I don't have much to say except enjoy the next chapter. Bye.

Chapter Three

When we start killing, it's all coming down right now. From the nightmare we created, I want to be awakened somehow… Within Temptation-The Howling

"This is all a confusing story. Understand, things were different back when all this happened. We didn't want to hurt anyone," Cortes said plaintively. Lena and Mahad exchanged worried glances.

"My mother used to be a pirate," Dahlia explained. "So was my father. And, one day, he was killed in battle. After that, my mother didn't want anything to do with pirates, so she went to work for the Sphere, where she fell in a love with a man named Harron. They had a child and named her Evora. I loved my sister. We used to play together all day and never get tired. When she went to the academy, she changed so much. I ran away from home when I realized how evil the Sphere truly was," Dahlia told them.

"Dahlia's mother lived on another block when she was one of us, so she didn't know about Puerto Angel. But then she and her husband discovered it while they were taking Evora to guardian school. We kidnapped them and tried to keep them hostage, but they escaped the cell we were holding them in. Marcus had killed her mother before I could stop him. Her father had already killed one of our crewmembers. I had no choice but to kill him myself. When I found Marcus, he had Evora trapped in a corner. We weren't going to kill her. Marcus would never kill a child. We would keep her on Puerto Angel and never let her leave. But she escaped. We weren't worried, because we knew she was too young to understand how to give the coordinates of Puerto Angel to anyone."

Mahad and Lena were completely silent. My father murdered someone… The words echoed over and over in Mahad's mind. He couldn't believe this. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be. He stood up and ran out of Cortes's house.

"My dad's a murderer," Lena said coldly, hardly believing it herself. "I'll go find Mahad," Dahlia said, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. The only two people left in the room were Lena and Cortes.

"Lena," he said softly. "Your father was a good man. He only did it to protect his family. He only did it to protect us."

Lena shook her head and ran out of the house, silently weeping. She ran to the Vector's lighthouse and sat on his doorstep. She didn't want him to come out and talk to her. She just needed to get away from everyone else. She needed to relax and try to clear her thoughts like she always did. But today it wasn't working. She had always wondered about her past. She had always wondered if her father was really as amazing as they said. Now she knew the truth. Not everyone was perfect. Lena was sure she would kill someone in battle some day. And she dreaded the day every moment.

"You're not going, Mahad," Cortes said. Mahad waved his hand, as if to push his words away. "Well I'm not staying here," he shot back. Cortes glared. "You're staying here! That's an order!" he yelled. Mahad turned to face him. "I'm sick of you treating me like a kid." "You've been irresponsible in the past. It's for your own good," he said defensively. "You're not my father." Mahad stormed out of the room and headed for the Hyperion.

Cortes sighed heavily. He knew it would be hard to tell Mahad the truth. "Dahlia," he called. She entered the room quickly. "Yes?" she asked. Cortes sighed again. "Go sneak into the Hyperion. I can't let Mahad go off alone. There are going to be search parties all over Skyland." Dahlia nodded and ran off. She made it into the ship just in time, before Mahad had a chance to take off. She felt a sudden tug in her stomach that told her this was a bad idea.

She opened her mouth to say his name and let him know that she was on board but stopped when she realized he would never listen to her. Mahad had always been stubborn, but she could persuade him to anything. But now she knew she couldn't. Now he had a reason to be stubborn. He was hurt. The ship lifted off the ground and took off into the empty nothingness ahead of them. For what seemed like hours (and might have actually been hours), the Hyperion flew straight forward.

Dahlia was puzzled by that fact that Mahad was cooling his anger with a leisure fly. She dropped that theory when the ship jerked left. Mahad was obviously very upset. He steered the ship right, halted it, forced it upward at a ninety-degree angle, and then let it drop straight down. Dahlia feared that he would let the ship keep falling, but he stopped it just as they were about to crash into a small block of floating earth. The Hyperion suddenly veered right at a sickening speed. Mahad finally gave up and began flying at a slower pace.

Dahlia had been sitting crouched in a corner behind one of the seats. It was hard to stay hidden and stay upright at the same time. She relaxed her tensed muscles and just enjoyed the scenery. Mahad's temper would cool eventually, and he would take them home. Hopefully. Dahlia wasn't expecting Mahad to swerve left.

