A/N: I'm still terribly sorry for my absence. So I'm doing a double-whammy for you all. Review them both at once, review them separately, whatever makes you happy. Hell, don't even review if you don't want to. I've already got four more chapters written past this one for you all.

City: H-405

Chapter 7: Just One Moment

They stared intently at one another across the arena. She panted from the floor, eyes trained on his tinted visor. A strange hiss came across the link and reminded her of a tidal wave crashing against the shore. Unusual as the noise was, even more unusual was the fact that he'd disengaged the tint at the bottom of the visor, allowing his mouth to leer through the glass in a wide, beaming grin. Whether it was sinister or sincere, she knew not. The sight of the teeth, however, startled her so much her tongue turned into a lead weight within her mouth.

"Well done."

For a moment, her brain failed to register he'd even spoken.

"Very well done. You've learned the first two steps to sword play: never give up the fight, and never let your opponent have the last strike. Always, always fight back even when you have no energy to fight left in you, when your spirit has been crushed and your mind's shutting down forever. Fight as hard as you can until the end."

She blinked. James began clapping very slowly, his blade retracted and hanging from his belt. She swallowed dryly and blinked again.

"Did...did that sword hit you too hard, or have you finally lost your mind?"

The grin shrunk by a few teeth, the visor gradually darkening back over it. "What do you mean?"

"I attacked you when your back was turned."

Laughter. Cold, ruthless laughter. "Out here, there are no rules. Attacking a man from the front or the back is the same thing to every creature and human out here. Whatever it takes to win is what must be done. For instance, if you were a true opponent, I'd have killed you long before you hit the floor. You wouldn't have lived long enough to swing that blade."

"Then I'm nothing less than dead," she replied with an injured tone.

"This also wasn't a true combat situation. If I were going for your throat, I'd have it without arguing."

She glowered silently, hating him for being right. His existence had forced her to realize his own superiority. Arguing with him wouldn't do either of them any favors. Moreover, attempting to fight the man on a level playing field was a disadvantage and an almost guaranteed death on its own. She found herself feeling bitter resentment toward him for being a genius, but the small voice in the back of her head reminded her that he was on her side and provided a great amount of security and firepower for her protection. She gently sighed and allowed her anger to disperse as she reveled in the fact that she'd landed a hit on him, even if backhanded and unsportsmanlike. As James himself had said, there are no rules.

She pulled herself to her feet, amazed at how much energy it took. The simple task of standing attempted to elude her grasp, but she forced her legs and feet into cooperation. So much of her energy had gone into attempting to wrangle the man before her, and he'd drained it all from her by slamming her to the floor, immobile and indignant.

"You're tired. First tip in fighting: conserve energy."

More unwanted advice that was necessary for her survival and progress. Still, she soaked it in as he laid his hand gently on her upper arm and trickled a fair amount of energy back into her. She shivered involuntarily from the influx.

"Would you like to continue sparring? If not, I have an alternative idea that might be to our benefit."

She shook her head. "I'd only get hurt."

"Then, I propose that we hold a meeting with Alpha," James quickly intoned. Both suited figures looked to the boy standing a bit off to the side, watching the proceedings with keen eyes.

"Me?"

"You. I'm a bit curious as to some of the workings of this vessel, as well as some of the things you've shared with us about your little group."

"Understood. To the boardroom."

The Alumni followed the small gaggle of children downstairs, though they and Alpha were the only three to enter the room. He slid the heavy door shut and locked it with a light click.

"So, what would you like to know?"

"First, what you said about the computer chips. What do you know?"

The boy shrugged. "I don't. I don't know what they do or how to work them."

"It could be some kind of GPS or tracking agent. It could even be a remote mind control chip. I wonder if there's a user-based override of some kind."

"It's certainly possible. I don't know what it all means, though. I haven't been able to figure it out yet."

James leaned forward very slowly, gazing deeply into the boy's eyes. Surprisingly, the boy didn't shiver or turn away in fear; he sat straight and confidently locked eyes with James.

