.

"Concede." He challenged.

"I WILL NOT!" Yelled Aaron, rushing forward seemingly
at the speed of light with his sword drawn.

Unbelievably, Duke parried the blow, and retorted in kind by
swinging his shield at Aaron fluidly, who batted away and shot lighting out of
his sword, which Duke countered with a burst of imagination from his own.

"I guess this is why they describe Duke Exeter as
"legendary" in the faction briefings." Muttered Kaylori from
Will's side.

### ***CHAPTER 20: EVERYTHING GOES WRONGER***

Aaron skated along the floor, sword drawn, directly towards
Duke Exeter, who smashed the maelstrom person to the side before spinning
around and knocking him to the ground with one strike. However, Aaron leapt
back up into the air, and threw a fireball at Duke as he came back down. Duke
blocked the projectile with his shield and swiped again at Aaron, who
teleported away and rematerialized behind Duke, prepared to attack him from
behind. However, Duke flipped over the sword and kicked Aaron in the head,
before blasting him to the opposite side of the room with another burst of
imagination.

Aaron, instead of rising straight away, took time clambering
to his feet, and stood there, swaying as if there was a breeze. Suddenly a wave
of energy flooded the room, causing all thought present to almost fall over, or
at least stumble.

"Oh no..." Will murmured as the group regained
their balance.

Suddenly Aaron charged, even faster than before. People
stood in his way to protect Duke, but in vain.

He Ploughed through Dilip and Stu, effortlessly tossed Jacen
away, side-slammed Vector and threw Gaia directly into Rose and Shadow. Kaylori
wrapped her tail around his leg, but he just pulled her towards him before
knocking her down. Will raised his pistol and stepped in front of Duke, only to
be blasted backwards by a bolt of lightning. Duke raised his shield and
deflected Aaron's attacks repeatedly. Webbing, lasers and fire were all
blocked. But then, Aaron phased into the floor and reappeared behind Duke,
before grabbing him and tossing him into the nearest wall. Before anything else
could happen, there was an almighty explosion, and the room was revealed to be,
once again, directly next to open space. The wall opened up, and sucked several
items and people out of the room before any emergency shield activated.

Including Duke Exeter.

All throughout the room, there was silence. No-one could
begin to fathom what their friend had just done, what this mean for the Nexus
Force. The demise of the leader of the Sentinel Faction and the Nexus Force as
a whole would take a long time to rectify, and... the cause was Aaron.

"What HAVE you done?" Someone said, Will didn't
know who. Everyone else, even the maelstrom person himself, was lost for words.
The fire faded from Aaron's eyes, and when he looked back at Will, Will could
see that his friend was back in control of himself. But at a terrible price.

"I... I didn't..." Aaron choked. But Will knew
what he was saying. "It wasn't me. I didn't do it. Please."

Will was trying to figure out, whilst everyone else was
shell shocked, where the explosion had come from, when suddenly there was a
gunshot and Aaron went down, comatose before he even hit the floor. Startled,
Will turned to see Doctor Overbuild holding a gun in his hands.

"Merely a tranquilizer." He declared. "Now,
what's going on here?"

"Duke Exeter. He... he's gone..."

Overbuild visibly paled, in a performance so convincing Will
almost believed it himself.

"Duke? No... no, no... not Duke. Please not Duke."

"I'm sorry sir." Said another soldier. "It's
true."

Overbuild shook, then appeared to regain his composure.
"Tell me exactly what happened."

"... received orders from Duke..."

"... led down here..."

" ...saw two people fighting... one escaped..."

"... went crazy..."

"...saved..."

"...attacked Duke..."

"... lizard woman..."

"... then..."

"... tougher... explosion..."

"...space..."

"...shield too late..."

"... Duke KIA..."

"...sorry..."

"...sorry sir..."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..."

"...my condolences to the sentinels..."

"...now..."

"...should take care of him..."

"... revenge..."

Overbuild stared at Aaron, and narrowed his eyes.

"Take him away."

"So... Exeter is dead?"

"Correct."

"This upsets the plan, old friend."

"On the contrary, I believe we can use this to our
advantage."

"You think-?"

"I don't think. I know that it is time to put our agent
to good use."

"Try and claim the position of leader of the Nexus
Force?"

"Exactly."

"This is risky. If he is discovered, and gives us
away-"

"Trust me, he will not. Now, aren't there more pressing
matters you should be worrying about? Like that prophecy, made all those years
ago by that Mythran?"

"I don't believe now is the time for-"

"If now is not the time, that time will never come. I
beseech you, tell me this prophecy!"

"..... Very well. The exact rhyme escapes my memory,
but I am aware of the contents."

"Do tell."

"The prophecy tells of seven individuals destined to
defeat me."

"Any details on who these individuals are?"

"Representatives from the past and the future,
individuals imbued by technology and mystic power, the lord of life beyond and
the fire of the living, and the second most powerful being in the
Universe."

"..."

"..."

"I can see why you're worried."

"I'm not worried! I'm the most powerful thing in
creation! Why should I be worried?"

"Because evil will never win entirely. It's not in its nature."

"Whose side are you on? I'm not evil, I'm CHAOS!
There's a difference!"

"Exactly. But you must refrain from all out evil, less
you wish to bring the laws of the universe upon yourself."

"You cannot restrain me in such a way."

"This is why you need to restrain yourself."

"I shall not."

"Then maybe there will be no deal between us."

"You are already in too deep to back out now, old
friend. If you are not in my allegiance by the time this war is over, you will
find yourself crushed along with the Nexus Force."

"Then so be it."

Doctor Overbuild turned his back on the Darkitecht and
solemnly walked out of the chamber.

"Overbuild!" Called the Darkitecht. Just outside
the doorway leading into the chamber, Overbuild paused and listened for his
former friend's voice.

"How is... how's Vanda?"

Overbuild turned on his heel and walked back down the
stairs, intrigued as to what the lord of chaos would want with his former
protégée.

"She's fine. Still leading the Paradox faction."

"Good, good."

There was a pause.

"She's your sister, isn't she?" Overbuild
eventually said, voicing what he had suspected for many years.

"...You knew?" The Darkitecht asked, sounding more
like the old Baron Typhonus than Overbuild had experienced for a long time.

"I suspected." Overbuild confessed. "But I
was never sure."

The Baron sighed. "You never knew her full name until
after the war started, did you?"

Overbuild shook his head. "No, you only referred to her
as "Vanda.""

"She must have changed her name, then." Typhonus
shrugged. "I have a feeling I know her reasoning."

"Do you blame her?" Overbuild queried, tenderly.

"No." Declared the Baron. "Considering her
position, I would have done the same thing. Who wouldn't want to sever family
ties with the person who was causing chaos throughout the galaxy..."

He tailed off.

"One stupid thing... that's all I did. One stupid
thing, and now I'm stuck with this schizophrenia of an identity. I haven't
truly felt like myself since before we landed on Crux."

"Well, I'm still working on something to nullify the
maelstrom, you'll be able to at least control yourself for longer periods of
time."

"Perhaps." Typhonus once again sighed in a
melancholy way. "You should go now. Just don't abandon me, Ok? We need
each other more than ever now that Duke is... gone."

"I won't. Goodbye, Typhonus."

"Goodbye, Albert."

### ***CHAPTER 21: FORWARD PLANNING***

Plue sat staring at the wall of her, she supposed cell,
whilst sitting on the bed also enclosed in the room. It was a wild guess on her
part, but she figured she had been sitting in the same position for at least a
month, maybe longer. It wasn't that this was what she wanted, but there was
nothing else to do. She would hardly be allowed to leave for a long time,
courtesy to coming into contact with the Darkitecht numerous times, and being
heavily involved with (in a relationship with) public enemy number two, only
known as "Maelstrom." Plue continued to stare at the wall, trying to
disguise her emotions.

"You promised you'd be careful, you idiot." She
spoke, softly. "And now look what's happened."

There was no reply, as she had expected from a small and
otherwise empty room. Plue looked down morosely at the numerous cables and
wires that she had been plugged into, and absent-mindedly tugged at them.
Despite their irritation, she had reason to be grateful to them. They had
allegedly kept her alive when she was wounded, so she couldn't be too annoyed.
Still, this cabin fever was getting really old really fast, at least in her
opinion. She had been here for one of the longest amounts of time - most of the
others had been released by now, apart from Shadow, Kaylori and Aaron.

The knowledge that she was, in the eyes of the Nexus Force,
was on the same level as a dude made of black flames, a lizard mutant and the
second most hated person in the Nimbus System was extremely damaging to her
morale, which wasn't exactly high already due to having witnessed the demise of
Duke Exeter at Maelstrom's hands.

She hadn't been able to save the faction leader... she
didn't even warn him... what kind of soldier was she?!

Suddenly, there was a loud rap on her door, an unbearably
loud noise after such a long period of silence. Plue hurriedly stumbled to the
door, and opened a sliding panel, to see who was disturbing her.

"Oh." Plue rolled her eyes. "It's you."

"Greetings and salutations to you too." Remarked
Gaia from behind the door. "I was only allowed to visit people today, and
I wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm surprised you weren't nabbed yourself," said
Plue. "You know, because of the maelstrom and everything."

"They never actually saw us do it." Pointed out
Gaia. "They saw you get shot by the Darkitecht."

"Still, I suppose I got off lightly." Plue
shrugged. "Considering the omnishambles that whole thing became, I'm
surprised the casualties were as low as they were..." She tailed off.

"Sorry about your boss." Gaia murmured
sympathetically.

"It's fine." Plue assured her. "At least he
was loyal to the end, unlike Overbuild."

"Poor Kaylori." Said Gaia. "In some ways, I
think she got the worst of this."

"I see where you're coming from, but I can think of
people who fared worse."

There was a brief silence.

"Sorry." Sighed Gaia. "That wasn't
particularly sensitive of me, was it?"

"No, but I don't blame you." Plue replied.

"Thanks." Said Gaia. "So, what's going to
happen to you now?"

"I don't know." Plue grimaced. "I highly
doubt I want to, either."

"Any ideas?"

"Huh?"

"I mean, do you have any ideas as to how you're gonna
escape?"

Plue started. "How can I be thinking about
escape?"

"I don't know!" Gaia retorted. "Do something
active for once! Get on with something!"

Plue placed her hand on her chin. "Alright. Let me
think..."

"I'll give you all the time you need."

"Right..." Plue snapped her fingers. "How
large are the air vents around here?"

"Large enough to fit a person." Replied Gaia, a
grin forming on her face as she caught on.

"Is anyone aware of Shadow's teleportation
ability?"

"No, I think he's just biding his time."

"Anything else?"

"I think, once you lot are free, we should launch some
kind of all-out assault against the entire tower."

Plue stared at Gaia.

"You might not have lost ALL your marbles, but there's
definitely a hole in the bag, isn't there?"

"That's not quite the way I would put it..." Gaia
murmured.

"But it is the truth, which one can't argue with. Any
genuine ideas?"

"Nope."

"Right. Well, I'll get in contact with the others and
tell them what we're planning. Assuming you're in?"

"Why wouldn't I be?!" Gaia hooted. "It'd be
worth capture to see the look on Overbuild's face when we bust you out!"

"WE?" Exclaimed Plue incredulously.

"Yeah. I can probably get some other people in on it as
well."

"Not too many." Plue advised. "Otherwise
it'll be harder to organise."

"Right." Gaia acknowledged. "You think Will,
Rose and Vector will be enough?"

"More than enough, but whatever." Shrugged Plue.
"I can work with eight people."

"Good." Said Gaia. "Is that everything?"

"Yeah, that's fine." Said Plue.

"Ok." Gaia nodded. "How will you contact
us?"

"Just keep an eye on the tower all the time. You'll
know when you should get in here."

"Sounds exciting."

"It will be."

"Great. See you then."

"Seeya." Called Plue, as Gaia shut the peephole
and her footsteps eventually faded out of sight.

"Right." Muttered Plue. "I guess it's
happening tonight..."

Plue almost immediately began looking around her cell,
seeing what she could use. There were indeed vents at the top of her wall which
could easily fit a person, and Plue recalled that this was in case Nexus Tower
was attacked and a soldier needed a quick escape. They clearly hadn't
considered that she might be able to use them to escape.

There was scant furniture in the room - merely a chair, a
bed and a table, all made of blunt plastic. The only other things in this cell
of apparent blandness were, of course, the machines that she was still hooked
up to. They were covered in buttons, levers and dials, and Plue didn't feel
like tampering with them just yet; she still wasn't feeling quite better, and
for all she knew they were still providing her vital life support. However, she
could hardly escape whilst lugging around a box of equipment, so something
would definitely have to be done.

Curiously, she moved towards the box and looked at the
readings coming off it. They informed her that the machine was programmed to
remain functional for another thirty-seven hours; assumingly the length of time
she still needed it for. Suddenly, Plue noticed that all the wires were
connected to a single area or chunk of the device: an area that could easily
fit into a pocket of some kind.

Acting quickly, Plue grabbed as many batteries and portable
power sources as she could from the machine, and began to conceal them on her
person. She then carefully pulled said vital area out of the device, and placed
it tenderly in the back pocket of her jeans. Upon noticing it give off a small
alarm, she hastily shoved a pair of batteries inside it. The machine quietened
down. Breathing a sigh of relief, Plue then pulled the majority of the wires
out of her limbs, sticking a choice few into the back of her head and
discarding the rest. She waited a moment; she didn't collapse. A minor miracle,
considering the circumstances.

She was ready.

### ***CHAPTER 22: A GUIDE TO MEANDERING***

Plue lay, in a state of complete disinterest, on the bed in
her cell, waiting for any kind of signal from Gaia. She couldn't help wondering
what said signal would be, when and where it would appear, how destructive it
would be...

The next second, there was an almighty explosion. Plue felt
her cell rock backwards and forwards as Nexus Tower buckled. She had found her
answer.

"You've got to be kidding me!" She cursed,
dragging herself to her feet as she slid across the floor. Suddenly, Plue heard
a familiar whirring on the other side of the door, and held the chair in front
of her as the metal door buckled and fell as a result of Rose's spinjitzu.
Standing beside her was Vector, cutlass in hand.

"Not that I'm not glad to see you, but why was there an
explosion?" She asked, dropping the chair and walking over to her friends
as the floor stabilized.

"Oh, that was Gaia." Said Rose cheerfully. "I
tried to stop her, but... you know."

"Yeah. I know." Plue said. "I thought she
WASN'T planning to assault Nexus Tower?"

"You haven't seen her when she's determined to do something,
have you?" Groaned Vector.

"That bad, eh?" Queried Plue. "I thought the
pair of you would at least be able to keep her and her crazy ideas in
line."

"You'd be surprised." Grinned Rose. "Now,
what else can we do for you, and who else do we need to rescue?"

"For me, you can't do much else." Plue replied,
stepping through the battered doorway. "But there ARE other people who
need rescuing."

"Who?" Asked Vector.

"Did you see Shadow, Kaylori or Aaron on you way
here?"

"We saw Shadow." Vector informed her. "At
least, I think it was Shadow..."

"How many guys made of black flames do we know?"
Rose reminded him, exasperatedly.

"Good point." Admitted Vector. "In which
case, yeah, it was Shadow."

"Okay!" Said Plue. "Lead the way!"

Plue, Rose and Vector sprinted down the dimly lit, metallic
corridors as Nexus Tower rocked from the force of Gaia's assault.

"Where did she even get all the explosives needed to
damage NEXUS TOWER?!" Plue gasped disbelievingly.

"I think she found the Nexus Force's private supply after
our adventure in the facility came to an end." Panted Vector. "She
must have been slowly smuggling it out, right under Overbuild's nose."

"Atta girl!" Cheered Plue as they ran. "Now I
don't mind that much that she's bringing down the tower!"

"So, you still mind?" Asked Gaia, who had just
broken through a wall and was now levitating alongside them.

"Yes." Replied Rose curtly, before Plue had a
chance to do the same. "Next time, perhaps you ought to consider getting
us OUT of the tower before bringing it down?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Retorted Gaia.

"You know," said Vector, sprinting along,
"I've been meaning to ask. Are you a genius or just insane?"

Gaia shifted position in the air next to them so that she
was upside-down.

"Yes." She declared.

Vector moved his eyes to the front of them. "I hate it
when people do that. " He muttered.

The group eventually came to a stop in front of a locked
cell. Plue banged on the door and yelled;

"Shadow? If you can hear me, we're here to save-"

There was a loud crack, and Shadow materialized behind the
group, causing to Rose to scream in surprise.

"I didn't know you could do that." Gaia remarked.

Shadow merely tilted his head. Suddenly, Plue heard a voice
in her head, Shadow's voice.

"I did some looking around, and I've found the people
who made me what I am." He said, his voice filling Plue with fear and a
cold sensation. "You rescue the others. I have my own demons to
battle."

"Don't do it Shadow!" Plue warned as Shadow turned
away. "It's too dangerous!"

Shadow turned to look Plue directly in the eyes.

"I am prepared to meet my maker." He assured her.
"But whether my maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting me is another
matter entirely."

"Shadow!" Plue called again, but the flaming
apparition had already teleported away.

"What was that about?!" Complained Vector.
"We could have used his help."

"He had... other... things do deal with." Plue
informed the group.

"Well, you have to admit that running off on his own
tangent isn't exactly selfless." Sighed Gaia.

"I know, but there's nothing we can do." Pointed
out Plue. "There's still Kaylori and Aaron, though. We need a way to reach
them."

"Give me a moment." Said Vector, and began to pull
out what looked like another tracker. Suddenly, a figure dropped down from the
ceiling right in front of them.

"Woa!" Started Plue. "Is that Dilip?"

"Yeah. What a coincidence." Muttered Vector.
"Dilip, what are you doing here?"

"I was in the tower when you started to destroy
it." He said quietly. "I believe that I was on the same mission that
you are now - rescuing the others."

"Now THAT," grinned Rose, "is selfless."

"Okay." Said Plue. "Let's keep moving."

"But we didn't see Aaron or Kaylori's cells on the way
here." Protested Vector. "They could be anywhere in the tower."

"I saw Kaylori." Offered Gaia. "I took a
different route from you two in order to set the explosives, and I passed what
looked like her cell on the way here."

"Good." Said Dilip. "Do you remember the
way?"

Gaia stroked her chin thoughtfully. "I believe I do.
This way!"

The five kept running through the tower, surprisingly seeing
few guards on the way. The one member of the Assembly faction who saw them was
dispatched by a shuriken from Dilip, and they eventually ended up outside
Kaylori's cell.

