Prologue
The alarms of the Bellain City museum blared, interrupting the quiet night. The large front doors of the three-story building exploded as two, humanoid robots made off with their prize: a yellow crystal, just small enough to hold in one's hand. Unbeknownst to the pair, they were being watched.
A boy and a girl crouched on top of a nearby warehouse; they had known that it would only be a matter of time before someone tried to steal that particular artifact. It had been a part of a set of four; although the other three had disappeared long ago, this one had been shipped to Bellain just yesterday. Even without the others, the prism would fetch a high price on the black market.
The teens glanced over to each other, before leaping down simultaneously from the one-story warehouse. The girl raced to engage the robot who wasn't holding the crystal. It threw a punch at her, which she dodged, before grabbing its extended arm and flipping it over her shoulder. With one of the robots down she looked to her partner. The boy had just telekinetically launched the other robot across the street. The gem flew out of the robot's grasp and plummeted towards the ground. It was a foot from the concrete before it suddenly changed direction and zoomed straight into the boy's hand; he held it up triumphantly.
"Whew! That was a close one, wasn't it," he asked with a big grin on his face.
The girl rolled her eyes in response; as she did so, the boy noticed that the robot on the ground behind her was moving.
"Alix, look out!"
The girl ducked out of the way just as a lazer bullet streaked by, missing her arm by mere centimeters. The lazer continued, slamming into the boy's chest; he let out a gasp as he was knocked backwards. Time moved in slow motion. As his back struck the wall of an office building, the crystal slipped from hand; it landed hard on the sidewalk and a large crack formed down the center.
"Henry!"
Alix darted over to the boy, who sat slumped against the wall; she hurried to help him to his feet as the crack in the translucent stone continued to widen. The gem suddenly broke completely in two and a huge shockwave ripped through the city.