"There's something you're not telling me," the man surmised. Alpha blinked in surprise.

"I'm sorry?"

"There's something you're not letting on about. Something you know. Possibly a few somethings. Mind sharing?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Almost before Cynthia could catch a glance at it, his eye twitched. Just slightly, and for an infinitesimal microsecond, but it twitched, and she realized immediately that the boy was selling them a pretty large lie with an almost-straight face. Obviously an accomplished practice, and startling to see in a child so young. Something within her urged her forward and she relinquished control on her presence without thinking.

"Young man, would you lie to your mother that way?"

The intonation she utilized, coupled with her gender and the instinct within her, cracked his shell immediately.

"N-no..."

"Then why do you lie to me?"

He blinked remorsefully at her, then hung his head. "I'm not used to sharing this much information with people so easily."

"Alpha...Gavin...We're supposed to be protecting you. We can't do our job of keeping you safe if you're hiding things from us. That doesn't work."

He sighed. "Alright. I'll tell you what you want to know."

James leaned back and appeared to relax into the chair, waiting patiently. Cynthia followed his lead.

"The chip was implanted into each of our skulls. I figured out a little while back how to get it to work. It's fueled by emotion and draws on energy for emphasis. I guess it's kinda like the sabers you use, but the chips send the power through nerves and out the finger slips. I figured out how to use the chip as an energy emission source, and I broke the security protocol by overheating three specific circuits that were supposedly failsafes."

"How do you know this is the case?"

"From what I can tell, the chip has...or, rather, had...a GPS system in it, like you suggested. Using advanced triangulation and pinpoint interpolation, I had the ability to instantaneously teleport from one side of this thing to the other. I surmised quickly that, since I can no longer teleport, I fried the GPS circuitry and I no longer possess an active tracker link on my body."

"So you're no longer traceable. Meaning you'll be able to evade any radar present."

"The chip also has the ability to scan for nearby radar beacons and trackers. Your suits have trackers that are deactivated permanently, from what I can tell. However...they have their own sort of code...almost like a genetic helicase...I can't decipher it."

"It's a hexinomial code that had a triple security grid and an access override blocker. It was made to be a self-sustained anti-tamper unit."

"That would probably explain it. At any rate, the chip controls the pads inserted into our fingers. I've found that I can shoot energy in the form of either heat or electricity through the pads from my nerves. Almost like having a gun at your fingertips wherever you go."

He paused. "It also gives off an adrenaline boost similar to that of a needle-based steroid shot, but without the harmful side-effects, as far as I can tell. It's entirely possible that an unlocked chip with enough energy forced through it could replicate Neptune's phantom ring, exactly as demonstrated in the arena earlier. I'm not quite sure how much of a boost it gives off, but I know it at least increases reaction time and movement speed."

"Similar to these suits. Amazing how one concept can spawn a plethora."

The boy nodded. "That's about as much as I know about the chip at this point. I haven't really been able to unlock it or figure out much more than the absolute basics."

James nodded slowly. "Tell us more about this fortress. What is it, what does it do, more basics."

"It's a mobile fortress based on a semi-organic, semi-living rock similar to the composition of coral. It's a very dense, near-unbreakable shell of rock that can bend, twist, and reform to suit its needs. It was designed by The One for the sole purpose of security. As it is a creature with a hollow inside, it is ideal for storing things or housing experiments. It's also a sentinel for the city. There are at least five other creatures much like this one surrounding the glass dome."

"How many cities are there like this one?"

"It's difficult to say. Big didn't ever let the command protocol to trickle down the line, but I overheard some of the finer details."

"Such as?"

"The ten-megaton energy cannon on this beast's arm is one of few high-powered precision weapons that can concentrate enough force to penetrate the glass bubble surrounding the city."

"So is the laser on Neptune's watch," Cynthia volunteered. James scoffed.