Vector banged on the door. "Kay? Kaylori? We're here to
save you!"

There was shuffling from within, then the eyehole opened to
reveal Kaylori's distinctive eyes.

"About time!" She declared.

Gaia was studying the structure of the cell.

"Hmmm... we need to think of a way of opening this
gate." She grinned. "I suggest throwing Vector at it."

"Woa, woa, woa." Stuttered Vector, holding his
hands up in the air. "What?! How would that work?"

"Whilst I'm hardly at the full extent of my power in
here, I can coat you in a thin layer of maelstrom that would both let me fling
you around and protect you from any injuries you might otherwise suffice. It's
fool proof!"

"I don't mind how you do it." Said Kaylori.
"But I would like to come out soon please."

"Sounds good to me." Shrugged Dilip.

Vector looked desperately at Plue, who rolled her eyes.

"Sorry Vector, but I have to admit that it'd be
interesting to watch."

Vector's eyes whirled around, looking for another way in as
Gaia began lifting him off the ground. Suddenly, he spotted something.

"Or, we could press the button clearly marked
"door release" and get her out without any collateral damage."

The others looked quizzically at each other, until Dilip and
Gaia both yelled:

"THROW VECTOR!!!

Poor Vector facepalmed.

"I hate you all so much."

Kaylori stepped back just in time as Vector smashed through
the door and slammed into the back of the cell. He picked himself up, groaning.

"I thought that the maelstrom was supposed to PROTECT
me..." He complained.

"It did, shmoofus." Replied Gaia idly from outside
the cell. "Without it, you'd be much worse off."

"Well, Plue was right." Agreed Kaylori as she
walked out of the cell. "That certainly was interesting to watch."

Muttering angrily to himself, Vector hauled himself to his
feet and joined the others.

"Okay." Said Gaia. "That's three out of four.
Anyone have any idea as to where Aaron is?"

"We can check the computers" Suggested Dilip.
"There's bound to be some kind of clue towards his whereabouts."

"Good idea." Said Rose. "Where's the closest?"

"There is one that's bound to have some information on
him." Said Kaylori. "But you're not going to like it."

"Which is it?" Asked Plue, worried.

"Overbuild's office."

### ***CHAPTER 23: DESERTATION***

"I hate this plan." Said Vector. He, Gaia and Plue
were waiting outside Doctor Overbuild's office whilst Kaylori, Dilip and Rose
were in their respective positions.

"Well, I for one simply ADORE this plan." Retorted
Gaia, still levitating herself in mid-air for some reason, though no longer
upside-down.

"Yeah, only because you came up with it." Remarked
Vector spitefully. Gaia was opening her mouth to come back with an intelligent
reply, but Plue shushed them both.

"Let's see how well this plan goes before actually
judging it." She declared. Gaia and Vector both nodded glumly in response
as the door opened and Overbuild stepped out of his room. Almost
instantaneously, he activated one of the traps that Dilip had set outside the
room, and smoke billowed across the hall. Overbuild, unprepared for the attack,
covered his nose and started coughing and stumbling blindly forward. Before he
could activate any sort of gadget or arm attachment, Kaylori and Dilip stepped
forward. In one swift movement, Dilip sliced both of Overbuild's mechanical
arms off before Kaylori wrapped her tail around his body and lifted him cleanly
into the air. Plue turned to Vector and Gaia.

"I love this plan!" She announced, before the trio
snuck past the others and into the office - though not before Gaia managed to
get a smug "Hah!" out into Vector's face. Vector rolled his eyes
before following the girls.

Once inside, the three of them wandered around slightly
deliriously. The office was plain, with minimal decoration save for an Assembly
banner on one of the walls. In the center of the room was a desk with the
crucial computer on it.

"Aha!" Gaia said, as if she had just solved the
mystery of the first builders. Plue sprinted eagerly to the computer and
started searching Overbuild's files and history for anything she could find on
her boyfriend.

Suddenly, Plue opened one document and found everything she
needed to know. She looked despondently at Gaia and Vector.

"He's escaped."

"What do you mean, "He's escaped"?"
Asked Vector incredulously.

"I mean," Declared Plue, "That the files and
records indicate he launched his own daring escape a day or so ago."

"He didn't come back for anyone else, or tell us he'd
escaped?" Pondered Gaia.

"That's NOT selfless." Said Vector glumly.

Plue didn't want to believe that Aaron would abandon them
with such little regard for their situation, but that appeared to be the case
as to what happened and, whilst she didn't like it, the evidence suggested that
it was the truth.

"Well..." She sighed after several long and
awkward moments of silence. "That's that."

"I'm so sorry." Said Gaia, abruptly wrapping her
arms around Plue sympathetically. Plue hadn't expected such a display of
affection from her friend, and felt herself warmed by Gaia's act of kindness.
Vector, too, walked over and placed a comforting hand on Plue's shoulder.

"I'm sure he had his reasons." Vector suggested
weakly.

"Yeah." Sighed Plue. "At least he came to
rescue me in the facility, so I guess that makes us even."

There was another silence, before Gaia eventually pulled
herself away from Plue and regained her composure.

"So... what do we do now?" She asked.

Plue shrugged. "Now, we get the heck out of here."

"With Overbuild?" Asked Gaia eagerly.

"Nope." Said Plue. "He'd just slow us
down."

"Agreed." Said Vector. "Let’s get the others
and go."

Gaia kicked right through the wall of Overbuild's office,
the mist wrapped around her leg strengthening the blow. Plue followed Gaia
through the hole, while Vector walked opened and walked through the door.

"And here you are, trashing through another wall! What
is with you and your fear of doors, did a door beat you up when you were
younger?"

"That would be telling, wouldn't it?" Shrugged
Gaia, before wandering off and leaving Vector feeling extremely confused.

Plue marched up to where the other members of their group
were holding Overbuild, and held her sword out threateningly.

"Where's Aaron? What happened to him?"

"How should I know?" Spat Overbuild. "He
broke out about a day ago - smashed through a wall and took out the guards with
ease, even though most of them were at least rank three! Even I didn't foresee
that level of power in him."

"Did you have any way of tracking him?" Kaylori
asked.

"We did." Replied Overbuild. "He removed it
during his escape."

"What?" Yelled Dilip. "I thought those things
couldn't be removed?"

"Well, he did." Said Overbuild.

Plue only stepped forward. "Well, do you have ANY idea
where he is?"

Overbuild glared at her. "I'm not telling you a
thi-" He was cut short as Kaylori tightened her grip on him.

"I'd talk if I were you, boss." She said
triumphantly.

Overbuild glared daggers at her, then turned to Plue.

"West." He muttered unhappily.

Satisfied, Plue removed her sword. Kaylori considered for a
moment, then swung her tail round violently and slammed Overbuild into the
wall, knocking him unconscious. Then, the group fled down the corridor in an
attempt to escape the tower.

"He's going to feel that one in the morning."
Kaylori chuckled in glee, and she high-fived Gaia as they ran.

"We shouldn't get distracted." Pointed out Rose.
"We still need to get out of here, after all."

"True enough." Said Vector. "Let's get on
with it!"

"More running down corridors." Sighed Vector.

"I know it's repetative, but we ARE almost out."
Reasoned Dilip, as the group sprinted down the bland, metallic hallway.

"What I don't understand," pondered Rose as they
ran, "was why Overbuild assumed that some rank threes would be enough to
contain Aaron despite Duke Exeter not being able to defeat him."

"Arrogant chump." Declared Plue. "Perhaps he
gave them special equipment, or simply believed that HIS troops wouldn't be
defeated by Aaron - either way, he was caught with his trousers down on that
one."

"I don't have a problem with that." Said Vector.
"But, uh, Gaia?"

"Yeah?" Answered Gaia as they ran.

"How badly did you damage the tower? That sounded like
a lot of explosions."

"Erm..." Gaia flushed. "Shall we say... a
significant amount?"

"I don't like the sound of that." Admitted Rose.
"We're not in danger, are we?"

"We're still in danger of being caught, but I don't
think the tower's going to fall down - at least, not until we're out."
Gaia said, sounding more confident then she most likely felt.

"YOU BROUGHT DOWN NEXUS TOWER?!" Shrieked Plue.
They stopped running and stared at Gaia, dumbfounded.

"No, not yet!" She protested indignantly. "I
was only trying to distract them, but I think I overdid it, ok?"

"That's an understatement." Said Kaylori.

"We can worry about this later!" Pointed out
Dilip. "Right now, we still need to leave before-"

He was cut off as the tower suddenly shook, and the ground
seemed to tilt under them, before swaying back to the normal angle.

"That happens?" Finished Kaylori. "We need to
go, now."

"Agreed."

### ***CHAPTER 24: THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS***

One thing Plue would always remember from their frantic
escape from Nexus Tower was how the elevator music seemed so out of place.

Considering the fact that the greatest structure ever built
by person hands was crumbling with them in it, and had inexplicably been
brought down with a seemingly limited amount of explosives, it was soothing to
hear the tinny, mundane, and completely calm tune in the lift that they all
took to get down to the ground floor as quickly as possible. Well, all of them
except for Gaia and Dilip.

The group dispersed in the Nexus Tower welcome lobby just as
Dilip arrived on the same floor as them, only outside the building -  he had used a grappling hook and shuko claws
to his effect. Gaia's landing wasn't so neat. She had obviously overestimated
how much maelstrom was around Nexus Tower, and only a combination of a hasty
blast of mist that catapulted her back upwards and Vector sprinting through the
lobby and breaking her fall with his body saved her from any injury.

"Thanks." She groaned as she flopped off him and
onto the ground. "Now I know how you feel."

"No, you don't." Vector retorted. "It only
happened to you once."

"I hate to interrupt," Said Dilip, "but we've
got a huge problem."

Plue, Rose and Kaylori ran outside just in time to see the
tower keel over, still gradual, but picking up speed as it fell.

"I still don't understand how that happened..."
Muttered Gaia, as if something didn't make sense to her. "I mean, I
thought the tower was a lot more impervious to that sort of damage."

"Apparently not." Said Plue, hauling Vector to his
feet, "and we have to go now."

"The shockwave." Said Dilip. Plue nodded.

"How do we get far away enough in time?" Panicked
Rose.

"We borrow things." Said Kaylori, with a glint in
her eye, as she turned towards groups of spare Nexus Force jeeps.

Kaylori leapt into the nearest jeep and examined the
controls.

"They even left the keys in the ignition!" She
yelled as the others clambered in beside her, with Plue in the other front
seat, and Rose, Dilip and Vector in the rear seats. Gaia clung to the roof, and
shouted down;

"Make it fast!"

"Oh, for the love of..." Plue gave up and let
Kaylori drive as the tower started to come down faster and faster. Until now,
only it's immense size had slowed it down. But now it was gaining momentum, and
they had seconds to preserve their lives.

"Go, go go!" Vector yelled. Kaylori put her foot
down, and the jeep scorched out onto the rocky wasteland that was Crux Prime.
They rushed past a confused-looking Nexus Force security guard, and drove up a
ramp-like formation of rocks which led to a seemingly impossible jump right
over Sentinel Point Zeta.

For Plue, everything seemed to happen in slow motion as the
jeep went off the rocks and ungracefully flew towards the cliffs on the other
side of Point Zeta. She recalled screaming - everyone was except for Dilip, who
was looking at their potential doom in calm silence. The jeep slammed onto the
rocks and continued to move along, which was most likely a surprise to
everyone.

"Did we make it?" Asked Rose tentatively, opening
one eye.

"Don't worry!" Said Vector, sounding extremely
relieved. "We made it Rose!"

Everyone started to cheer, but that was cut short by an
almighty crashing sound. Turning around, Plue saw Nexus Tower hit the ground
with the sound like explosives going off in her ears.

Plue stared in horror as the tower slammed into Crux Prime,
sending millions of tons of rock flying through the air. The impact was so
astronomically powerful that an immense wall of dust began to spiral up into
the air, and flew in all directions.

As they watched, a large chunk of Crux Prime broke off from
the original landmass and began floating out into space. However, the shockwave
remained, and spread throughout the entire hunk of planet. With a start, Plue
realised that it was heading right for them. She turned to Kaylori.

"Get us out of here. Right now!"

Kaylori got the message, and gunned it. The jeep sped
forward, now pursued at a distance by a wave of dust and seismic energy. Plue,
against her instincts, stuck her head out of the window and looked behind them.
She could see the shockwave behind them, and watched in disbelief as it
vaporised everything in it's path - stromlings, people and even the landscape.

"Are we clear?" Kaylori shouted.

"Not even close! Keep going!" Replied Plue in
terror.

They shot forward even faster, but it was clear to Plue that
they had minutes at the most... and seconds at the least.

Suddenly, Vector pointed his hand out the jeep window.

"There!" He exclaimed. Turning, Plue saw groups of
Nexus Force jets rising into the sky. There had to be a jet or two to spare.

"That way." Plue indicated, and Kaylori obediently
turned in the direction of the supposed airfield. The bad news was that the
angle at which they were driving meant that they were no longer heading away
from the shockwave, instead going sideways.

"Faster, faster, faster!" Encouraged Rose from the
back, almost as if it were a victory mantra.

On the roof of the jeep, Gaia stood up.

"Let's see if I can be of assistance." She said,
before focusing. Mist began to gather around the car, propelling it forward.
Slowly at first, but it began to pick up speed. She then raised her hand and
shot the jeep's electric engine full of lightning, giving it a boost.

Kaylori slammed her heel on the brakes as they skidded
towards what looked like the last vacant jet in the airfield. Breathing a sigh
of minute relief, Plue bundled on board along with the others. This time, it
was Gaia who took the controls of their escape. She flipped some switches and
pulled on the throttle, and in no time they were airborne and streaking safely
away from Nexus Tower.

"You can fly a plane?" Asked Rose, incredulously.

"Fly, yes." Gaia informed her as they rose higher.
"Land, no."

Rose turned pale.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Declared Plue. "Right now..."

She turned and looked out the window in dismay as a good
third of Crux Prime, including Nexus Tower, floated towards and was eventually
sucked into the gaping maw of the maelstrom. With no protection, the
Imagination Nexus looked small and insignificant next to the primordial sea of
chaos. Plue angrily pulled the remaining wires out of her head, upset at the
fact that she had been unable to save her boyfriend.

"Shadow was in there." Said Vector, to add to the
melancholy mood.

"He found a way out." Plue assured him, despite
not believing it herself.

"Where too now, boss?" Asked Gaia from the
cockpit.

Plue remained silent for a time, before realising that she
was expected to answer.

"Oh, um... Nimbus Station and surrounds, Gaia. I think
it's time for us to go home."

"Great idea." Gaia applauded, dangerously taking
her hands off the controls. "Hey, is it alright if I crash at your place
for the time being?"

"You can stay as long as you like." Plue said
generously, before turning to Rose. "So can you, if you want."

Rose nodded gratefully, and Plue began to look out the
windows again, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach that was
telling her that some kind of countdown had begun. A countdown to the end of
the war.

### ***CHAPTER 25: HEAVEN IN HELL***

Aaron was lost.

Geographically, he had no idea where he was. Mentally, he
was in complete disarray. He couldn't even remember what he'd been doing the
past couple of days. All he remembered was waking up on the rocks of Crux Prime
with no memory as to how he might have arrived there. He had considered going
back to Nexus Tower, but had eventually decided against it. The last thing he
needed was Overbuild looming over him, saying over and over again what a
terrible thing he 'd done and how disappointed in him he was. Aaron knew.

Duke Exeter was gone because of him.

As he walked further, still clad in the remnants of some
space ranger equipment he'd "borrowed" over wearing nought but a
hospital robe, he was shaken from his thoughts by the sound of a rending and a
crashing. Looking back, he saw Nexus Tower begin to fall to the ground. With no
idea as to what was going on or why the tower was falling, he began to run blindly
over the rocky wasteland; despite knowing deep down that he was far too late
and would be crushed as soon as the tower hi the ground.

Suddenly, he saw a sign embedded in the ground; beyond that,
there was a seemingly bottomless abyss between him and the next landmass.
Driven on by a primordial instinct to survive, Aaron ran to the edge of the
canyon and jumped. It was an inhuman jump, and for a brief moment, Aaron
thought he might make it. Then gravity took ahold once again and he began to
plummet. Reaching out desperately, his hands grabbed onto the other side of the
drop. Unfortunately, he couldn't pull himself up and his strength was lost. He
was contemplating letting go when a firm pair of hands grabbed onto his wrists
and began pulling him to safety. He gratefully pulled himself up, and managed
to ask the question:

"Where am I?"

Just before he lapsed into unconsciousness, he received his
answer.

"The other side of
Rivendark Canyon."

Aaron didn't feel alive.

If he had survived, why was everything so dark? And he was
in some serious pain as well. No thanks to Overbuild for all the testing,
chemicals and negativity.

Then someone put jumper cables on his brain and restarted
his life.

He leapt upwards, gasping for air as if he had just run a
marathon, before sinking back downwards again as whatever meagre energy he had
previously recovered left him quicker than a cough expelled from the lungs.
From the bed - as he was in one - he found himself seeing a small room, almost
entirely white. To one side, there was a bedside table covered in various
bottles of liquid, and beyond that a small wooden chair; the only object in the
room that didn't look futuristic. One glowed a crimson red - another a crystal
blue. When he turned his head, he saw an armour stand, upon which had been
placed his stolen space ranger gear. He himself was dressed in his casual
clothes - red jeans and a torn up blue shirt. They must have been retrieved
from his pack, which was lying at the foot of the armour stand.

Abruptly, Aaron was flung out of his thoughts as the door to
his room opened and in came a woman, carrying a plate of food and consumables.
Her attire didn't match the room at all - she wore grubby trousers and a
significantly weathered shirt, and her skin was covered in scars and grease.
What caught Aaron's attention, however, were her eyes. They were a startlingly
bright shade of blue, and looked to be almost glowing. She laid the food down
on his bedside table and turned to him.

"Awake at last?" She asked, tilting her head sideways.
Whilst not unkind, there was a hint of mockery in her voice.

"Yes, what of it? Would you rather I continue to use up
this space and bore you with my distinct lack of personality whilst
unconscious?" He retorted.

She stared at him, before laughing.

"A sense of humour. I like you." She decided,
before sitting down on the chair.

"So, what's it like being a mortal?"

Aaron had been holding a mouthful of water in his mouth, and when the girl finished her sentence he had to avoid spitting it all out at the same time. Hastily, he swallowed so that communication was once again a possibility.