She fell forward and cried out as she hit the hard floor. Mahad instantly halted and turned in his seat. "Dahlia?" he said, surprised. "Cortes told me to come with you. He said it wasn't safe for you to be alone."

Mahad rolled his eyes. "Well, I could really care less what Cortes thinks." Dahlia sighed. "He was only telling you the truth. You can't hate him for telling the truth." Mahad knew she was right but didn't want to admit it.

"Well… We can head home in the morning. I'm exhausted. I'm going to put the Hyperion on autopilot while I sleep, okay?" he asked. Dahlia nodded. "I'm going to sleep too," she said. They fell asleep within ten minutes.

"What? What's going on?" Mahad mumbled dazedly, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. The wind howled outside, causing the Hyperion to tilt back and forth. When Mahad looked closer he almost screamed.

"Dahlia!" he cried. Dahlia slowly sat up. Her eyes widened at the sight of the billowing mass of swirling clouds ahead of them. "We have to get the Hyperion out of here, now!" Mahad cried. Dahlia stood up and looked ahead. The storm was getting closer, chewing everything in its path.

Mahad tried to steer the Hyperion but for some reason it was locked on autopilot. "Mahad, come on!" Dahlia yelled. "I can't take the ship off autopilot!" he cried. Dahlia knew they wouldn't get away in time. "Hang on!" Mahad called back.

Within seconds, the Hyperion was swept into the massive vortex. It flipped and spun out of control. Mahad and Dahlia screamed. Clouds and debris swirled around them in the violent storm. Mahad thought he saw half of a patroller and a few brigs. This storm had obviously come a long way.

Mahad and Dahlia thought they were safe. Then, one of the windows crashed and broke open. Shards of glass flew out in all directions. Something large and heavy had crashed into the Hyperion. It suddenly flew backwards, flung from the enormous funnel. Mahad and Dahlia screamed one last time as the ship plummeted down into nothingness.

"I don't know. It's not like Mahad to just go off like this. He should be back by now," Lena said worriedly. Cortes sighed. "I'm just hoping he didn't run into trouble," he muttered bitterly.

Lena opened her mouth to say something else, but the words died in herthroat. "It's been an entire day. Where could he have gone?" Cortes grumbled, more to himself than to Lena.

He now regretted telling Mahad the truth. Perhaps he had run away and didn't intend on coming back. The very thought of it made Cortes grimace. Mahad had deserved the truth—but did he deserve to have it told to him in such a way that it scarred him mentally and emotionally?

"You don't think he's been captured, do you?" Lena asked fearfully. Cortes shook his head. "No. He'll probably be back soon, Lena," he lied, avoiding eye contact with her. More lies…

"Lena, why don't you go see if Cheng needs any help fixing his laptop?" Cortes suggested. Lena seemed disappointed, but she did not protest or complain. She practically ran from the room, obviously seeing that Cortes needed time alone.

As the painful memories of killing and death penetrated his mind, a tear began to trickle down his cheek.

Lena slammed the door loudly behind her. "What's wrong, Lena?" Cheng put down his tools and approached her. Based on her expression, Cheng could tell that she would burst into tears at any moment if he said the wrong thing. She had already told the entire story to him, although Cortes had begged her not to. He seemed rather disturbed and bothered by this, but he promised not to tell Cortes.

"Lena? Are you okay?" Cheng said softly, slowly reaching a hand to grab her shoulder. Before his hand came within a foot of her shoulder, she slapped it away. "No, Cheng. I'm not okay," she replied plaintively.

Cheng could see her fighting back tears. Unsure of what to say next, he turned back to his working table and ignored her. "I was going to come in here and talk to you, but I don't think I can right now," she said finally. Cheng waved goodbye to her as she slipped out the door and closed it gently behind her.

For a moment there was nothing but silence.

Cheng nearly threw his tools in the air when the door suddenly burst open. "What?" he demanded. Lena was panting and shaking her head wildly.

"The cell door is open! Evora is gone!"

Quick Note: Sorry, I'm not sure if my science was correct in the tornado scene. Normally, the warm rising air in tornados comes from the ground and goes up into the thunderstorm, but since the Earth is no longer intact, I'm not sure if it's possible. Bye. Watch for chapter four.