"That watch was destroyed when we first escaped the city. We're lucky it had enough kick in it to bore through the wall the second time around."

Alpha blinked. "Must've been a high-caliber laser to cut through that glass."

James nodded once. "Used for mining asterubies and pressurized space-born xenocrystals. But please, continue."

The boy cleared his throat. "That cannon out there can be sparked into creating a beam of raw energy strong enough to break the glass around the city. It can also be self-destructive, as you both saw. The sword is heavy, but agile. The claw can crush just about anything, with the possible exception of your suits. And that bludgeon weighs enough to crush a cargo ship."

Cynthia nearly let her jaw drop.

"Without embellishing this thing, it's a dangerous force at the absolute least. I hate to say it, but it takes a Titan to ruin a Titan."

James leaned forward. "Does this thing have a radar that can locate the other Titans? They'll need to be dispatched to make it to the city."

Alpha looked skeptical. "All I can say for sure is that this city isn't the only one of its kind, and stopping The One will be far more difficult than just leveling this eco-bubble into dust. It will most likely require an authority collapse of some form, where The One loses power due to the destruction of the other forces guarding him. There are five other cities on this continent that rule the world together, and all parties answer to The One."

"How do you know this?"

The suspicious tone that James imbued wasn't missed by either party. "I managed to get into this ship's logs and archives last night while you two slept after your rather loud match upstairs. I'm fairly certain that what I found was a copy of generic records and holdings that every Titan comes equipped with, but the information I gathered was as staggering as it is vital. If you two are serious about protecting us and defeating the enigma in that city, you'll need what I know to accompany you in your journey. I don't want to move the Titan outside the security ring for fear of arousing suspicion within the city, but if you have some method of establishing a relay link back here I can at least guide you along. We have provisions and living facilities to support ourselves, and your suits will do that bio-regulation work for you."

Cynthia was briefly reminded of the man sitting beside her as she contemplated the boy's words. They seemed so similar to one another and almost knew what the other would say without any need for speaking. Unnerving as it was, she supposed that smart people tended to gather with other smart people, else she and James never would have enjoyed their various adventures through childhood. How they'd ever become friends with Carl and Sheen remained a mystery.

"Where is the closest fortress besides the city this Titan guards?"

"Due west of here is City: H-311. Northwest of that is another civilization, City: L-051. Northeast of here is another; City: G-017. There are two unclassified fortresses that aren't labeled as cities; one is southeast off the coast, Fortress: M-043, and the other is straight north of here, Fortress: F-34-R. All are very well guarded and have their own leaders, all of whom report to The One."

James was silent, head tilted slightly downward. "Uranus."

She looked directly at his helmet, but made no other indication she'd heard him.

"Where do you think we should attack first?"

She blinked. James had just asked for her opinion. A rare event in itself, and one he probably wouldn't repeat for a decent amount of time. She blanked, caught completely unaware and without an answer to his question. She lowered her head and closed her eyes in thought.

Finally,

"Which location is furthest from this city?"

Both heads turned to look at her. Alpha was very plainly confused by the question, though James's face remained hidden and unreadable behind the visor.

"My theory is that if we start from the outside and work our way to the center, we'll have more of a surprise attack, assuming the cities have some form of direct communication with one another. It's entirely possible we can catch the leaders unaware of our movements and surprise them into submission or failure. That, and we gain a significant advantage in the end should The One catch onto the plan and choose to call reinforcements from outside to counter us; if we're headed into the war, we're prepared and won't be surprised by an attack, whereas if we work our way out and get a sneak attack along the way, we risk losing our lives to the fight."

Alpha blinked. James did nothing. She sat silently contemplating her answer. Perhaps she'd said the wrong thing.

"Perhaps you've learned more from me than I give you credit for," James mused quietly. "That deduction and judgment isn't exactly easy to conclude or reinforce, but as you've noted it offers the most ideal set of circumstances for us. There exists one problem with any plan, though: getting into the respective cities."

