Diwan sat on her simple bed, staring at the wall in front of her. Someone had written a few not particularly pleasant phrases there. She ignored them, and shifted over to the wall. They'd also left a small piece of chalk. She picked it up, and wrote on the wall.

'Diwan.'

That was her name. The people that had found her had given her the name 'Catherine', but to be honest she hadn't liked it that much. She had just accepted it, because she knew it wasn't her real name. Once she found out her real name, she wouldn't need to use it anymore. And now she had.

"Diwan..." she whispered. She liked it. It was better than Catherine.

"I hope you didn't write that."

Diwan jumped.

The pirate Captain was standing in the doorway, leaning against the door frame and watching her.

"Only my name."

"Right."

"You don't trust me, do you?" she said, frowning.

"No... not really," Cortes said simply.

"I think I can understand why. You think I'm a Guardian. I've heard about them."

"You were a Guardian," Cortes clarified. "I'm willing to work with the assumption that you're not now."

"But only because of the tests."

"Yeah."

Diwan said nothing, and Cortes closed the door behind him.

"You've locked yourself in."

"I've locked you in."

The two paused, just watching each other for a moment.

"How much do you know about me?" Diwan asked. The silence had begun to make her uncomfortable, all the more because she wasn't sure what the Captain was thinking.

"Too much."

"That's not an answer," she scowled. "Are you here just to harass me?"

"No. I'm looking for a reason to let you out of this cell."

She paused, looking at him as she thought that over. "I think you're looking for a reason to keep me in."

"Okay," said Cortes, gathering his thoughts before he responded sharply. He came and sat next to Diwan on the edge of the bed, and stared at her hard. "Then give me a reason that makes me want to let you out."

Diwan opened her mouth, and then shut it. "Actually, I don't know."

"That's of little help to you..." Cortes scowled.

Diwan picked a point on the opposite side of the small room, and stared at it. "I don't remember anything, I swear. Nothing before waking up in hospital. I was told I was found hurt and unconscious on a bloc, obviously had fallen from a height. When I recovered I started searching to find out more about my past. It didn't take me long to get this far, though I found out nothing until I found your ship. Then all I know is you pirates accuse me of being a Guardian, of doing all these things I can't even remember... you haven't even told me exactly what, so I don't know!" She had been getting more frustrated as she continued; now she was close to yelling. But it wasn't the same kind of yelling Cortes was used to from the times he'd dealt with Diwan. It seemed more desperate, and less angry or condescending. "You expect me to defend myself, but I don't even know what I've done! Maybe you're right, I was an evil person. But I don't think I am now. I don't have the desire to hurt anyone... What have I done? What have the Sphere done?" she asked, looking hard at Cortes.

Cortes stared back at her. "You really don't remember, do you?"

"No," Diwan growled. Things were being hidden from her, and she was angry about it.

Cortes let his gaze drift across the small room, deciding exactly what he should reveal. "I've seen the Sphere kill people." He looked back at her. "I've seen you kill people." For a moment, he almost regretted saying that, just from the look on Diwan's face.

"So... I was part of the Sphere. And I killed people..."

"I never saw you kill someone personally," said Cortes, and then wondered why he was trying to make her feel better. "But you led attacks that resulted in people dying. You've ordered Brigadiers to quell 'rebellions'. And they killed people..." he trailed off.

"I'm not that same person now. I remember none of that."

"That much was proved by the Vector's tests. But you're still that same person, Diwan. I'm not sure I trust you to enough to risk you returning to the Sphere. At least for now." He stood up off the small bed.

Diwan watched him, but could think of no response. What if he were right? She believed him when he told that the Sphere had killed people - that she had killed people. She could see the pain in his eyes as he spoke of it. The man wasn't lying in order to confuse her, or for any other reason she could think of.

He stood at the door to the cell now. He'd tapped on the small window and asked the guard to let him out. The key could now be heard clattering in the lock.

"Cortes..." said Diwan. "Whatever I've done... I know I can't remember, but... I'm sorry."

Cortes glanced over his shoulder, squinting slightly. He looked confused. Then the door was open, and he slipped out, giving no clue as to whether the apology had been accepted or how much value he placed in it.

Diwan sighed, and looked again at her piece of chalk. She had killed people. She had worked for the Sphere. But that was all in her past, and she would not fall to those evils again. She promised herself.

----

Cortes sat on the bridge of the Saint Nazaire. The radio crackled in the background, playing a Sphere news feed. Nothing of interest was being reported, and Cortes wasn't really listening anyway.

The visit with Diwan had disturbed him, but not in the way he had expected. He had gone looking for some sign, even if it was just a feeling of uneasiness within himself, that Diwan was not as innocent as she seemed. But the Vector's tests had proven the memory loss true. And after his conversation with her, Cortes wasn't as sure as he had been that Diwan carried the same traits he'd associated with her before she'd lost her memory.

