Prologue

[Try to remember, Steel. Please try.]

Steel gazed up at his partner, gasping and moaning slightly. He was lying on his back, his hand in Sapphire's. He looked into her glowing blue eyes, they gave him strength. He felt her squeeze his hand gently. That gave him even more strength.

[I know this may hurt, Steel. But I need you to recall every single event that happened since we came here. Every single one. Remember.]

Steel was too exhausted to even send a telepathic acknowledgement. So he closed his eyes and proceeded with the instruction. He concentrated on the one word that Sapphire mentioned, and let it echo in his mind.

Remember...

Chapter 1

The moment they found themselves standing together, Sapphire and Steel shot each other a puzzled look.

"You're here," Steel said.

"Yes I'm here. But why?"

"We- We normally appear at different places."

"That's right," Sapphire realised. "Surely it couldn't be-"

"A mere coincidence?" he finished.

"No. I shouldn't think so."

They let the matter slip their minds for the moment, and explored their new terrain. They were in a hotel lobby, a huge one, with beautifully carpeted floors, a majestic, sparking chandelier that hung from the ceiling, and elegant classical piano music playing softly in the background.

"Time?"

"Eight thirty-six AM."

"Date?"

"January the nineteenth, present time."

"Good," said Steel, and they headed to the reception counter. Sapphire went through the papers while Steel tried the telephone. He dialed in a number and held the receiver to his ear. All he got was the engaged tone. He walked over to the other side of the counter, tried the other telephone, and received the same result.

"These phones won't call," he muttered, putting down the receiver.

"And these papers aren't broadcasting," Sapphire said as she smoothed the sheets of paper.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that they have nothing to reveal. They have no history. They haven't been touched."

"Untouched paper? You mean no one has been here before?"

"That's what they suggest," she shrugged.

They left the counter and looked around the lobby. On the right, a grand spiral staircase with red carpeting led to the floors above, and on the left were several elevators. Wordlessly, Sapphire took the former, and Steel, the latter. Steel pushed the "up" button and waited- for what felt like too long. He glanced up at the screens and realised that none of the elevators were moving.

Sapphire ascended the stairs a step at a time, her hand sliding along the handrail. Suddenly everything swayed and she jerked to a stop. She turned around to check behind her. Seeing everything just like how it was again, she continued up the stairs.

Steel stared at all the elevators stubbornly, refusing to believe that none of them worked. To his surprise, he heard the sound of moving elevator doors. The elevator behind him was open and waiting for him. He frowned, then entered it and pushed the button to the second floor.

She opened the first door she saw and stepped into a function room. Stacked chairs filled the room, and the walls were lined with mirrors. Sapphire stared at her own reflection amusedly. Beside it, a vague outline of a shadow started to form. As the blurry image grew more distinct, Sapphire noticed it. Before she could even make anything of it, she heard Steel's mental call.

[Sapphire, come to the lift lobby. Quickly.]

Sapphire arrived there, and found Steel holding an elevator. He nodded towards it.

"Analyse this."

She stepped inside and touched all the buttons and handrails. "Nothing." She now bent down to examine the floor. Steel wanted to ask her to clarify, but knowing she needed time to complete the analysis, he waited.

Finally, she stepped out of the elevator and Steel released the button. "Well?"

"No one has ever used that elevator," she said. "Is there something wrong with it?"

Now it was his turn to say, "Nothing." Sapphire gave him a suspicious smile, and he knew there was no escaping her.

"It felt as if the elevator was expecting me."

"You mean it was conscious?"

"I don't know," he mumbled, pacing around the lobby. "Nothing seems to be used here, is there? I doubt that anyone has ever even been here."

"I saw someone," Sapphire remembered. "Or something."

"What? Where?"

Sapphire brought him to the function room and before the mirror.

"It was here, beside my reflection," she held up her arm to point at the spot."

"An image? Was it real?"

"I couldn't tell. It barely formed before you called me."

"Did anything materialise beside you to form the reflection?"

"No."

"We'll just have to leave it then," Steel said as he started for the door. "And wait for the next time it decides to show itself." Sapphire glanced at the mirror a last time before following him out.

They continued to examine each of the rooms on the second floor, which had nothing strange in them whatsoever. They moved on to the third floor and did the same, but there was still nothing. As Sapphire pulled the door of the last room to a close, she suddenly paused.

[What is it?]

Steel sensed her uneasiness and was by her side at once.

"Someone," she said in a loud whisper. "Someone shouting. She's calling for help."

"Where?"

Sapphire's eyes glowed slightly as she motioned down the corridor. Steel followed her closely, and they found themselves in a children's playroom. It was large and colourful with a wide variety of toys, and even had a miniature playground. Sapphire walked further in and stopped in front of a small table. On it lay a few Rubik's cubes, all unsolved. She raised an arm above the table, and said, "I'm in line with it here."

"Where exactly?"

"I can't pinpoint where it is exactly, but it is here in two-dimensional area."

"So you are uncertain of the floor it is located at."

"Yes."

Sapphire lowered her arm and looked down at the Rubik's cubes on the table. She picked up a three-by-three.

"A Rubik's cube. A toy invented in 1974."

"Is this relevant to that person you were sensing?"

"It could be," she smiled. "You never know."

Steel's eyes shifted nervously.

"There is something about this place that I cannot put my finger on... Though I'm not certain..."

"Are you anxious, Steel?" she said teasingly.

"I can't deny it," he said, adverting his gaze to the toys. His answer genuinely surprised her.

"That is very unlike you," she remarked, now examining the cube in her hand.

"Sapphire," Steel said slowly, "Can you sense anything? Any sort of malevolence? Any sort of negative feelings?"

"No," she replied immediately. She let the cube levitate above her hand and began to solve it telekinetically. The blocks rotated, as of on their own. "I haven't sensed any of that since we came here."

"Time anomalies?"

Sapphire set down the solved Rubik's cube back on the table and concentrated. In a few seconds she replied, "There are none."

"What are we here for then?" Steel said irascibly.

"Wait." Sapphire raised her hand above the table again. "There is no time. Here."

She moved away from the table and nearer to the door. "But there is time here, though it is artificial."

"You mean it has been designed."

"Possibly."

Steel almost sighed. "Don't tell me this is a repeat of the trap!"

"But I sense no malevolence. It can't be the Transient Beings."

Steel headed for the door. "I don't like being kept in the dark. There are still two more floors, I am going to-"

He could not finish, as he was interrupted by a girl's loud scream.