"You say mortal as if you're... not."

"Oh, that's because I'm not mortal." She explained without batting an eyelid. "My species are, how would you say it? I believe, Minithrans. That would make sense."

Whilst accent-less, Aaron noted that she spoke haltingly, as if English were not her first language.

"Minithrans?" He repeated.

The woman nodded, and let her dark hair cascade down her face in the process. "Yes. A genetic combination of your own species and mythrans."

Before Aaron could ask anything more, the door opened again. This time a small boy, no older than Anna, ran into the room. His hair was dark brown, same as the woman's, but his eyes were dark green and far less abnormal.

"Nyssa, are you done? Everyone else has gone home, and-" He paused when he saw Harold, before his eyes widened.

"Oh, he's awake! Why didn't you-"

"I just found out myself! Don't be impatient!" Nyssa scolded the child. "We'll be out in a bit. Go ahead of us."

"Okay!" The kid cast a final, curious look at Aaron before loping off.

"Sorry about that." Said Nyssa. "He's like a son to me, you know?"

"Well, who's is he?" Asked Aaron. Nyssa's smile wavered.

"None of ours." She admitted. "We all take care of him, but he's kinda like the resident orphan."

"Oh." Aaron paused. "Who were his parents?"

"We don't know." Nyssa informed him. "He was a baby when some scouts found him on the side of Rivendark Canyon you're familiar with."

"So... he's like me? A minifigure?" Aaron suggested.

"Yeah." Agreed Nyssa. "Anyway, you were talking about mortals and immortals?"

"Oh, right." Said Aaron. "Tell me, you say you're part mythran and part human?"

"Correct."

"But I thought that the other side of Rivendark Canyon was infested with maelstrom."

"We can fool scanners."

"Oh." Aaron said, secretly glad for the brief
explanation. "So... how were you created, if you don't mind me
asking."

"Not at all!" Exclaimed Nyssa cheerfully.
"Before their civilisation fell, the mythrans wanted their legacy to
continue in case such a thing would ever happen. In a controlled enviroment,
they created our species and put us here on Crux, giving us all their history
to safekeep. When they were destroyed, we - that is to say, the legacy of the
mythrans - survived, and live on to this day."

"Okay." Shrugged Aaron. "Uh, I should
probably tell you that I-"

"We already know about your powers, it's fine!"
Nyssa said, and Aaron breathed a soft sigh of relief. "We're hardly
normal, so we generally know better than to judge people based on anything
other than personality."

"Well, that's a relief." Said Aaron. "It just
feels really..."

He trailed off. He had been meaning to talk in a greater depth
about his abilities and actions, but something stopped him.

"That's not a good idea.They may not judge, but if you
reveal too much, you will reveal all our secrets." A voice seemed to say
in his head.

"Our?" Aaron thought, but there was no immediate response.
He would have persued his thoughts more, except Nyssa was still watching him
impatiently, looking for an answer.

"Never mind. So, what happend? It looked like Nexus
Tower fell down, but I don't know for sure."

"Oh, it did." Revealed Nyssa. "At the moment,
our third of Crux Prime is spiralling off into space, towards the maelstrom
from the look of it." Her smile faded. "Our top scientists are
working on a way to halt our movements, but... I think it's a case of "out
of the frying pan, into the fire" for you. Sorry."

"It's not your fault." Aaron assured her. Nyssa
nodded, then stood up and began to leave the room.

"Wait." Aaron said. Nyssa paused.

"Yes?"

"What's the kid's name? For future reference."

Nyssa grinned again, and gave her answer before leaving the
room.

"His name is Lux."

### ***CHAPTER 26: EXPOSITION AT IT’S FINEST***

It was sometime later that Aaron decided he was feeling well
enough to rise. It turned out he had broken a leg during his escape, presumably
when he had landed badly, and a broken arm for good measure. So he looked like
a war veteran - which, technically, he was.

Nyssa hadn't given him any information regarding places he
could or couldn't go, so he went for a walk to clear his head. It took hours,
but he eventually made his way up a rocky outcrop which overlooked the whole
Minithran civilisation. When he first caught sight of the view that had been
made available to him, he stared. Then blinked a couple of times to make sure
his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

They weren't.

What he, and all other people, had assumed was maelstrom-y
rock and barren wasteland was actually a thriving town, a utopia in the chaos.
The buildings were white, and pure as freshly-fallen snow. All the surrounding
light sources were an electric blue. They were also shaped like dug-in spheres,
or igloos, so from afar it looked like the System's largest snow town. On the
normal side of Rivendark Canyon, the maelstrom had amassed in droves as a
result of the destruction of Nexus Tower. With a start, Aaron realised that the
Minithrans lived life on a knife's edge, with every day containing the
possibility of being their last. It was only the high amounts of imagination in
the area that kept the maelstrom on this side at bay, and only their signal
that stopped the rest of the system from finding out about them. Chaos and
Order, Good and Evil, Isfet and Ma'at, in a precarious balance that could at
any moment end.

Aaron decided that he
had never in his life seen anything so beautiful or terrible.

As Aaron overlooked the Minithran civilisation, he suddenly
felt a shiver on the back of his neck, the same feeling that one would
experience if someone had just exhaled on that spot.

"H... hello?" He asked, cautiously. He hoped it
wasn't anything maelstrom related - he would be completely helpless with an arm
and a leg out of commission.

Suddenly, he gasped and stumbled on his crutch as he felt a
wave of pain course through his head. He could almost hear a voice, enraged,
screaming inside his skull. He placed his hand on his head and tightened his
grip, as if trying to pull the voice out.

"A futile gesture." It hissed, almost apologetically.
"But we are now one."

"What ARE you, and why are you in my head?"
Retorted Aaron, grimacing once again.

"I intend to help both of us." The voice replied.
"But I can only take control when you are OUT of control."

"Way to answer a question without answering it."

"I've been picking up some tips."

"I resent that."

"I'm sure you do. Anyway, let's say that I've only been
in control once before... when the life of one you loved was threatened."

"Then... you... it was YOU who was responsible for Duke
Exeter's demise! Not me!"

"Correct."

Aaron could feel his anger rising at the revelation, but he
tried to control himself and continued his questioning.

"You still haven't answered my question. What are
you?"

"The gem that you got your hands on is no ordinary gem.
Where is it?"

Aaron's good arm suddenly acted of its own accord, reaching
into his pack and pulling out the purple gem that had given him his powers.

"Yesss... Now, your friend mentioned Overbuild and the
Darkitecht referring to a prophecy?"

"What are you getting at?"

"This gem is part of said prophecy. A long time ago, a
civilisation that existed before the Mythrans forged the gem using raw elements
as ingredients. Things like air, time, fire and so on. There were seven in
total."

"Before the Mythrans?"

"Correct. The same way Minithrans are the legacies of
Mythrans, the Mythrans were themselves legacies of another race."

"Which race was that?"

"Alas, even I do not know their official title. Anyway,
their power was so great that if they were alive today, you would consider them
Gods."

"With such power... what happened to them?"

"They fell... to darkness."

"How can that be? The maelstrom was only created
recently, by Baron Typhonus-"

"I find your ignorance both amusing and concerning.
Think about it. There could not be that much chaos in the mind of one man. The
maelstrom was not created - only summoned."

"So... the maelstrom has always been here."

"Light cannot exist without darkness, the same way that
darkness cannot exist without light. There has always been the maelstrom, but
it is usually dispersed, and scattered so far throughout the universe that it
cannot form any coherent power. At least, until the man you know as the
Darkitecht visited the Imagination Nexus. The dark ideas and images in his mind
were like a beacon to the maelstrom. It condensed into one place... and became
powerful enough to threaten the light."

"I see... you say this has happened before?"

"Yes. The civilisation before the Mythrans fell to its
power."

"Then... how are we here?"

"You think you are the first people to fight for what
you believe in? You think you are the first heroes? There were great heroes
before you - far greater than anyone you know, I daresay. They defeated the
maelstrom with their backs to the wall. They were on the brink of defeat... and
they came back to achieve victory. The first builders were the greatest heroes
the universe has ever seen."

"So, THAT'S how they're connected to all this."

"Yes. Perhaps you are not so stupid after all."

"Thanks."

"Don't get too overconfident."

"You still didn't answer my final question, by the
way."

"My identity? It's difficult to explain."

"I have plenty of time. Does time even exist in this
mental conversation?"

"Yes."

"I still have plenty. Now, answers?"

"I am the gem."

"...."

"I told you it was complicated."

"You're the GEM?! The gem has sentience?"

"Yes, yes I do."

"Now I'm REALLY confused. I need more expository
dialogue!"

"The good news for you is that I'm the only gem which
is technically alive."

"How many gems are there?"

"I don't know. I remember that there were originally
twenty gems created."

"Why twenty? That's a very specific number."

"Well, there could be more. My memory's a little fuzzy,
it's been thousands of years."

"Which ones do you remember?"

"Hmmm... well, I was once plasma, till I was infected,
given a consciousness and became a gem of overall maelstrom."

"Plasma's an element?"

"Hey! Don't diss plasma!"

"Okay. Sorry."

"Anyway, there was also light, fire, earth, water,
metal, sonics, air, time-"

"TIME?"

"STOP INTERRUPTING ME."

"Heh-heh. I'm sorry."

"As I was saying, yes, time is an element, psionics,
plantlife, shadow, ice, stone, lightning, magnetism, gravity..."

"That's only seventeen. Also, aren't magnetism and
metal the same thing?"

"No. Magnetism is actually more similar to gravity and
psionics than metal. Everything has a magnetic field, right?"

"Point taken. So, last three?"

"Let me think. There's void... lava... and smoke."

"They just ran out of ideas, didn't they?"

"I wouldn't know."

"So, we can use the power of the gems to combat the
maelstrom? Is that what you're saying?"

"Perhaps. But from what I am able to sense, there are
only seven gems left. This includes myself."

"Firstly: that sucks. Secondly: how can you tell?

"All the gems are linked."

"Okay. So, what's left?"

"There's me, maelstrom... There's also light, air,
time, fire, shadow and lightning."

"Not an ideal selection."

"It's also curious. In the aforementioned prophecy,
it's those elements that are specifically highlighted."

"What are you saying?"

"You, and six others, are our only hope of destroying
the maelstrom for good."

### ***CHAPTER 27: FROM THE MOUTHS OF YOUTHS***

"That's... more than a little pressurising."

"I have a tendency to be brutally honest."

"You are SO evil."

"Yes, I am - literally."

"I could do with some advice."

"Give up."

"I'm sorry?"

"Let me take control again. I can let you just rest for
a bit, while I-

"No." Aaron realised that he had spoken out loud.
"I won't have you destroying the Minithrans for fun in my body."

"What makes you think I'd do that?"

"Looking through people you're bonded to is a two-way
street. I can see just how malevolent you really are."

"Very Well. But you would also know that I would not do
a thing like that without your consent, because I want the best for both of us.
Upon my honour, if you let me control-"

"Still no." Declared Aaron, speaking with his
voice again. "You're the one who needs to give up."

"Huh?" Came a voice from behind him. Aaron turned
to see Lux behind him, staring.

"Oh." Aaron realised just how strange it must have
been to see him talking to himself. "Nothing."

"If you're sure." Lux shrugged, before staring
across the land.

"I love this view." He sighed.

"Same." Aaron said automatically, before realising
that he genuinely did.

"I just..." Lux hugged his knees - a gesture Aaron
recognized. It was the sort of thing he would do when he was feeling
uncomfortable. Suffice to say, there had been a lot of knee-hugging during his
time in Nexus Tower.

"I just wish I knew who my family was." He finally
admitted. Aaron raised an eyebrow.

"So... you know you're not a Minithran, then?" He
asked.

"Yeah. After a while, it became kinda obvious."
Lux admitted.

There was a brief pause.

"I'm sorry." Aaron finally said, if only because
he didn't know what else to say.

"Don't worry about it." Lux flicked a rock over
the ledge, and the two of them watched it tumble down the slope. "It's
hardly your fault."

"I guess." Aaron agreed.

Aaron and Lux sat on the ridge for a few moments longer, in
silence.

"I sort of have a family." Aaron eventually said.

Lux didn't take his eyes off the view

"Define "sort of.""

"Well, we're not related to each other." Aaron
explained.

Lux looked confused.

"Then how can you be family?" He protested.
"Aren't families supposed to be related?"

"Well..." Aaron thought. "That's how some
people see it. The way I see it, families are the people you're closest to in
your life. The people you trust, the people you love. Does that make
sense?"

"Kinda." Admitted Lux. Then he smiled in a
self-satisfactory way, the sort of smile that is smiled when someone has an
idea.

"Who's in YOUR family?" He asked.

Aaron sighed. "Well, first there'd be my sister, Anna,
who's the only biological family I know. She's tough but kind... she'll
probably be a bit of a tomboy when she's older... and she means more to me than
anything else in the world. And then there's my best friend Will, who I've
known since the two of us were three weeks old. We were born one day apart in
adjoining hospital beds, and from there..."

Without even realising it, Aaron began to talk about all the
people in his life who he considered family. it was therapeutic, as he hadn't
even realised how much he had missed them since this had all started. He also
missed the people he had met recently, or in the facility, for an inexplicable
reason. Maybe it was the sensation of comradeship he had felt when they fought
at each other's backs. Whatever the case, he didn't even know how long he'd
been talking until he paused and saw that the sun was almost down.

"That... was moving." Lux said after a while.

"Thanks." Aaron grinned.

"You know," offered Lux, "when I want time to
think, I go in there."

The boy indicated at a cave in the rock.

"They call them the Crystal Caves." He informed Aaron.
"It's beautiful in there."

"I'll keep that in mind." Aaron said, stealing a
couple of glances over Lux's shoulder into the caves. There was definitely SOME
sort of light coming from there, but he wasn't too keen to enter - the last
light he had found in a glowing cave had been the gem, after all.

"Ok." Lux said. "Uh... what... what are you
gonna do now?"

Aaron shrugged. "There's not a lot I CAN do with two
broken limbs, is there?"

"I guess not." The boy admitted. "When
they're healed, then."

"I suppose I'll try and find a way back to Nimbus
Station." He said. "My friends and sort-of-family are there, after
all."

"How would you know something like that?" Lux
questioned.

"A bit of logic, a bit of reasoning - and a gut
feeling." Aaron explained.

"Oh." Lux said slowly. "What do you think is
going to happen now the tower is destroyed?"

"I don't know." Aaron admitted. "I guess it
would be too much to hope the maelstrom gives up and goes away."

"Almost definitely too much." Agreed Lux.

"Well then," Aaron declared, "in that case, I
think it's safe to assume that there's going to be some major trouble ahead.
For all of us."

"I don't mean to sound rude, but I hope you're
wrong." Lux said.

"You don't - I feel the same way." Aaron replied.

"That's good." Lux shrugged. "I'll see you
later?"

"Sure." Aaron confirmed, as Lux began to walk back
down the hill.

After Lux had gone completely, Aaron looked back at the
cave. It was still glowing its eerie light.

Perhaps, Aaron thought, there could be some answers in
there.

"Well," He said out loud, "I have always been
intrigued by inner peace..."

"Don't count on it."

"Shut up."

Taking a deep breath, Aaron rose, (wincing as he manoeuvred
his broken limbs,) and began limping towards the cave.

### ***CHAPTER 28: BAD NEWS***

"Well." Plue finished. "That happened."

She was in her apartment, talking to Will; who had arrived
shortly after she did. Gaia and Rose were currently sleeping in Plue's spare
room, whilst Will and Plue themselves were talking in her living room.

"So... Nexus Tower's gone now?" Will asked.

"Yeah." Plue admitted. "I don't know how,
but..."

"Well, you know how it happened." Pointed out Will
"How did Gaia even get those explosives...?"

"They wouldn't have been enough to bring down Nexus
Tower anyway." Said Plue. "Something else happened - I just don't
know what."

"Right." Will muttered, clearly not convinced.
"Well, we have bigger problems right now."

"Like?" Plue said sarcastically. Will threw a
newspaper at her. Catching it, she saw the headline:

Overbuild elected leader of the Nexus Force.

It was all she needed to see.

"You've GOT to be kidding me." She groaned.

"I wish." Will sighed. "Everything seems to
get worse and worse. Aaron's criminalized, the only faction leader who was our
ally is gone, Overbuild and consequently the Darkitecht have taken control of
the Nexus Force..."

"Will." Plue muttered. "Shut up."

"Right." Will muttered. "Shutting up."

"We have to decide what we do next."

"What's there to do?!" Will protested. "We're
finished! Kaput! I'm sorry, but I don't see how there's anything we can do at
this point!"

Plue slapped him. "For goodness' sake Will, pull
yourself together."

Will just grinned. "You remind me of my sister."

Plue stopped, and stared at Will. "You have a
sister?"

Will shrugged. "Used to." Noticing Plue's
expression, he sighed. "I'm pulled together. What's the plan?"

"Okay..." thought Plue. "The plan... the
plan... we need to find out what Overbuild's planning, right?"

"Right." Will agreed.

"And, we need to prevent that from happening,
right?"

"Right." Will repeated, wondering where Plue was
going. Neither of them spoke for a moment.

"How do you propose we go about doing that?" She
said finally. Will threw his hands up in the air.

"I give up." He sighed.

"If Nexus Tower's been destroyed..." Plue
continued, ignoring Will, "where would Overbuild be, anyway?"

"Somewhere secure, right?"

"Exactly. What secure places do we know?"

Will thought. "Not many actually. Nimbus Station, the
latter half of Avant Gardens... that's about it. Everywhere else we know is in
constant danger of being overrun."

Plue snapped her fingers. "Exactly. So, he's got to be
in one of those places, right?"

"He could have a place we don't know about, like the
facility." Pointed out Will.

"He wouldn't." Reasoned Plue. "He's nothing
if not intelligent. He knows that if the Nexus Force leader spends periods of
time missing, people will get displeased. He's got to remain in the public eye,
and the only way he can do that is by living somewhere well known."

"Nicely reasoned." Complimented Will.

"I've spent a LOT of time with Aaron." Sighed
Plue. "I guess that's rubbed off on me."

"Well, it's a good thing too." Will declared.
"Otherwise we would be..."

"Less decisive right now?" Sniggered Plue.

"Yes, actually." Said Will imperiously.

"Sure." Came a voice from behind Plue. She spun
round to see Gaia standing in the doorway.

"Because decisiveness is SO important." She rolled
her eyes. "Honestly, people, sometimes you need to just go with it!"
She wandered up to Will and rapped her fingers on his head. "Stop THINKING
so much!"