The only logical explanation was that she told the truth. Not just about the memory loss, but also that she had no desire to hurt anybody. Cortes pictured the facial expression she'd worn when he'd told her she'd killed people. He was sure that couldn't be faked. This Diwan truly abhorred the thought that she could do such things, and that the Sphere still did them.

What worried him was what might happen if she found out more information, was swung back to the Sphere's point of view, and returned to them. If he let her loose on the bloc she could pick up information that would be invaluable to the Sphere, and that could result in the discovery that Puerto Angel was a pirate bloc. They could find Lena, Mila and the other harboured Seijins there. They could get information on the growing power of the rebellion and what blocs had joined since Mila's return. It would be irresponsible of him to release her if there was even the slightest chance she would take information back to the Sphere. He still thought that chance was more than slight.

But a part of him found her so curious to learn more about herself, and yet not wanting to embrace what she had been again. She had obviously heard things about the Sphere since her memory loss, and seemed to be building a picture she didn't like.

Cortes almost wanted to give her that second chance the Vector had spoken of.

He blinked, and repeated that thought to himself again. Was he letting his emotions get the better of him? Which emotions? he asked himself. Diwan certainly seemed sincere, as did her apology. That, no matter how many times he thought about it again, or tried to twist it in his mind, seemed sincere.

At this point in time, Cortes decided, Diwan was safe. She definitely had memory loss, and he was fairly certain she didn't like what she'd heard about her former self and the Sphere. But that could change. And he still couldn't let her out, if even for the fear it may cause.

Perhaps they could take her to a neutral bloc, someplace where she couldn't find her way back to Puerto Angel. Until then, however, Cortes was going to tell her as much about the Sphere as he could. If the Vector was right, and it was more her experiences with the Sphere that had turned her into who she'd been, then perhaps a true view of the Sphere's actions might set her on the right track.

And then, there was always the scant possibility she would remember something they could use against the Sphere.

----

"He doesn't trust you, you know."

Diwan sat bolt upright in her small bed. It was dark, she'd been sleeping, and the moon was now high in the sky and streaming moonlight in through her small grated window.

She thought she'd heard a voice. But it must have just been a dream.

Suddenly, something formed in the moon beam in front of her. It looked like someone was standing there, only it had to be a trick of the light; they seemed almost transparent.

The figure gained some solidity, and smiled at her. It was a smile that sent a chill up her spine. The figure was a man, about in his mid thirties. He was bald, and wearing a white Sphere uniform.

"Are you real?" she asked.

"Real enough for your purposes," the man answered.

Diwan relaxed slightly. She wasn't exactly sure if she should trust him, but she didn't feel threatened either. "Why are you here? How are you here?"

"Relax, you're just dreaming," he smirked. "I'm just here to offer a suggestion. Cortes, he doesn't really trust you."

"I don't really blame him," Diwan replied. "I think it's more a case he doesn't trust the Sphere." Her eyes trailed down to his chest, looking at his uniform, and the Sphere insignia.

"You're imagining someone you knew from your past. When you worked for the Sphere. The uniform means nothing," the figure explained.

Diwan nodded, but she couldn't help thinking the man was reining in some amount of anger at her distrust.

"Cortes does not trust you. Not enough. You want to be let out of this prison, don't you? Otherwise he'll just keep you in here until you rot."

"I don't think he would do something that extreme..."

"Extreme or not," the man snapped, "you will not have your freedom. That is something you want, yes?"

Diwan nodded again. "I just don't know how to convince Cortes I'm not going to go back to the Sphere."

The man scowled. "That's what I can help you with," he spat out. "Are you prepared to listen?"

Diwan thought for the briefest of moments. "Yes. I'm prepared..."

"I thought as much," the man smiled again. He pointed to her left arm. "Look at your prosthetic arm."

Diwan did so. She pulled off the leather glove, and pulled up her sleeve to her elbow. The metal gleamed in the moonlight. It was a similar colour to the metal the Brigs were made of, but thinner and lighter so she would actually be capable of lifting and manipulating it. She had learned to manipulate the hand about as easily as she had her real one. But the grip was stronger, and it had no feeling. She'd shattered a few glasses learning to pick things up. She looked at it, then back at the figure in front of her, waiting for further instructions.

"In the tip of your middle finger... look closely. You will see a small panel."

Diwan squinted. The moonlight didn't exactly provide the best light. "Yeah... I think I can..."

"Inside that is a small vial. It contains a drug that will make whoever you give it to far more open to your suggestions. Just imagine that finger injecting a small amount, and it will happen."

Diwan stared at her finger, and then jumped as a barely visible needle slipped out and spurted a small amount of liquid into the air.

"...just like that," the figure smirked.

"Is that really fair?" Diwan asked.

"Is it really fair they are keeping you locked up here?" the man countered. "Besides, you need only 'suggest' that he let you out. You know you're not dangerous. Right?"

Diwan nodded, still looking at her hand. Somehow, she felt she was supposed to do what the man told her. And besides, it wouldn't really hurt Cortes. When she looked back up, the figure was gone.