He paused. "There are two ways we can get inside. The first is to use a nearby Titan as a destructive force, though that would attract far too much attention. No, what we need is a more stealthy operation, one where we are left as untraceable as possible. The trackers on these suits have been disabled and thus cannot be geometrically pinpointed nor detected via nearby scanners, making us virtually invisible save for the light heat signature produced by the heat sinks atop our helmets, which given the atmosphere is, again, nearly untraceable.

"The second method to get in, based entirely on stealth, requires us to find a gateway of some sort and phase through it. Each bubble has an entrance and exit of some sort, be it a pressurized airlock or a subterranean ejection tunnel, am I correct?"

Alpha nodded. "The only city that has no connection to the outside is the one nearest to our current location, City: H-405. The glass must be broken to forge an entrance; an electrostatic charge permeates the soil and kills any organism daring enough to try and pass through it. The city is literally its own entity."

"That's where you come in. You can break us in if we can get that striker and that cannon to work together. We'll handle the rest from there.

"As for how we'll be breaking into these cities and fortresses, we find the airlock and jettison inside, sneak around at night until we get to the heart of each city, and take down the leader. Once dispatched, we get back out and move on. If we're even the slightest bit lucky, we can be long gone before the public knows what happened."

The other two nodded at James. "Then," Cynthia began, "the next question we have is of location. Where is the city furthest away from H-405?"

Alpha closed his eyes in thought. "Either L-051 or F-34-R. I think F-34-R is farther away, but that brings up the issue of how you'll end up getting around."

"Not an issue," James stated bluntly. If we start from L-051 and work our way around in a spiral, we'll hit all the locations ending with H-311 before making a beeline back here. How far away is the stretch from here to L-051?"

Alpha blinked three times, very slowly. "Sixty years ago there used to be states. Currently, this city is near where Austin, Texas used to reside. L-051 is up in the middle of where Anchorage, Alaska used to be. F-34-R is somewhere around former Toronto, Canada. Then G-017 is out by Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Then, if you're coming around in a spiral, your next target would be M-043 out between here and what used to be the Caribbean islands, a lone tower that covers abovewater and underwater ecosystems and life sustenance. Then H-311 is west of here, out in the hot desert of New Mexico."

James whistled lowly. "That's a trek if I ever heard of one. Getting to Anchorage will be the biggest challenge we face, especially if there aren't any outposts or facilities along the way."

"The City of Sin might still be around, but it's abandoned. It might offer some shelter. The landscape has changed a great deal, but large places including Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland, New York City, and Miami all still exist, even if they're abandoned or dilapidated. They might offer shelter or outcasts desperate to survive."

"Shelter is no concern; we make shelter. What we need is a method of ensuring we're headed in the right direction to the right place. There is a great deal of ground between here and Anchorage, and I doubt the world's changed enough to warm the place up. The city's probably little more than a gigantic igloo with as bad as the blizzards get up there."

"More or less," Alpha conceded. "I have a method for guiding you, but it depends on your suits. I would need a removable part from the suit that could offer a remote-control unit of some kind."

James leaned forward. "Tell me more and I might have a solution."

"I would need to put a makeshift zetabit tracker on some removable unit of your suit, just to be able to guide you in the proper direction and keep you on track. It would be a type of radar system, but in the event something goes wrong and my situation is compromised, I can alert you to destroy the tracer. If something goes wrong on your end, I at least know where you are to keep tabs and communicate with you. Hence why the unit would need to be from your suit; the tracer can only run an information and comlink relay setup through a unit connected to the coded signature of the suit."

With a complex bend of the hand, James thrust the inside of his wrist at Cynthia. A light blue backlight glowed from within a small circular panel set into his armor. She depressed the button and caught the cylindrical gauge as it popped free, and she gasped.

"A mobile Overdrive controller?"

He nodded once, pulling his hand back. "You know what it does to me. You know how potent it is. And I know you have the intelligence to know when to use it and when to leave it."