"I resent that, I enjoy thinking!" Protested Will,
holding his hands on his head - for once, he wasn't wearing his hat.

"I'm gonna have to agree with Will on this one."
Admitted Plue. "We're going to need to to a lot of thinking to overcome
Overbuild."

"Alright." Gaia shrugged. "So, what do you
have in mind?"

"Well, the first thing we're going to need is a
definite location." Said Plue. "The sooner we can pinpoint Overbuild,
the sooner we can make a plan against him."

"Oh, that's easy." Declared Gaia, before reaching
out and grabbing the remote control to the television.

"Uh, what are you...?" Will began, before Gaia
switched on the TV and turned it to the news channel.

"He's bound to crop up here eventually, oh look!"
She exclaimed in mock surprise as Overbuild appeared on the screen.

"Fair enough." Said Plue. The screen's caption
read Overbuild takes up residence in Nimbus Station.

"So... how are we going to handle this?" Wondered
Will out loud.

"Well, we now know where he is." Said Plue.
"Our next step would be to make a plan."

"I don't like plans." Complained Gaia.

"Two votes against one, Gaia." Pointed out Will.
"So please be silent."

"Whatever." Gaia grumbled.

"Right." Began Plue. "There's probably going
to be a lot of security surrounding his residence."

"So, what do you suggest?"

"Diversion." Declared Plue. "Gaia, would you
like to..."

"WOULD I EVER!" Gaia yelled, jubilantly.

"Right, that's settled." Plue supressed a laugh.
"Once the guards are distracted, me and Will can sneak in and find any
information we can. Our goal is to figure out Overbuild's ultimate plan."

"Question." Said Will. "How do you know he
even HAS an ultimate plan?"

"Will, Nexus Tower has fallen and the Imagination Nexus
is now unprotected." Pointed out Plue. "Trust me, we're entering the
endgame now. We just need to find out what the endgame is."

"Well, what if there's automated security?" Asked
Will. "A diversion won't be very effective against that."

"I think I can help."

"Will people PLEASE stop saying something dramatic
before entering the room?" Asked Plue, exasperated, as Jacen walked in.

"NEVER!" Yelled Gaia. Plue rolled her eyes.

"I can make EMPs." Filled in Jacen, sitting down
at the table. "Any electronic device can be disabled while you two sneak
in-"

"Okay, okay, before we continue." Said Plue,
holding up her hands, "I'd like to ask you something. Namely, HOW DID YOU
GET INTO MY HOUSE?!"

"I let him in." Said Rose, who had also appeared
in the door way. Plue began smacking her head against the table in frustration.

"Is the table making that wooden sound, or is that your
head?" Quipped Will. Plue straightened up and shook her head.

"Ok... anything else I should know? Are there hidden
cameras? Come on out, guys!"

"Plue, Plue! It's okay. Really. There's no-one
else." Will assured her, the smile sliding off his face. "Don't worry
about it."

"Okay." She sighed. "Right, so... um... where
were we?"

"Jacen was going to make EMPs for us, he and Gaia were
going to cause a diversion, me, you and Rose were going to sneak in and find
out what Overbuild is planning, and then we're going to gather everyone
together and stop him."

"I don't remember a lot of that..."

"Well, you'd better, because it's what's happening. Oh,
and we have a direct location as well. Just FYI."

"Oh. Good."

### ***CHAPTER 29: THERE IS NO GUEST LIST***

It was hard to aim in the dark. It was even harder, Plue
thought, to aim a bow and arrow in the dark. And the hardest thing to do of all
is to aim an arrow that is supposed to hit a very specfic target; i.e: get
caught by a hand, when you can't see what the flying heck you're shooting at.
Nevertheless, Plue managed quite well, firing a flaming arrow across the
courtyard into Gaia's hand. The group had made their way to Overbuild's
"Cottage." In reality, it was a mansion that came complete with
dozens of guards in a tangerine box - and a fair amount of robots, too. So far,
Jacen's EMP device had worked perfectly... now was the moment of truth
regarding Gaia and her planned diversion.

"Hello pedestrians!" She shouted into the night.
Plue heard footsteps running towards the spot on the grounds where herself and
Jacen were currently stood.

"What are YOU doing here?" Asked a voice.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Taunted Gaia,
swinging the arrow idly round in her hand.

"Yes, that's why I asked." The speaker replied.

Gaia shrugged. "Well, it all started with - HEY! I
don't have to tell you anything!"

Angrily glancing around to see who spoke to her, she threw
the arrow angrily up in the air, and it's pilot light of a flame revealed
Jacen, using a pair of stolen rocket boots to hover above the ground.

"Hey." He said, emotionlessly. "I'm an
intruder. I guess you had better come stop me."

With that, he turned and flew away, followed swiftly by
Gaia, waving over her shoulder. Suddenly, there was a mad stampede as every
guard stationed in front of or inside the mansion left and pursued the pair,
leaving Plue, Will and Rose on their own.

"Well." Rose remarked. "That was surprisingly
efficient."

"Agreed." Declared Will. "Now, let's get
inside. Quickly."

Plue and Rose both nodded, and the trio sprinted across the
courtyard of the mansion. They came to a halt at a large wooden door, and Rose
held up her hand as an indication of requested silence. As Plue watched, Rose
walked up to the door and knocked on it. Within moments, it had been opened by
a security droid - doubtlessly one of the only ones to stay behind despite the
diversion. When it saw Rose, it looked down on her, and Plue figured she had
about three and a half seconds to think of something.

"Hello!" Rose grinned, and waved.

"Why are you here?" Asked the robot.

"Well, why did you invite me?" Asked Rose,
feigning a look of bemusalment.

"You have not been invited." Replied the drone.

"Yes, I have!" Protested Rose. "See here, I'm
on the guest list."

"There is no guest list."

"Yes, there is. Here."

"That is not a list of any kind. That is a clenched
fist-"

Rose punched the bot, causing its head to spin around in
circles before coming to rest at a lopsided angle.

"Unacceptable." It declared calmly. "Repair
in-"

That was all the thing was able to say, as Plue charged from
her hiding place, drew her sword, and sliced the thing in half before it could
react.

"I figured you needed something a bit stronger than a
punch." She declared as Will walked over

"Much appreciated." Thanked Rose. "But
shouldn't we get moving?"

"Yes." Agreed Will. "My thoughts
precisely."

With Will in front, the three began roaming the hallways,
looking for a room or office belonging to Overbuild.

"I think I've found it!" Said Rose. She was
standing in front of a door with the words "Doctor Overbuild's Private
Office" engraved on the door.

"Really?" Asked Plue. "What tipped you
off?"

Rose opened the door and stuck her head inside the room.

"We're all clear." She revealed. "No-one's
in."

"Good." Plue nodded, satisfied. "Will, you
stand guard out here. Warn us if someone's on the way."

"You got it." Will nodded.

"Come on Rose." Plue said, and the two women
entered the office.

Inside was what could only be described as an organized
mess. Papers and files strewn everywhere, buckets of LEGO and various laptops
were left hanging precariously off desks. One of the walls was just a shelf
covered in books, and there were also paint canvases, pots of pens and pencils,
and generally enough random items for a scatter-brained genius to do about
twenty things at once.

"Where would we find the evil plans?" Wondered
Rose. Plue thought.

"I'd say... the most heavily guarded folder, or storage
container, or whatever."

"Then this looks promising." Rose pointed out a
small metal box on one desk, with a padlock conjoining all the chains wrapped
around it.

"I'd agree." Said Plue. "But that looks
problematic."

"Yeah." Agreed Rose, forlornly. "No key. How
are we supposed to access it?"

"We need to get that safe out of here." Stated
Plue.

Rose shook her head adamantly. "I don't know about you,
but I don't think I'd be able to carry that if I tried."

"You're right." Admitted Plue. "We
need-"

"This?" Asked Doctor Albert Overbuild, stepping
into the room. In his hand was a key; doubtlessly, the key to the safe.

"Overbuild!" Spat Plue.

"What are YOU doing here?" Gaped Rose.

"I knew that your friends were indulging in...
diversionary tactics. It was a simple matter, figuring out that you would find
this room."

Suddenly, Plue was hit with a stark realisation.
"Where's Will? What have you done to him?"

"Oh, Mr Virtue?" Overbuild stepped back, to reveal
a pair of security droids holding Will. He was barely conscious, and looked
like he'd lost a fight.

"What did you... is he-" Rose gasped, staring
horrified at her friend.

"Dead?" Finished Overbuild. "No, I believe
he's still alive. However..." The doctor walked over to a shelf and picked
up what looked like the blade arm of a stromling. How he had obtained the
weapon, Plue didn't know, but she could be sure of his motive. "This can
be rectified."

"No!" Plue ran forwards, but the next second found
herself restrained by his robotic arms.

"Rose... help!" She coughed. Rose span into a
tornado, and charged at Overbuild. The tornado sucked up items from various
nooks, crannies, desks and shelves inside the room and flung them towards the
doctor, but one of the security droids held out its hand and emitted a shield
that deflected all the items. Books, bricks, balls, and undoubtedly some items
that didn't begin with a "B" flew everywhere. Straight afterwards,
the other security droid threw some kind of device inside Rose's tornado,
resulting in a burst of electricity that sent Rose across the room, slamming
into a wall before dropping to the floor unconscious.

"Rose!" Plue yelled helplessly. Overbuild waited
for another moment, then threw to the floor with his arms, watching as she hit
the ground with a slam. Blowing her hair out of her face, and through her
blurring vision, Plue saw Overbuild stroll casually over to Will, and, after
seemingly pondering his actions for a brief moment, leaned down and scratched
him with the blade. Plue saw the cut on his arm glow purple, and knew, with a
deep, tragic certainty, that Will only had a certain amount of time left on his
clock.

"That should do it." The doctor muttered, before
turning back to Plue, and giving her a sad little smile. "Maelstrom
infected wounds." He said, softly. "responsible for the majority of
our casualties throughout the war."

### ***CHAPTER 30: FRONT-ROW SEATS FOR THE END OF THE WORLD***

"NOOO!" Plue yelled and, in a burst of adrenaline,
ripped herself free of Overbuild's arms, picked up her sword and in one fluid
movement sliced through both of the arms before pointing her sword at
Overbuild's neck. Overbuild held up his arms, and the pair of security droids
moved closer; ready to strike.

"I should finish you here right now." Plue spat.
"For Will, for Duke Exeter, and perhaps for Aaron and Shadow, too."

Overbuild merely shook his head as if she were an imbecile.

"That wouldn't solve any of your problems." He
replied. "We've been planning this day for over ten years - you won't be
able to avert fate's now."

Plue was just about to come back with a sniping retort when
the door opened and Vanda Darkflame rushed in

"Doctor! It's Hael!" She yelled. "I went into
his office to ask him something, and he..."

She trailed off when she clapped her eyes on the unfolding
scene.

"Al?" She asked cautiously. "What's...
happening?"

"Oh, I can answer that." Said Overbuild, remaining
frustratingly stoic. "The two of us are engaging in a minor dispute over
the ambiguous fates of her boyfriend and another companion of hers, the certain
fate of Duke Exeter, and the fate which has just befallen her friend over there
as a result of my actions."

"What?!" Spluttered Vanda. "Albert, are you
saying-"

"WHATEVER YOU THINK IT IS, IT'S FAR WORSE!" Plue
roared, shaking Overbuild's lapel to shut him up. "HE'S RESPONSIBLE FOR
ALL THE SUFFERING INFLICTED IN THIS WAR, AND HE'S IN LEAGUE WITH THE
DARKITECHT!"

"Oh, come off it!" Protested Vanda. "You
seriously believe that Albert Overbuild is responsible for the demise of-"

"Hael Storm." Interrupted Overbuild. Plue and
Vanda both turned to look at him. Vanda's face drained itself of blood in an
instant.

"Albert." She said, almost whispering. "What
did you say?"

"Hael Storm." Repeated Overbuild. "You were
trying to tell me about Hael in his office? That was me, Vanda."

Plue's grip on Overbuild went slack, but she didn't care.

"No." Said Vanda, slowly backing away. "No,
no, no."

"I'm sorry." Said Overbuild, not sounding so.
"But he always was an arrogant loudmouth."

Vanda slumped against the wall and slid down it, dropping
her swords.

"Told you so." Said Plue glumly, before one of the
security droids hauled her off Overbuild.

"Now..." He said, brushing down his overcoat.
"Where were we?"

Suddenly, the office's window burst open and Gaia and Jacen
zoomed through it. Glass spewed everywhere as the pair flopped onto the ground.
Behind them, Plue heard a multitude of gunshots from the pursuing security
guards.

"Was our diversion long enough?" Gaia asked,
before seeing everyone in the office.

"What do YOU think, genius?" Jacen remarked.

"Fine, I get it." Gaia sighed as she pointed a
hand towards the whole, and blind-firing a small amount of lightning outside.

"Out of juice?" Asked Jacen.

"Don't blame me!" Protested Gaia. "This place
is too clean!"

"Excuse me!" Said Plue. "I hate to barge in,
but... the safe!"

"What? Oh!" Jacen realised. "On it!"

He whipped out a pistol and began shooting up the door of
the safe. One of the security droids tried to run at him, but Gaia raised a
fist and sent the robot flying across the room. The other droid held Plue in
front of itself, but the next second a whip wrapped itself around the bot's
neck and pulled backwards. Plue turned around to see Will leaning on a wall,
whip in hand, panting. The cut on his arm glowed a deep purple, but Will seemed
to be neglecting it for the time being.

"What did I miss?" He grinned.

"Look out!" Plue replied. Will turned in time to
see Gaia tackle Overbuild, who had been about to attack Will from behind. Jacen
watched Gaia retaliate.

"Aim for the jugular!" He advised.

"The what?" Gaia asked, still punching the doctor.

"THE JUGULAR!" Yelled Jacen, still shooting the
safe.

"I don't know what that means!"

"Oh, for the love of... punch him in the throat!"

"Oh." Gaia obeyed, and shut Overbuild up.
"Well, why didn't you just say so?"

"I di... you know what, never mind." Said Jacen.

"Jacen, do we have a way out yet?" Asked Plue,
hoisting Rose onto her shoulder. Rose groaned feebly.

"Yeah." Jacen replied. "They should be-"
He was interrupted by the whirring of helicopter blades. Outside, a Nexus Force
chopper was hovering by their window, slightly above the ground. The security
guards stopped what they were doing and stared in outraged awe.

"-just here." He finished.

Plue turned to look at her team. "Everyone on board,
now!"

Jacen shot the safe a final time before pulling out a wad of
papers and sprinting for the helicopter. Behind him, Gaia blasted any guards
who tried to fire at him or the machine. Will began to limp towards it,
followed by Plue carrying Rose. Suddenly, Plue was hit with a realisation, and
she turned to look at Vanda. The Paradox Faction leader was still slumped
against the wall where she had fallen after Overbuild's revelation.

"Um, guys?" Plue said.

"Yes?" Will rasped.

"What about Vanda?" Plue queried. There was a
moment of silence. Then Will swore and began to haphazardly run back to the
building. Plue dumped the unconscious Rose onto the chopper, and began to head
back as well, when she saw Will stumble out of the window supporting Vanda.

"Help me with her, she's in no condition to walk."
Huffed Will. "Neither am I, for that matter."

Plue ran the remaining length of grounds, and the two of
them were able to haul the shell-shocked faction leader back to the helicopter.
Once they were on board and the doors were closed, their saviour lifted the
chopper off the ground, and the group made their escape.

"Thanks" Will panted.

"No problem." Replied Vector, leaving the cockpit
and joining the rest of the group in the back. "I owed you guys
anyway."

"Wait - who's flying this thing?" Plue exclaimed.
Vector laugher.

"Kaylori is. Turns out driving a helicopter isn't so
different from driving a jeep."

"Um, actually, it is." Kaylori filled in.
"I'm just good at getting the hang of things. Where too now?"

"My property!" Plue replied. "We need to
regroup and-"

"Oh no." Jacen muttered. All eyes fell upon him as
he lifted some of the papers they had taken from the safe. "I know what he's
after."

"What?" Gaia pressed, shoving her face into
Jacen's.

Vector pulled her away. "Let him speak." He
suggested.

Jacen, pale by this point, nodded his gratitude to Vector
and began to read off the sheets.

"It looks like... it looks like some kind of
bomb."

"Define bomb." Ordered Will.

"Well, it's built in a not dissimilar way to the bombs
we normally drop on the maelstrom, but this... it seems to expel some kind of
matter that destroys imagination."

"That's not good." Rose voiced the general opinion.

"it gets worse." Jacen whined. "It looks like
this thing uses... uses the Imagination Nexus as a power source. Most of its
been pre-programmed into the Nexus, so all Overbuild has to do is flick a few
switches..."

"And it's "goodbye imagination."" Plue finished,
grimly. "Forever."

The silence was deafening.

"What do we do?" Asked Rose after a short time.

"Isn't it obvious?" Pointed out Vanda.

Everyone turned to look at the faction leader, who had been
silent until this point.

"We get there first." She declared. "I'll
rally all the remaining members of the Nexus Force-"

"About a quarter of them are traitors." Protested
Vector. "Manipulated by Overbuild and the Darkitecht.

"Then so be it." Vanda said. "Now that
they've been exposed, they'll have to join the maelstrom openly. Hiding won't
do them any good any more. But if we can get to the tower first, then we can
set up a defence, and we'll have a fighting chance to stop them."

The young faction leader raised her haggard face to look
into the eyes of the assembled warriors.

"This is it." She muttered. "The
confrontation that decides the war."

"Then let's make sure we have front row seats."
Plue said, and the group flew. Towards the Tower.

### ***CHAPTER 31: HERE COMES A NEW CHALLENGER***

"Wow..." Aaron breathed, stepping into the open
space.

He had, for lack of a better thing to do, wandered into the
crystal caves in an attempt at exploration. After hours of combing plain and
uninteresting tunnels, he had finally arrived inside a huge open chamber. As
Lux had described, it was filled with fluorescent white crystals that jutted
from the ceiling, walls and floor. The entire thing had a circular shape, and
there was a crystal-free patch of ground in the middle. Beckoned on my
curiosity, Aaron limped towards the center of the room.

"What... what IS this place?" He breathed, not
expecting a response.

"I'm not sure." The gem replied. "I kind of
remember this place, but when you're thousands of years old, everything sort of
blends together after a while."

"Ugh..." Aaron groaned. "Are you still
here?"

"Yep. Symbiotic bonding and all that, remember?"

"Ok... well, as long as you're here, you might as well
make yourself useful. Is there anything you know about this area or these
crystals at all?"

"Hmm... well, you know how there are areas that have
really high concentrations of maelstrom? Like the central vortex, or the plains
of crux prime?"

"Yep."

"This is an area that has the opposite. A really high
concentration of imagination."

"Is that so?"

"Mm-hmm. Such a dense cluster of imagination could
obliterate any maelstrom being too close, even-"

"Even you?" Aaron asked. The gem fell silent.

"I wouldn't recommend that course of action."

"Is that so?" Aaron began to make his way towards
the nearest crystal. "Why?"

"You could destroy both of us."

"I'm willing to take the risk."

"You would destroy the prophecy."

"What do I care."

"The maelstrom would win!"

At this, Aaron
paused.

"I thought you would want that." He said,
cautiously.

"Hardly at all." The gem replied. "I'm viewed
as an anomaly by the Darkitecht. And, well... we saw how he dealt with
anomalies."

"Yep." Aaron agreed. "First drop a ceiling on
them - and then a tower."

"Precisely." The gem said. "We've both made
enemies of the maelstrom, despite the way we're connected to it."

"Yeah..." Aaron sighed, and drew his hand away
from the crystal.

"We're going to have to work together if we are to
survive." The entity continued. "For starters, we need to-"

At that moment, Aaron turned around swiftly and dived for the
crystal jutting out of the wall.

"No!" The gem yelled, but it was too late. The tip
of Aaron's finger made contact with the crystalline substance, and the whole
world changed. There were flashes of light and shadow, and it was hard to see
exactly what was happening. An eternity passed in no time, and suddenly Aaron
reeled away from the light cluster, gasping.

"What... what WAS that?" He panted, trying to keep
his balance with his broken limbs.

"I'm not quite sure." The gem replied. "When
light and shadow are combined in such a way, all sorts of things can happen. I
once knew of two entities, one of light and one of shadows. When they were
briefly combined, they became the strongest being in their univers-"

"Answer me!" Aaron snapped, shaking. "The
things I saw... the people I saw... it was..." He trailed off.

"I'm sorry." The gem seemed to sigh, almost
unexpectedly. "I'm so sorry."

"What? Why?" Aaron queried.

"From what I was able to see through you, I don't think
those were any random images." The gem confessed. "I think that we
were shown the future."

"Then... that all happens?"

"Yes. I'm afraid so."

There was a brief silence.

"I have to go."

"What? Where?"

"Back to civilisation. I have to protect them, I have
to-"

"Listen." The entity interrupted him. "One
often meets their destiny on the path they take to avoid it."

"I don't care." Aaron snapped. "I can't just
sit around and my friends be... you know."

Aaron heard a sighing noise in his head.

"Listen, I may not be able to stop you from going
back... but at least let me help you."

"How can you help me?" Aaron wondered.

"I'm glad you asked."

"Why are you-"

This was all Aaron had time to say before the entire scene
changed again. Blinking against a sudden bright light, he looked up to see not
the caves, but rather a seemingly infinite expanse of white. There were no
discernible boundaries, and the area seemed to go on forever. Upon moving, he
found that his arm and leg were no longer broken, but freely movable.

"Where am I?" Aaron said out loud. "What is
this?"

"It's called the mindscape." A voice behind him
said.

Aaron turned around to look at the speaker, and then stopped
cold.

Standing before him was a woman unlike any he had ever seen.
Her hair was long, right down to her waist and hanging loose - and the richest
shade of purple. Her eyes, too, were the same shade of purple. Her facial
features seemed impossible to identify, as if she were some kind of angel. But
at the same time, Aaron could instantly sense that something was wrong. She had
a threatening aura, and flames danced in her irises. She was beautiful in the
way a significantly sized explosion was beautiful.

"Who... who are you?" He finally managed to say.
She laughed; a cruel, kind laugh.

"What's the matter?" She chuckled. "Am I too
stunning in person for you to think?"

Suddenly, Aaron realised that she was wearing exactly the
same clothes he was.

"You're the gem?" He asked. The gem's smile slid
from her face, to be replaced by an expression of mild indignation.

"You expected something else?"

"I didn't expect ANYTHING." Aaron emphasised,
regaining control of himself. "I had no idea you would be able to create a
physical body for yourself in this... whatever it is."

"Don't treat your mind so!" The gem chided.
"This is where you'll learn how to control my power."

"I can control- wait, this is my mind?"

"Yep."

Aaron narrowed his eyes, and looked around again.

"Should I be happy that it's so big, or concerned that
it's so empty?"

"Neither." The gem replied. "Just be thankful
you have one."

"True." Aaron agreed.

"Right!" The gem said, clapping her hands
together. "To business. First thing on the list is the memory
transfer."

"The what?"

"Oh, right." The gem placed a hand behind her
head. "It's... um... just come here."

With that, she grabbed Aaron and pulled him close to her.

"Firstly..." She muttered. "General
experience." And with that, she pulled his head and her own head back, and
smacked their foreheads together.

"Gah!" Aaron reeled away, clutching his forehead,
but he suddenly felt his mind flood with memories. He saw the initial creation
of the gems by the first builders, and their use agains the maelstrom. He saw
eons of peace, before the entity known as the Darkitecht was created and
threatened the balance of order and chaos once more. He learnt lessons and
morals, stratagies and facts in an instant.

The gem watched, amused, as he staggered round the empty
space of his own psyce, clutching his forehead.

"How do you feel?" She smirked.

"Wiser." Aaron replied, before wincing. "Was
that necessary?"

"Yes. And it's not over." She declared. Before Aaron
could stop her, she had pulled him in again.

"Next... combat specificities." She declared, and
slammed their heads together again. This time, it hurt even more, but Aaron
again experienced thousands of years of battle experience in an instant. When
he came too, he was lying down on the ground, with the gem standing over him.

"Pathetic." She said, grinning, before helping him
to his feet. "If you can't take a headbutt, how do you expect to defeat
the maelstrom?"

Aaron glared at her. "Keep being annoying and I'll show
you, Mrs Mccrabby."

She folder her arms in disdain. "That is not my
name."

"Well, what IS your name then?" Aaron asked,
exasperated.

"I... I don't actually have one."

"You're joking."

"Nope. Should I have one?"

"Unless you want me to come up with nicknames for
you."

"Then yes, I really do. Um, names... names..."

"How about... CRYSTAL?"

"Never in a million years. I'll think of one... whilst
we train."

### ***CHAPTER 32: SYMPATHIES FROM A ROCK***

Aaron ungraciously flung himself backwards to avoid the
oncoming blade. As the metal skimmed past his chest, he reached the peak of his
arc and bounced forwards again, lunging at his attacker. He was countered, and
a sword shot towards his face. Flailing in panic, his right arm seemed to
spasm, and he whacked the sword so hard that he let go of his own blade. Both
swords flew away from the combatants and skimmed across the floor before
disappearing back into the mindscape.

"Not bad." The gem remarked. "I expected
better, but you didn't get hit, which is something. I guess you're more of a
defensive person."

"I have to be good at dodging." He replied.
"Will and Plue both get physical when they're angry, and even Anna can
ambush me from time to time if I'm not careful."

"I know all that." She snapped. "Just don't
disarm YOURSELF next time you disarm your opponent, alright?"

"Would you lay off?" Aaron shot back, unhelpfully
answering a question with a question. "I've got thousands of years' worth
of memories bouncing around in my head! Funnily enough, I don't think the ones
that teach me how to swordfight are going to be immediately accessible!"

"How would you know!" The gem retorted.
"You've never done this before?"

"Have you?"

"Yes!"

"So SHOULD they be at the forefront of my mind?"

"YES!!"

"WELL, THEY'RE NOT!" Aaron yelled, gesturing
dramatically "They're not working for me, I can't use them, I can't-"

He stopped, as he found himself being hugged by the gem.

"Um..." He muttered. "I take it you know
girls were never my strong point?"

She ignored him.

"Listen." She said. "I'm not going to mince
my words. I don't care... at ALL... about your friends."

Aaron listened as she continued.

"They mean nothing to me personally. I haven't even met
them - at least, not personally. But..."

She trailed off.

"But I've met you." She said at last. "Now
that we're bonded, I know you very well. And I know how much you care about
them."

"So let me help you." She finished, stepping back
and smiling at him. "If you can't access the memories... I'm going to have
to externally activate them."

"Ok..." Aaron said, hesitantly. "How are you
going to do that?"

He immediately regretted asking the question. The mindscape
blurred, and both of them received swords again. Before he had time to react,
the gem leapt at him ferociously. He dived out of the way as her sword slammed
into the ground, and pointed his at her respectively. Not giving him time to
wait, she went straight to the offensive again, lunging at him. Aaron managed
to counter, but her sword instantly swung back around, shaving a bit of hair
off his head. With a start, Aaron realised that she wasn't holding back any
more.

Gritting his teeth, he unsteadily charged with his sword
held in front of him. It took very little effort on the gem's part to knock his
sword out of his hand, letting it get absorbed by the mindscape once again and
leaving him defenceless. He looked up, expecting lenience. All he received was
a blade heading right towards him. Starting, he scrambled backwards to avoid
it, before climbing hastily to his feet. Now, he was unarmed.

Suddenly, his head began to burn and he bent over, clutching
as his vision began to fill with memories that were not his own. Whilst one
part of him wanted to reject the memories, he controlled himself and allowed
them to slip into his psyche. Immediately, the knowledge that he had been
taunting himself with was his to savour. He saw every swordfight the past
wielders of the gem had partaken in, and he was taught how to manipulate the
mindscape, bending it to his will.

The gem was about to charge again, when she noticed a change
in the air. Looking at Aaron, she saw him hold his hands together as energy
began to materialize from seemingly nowhere, zooming towards his hand. There
was a blinding flash, and she was forced to cover her eyes. When she looked up,
Aaron was holding a new blade.

The sword that Aaron now wielded was glowing with power, a
violet aura surrounding it. Not wanting to give him time to rest, the gem
lunged at him. She wasn't surprised at the fact that he countered. She was
surprised at the ease with which he countered her attack. Aaron's wielding had
abruptly changed from experienced yet unpolished to efficient and almost
effortless. Grinning, she lunged again, only for Aaron to knock her blade away
again. She then cut for his stomach, but he smoothly countered and slid his
blade along her own, sending sparks flying. She hastily backed away to avoid
the attack, marvelling at the fact that she found herself on the defensive.

During the duel, Aaron didn't even look like he was
concentrating. He had a dazed and far-away look on his face, and seemed to be
almost marvelling at his own actions. He lunged at the gem, who countered and
tried to kick him away. Swiftly, he grabbed her leg and pulled her over; she
fell down in a clattering of armour. Before she even realised what was
happening, Aaron was holding the sword to her throat.

"Better?" He asked.

She smiled, not unkindly.

"Better." She confirmed. Aaron held his hand out,
and she brushed it away as she climbed to her feet.

"So, how are they? The memories, I mean."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, those. They're... fine."

"Define "Fine.""

"Well... it's weird. I just feel so much older, and
more experienced, and more..."

He shuddered. "Mature."

The gem couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, I'd say there could be worse side effects to
learning thousands of years’ worth of warrior skills, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah." Aaron shrugged. "I guess. So, what
happens now?"

The gem tilted her head sideways.

"Now, I guess I get you out of the mindscape so you can
run off and save your friends."

As she said this, the entire mindscape began to glow a
brilliant white.

"Wait!" Aaron said, as he felt himself returning
to the real world. "Did you decide on a name?"

The last thing he saw was the gem-entity's smile.

"Raelyn."

The mindscape faded, and Aaron found himself in the crystal
caves. The first thing he noticed was the fact that his limbs were completely
healed. As he tested them gingerly, he noticed another thing: he still had the
memories of a thousand years in his head. Whilst still unsteady over them, even
he had to admit the fact that it was a much better feeling than himself and
Raelyn fighting for headspace.

"Raelyn..." He murmured out loud, holding the gem
in his hand, grateful for now being in possession of a name for the gem...

"You act as if I'm gone." He suddenly heard inside
his head. Now that he had met her in the mindscape, the pitch of her voice had
become a lot more recognizably feminine.

"I wish." He remarked.

"Yeah, okay, I'm going to ignore that." She said.
"Isn't there stuff you need to get on with?"

"Indeed." He said,
getting up and beginning to run to the exit.

When Aaron arrived back in the Minithran settlement, he
noticed that there was a commotion in the center of the town. Pushing his way
through the crowd, he saw the Imagination Nexus, now unprotected by Nexus
Tower, on the very edge of Crux Prime. Around it. he could see ships flying in
from every direction. Beyond them, the maelstrom had amassed. The entirety of
the great and terrible power of the maelstrom had gathered, and it was
advancing on the Imagination Nexus.

Realising that time was of the essence, he scanned the crowd
until he spotted Nyssa and Lux, and hurried over to them.

"I need a ship." He stated as he arrived.

"Uh - of course." Nyssa said, visibly perturbed by
his healed limbs. "Why?"

"There are some people I need to save." Aaron
replied. "And some I need to avenge."

"Of course." The Minithran bowed her head to show
that she respected his wishes. "Will you return?"

"Perhaps." He said.

Nyssa directed Aaron over to a Minithran craft, which came
with a robotic pilot.

"Be safe." She advised him. As the door slid shut,
she heard his quippy response.

"I don't do requests."

### ***CHAPTER 33: THE DIE IS CAST***

Will stood beside Vanda Darkflame, looking over the Nexus
Force from a makeshift stage. Vanda had sent out a signal which had alerted all
members of the Nexus Force to the situation, and many civilians had also joined
them. The rest were cowering in their homes across the Nimbus System, afraid to
fight and afraid to run.

Will inwardly sighed. Just more people to protect, then.

"Are you alright?" Vanda asked him, shaking him
out of his thoughts.

"I'm fine." He replied, absent-mindedly rubbing
his arm.

Vanda's expression hardened. "After all this time, we
don't have the means to prevent such a simple occurrence. I'm so sorry."

"It's alright." Will assured her. "I didn't
think I was gonna make it through this war anyway."

Vanda looked like she wanted to press him further, but
obviously decided against it.

"I'll talk to you again after I've addressed the crowd."
She said, before striding out onto the stage and beginning to speak.

As Will watched, he heard a noise behind him and turned to
see Plue, Kaylori and Vector standing at the edge of the stage.

"Hey." He greeted them and walked slowly over.

"You ok?" Kaylori questioned.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" He joked.
"I'm fine."

"I don't think-" Kaylori began, but Vector shook
his head.

"Kaylori, I think it's best if we don't worry about
Will's... issue right now." He said. "We have bigger problems."

Plue nodded, and indicated the mass of maelstrom that was
approaching.

"That force is going to be on us in less than an hour.
Are you sure the defences are in place?"

"What defences?" Exclaimed Will, spreading his
arms out wide. "We've erected a rickety stone building around the
Imagination Nexus, and we're going to get the remaining three quarters of the
Nexus Force in a defensive position around it. That's literally all we can do
right now. The rest is up to fate."

"Are you disappointed?" Asked Vector. "About
how everything we've worked so hard for is falling around us?"

"Disappointed?" Will repeated, laughing. "I
think it's hard to be disappointed when your expectations are so low they're
next to dinosaur bones. Like I said, I wasn't planning on walking away
unscathed."

"But that doesn't mean you can be casual about
it!" Plue told him. "This is a big deal!"

Will placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I know it's a big deal." He said, softly.
"But not only is the war is the war coming to an end, the fact is that in
all my life I've never felt so calm, so... so right. This is the perfect time
to die. I'm ready."

"You shouldn't be!" Plue hugged him. "We've
known each other for so long, and now that Aaron..." she sniffed.
"Now that he's gone, I don't know what would happen if I were to lose YOU
as well."

"You don't know that he's gone." Will told her,
hugging her back. "He'll show up."

"How can you be so sure?"

"It's being a hero, you know?" Will smiled.
"All that "nick of time" stuff."

"But what if he doesn't come back?" Plue replied.

"He will." Said a voice.

All eyes turned to look at Anna, who was standing resolutely
behind Vector and Kaylori.

"I know he will." She continued. "He wouldn't
be my brother if he didn't come back."

"You see?" Will grinned, breaking away from Plue.
"We know he will, don't we Anna?

"Yeah." She smiled. "He's gonna return and
kick some maelstrom butt."

"My point exactly." Said Will. "So why don't
we-"

He was interrupted as the sky seemingly exploded. Looking
up, Will saw pieces of the swarm of maelstrom break off from the main group,
and fall to Crux. Where it fell, the ground fractured and spawned minions of
darkness everywhere.

"Get ready." Will finished, glumly. On the stage,
Vanda finished speaking and the assembled warriors hastened to their posts.
Vanda herself ran over to the group.

"Well, this is it." She said. "The final
confrontation is upon us."

"Good luck everyone."

What was left of Crux Prime shook once again as the
maelstrom forced it's way through the very surface of the landmass. The rock
crumbled like wet clay as wave after wave of stromlings, spiderlings, horsemen
and dragons emerged. At the very back of the maelstrom army, Will could see
some uninfected figures watching the chaos unfold in front of them.

"Who..." Plue began, having noticed the same
thing.

"Who else? Overbuild." Will spat. "His
traitors and him are staying out of the fight. I don't think he wants to get
his hands dirty."

The Assembly faction leader was soon lost, however, in a sea
of purple, black, red and white. It was clear to Will that the maelstrom was
leaving nothing in reserve. It intended to completely obliterate the Nexus
Force, destroy the Imagination Nexus, and crush any remaining resistance in one
fell swoop. They were the only barrier between it and universal domination.

"We might have a tussle on our hands." Vector
remarked. They watched as around them, the Nexus Force and the volunteers took
up defensive positions and waited for the first attack.

"That's an understatement." Will said.

"This is how it ends." Kaylori declared, darkly.

Plue's response was to grin and raise her katana.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." She declared.
Will nodded.

"Anna, stay back." He told the young girl.

"Trust me." Anna said. "I'm not going
anywhere near that lot."

"I don't blame you." Said Vanda, marching forward
with her swords in her hands. "I'm scared myself."

"We must remember." Said a shinobi beside them.
"We're all stories in the end. Just make it a good one."

"Dilip?" Will exclaimed, recognizing the voice.
The shinobi nodded, and Will could see him smiling behind his mask.

"Did you think I would be anywhere else?"

"I wish we could say the same about the others."
Kaylori said. "I haven't seen them for hours."

"I'm sure Gaia's coming up with some kind of stupid plan
to save all our lives." Will assured his friend.

"Emphasis on the word "stupid."" Plue
pointed out. "No offence to Gaia, but her plans aren't exactly known for
working out in our favour."

"Fair enough." Will admitted. "But now isn't
the time."

The first wave of stromlings began to advance, sprinting
towards the Nexus Force defences. Clambering over each other in their haste to
destroy, Will heard ghostly howls and moans as the terror approached.

"STEADY!" Vanda yelled. The troops held their
ground as the stromlings rushed ever closer.

Seconds passed.

"FIRE!" Vanda roared, and the Nexus Force
unleashed hell onto hell. Weapons lit up, bullets and lasers flew towards the
enemy lines, and grenades were sent screaming through the air, sending up
hellfire wherever they landed. The stromlings were cut down, only to be
surpassed immediately by their onrushing brethren.

"FIRE!" Vanda shouted again, and another volley of
projectiles made their way across the battlefield. Space Marauders wielding
wormholers sent crystalline shards of power at their enemies. The Sentinel
faction fired flaming arrows and lasers, whilst the Venture League kept to more
old-fashioned weaponry - firing bullets at the stromlings. From the side,
Assembly faction turrets cut down the maelstrom forces where they stood whilst
demon dogs fired at the flying hammerlings above. Giant insects simply cleaved
apart any stromling that managed to make it to the defences, and the Space
Rangers used their high-tech equipment to shield as many of their fellow
warriors as they could. In the midst of all this, people who belonged to no
faction fought using whatever weapons they had scavenged before the fight
began.

Will watched all of this happen in an instant, and realised
that they couldn't last. The maelstrom would just keep on pushing, and
eventually-

Will lost his train of thought as he saw a Nexus Force jet
screech through the sky, avoiding blasts of flame from dragons - that is, until
it was hit and began to plummet towards the battlefield.

### ***CHAPTER 34: MAYHEM***

As Will watched, the jet began to plummet towards the
battlefield. Smoke curved around its structure as it fell, the wings burning
and the engines spluttering.

Suddenly, the rear hatch opened and Will saw four figures
begin to plummet out. With a feeling he knew who it was, he began running past
troops in order to get to the front line. Getting close, he was abruptly
knocked backwards by a maelstrom ape that had broken through the front lines
and was now rampaging, sending troops flying. Without hesitating, Will jumped
up and leapt onto the creature, wrapping his whip around its arm. This turned
out to be a bad move, as the ape roared and began flailing its arms wildly.
Will was forced to cling to the whip for dear life as he spun around, not
knowing which way was up.

He was saved when Vector arrived and fired upon the ape with
a broadsider. The ape roared in defiance and tore the whip off its arm, sending
Will to the floor. It raised its arms to try and crush him, but at the last
second Kaylori darted in front of its fists and caught them in her palms,
stopping them from connecting. Dilip jumped over Will and Kaylori, and dealt
the creature a final blow using his katanas. The beast toppled over, and Will
rose. Hurrying to confirm what he already knew, he raised his head to the sky
and saw Gaia, Jacen, Rose and Shadow fall the last few feet to the ground.

There was an almighty explosion, and stromlings went flying.
In the center of a sizable crater the four stood. Jacen raised a pair of
pistols, Shadow summoned his sword and Rose took up a fighting stance. Gaia's
eyes glowed, and a vortex of energy began to form with her at the center.
Stromlings everywhere were sucked in and disintegrated, and only by staying in
the eye of the storm did her friends survive. A dragon flew at her, but Gaia
raised her hand and unleashed a jet of fire upon the creature, eliminating it
almost immediately.

As Will watched, the vortex began to travel across the field
of battle, bringing destruction wherever it went. Gaia levitated in the center,
with her friends below her, trying to sustain the storm and control its
direction at the same time. Purple lighting struck any entity that ventured too
close, and the maelstrom began to scatter before her.

Plue whistled.

"Dang." Vector muttered. "I thought she was
powerful before, but this... this is something else."

"Indeed." Said Vanda.

"Don't get any ideas." Kaylori hissed. Vanda
rolled her eyes.

"Please." She scoffed. "I've been put off
experimentation for life after you filled me in on what Overbuild had been
doing all these years."

"I'd like to think so." Kaylori replied.

Will sighed inwardly as the two continued to snipe at one
another, and turned his attention to the battlefield. Gaia's storm seemed to be
losing power, as its creator's energy was drained. Even Gaia had her limits, it
seemed.

Wincing, he rose and began jumping over the rocky outcrops
to make it to the group in the storm. His friends ceased their activities as
they watched him journey.

"Come on!" He yelled when he realised that they
were watching him.

They looked at each other. Then Plue began sprinting after
him, quickly followed by Vector. Then Dilip, then Kaylori, then Vanda.

The six continued to run closer to the vortex even as the
entire structure flickered. Like a hologram with no power, the entire storm
seemed to pause once, for a couple of seconds. Then again, for longer, all the
power disappeared before returning. Then it dispersed for good, sending a minor
shockwave over the battlefield.

Gaia, exhausted from the effort, began to fall out of the
sky as the last remnants of the vortex evaporated into the dusky air.

The second Gaia dropped out of the sky, the group that had been
with her began to move. Shadow launched himself off the ground and managed to
catch his falling comrade before she hit the ground. Jacen said something to
Rose, who seemed perturbed by his words, but nodded. Will then saw Jacen turn
around and begin run towards the wreckage of their jet, with Rose covering his
flank.

The maelstrom restarted it's advance, and Shadow, after
placing Gaia on the ground, levelled his sword, before suddenly vanishing in
with a loud crack. Will continued to run, as he saw stromlings in the crowd
beginning fall for no particular reason. Chaos began to spread amongst the
maelstrom's ranks as Shadow teleported from place to place, cutting down
stromlings and then vanishing before anyone could identify his position.

A stromling ape began to stampede towards Jacen and Rose,
who were still running towards the wreck. Rose turned around for half a second,
saw the ape, and instantly entered a spinjitzu tornado. Zooming towards Jacen,
she grabbed him and tossed him towards the wreckage before hastening over
herself. Will still couldn't see what they were really doing, not being close
enough, but Jacen seemed to be entering the jet whilst Rose was standing guard
outside.

Knocking aside a couple of stromlings with her spinjitzu,
Rose was grabbed by the ape and rendered helpless by its extreme strength.

"Jacen!" She shouted, and her friend emerged from
the wreckage holding a Space Marauder-class wormholer. The techie opened fire
on the ape with the weapon, sending a wave of maroon crystals into its
gargantuan frame. The ape roared and tried to slam Rose into the ground; Shadow
teleported in, grabbed Rose, and vanished just as abruptly. Without Rose at
risk, Jacen was able to attack in force, pushing the ape back with a wave of
crystals before bringing the chainsaw edge of the weapon above his head and
down onto the servant of darkness, destroying it.

Jacen raised the wormholer, panting, as the body of the ape
disappeared into nothingness. There was a cracking noise, and Shadow
reappeared, holding Rose. Rose turned around and hugged Shadow, who's eyes
betrayed the slightest hint of surprise.

Will smiled upon sight of the brief exchange, but then
turned his attention to Gaia. The maelstrom was starting to notice that she was
in their midst, and was advancing quickly.

"We need to protect Gaia!" He yelled. The group
nodded, and jumped of the final ledge keeping them from the maelstrom army,
dropping into its center. Instantly pandemonium broke out. Will sprinted
towards Gaia, whilst the rest of his team began battling to hold the maelstrom
back. A spiderling hissed from right in front of Will, but the next second
Vanda launched herself into it, knocking it aside. Will dodged a laser that had
been fired his way and lowered his shoulder as he ran, barging past a few
stromlings.

He finally arrived at Gaia's position, and saw that she was
still unconscious. Grimacing, he gritted his teeth and whipped out his guns. A
stromling ran at him, but it's head was destroyed by Will's first shot. He kept
the maelstrom in a circle around him and Gaia by firing his guns frantically.
Stromling after stromling fell, but more simply took their place. It didn't
help that Will was tiring. One pistol ran out of ammo, and the other was
knocked out of his hand as he took time to aim.

Cracking his whip, Will ensnared a stromling and lifted his
arms with all his might. Perhaps it was the maelstrom inside him compromising
his body's imagination flow and messing around with his muscles, but he was
able to lift the entire stromling off the ground, over his head, turn around,
and use it as a flail to knock a spiderling aside. However, his energy was
failing and he was knocked onto Gaia.

"Hey!"

An indignant yell informed Will that she was awake, and he
indicated with a hand.

She simply grinned.

"Fun." She murmured.

### ***CHAPTER 35: DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT?***

"This cannot be good." Raelyn muttered inside Aaron's
mind. Aaron himself was staring out of the spacecraft's window at the
battlefield - and he could see everything that was happening on the ground.

"It definitely isn't" Aaron confirmed out loud.

"So, what do we do?" Raelyn asked him. Aaron
considered.

"We can be the most use dealing with Overbuild."
He eventually decided, indicating with his hand where Overbuild was stationed
behind the forces of darkness.

"Define "deal with."" Raelyn told him. Aaron
picked up on the quiver in her voice, and thought quickly.

"We're not going to fight him - not yet." He
revealed.

"What." Raelyn sounded disbelieving, and Aaron
reckoned he had a few seconds before the surprise gave way to anger.

"I don't want anyone else to die, not even him."
He told her. "We're going after him, but I'm in control, so we're doing it
MY way."

"I don't like your way."

"Oh, you wouldn't like ANYTHING I came up with."

"True."

Aaron turned around and looked at the robot who was piloting
the jet.

"Hey robot? You got a name, or designation, or
something I can identify you with?"

"No sir." The bot replied. "My sole purpose
is to fly you to where you want to go."

"Well, I'm gonna call you Maddox." Raelyn said
using Aaron's mouth, before he could stop her.

"Very well sir." "Maddox" said. Aaron
nodded, then turned around and began smacking his own forehead.

"Raelyn... WHY?! What kind of name is MADDOX,
anyway?"

"The first one I thought of."

"What possessed you to name him?"

"We're keeping him."

"WHAT?"

"I'll explain later, but the gist of it is I have a
plan. Now, where's Overbuild?"

"We're just about to fly overhead now."

"Perfect."

"Maddox!" Aaron ordered. "Open the
doors!"

"Opening doors." Maddox responded, and the sliding
door retracted. Before Aaron had time to steel his nerves, his legs moved of
Raelyn's accord and he flung himself out of the craft.

"If we die I'm blaming you!" Aaron yelled as he
plummeted through the air.

"If we die I'll accept all responsibility." Raelyn
replied. "Which is precisely why we're NOT going to die."

"We need to come up with a way to collaborate, because
there's no way in a frozen maelstrom vortex I'm letting you take full control
again." Aaron declared stubbornly.

"I'll get it one day."

"What was that?"

"Erm..." Raelyn hesitated. "Nothing?"

Aaron rolled his eyes. "We'll discuss it later. Right
now, we need a landing strategy."

"Got it."

Aaron felt his body warp through space as Raelyn used his
ability to teleport and he ended up... higher up in the air

"WHY?!" He shouted angrily as he began to fall
again.

"I need time to think!" Raelyn said.

"Oh, for goodness' sake!" Aaron ignored Raelyn and
focused on the ground where he was going to land - right at Overbuild's feet.

"Goodie." He and Raelyn both said, before acting
as one. Aaron focused, and warped into shadows at the last possible moment
before he hit the floor. His shadow flickered, and then he flew upwards as if
he had been birthed from the very ground. Landing in front of Overbuild, he
drew his sword and, in one swift movement, swept his blade around, knocking all
the traitorous people that had been surrounding Overbuild aside. Before the
doctor could react, Sentinel was at is throat.

"Don't." Aaron growled. "Move."

"What a surprise." Overbuild said, completely
deadpanning his words. "I thought you had perished."

"I kinda did." Aaron reasoned. "But I'm here
now, and I'd quite like to avenge myself."

"You'd do well to restrain yourself, and whatever's in
your head." Overbuild told him.

"I can control it." Aaron retorted.

"I'd like to say I'm surprised, but I'm not. After our
experimentation was finished, it was a pathetic creature. I'm surprised it
lasted as long as it did without a host."

Aaron had to stop Raelyn from unleashing a slew of curses.

"Well, it did. More fool you, I guess." He managed
to say.

"Do you even know what's going to ha..."
Overbuild's words died as Aaron pressed the sword closer to his neck.

"Don't try and distract me. You're going to go to your
troops and tell them to call off their advance, now!"

"Why would I do that?" Overbuild asked.

"Because if you don't," Aaron told him,
venomously, "I'm going to right all your wrongs here and now."

The doctor laughed. "You think killing me will solve
all your problems?" He asked, seemingly ridiculing the young man standing
behind him.

"What are you talking about?" Aaron spat.

Overbuild's laugh died, and shreds of what sounded like pity
entered his voice.

"Look around, boy." He said, his voice abruptly
very soft; Aaron had to listen closely to his words. "Look around at the
Universe we live in, and tell me that it's worth fighting for. Tell me that
it's worth protecting. We've been fighting this war for thirty years, and for
what? To save the Nimbus System? What's the point of it all? Most of the people
here were people who migrated here after the explosion! It shouldn't mean
anything to anyone! This entire "Universe" that we strive to protect
consists of several hunks of rock with different habitats on them. Is it worth
all that we've sacrificed? Is that worth all the resources we've given up? Is
that worth all the lives that have been lost? Of course it isn't."

Overbuild smiled as he continued to speak. "That's why
the opportunity I've been presented with is so brilliant. The Darkitecht has
ultimate power at his fingertips, and he's my FRIEND. I can use it to better
our lives, and help people. I can harness the chaos to do what no-one has ever
done with it before. With him as my ally, we can wish all our problems away. We
can create what I've strived for for so long..."

He spread out his arms.

"Perfection." He whispered.

"You think THAT'S perfection?" Aaron almost
laughed. "People give your intelligence more credit than it deserves if
you really think that."

"FAR more." Raelyn agreed.

"Of course THAT isn't perfection." Overbuild
grinned. "But it CAN be."

"No, it CAN'T" Aaron told him. "You're delusional."

"I-"

"Let me ask you something." Aaron said, his voice
as cold as steel. "Have you ever seen war?"

"What?

"Have you ever seen what it's like there? On the
battlefield? When you're not in complete control? When it's just every man for
himself, and in a split second you can go from winning to dead? Have you
experienced the rage and the pain of comrades falling next to you, and all you
can do is stand there, and think to yourself, "Glad it's not me?"
Have you ever even FOUGHT before? Because, let me tell you, it's one thing to
plan a battle. It's another thing to participate in it, good Doctor. You have
no idea what you're doing and how, despite what you might believe, it's not
worth it? For all we know, this little war could have been OVER by now, but
SOMEONE thought it would be a good idea to fraternize with the enemy!"

Aaron began to lose his composure, a fire flickering in his
eyes. He withdrew his sword and kicked Overbuild away. The Doctor landed on the
ground and Aaron stood over him.

"You thought that you could save lives? Well guess
what? YOU'RE JUST ENDING THEM, OVERBUILD! YOU'RE BEING MANIPULATED INTO HELPING
BRING ABOUT OUR DESTRUCTION BECAUSE? BECAUSE WHY? YOU CAN'T LET GO, THAT'S WHY!
YOU REALLY THINK THAT THING THERE IS STILL YOUR FRIEND? HE'S PULLED THE WOOL SO
FAR OVER YOUR EYES YOU'RE BEING SMOTHERED WITH IT, GENIUS!"

Aaron suddenly stopped, and sobbed once.

"You've not alone, Overbuild - I'd be just as lost as
you if I lost MY best friend. But this isn't the remnants of grief! This is not
letting go! It's just a delusion! Have you even THOUGHT about the paradise you
want to create?"

Overbuild said nothing.

"What will the rules be? What will it look like? YOU
DON'T KNOW, DO YOU?"

Aaron glanced towards the battlefield.

"I'm going to right your wrongs. But I need to know one
thing first."

He grimaced.

"You coming?"

### CHAPTER 36: SHORTEST SIEGE IN HISTORY

Plue gasped for breath as she pulled her sword out of the
last remaining spiderling on the battlefield. All around her, Nexus Force
troops sat, licking their wounds, as the last traces of the maelstrom's first
wave was destroyed.

"Well, we didn't do too badly." Vanda said,
sauntering up behind her.

"But can we survive another attack like that?"
Plue asked her, indicating the carnage. Vanda stroked her chin.

"Not without activating the tower's emergency
defences." The faction leader replied.

"Huh?" Plue asked. Vanda sighed.

"Nexus Tower used to have what was essentially a force
field emitter as part of its defences."

"But... wasn't the tower destroyed?" Plue
wondered. Vanda nodded.

"Yeah. But unlike most of the defences, which were a
part of the structure, the force field was embedded into the Imagination Nexus
itself, in a way not dissimilar to the way the bomb is embedded." She
revealed.

"Offence and defence." The samurai mused. "Okay."
She stood up, and began walking towards the Imagination Nexus. "Let's
go."

Vanda nodded, and the two strode towards their final beacon
of hope.

"How long do you think it'll take you to get it set
up?" Plue asked. "Less than half an hour would be best."

Vanda grinned in response, and cracked her knuckles.

"Don't underestimate me." She chuckled. "Me
and my team can have the shield up and running within a couple of minutes,
provided nothing's broken."

"Great." Plue said. "We'll stand gourd here
in the meantime, until-"

She was cut off as a horrible roar echoed across the
battlefield. Turning around, she saw the ground buckle and break apart as more
maelstrom forced its way to the surface. A dragon slithered out of the ground
headfirst, before stretching its wings and screeching again. Plue drew her
sword, fear creeping into her psyche.

"Suddenly, a couple of minutes is looking like too
short a time." She admitted.

Vanda sprinted inside the tower Plue raised her weapon.
Vector raced up to her. He had lost his broadsider, but had unsheathed his
cutlass by means of compensation.

"What's the plan?" He yelled over the cacophony of
noises now coming from the battlefield.

"We hold them off until Vanda can activate the
emergency defences!" Plue said, her voice eerily quiet.

"What emergency defences?" Vector asked.

"You'll see in a bit." Plue answered.

Winged hammerlings began to plummet from the sky, screeching
with the voices of banshees as they went on the attack. Without hesitating,
Plue unslung her bow and fired a flaming arrow towards the nearest creature. It
exploded in a ball of pink flame, but was instantly replaced by two others.
Plue raised another arrow when she saw Jacen at her side, wormholer at the
ready. Next to him stood Dilip, shuriken in hand.

"Get inside." Jacen ordered.

"What?" Plue asked.

"Trust us." Dilip told her. "We can fend them
off."

"Why the heck is that necessary?" Vector asked him

"Because," Dilip said whilst throwing a star,
"when the shield goes up you're only going to have a few seconds before
it's closed, and it's best to be inside when that happens."

"But we can't just-"

Plue was interrupted by Vector grabbing her arm.

"Vector - what?" She gasped, trying to break free,
but the buccaneer was too strong. He turned to Dilip and Jacen.

"Promise you guys'll get in here as soon as you
can?"

"Promise." Jacen nodded, before smiling wickedly.
"After all, I've got some pent-up anger left over from years of captivity
I need to release."

"Fine." Vector began dragging Plue towards the
Imagination Nexus as, all around them, troops began to fall back.

"No!" Plue resisted every step of the way.
"They won't survive if it's just the two of them!"

"They're right." He replied. "We need to get
inside before it's too late."

Jacen activated the wormholer, and the sound tore through
the battlegrounds.

Plue eventually stopped resisting Vector, and the two ran to
the Nexus as the Nexus Force and allies grouped together in anticipation. She
risked a glance over her shoulder and almost ran straight into Vanda, who was
carrying a wrench.

"Vanda!" She yelled. "How's the defence
system going?"

"Great!" Vanda replied, giving her the thumbs up.
"Any moment now, we should-"

She paused as a brilliant humming started, and the air
turned electric.

"See something like that happen." Vanda finished.
Plue was about to celebrate, when she remembered Jacen and Dilip.

"Guys!" She yelled. "The shield's almost
up!" You need to get inside, NOW!"

"She's right." Dilip admitted, shaking Jacen.
"Come on."

Jacen nodded, and the two of them began to sprint back
towards the Imagination Nexus and what was left of Nexus Tower. Plue heard the
troops around her begin to cheer for them, and joined in vigorously.

They were about fifty feet away from the cut-off point when
a translucent, light blue barrier appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"RUN, YOU GUYS!" Vector roared.

"IF YOU DIE, JACEN, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Gaia
added viciously.

The two continued to run, but it was clear that they
wouldn't make it in time. Jacen even dropped the wormholer, trying to lighten
his load, but it was no use.

"Looks like this is the end for both of us." Jacen
remarked grimly as they ran. Dilip looked at him from behind his mask
pensively, as if making a decision, before stopping and pulling out a Nexus
Force grenade - nicknamed "the big one."

"No." Dilip said, as stoic as ever. "Just for
me."

With that, the ninja threw the grenade onto the ground. The
shockwave was immense, and Jacen was blasted forward faster than he could have
possibly run, slamming into Gaia just as the barrier closed.

Dilip, on the other hand, was knocked in the other
direction, right into midst of the stromling horde.

Plue had to turn her head away.

Jacen gritted his teeth.

Rose gasped in horror.

"NO!" Kaylori yelled as she pounded a hand on the
barrier.

Vector wiped a tear from his cheek.

"He - he knew it was either both of them... or just
him." He managed to say, his voice cracking.

The next moment, Vector was tackle hugged by Gaia.

"VECTOR, I'M SO SORRY FOR YOU!" She yelled,
burying her face in his chest.

"It's... it's fine, Gaia." Vector smiled through
his tears. Plue couldn't help but smile as well, though that quickly faded when
she turned back to the barrier. The maelstrom horde had slowed down, and were
walking almost casually towards the Nexus Force.

"What are they doing?" Plue wondered out loud.

"Waiting." Vanda spat. "They know they can't
get through the shield, so they're waiting for it to run out of power."

"And will it?" Rose panicked.

"No - at least, not for a while." Vanda explained.
"The Nexus can last for a very long time, but we can't. It's not like we
have supplies in here or anything."

"So, I guess it's a siege." Will declared.

As Plue was about to say something, her eyes wandered to the
surrounding cliffs before widening. Standing atop one of said cliffs were a
handful of figures that looked heavily armed.

"Guys... do you see that?" She asked, pointing.

"Yeah." Will said. "is that who I think it
is?

Aaron, Doctor Overbuild, and a crack squad made up of
Assembly and Paradox troops flung themselves right into the midst of the
stromling horde. There was an explosion of raw power, and everyone inside the
barrier had to look away. When Plue looked again rubbing her eyes, she saw Aaron
surrounded by stromlings wielding a massive greatsword that looked oddly
familiar. His eyes glinted with the dreaded purple glow, but she saw no signs
of him losing control as he tore into his enemies. If that sight wasn't strange
enough, he was fighting back to back with the leader of the Assembly faction,
Overbuild, who was using his mechanical arms to their full effect.

"Shortest siege in history." Gaia said.

### ***CHAPTER 37: FIGHT ALL THE THINGS!***

"What the heck's going on?" Vanda yelled, pushing
her way to the front.

"I don't... I don't know." Plue admitted. Will
just stared.

"Neither do I, but it looks AWESOME!" Gaia yelled,
pumping her fists.

"What on Crux?" Jacen wondered.

Outside the barrier, it was clear that a furious battle was
taking place. Aaron swung the greatsword and it cleaved apart a spiderling that
had dared to stand in his way. A group of dark ronin tried to advance on him,
but he outstretched his hand and sent a combination of fire and lighting
heading their way, frying them before they could get close. Assembly troops
build constructs and machine-gunned the maelstrom, whilst Overbuild created an
enormous monkey wrench construct out of imagination and slammed it down onto
the battleground, sending the forces of chaos flying in all directions. As the
wrench dissipated, Aaron fired a beam of light from his hands into the sky, and
out of nowhere a dragon fell to the ground, crushing stromlings, a hole blasted
through its wing.

Aaron then placed the sword on his back and began to run
towards the barrier. Everyone inside gasped and muttered to themselves.

"What is he-" Vector began, before they heard him
yell.

"The barrier!" Aaron roared as he advanced.
"TAKE DOWN THE BARRIER!"

"Is he crazy?" Vanda exclaimed. "We can't
just take it down!"

They didn't hear what Aaron said next, but they knew what he
did. With a roar, Aaron slammed right into the barrier... and smashed through
it. Everyone stared as pieces of the energy shield rained down on the ground
like bits of broken glass. As Aaron stumbled through, Overbuild and the people
followed suit before the barrier fixed itself behind them.

Aaron stood up and brushed himself down.

"Never mind." He grinned. "I didn't know I
could do that."

There was a silence.

"What." Will managed to say.

"Good news!" Aaron declared. "We know how to
save you all!"

"What."

"We'll use the bomb!"

"WHAT."

"I have so many questions right now." Plue
admitted, holding her head in her hands.

"Okay, quick breakdown." Aaron said, waving his
hands in the air excitedly. "I now have thousands of years of battle
experience thanks to the gem who by the way you should treat with respect
because she's alive and her name is Raelyn but she's also kinda evil so be
careful. Anyway I found this civilisation populated by beings that are like a
cross between us and Mythrans it's kinda weird and I came back here and
essentially gave Overbuild here a verbal slap in the face which made him be not
crazy evil and we went to his armoury where he gave me the sword of Duke Exeter
as well as some other cool gadgets. While I was figuring out how to use them he
came up with the idea of reversing the effect of the bomb he'd previously set
up to destroy the Universe's imagination which is a pretty dumb plan if you
think about it but yeah he can apparently reverse it's effect and have it wipe
out all the maelstrom instead which sounds much better if you ask me."

Aaron proceeded to hold up his hand, breathe in for several
seconds, and then sighed.

"Any questions?"

Will punched him in the shoulder.

"NOT HELPFUL!" He shouted. "TOO FAST!"

"Sorry, shall I-" Aaron was cut off as Overbuild
placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Leave it." He said, before turning to the
assembled people.

"Whatever you have to say to me, I'd be more than
willing to hear it after this whole situation is sorted." He said,
awkwardly. "But right now, I think you'll agree that we have bigger
problems than my foolishness right now."

"You'd described it as FOOLISHNESS?!" Vector
roared, attempting to march up to Overbuild. Gaia grabbed him and had to hold
him back as the buccaneer waved his arms angrily.

Aaron facepalmed, and turned to Overbuild with as
exasperated look on his face.

"You couldn't be more clueless, could you?"

"We can discuss Overbuild's cluelessness later."
Will said, stepping between Vector and the Doctor. "Right now, we need
to... to..." He stopped, and placed a hand on his forehead.

"Will?" Aaron stepped forward cautiously.

"I'm fine." Will lied. "Just feeling kinda
off."

"Will." Aaron said, as stromlings clawed at the
barrier. "The last time one of us said that, a whole bunch of bad stuff
happened. Stuff that I certainly don't want to go through again. Tell me what's
wrong."

"It's like this." Will admitted, beginning to roll
up his sleeve. "I-"

Suddenly, the barrier flickered for a moment. Everyone
stared and saw why - the maelstrom had been attacking so vigorously whilst they
had been talking that they were breaking through the shield.

"Impossible." Vanda muttered as the energy flickered
again.

"Not in a place with such a high concentration of
maelstrom." Said Overbuild, before turning to Will. "I need you to
get to the Imagination Nexus."

"Why him?" Plue asked the former faction leader.

"We need someone to stay by its side until I can reverse
engineer the bomb." Overbuild said, with a meaningful and apologetic
glance at Will. "Better the one who is wounded, no?"

"Wait, what do you mean "wounded?"" Aaron
blurted, stepping forward.

"I'll explain later Aaron." Will said, beginning
to back away towards the Nexus. "Right now, I think you've got a fight on
your hands." With that, he turned and sprinted unevenly in the direction
of their last defence.

"What did he..." Aaron trailed off as the barrier
was completely shattered, and the maelstrom swept inwards in one all-engulfing
wave. The team immediately broke apart and began to battle on their own, as the
Nexus Force struggled to hold back their enemies once again. Aaron pointed the
sword of Duke Exeter as a group of stromlings and grinned as they were blown
away by the blast of pure imagination energy unleashed from the tip of the
sword.

Looking back, Aaron saw his friend battling as well.
Grinning, he placed the sword on his back and began to build up Raelyn's power
inside him.

"Careful!" The gem hissed. "Didn't I teach
you control?!"

"Actually... you didn't." Aaron pointed out.

"Good point." Raelyn admitted.

It didn't matter. The maelstrom coating the area was enough
to power him up, and he let lose a roar of satisfaction. A wave of energy knocked
the stromlings back, and everyone turned to him.

"Alright you guys!" He yelled over the crackling
of electricity. "If you all use all your power, and I hit these jokers
with a million volts of lighting, we'll teach 'em never to mess with the Nexus
Force again!"

"Right!" Gaia shouted in return. "Fireballs
a'coming!" And she started punching the air, sending flames scorching
towards the stromling lines.

"This is for Dilip!" Vector bellowed as began
shotgunning the maelstrom with his broadsider.

"I STILL HAVE PENT UP RAGE!" Jacen shouted, shaking
as he used the wormholer.

"You'll rule the day you manipulated ME,
Darkitecht!" Overbuild created a new construct - an enormous hammer - and
slammed it into the maelstrom lines.

"Ninjaaa....go!" Rose knocked aside several
stromlings. "Ugh... why is shouting that necessary to do spinjitzu?
It's... so corny!"

Predictably, Shadow said nothing as he cleaved apart waves
of stromlings.

Kaylori nimbly dodged several shots from stromling mechs
before raised her hand and using brute strength to rip them apart.

"Okay..." She muttered. "Maybe these
mutations aren't so bad?"

Suddenly, a spiderling reared up behind her, only to be
struck down by a flaming arrow. From behind Kaylori, Plue grinned.

"I've got your back!" She said.

Just as she said this, Aaron indicated with his hand and
another dragon that had been about to dive towards the two was destroyed.

"And I've. Got. Yours." He said firmly.

Plue nodded at him, smiling, and the group continued to
fight.

The end was near.

### ***CHAPTER 38: GOODBYE, MY FRIEND***

"Aaron!" Overbuild called, constructing a machine
gun that blasted a stromling ape into oblivion. "Come with me!"

Aaron threw a dark ronin off his sword, and watched the
armour fall to the ground. "Where are we going?"

"To the Imagination Nexus!" The doctor said,
turning around and beginning to run towards the light. "We have to arm the
bomb!"

"Arm it... so it'll blow away the MAELSTROM, and not
the IMAGINATION, right?" Aaron placed the sword on his back and began
sprinting to catch up with Overbuild.

"Precisely." Overbuild replied. "I only hope
we can get there in time..."

"Wha-  why
wouldn't we be in time?" Aaron asked, catching up with Overbuild.

"I just realised." Overbuild panted as they ran
through the ruined metal hunks that were once Nexus Tower, "we've quite
possibly fallen for a classic case of misdirection."

"You think the Darkitecht's there now?" Aaron
gasped, before hastily grabbing the hilt of his sword.

"I hope not." Overbuild sighed. "We'll have
to see."

"Here's to you being wrong." Aaron muttered, as
the two approached the barricade that had been constructed around the Nexus.
Not wanting to waste any time, Aaron stretched out his hand and blasted a sheet
of metal away with lightning, creating an entrance for the two. He then dived
straight through, sword at the ready.

"Still as headstrong as ever." Overbuild muttered,
before jumping through as well.

Inside, Aaron felt a serenity overtake him. Arcing
infinitely into the sky stood the Imagination Nexus, shining just as brightly
as ever despite the destruction of the tower that had surrounded it. A number
of devices were somehow connected to the flow of the imagination, and standing
in front of them was Will, who turned around on Aaron's dramatic entrance.

"Aaron!" He grinned and waved, holding his side.
"Glad to see you."

"The feeling's mutual" Aaron smiled in reply.

"Sounds like the battle's getting worse." Will
remarked.

He didn't notice the shadow appear behind him, ready to
strike.

Before anyone else could react, the Darkitecht raised a
shadowy arm and swatted Will into a nearby wall. The adventurer yelled in pain
as he slammed into the cold metal before sliding to the floor.

"Will!" Aaron yelled, holding his sword out in
front of him. "You're going to pay for that!"

"And who's going to make me? YOU?!" The Darkitecht
snorted, incredulously.

"Sort of." Aaron snarled through gritted teeth. He
could feel himself losing control, and spoke.

"Overbuild, reverse the bomb's polarity before setting
it off."

The doctor nodded. "Right."

As he ran off, the Darkitecht laughed.

"So, that's your little plan!" He guffawed.
"To be honest, I was expecting something more than that. Ah well. I
suppose I shall have to stop you anyway, correct?"

"You aren't going to. You won't be able to." Aaron's
voice was a shout by this point. "Everything you've done the past ten
years will be avenged THIS DAY!"

"Oh!" The master of chaos unleashed yet another
skeletal grin with his crimson features. "I'm shaking in my boots."

"Raelyn..." Aaron murmured, closing his eyes. A
second passed, and then they snapped open, now a deep indigo.

Raelyn could still hear her comrade's departing words
floating inside their headspace.

"I won't hold you back."

"LISTEN UP!" Raelyn pointed the sword at the
Darkitecht, who's smile faded. Despite the physical features remaining almost
unchanged, the villain knew that he was no longer speaking to Aaron.

"I have half a mind to slay you, here and now..."
Raelyn continued, before tilting her head to the side, and grinning an almost
psychotic grin. "And the other half agrees!"

With that, the maelstrom person leaped towards the
Darkitecht. Sword met staff, and the battle began.

Overbuild hurriedly pressed button after button on the
various consoles and machines spread throughout the room.

"Almost... there..." He muttered over the clashing
of blades, as the combatants fought in the middle of the room.

The Darkitecht swung his staff right at Raelyn's head, but
she ducked and in turn attempted to skewer the Darkitecht on the sword of Duke
Exeter. The Darkitecht, however, simply leapt to the side and the blade passed.
by. Raelyn laughed.

"Tell me, baron." She chortled. "Why is it
that you're made of shadows, yet want to dodge my sword? Are you possibly...
NOT invulnerable, as you've been built up to be all this time?"

"Silence, you persistent twerp!" The master of
chaos roared, no longer playing games. A bolt of pure black lightning shot from
his cane straight towards Raelyn, who did nothing but smile as it created an
explosion and a large cloud of smoke. When it clear, black sparks were dancing
around on Raelyn's outstretched palm.

"You'll have to use something other than my own
attributes to end me, Darkitecht." She spat, before her eyes spewed out
pink lasers. Instead of striking the Darkitecht, he moved his arm and they
curved to the side, slamming into the walls.

"I could be telling you the same thing. In fact, I-"

"I'VE GOT IT!" Overbuild shouted, before covering
his mouth.

"What?!" Gasped the Darkitecht. Before he could do
anything, Raelyn tackled him to the floor.

"Then do it!" She yelled. "Now,
Overbuild!"

"Right!" Overbuild hastened towards another
control panel.

"Don't you DARE, Albert!" The Darkitecht screamed.

Overbuild found what he was looking for, and turned to the
Darkitecht.

"I'm sorry... Eric." He said, before flicking a
switch.

Nothing happened.

"No!" Overbuild ran around the Nexus until he saw
a single cable that wasn't connected to the Imagination Nexus.

"Plug it in already!" Raelyn roared, as the
Darkitecht rose from the ground with Raelyn clinging onto his shoulders.

"But... it'll..."

"DO IT!"

Overbuild sighed. "Fine."

He bent down

The Darkitecht stretched out his hand.

"I WON'T LET YOU!" He roared, before letting lose
a burst of energy that knocked the doctor directly into the Imagination Nexus.

No-one knew what would happen if someone were to touch the
Imagination Nexus. But the truth was that, after the summoning of the
maelstrom, the Nexus had developed a way of defending itself from all contact,
and this was what Overbuild experienced. There was a blinding flash, and Raelyn
was forced to close her eyes. When she looked again, she saw a very familiar
pair of cracked goggles fall to the floor. That was the only sign of him.

Overbuild was gone.

Before she could react, she was seized by the throat and the
Darkitecht lifted her into the air.

"Such a pity!" He crooned. "You came so
close, but in the end, were thwarted by the very thin you were trying to
protect!"

He leaned in closer to Raelyn, his skeletal features
illuminated. "Isn't fate artistic?"

"I guess you could say that."

Both chaotic entities looked and saw Will standing by the
loose cable.

"What do you think you're doing, BOY?" The
Darkitecht hissed in contempt. Will's gaze remained steadfast, despite his
weakening by the infection.

"Protecting my friends." He said, before walking
over to the cable.

"Don't you know why Overbuild hesitated?" The
Darkitecht asked, slightly frantically. "It can't reach the Nexus. You've
have to become a living electrical conduit - in other words, die - to power
that machine."

Will looked up at him.

"I'm dead already." He declared, before picking up
the cable. Then he turned to Raelyn.

"I know that you're not Aaron." He spoke softly,
mournfully. A single tear trickled down his face. "But I want you to tell
him... that life ends too quickly, and heartbreak lasts too long. So he
shouldn't dwell on what's going to happen. Understand?"

Tears in her eyes, Raelyn nodded.

"YOU CANNOT!" The Darkitecht yelled, but Raelyn
was still holding him back.

"I never thought this'd happen so soon." Will
muttered. "I always just assumed I'd live a good, long life." He
sighed. "The folly of youth, I guess."

Will reached out...

and touched the Nexus.

### ***CHAPTER 39: WHAT HAPPENS NOW?***

Plue clashed swords with a pirate stromling when she felt
the air turn electric. Turning around, she saw the Imagination Nexus flare
brightly - and then explode outwards in a burst of energy.

As the wave expanded outwards, all the maelstrom inside it
was vaporized, leaving nothing but bemused people standing with weapons in
hand, wondering where their enemies went. Even the clouds that had gathered
above Crux Prime were temporarily dispersed, and for the first time in over ten
years, the Nimbus System saw the sun.

Plue would have observed these happenings, but all she could
do at the moment was fall to the ground, as she felt as if her insides were
burning up. When the Nexus had passed over her, she had felt so energized that
it hurt - and she felt as if she was changing, or transforming in some way.

"Please don't let me end up like Kaylori." She
thought, before silently scolding herself for being so selfish. Nevertheless,
all she could do was wait the pain out.

What felt like an eternity passed before her pain suddenly
subsided, and she was able to rise. Hastily, she glanced at her hands and then
looked at her reflection in the blade of her katana. She saw nothing different.
Looking around, she noticed that many other people were sharing her haggard
expression, and she began to suspect that what happened to her was far from an
isolated incident.

Suddenly, a cheer rang out. Then another. Before long, every
assembled person was cheering. The long-awaited destruction of the maelstrom
had finally come to pass, and Plue couldn't help but smile. After ten long
years, the residents of the Nimbus System could finally live their lives in
peace. Remembering where she had seen Aaron and Overbuild run, she began to
hasten towards the Imagination Nexus, which was brighter and stronger then it
possibly ever had been. However, whilst she ran, she spotted someone lying on
the ground, very still.

"No." She murmured.

Plue rushed over to Anna, and hastily checked the girl's
pulse before breathing a sigh of relief. She was safe, albeit unconscious.
Almost crying with relief, Plue picked Aaron's sister up and cradled her close
to her chest before continuing to make her was towards the Imagination Nexus.
There was a certain fatigue and sadness in the air, and Plue found herself sick
with worry. After what felt like a century scouring the rubble, she came across
the barricade that was around the Nexus. Before she could look for an entrance,
a sheet of metal was blasted away from the structure and a solitary figure
stepped out. It was the hairstyle that Plue recognized.

"Aaron!"

She placed Anna on the ground before sprinting towards her
friend, hugging his back as she arrived.

"I thought you were dead, I thought - I thought I'd
never see you again!" She cried.

Throughout her outburst, Aaron remained entirely silent, not
speaking a single word.

"A - Aaron?" Plue whispered nervously. She then
gasped out in shock as Aaron fell to his knees.

"What's the matter?!" Plue gasped, crouching down.

At first, she thought that Aaron was laughing - his
shoulders were shaking, and a muted sound was coming from his nose and lips.
Then she saw him put his hands to his eyes and lurch over like a doll - and
realised that he was crying.

She had never seen him cry like that before.

It was the quietest crying she had ever heard, like a
whisper. She suddenly drew back, before looking towards the Nexus with dread.
She knew that what was left of her samurai armour would not protect her from
what she might see - but she had to.

She cautiously took a step forward, when Aaron spoke.

"Don't go in there."

She paused and looked back at him. He didn't look at her,
though he was speaking to her.

"It's Will."

Plue felt like she had been struck on the head with an
anvil. She sat down, panting.

"You don't want to see it." Aaron told her, before
continuing to whisper-cry.

"But... what happened?" Plue asked.

"I..." Aaron couldn't speak as Plue wrapped her
arms around him.

"Okay." She murmured. "You don't have to tell
me now, if it's-"

"No, I'll... I'll tell you." Aaron raised his head
and looked off to the horizon.

"Me and Overbuild went to set off the bomb, and Will
was already there, but then - but then the Darkitecht appeared. And I saw
Overbuild, and felt Raelyn, and.... everything went black."

Plue didn't understand a lot of what her friend was saying,
but she continued to listen intently.

"When I came too, no-one else was there. I couldn't see
the Baron, and there was... there was Will... a-and I found these."

He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out Overbuild's
glasses. Cracked and sooty, their appearance had one simple implication.

"Oh no." Plue gasped.

"Yeah." Aaron nodded.

The two sat side by side, staring at the first sunrise in a
decade for many minutes longer. Eventually, Plue spoke again.

"Aaron?" She said, almost afraid of the question.
"Who's Raelyn?"

She saw him pale.

"She's... uh... it's..."

"What is it?"

"A long story, but in a nutshell..."

He showed her the purple gem he had, and they watched as it
rolled around in his palm.

"That's Raelyn."

Plue stared for a while. "So... that thing has a
consciousness?"

"Yeah."

"And it thinks of itself as female?"

"Apparently so."

"That's bizarre." Plue muttered, and she couldn't
help but laugh slightly.

"Yep." Aaron said, popping the P. There was another
silence.

"Plue?" He eventually said.

"Yes?" She responded.

"I... I know it sounds stupid, but I feel like I'm the
one to blame for all of this. If I had just stayed out of the caves, none of
this would have happened."

Plue held his hand in her own, full of nought but sympathy.

"That's survivor's guilt." She said. "You'd
feel it even if you weren't involved at all. It's just something we all have to
deal with."

"I guess so." Aaron admitted. His friend smiled at
him.

"I KNOW so."

It was a reflection of the friendship of Aaron and Plue that
nothing was said for a great deal of time after Plue's declaration. Like only
the best of friends, they could be satisfied with just each other's company,
and not conversation. But Plue was nothing if not business-like, and despite
her best inward attempts, she could not stop herself from asking:

"So? What are you going to do now?"

"I don't know." Aaron replied almost instantly.
"I've thought about it all my life, that someday this war was gonna end.
And I was always faced with the fact that, frankly, we're soldiers. What do WE
do afterwards?"

But he looked down at his hands.

"But then... then I got these powers. Then I met
Shadow, and Roseanne, and Jacen, and Gaia. Then Raelyn told me about how there
were other gems; gems that needed to be given to other people. Then there's one
other thing that she told me, as we were heading towards the Nexus."

Aaron turned around here, and looked at Plue.

"Imagination is a very volatile substance. There's no
telling what that blast might have done to the people that were caught in
it."

"What are you saying?" Plue asked, remembering the
pain she had felt earlier and becoming worried.

"I'm saying that people all over the Nimbus System have
most likely been altered by that blast. Given abilities most only dream of. Not
just powers related to maelstrom, but... I don't know... anything."

"Has this happened to everyone?" Plue asked him.

"No." Aaron shook his head. "Not everyone.
But... a significant amount of people."

"So?"

Aaron narrowed his eyes. "The Darkitecht's not gone,
Plue. It might take a very long time, but the maelstrom was too concentrated to
be destroyed by that blast - I can feel it. He will return."

Plue couldn't stop herself from shaking in fear.

"So... what are you going to do?" She repeated.

Aaron stood up, and looked at the horizon for what seemed
like an eternity.

"I'm going to be ready." He stated.

### ***CHAPTER 40: PANDEMONIUM’S BANE***

"The battle of Crux Prime." Gaia mused.
"Whaddya think?"

"It has a decent ring to it." Jacen admitted.
"Rose?"

"Yeah, but... it's not the most creative name, is
it?" Rose said softly, twisting her hair round her finger nervously as she
spoke.

"It'll do." Gaia shrugged. "We have more
important things to worry about - like how WE'RE GOING TO LIVE FOREVER!"

"For the last time, Gaia." Jacen deadpanned,
pinching the bridge of his nose. "We're not going to, as you put it,
"live forever.""

"Yeah." Rose nodded. "Those Paradox guys
clearly said that we, uh, were going to receive extended lifespans due to our
overexposure to pure imagination, because it's the same substance that
essentially keeps us going."

"IMMORTALITY IS MINE!" Gaia roared jubilantly.
"If there was more maelstrom around I would totally be breathing a jet of
fire into the air right now!". Rose screamed softly and hid behind Jacen,
who was watching with a pained expression on his face.

"I'm going to regret living for longer, aren't I?"
He muttered.

Nearby, a discussion was coming to a close between Vanda
Darkflame, Kaylori, Vector and Plue.

"So, these are the best locations for
settlements?" Vanda asked, indicating a map of the Nimbus System that was
spread in front of the four.

Kaylori nodded. "Yep. The data your scouts brought back
suggested that these areas are the most defendable from potential maelstrom
attacks."

"Apparently, it's already starting to creep back
in." Vector growled. "I'd have hoped it'd be gone for longer than a
few days."

"We must take the small blessings we have." Plue
told him. "Now, I suggest that we start telling people about these plans
of ours, and find leaders for the settlements."

"Aye." Vector nodded, and the four faction
representatives parted ways, Vanda taking the map with her.

Plue shook her head, smiling, as she walked to where she knew
Aaron would be. Sure enough, she found him meditating by the Imagination Nexus.

"Aaron?" She asked, kneeling down so she was eye
level with her friend. His face was serene, and his eyes were closed.

"Anybody in there?" She rapped impatiently on Aaron's
skull, receiving no response.

"Okay... here goes." She grimaced, before
clenching her fist and punching Aaron in the stomach. Immediately his eyes
snapped open and he groaned, tilting sideways.

"Was... that... necessary?" He choked.

"You always take your time getting out of that
mindscape place." Plue pointed out, not untruthfully.

"Ah, that's because Raelyn never lets me leave straight
away without getting a final round in." Aaron laughed.

"You sure it's your psycho trainer and not just your
procrastination habits?" Plue ribbed him.

"Both are true." Her boyfriend admitted, smiling
guiltily. The pair rose and began to walk towards the makeshift camp the Nexus
Force had set up after the blast.

"So." Plue said, wringing her hands as they
walked. "I heard about Anna."

Aaron sighed through his nose. "Yeah. As if I haven't
suffered enough already... But she's going to be alright though."

"Yeah, but... no memories?" Plue couldn't help but
feel concerned as she repeated the diagnosis. "That's got to be hard,
right?"

"Not necessarily." Aaron said. "She's gone
through a lot of stuff that no child should have to go through. She's smacked
people with monkey wrenches, seen her own brother possessed and attack people,
and sat on the side-lines of the largest battle the system's ever seen. Perhaps
a clean slate is just... what she needs."

"Well, that's certainly the silver lining in that
cloud."

"I'd rather not dwell on the fact. But I do know where
she's going to go, and it's not with me or a care home."

"Oh?"

"There's this place I know - she'll be safe there. I
know for sure she'll find a friend there, and I can watch over the two of
them."

Plue stopped walking and raised an eyebrow. "What place
are you talking about?"

"That would be telling." Aaron replied coyly.

"Whatever." Plue waved her hand dismissively.
"I trust you - she is your sister, after all."

"You're not wrong there." Aaron grinned, prompting
Plue to do the same. After all that had happened, she was glad to see her
friend finally begin to smile as well.

Aaron glanced over his shoulder, and suddenly his face
contorted into a surprised expression, as if he had just remembered something.

"Plue, will you... uh... will you excuse me for a
moment?"

Plue nodded, and Aaron sprinted over to a group of people
who seemed to be causing quite the raucous.

"Greetings, friend." Shadow thought-spoke as he
arrived. Aaron nodded acknowledgement and turned just in time for Rose to speed
behind him.

"Aaron, she's gone crazy!" She garbled.
"Please help!"

Aaron laughed. "Rose? I think Jacen's got it under
control."

Rose looked and, sure enough, Jacen was holding Gaia's arms
to their sides. Gaia was shouting at him angrily, but nothing seemed to be
happening on a powers level.

"See? Nothing to worry about."

Rose just shook her head and ducked back behind him.

"She's still scary!" She mumbled.

Rolling his eyes, Aaron whistled to attract their attention.
Ignoring Rose's protests, he purposely walked towards them, Shadow at his side.

"Alright, team, listen up!" He declared loudly,
not missing a look of confusion that passed between Jacen and Rose.

"Now that the maelstrom's left for a bit, I say that
our first order of business... should be building some kind of
headquarters!"

"Huh?" Jacen said out loud.

"Now that people are going to start developing powers
all over the place, we need to be ready to take them in and teach them if we
have to." Aaron said. "Not to mention, we have to start getting
things ready for when the other people connected to the prophecy might arrive.
AND we're going to need to help hold the maelstrom back until we have the
ability to destroy it for good."

"Aaron?" Jacen interrupted. "What are you on
about?"

"I'm talking about kicking off our own, SPECIAL
organization." Aaron fist pumped the air with a grin.

Instantly, he received a high five from Gaia.

"Aw yeah!" She yelled. "What are we gonna
do?"

"All sorts of hero-y things!" Aaron responded.

"Will it involve breaking stuff?" Gaia asked
loudly.

"Why, yes it will!" Aaron declared, and Gaia threw
her arms in the air, cheering.

Rose had now taken to cowering behind Jacen, who was
watching this entire scene unfold in a grim silence.

"They're BOTH scary..." Rose muttered.

"Oh my goodness." Jacen spoke slowly. "We're
doomed, aren't we?"

Aaron shook his head.

"Not exactly, my friend. Now you all need to come with
me."

Leading Rose, Jacen, Shadow and Gaia behind him, Aaron
walked over to a humanoid figure that was standing beside a group of aircraft.

"Hey, Maddox." He greeted the robot, whom had
landed safely after the battle - the same could not be said for the craft he
had been piloting, however. "You chosen a ride yet?"

"Yes." Maddox nodded slowly. "I believe that
this one;" he pointed at a sleek-looking craft, "fits the
requirements you gave me."

"Fast, powerful, and awesome-looking?" Aaron
mused. "Good enough for me. Everybody on board."

"I CALL SHOTGUN!" Gaia yelled as she sprinted up
the entrance hatch, followed by a reluctant Jacen and Rose. Shadow and Maddox
brought up the rear.

Realising that Aaron had yet to board, Rose turned her head.

"You coming?" She called.

"Yeah, just a second." Aaron grinned and sprinted
off to the makeshift medical station that had been set up.

"I need to fetch someone..."

And so, one fetched amnesiac sister and a speedy getaway
later, the team were laughing together as they flew over Rivendark Canyon and
into whatever adventures awaited them in the future, knowing that they would
face them together - they, the bane of pandemonium everywhere. One could almost
call them... Pandemonium's Bane.

### ***EPILOGUE***

Aaron stood outside the crystal caves, arms folded over his
armour in satisfaction. A light wind caused the black cloak on his shoulders to
flap slightly, and he couldn't resist a toothy grin as he looked down on the
Minithran civilisation. He had dropped his sister off with the Minithrans and
Lux, knowing that they would take care of her as they had taken care of him.

His light brown hair no longer stuck up as much, with
several strands now hanging in front of his forehead, and his eyes, a shade of
blue-green reminiscent of an ocean, were filled with many emotions, all
underneath a disguise of happiness. Putting a face smile on his scarred face, Aaron
decided that there was one last order of business that needed attending.

"Your name?" Raelyn asked him, still slightly
incredulous.

The two were back in the mindscape, and the apparition of
the gem was staring at him, unsure of what to say.

"Yeah." Aaron rubbed the back of his head.
"I've changed a lot, and not just because I'm stuck with you know. Whoever
I was before... I don't think that's me anymore. I'm a different person, and as
such, a different persona needs a name."

Raelyn rolled her eyes. "Not a great idea, but if we
have to, I'd go with-"

"I'm not calling myself that." Aaron interrupted,
glaring at her as she chuckled.

"It'd SUIT YOU!" She mocked him, but Aaron merely
smirked.

"No, as a matter of fact..." he paused before
continuing. "I've had a name in mind for a bit now."

"Okay, well, I'll just see what we're thinking,
and..." Raelyn trailed off before looking up at him in surprise.

"What do you think?" Aaron spread his arms wide.
Raelyn stared, before smacking her forehead into her hand.

"What kinda stupid name is Dante?" She exclaimed
incredulously.

"Unless you've got a better name than Raelyn, I suggest
you leave the name stuff to me." Aaron threatened. Raelyn looked as if she
was about to say something, but stopped."

"Fine."

Aaron closed his eyes.

Dante opened them again.

"Thank you." He said.

Once out of the mindscape, Dante spared a final glance at
the Minithran civilisation before walking back into the depths of the crystal
caves, ready to begin the next stage of his life. Walking slowly, he looked
over the walls of the caves as the lights coming from the main cavern grew
brighter and more prominent.

About to enter the main open chamber, Dante gave a start as
he realised that he sensed a presence.

Directly behind him.

Wheeling around, Dante raised his hands, filling them with
maelstrom energy in the time it would have taken to snap his fingers.

"Didn't even have time to make this place habitable,
and I'm already being invaded." He muttered. "Who's there?"

"Impressive perception." A voice said. From the
shadows appeared a tall, lean figure. They were clad in a cloak the colour of
the darkest night, and... the more Dante observed, the more he realised that he
could tell very little about this person. What was perturbing was the fact that
he couldn't see any part of their body, only their cloak.

"Who are you?" Dante pressed his visitor.

"I have many names." The figure said. "But to
keep things simple, I shall describe myself as... how about... the one who
claimed your friend."

Dante's eyes widened, but he held his ground. "What are
you talking about?" He spat. "If this is about Will, no-one took him
anywhere. He's gone."

"Exactly." The figure said, before raising their
arm. Dante blanched when he realised that a skeletal hand was emerging from the
robe and pointing towards him.

"You may know me... as Death." The figure said,
and Dante received the impression that they would be smiling if they could.

"We have a great deal to talk about." It declared.