She snapped the unit into her left wrist, the armor melding around the dial as though it was water. "Like it was made to be there."

"Since the suits share similar lines of coding, they're receptive to one another and interact accordingly. That gauge still controls my suit, though, not yours."

"In any case, that removable dial is perfect for the tracer; it's paper-thin and should mesh perfectly with the suit, once it acquires the signature."

"Where is this miracle patch of yours?"

The boy reached into his pocket and extricated a small circular sticker with the thickness of rice paper and the color of charcoal. James tilted his helmet slightly and nosed it down a bit.

"I came prepared," the boy confessed. "I knew the possibility existed that you'd make the decision to go off and reverse the damage caused to this planet, so I brought the necessary resources with me."

"How do you plan on tapping into our comlink with a protected signature?"

He slipped the wafer to James and cracked his neck. "Is there any way to unlock the suit's code?"

"None. I've had it running through a processor in my hypercube for the entire time I've worn it and I've gotten no result. There isn't any hole in this encryption that the cube has found and I've been wearing the suit for nearly three years. Unless I force entry and risk destroying the security protocols, I have no way to tap in."

"Then perhaps an external method?"

He slipped a slender pole, white in color, out of his pocket. It sat at about three inches in length and rested on a black ring with a swivel joint and a ball-socket rotational axis.

"This. It's an antenna and a transmitter, similar to what you might know as Bluetooth. We don't have anything of the sort anymore; The One abolished all communicative technology beyond the simple telephone due to what he called 'corruption of the minds of the innocents.' I think it's ridiculous and totally unnecessary, but most of these people have been literally living in a bubble all their lives."

James took the antenna-rod and cemented it into the right side of his helmet. "I guess we'll find out if it works or not."

A unit similar to that of a conventional walkie-talkie buzzed to life from Alpha's waistband. He plucked the unit up, extended the makeshift antenna to a full four feet long, and activated the link.

"I guess we'll find out now."

James's helmet twitched. "Reading, loud and clear."

"Good," Alpha replied, stowing the telescopic metal pole and speaker unit on his waistband once more. "That unit is ranged with a one-half petahertz frequency lane, meaning I'll be able to send and receive audio with you for up to five thousand miles. That should be plenty strong enough to link with you through your journey north, south, east, and west. It consumes a great deal of energy, so the unit on your helmet utilizes your own body's energy output for power, and the unit on me uses a reinforced nitrogen-cooled uranium fuel cell that I can recharge just by setting it near other electronic equipment. Being within a Titan that is electronic and biotic offers me the advantage of never losing power to this unit. Your antenna, however, only siphons power so long as you have enough to be siphoned. If there isn't enough energy in you to walk, it'll automatically notify us both and shut itself down. Also...if you need to hold a private conversation with Uranus, it's removable and uses an advanced vacuum suction pull to adhere and peel away from the contacted surface."

James touched the weird horn somewhat skeptically. "Very powerful rig to set up at such a young age. How long have you had this?"

The boy blinked. "I made that last night, fearing this would come to pass."

"You made this overnight?"

"I couldn't exactly mimic the chemical composition of your suit, but I created something similar made of the leftover titanium plates you were using and the fibrous strands of cotton from one of the mattresses we sleep on. Coupled with a data transceiver and a lightbulb filament, you've got a makeshift antenna unit for communication."

The stunned silence that followed was nothing short of appreciative. "You've got a talent and a bright future, kid," James said quietly.

Alpha shook his head. "It's just what I do when needed. It's nothing special."

Cynthia could imagine a slight, contemplative frown on James's face. Alpha wouldn't own up to his own strength, his own talent. Almost as though he was ashamed of it or overly private about it. She blinked, thankful the visor could mask her musings.

"Alright. Uranus, are you ready to handle this journey?"

She turned to James and nodded with no hesitation.

"Realize that this will be very dangerous and will take a great deal of effort and energy to get through."

"I'm ready, Neptune."

He paused. "Then, when shall we leave?"

She stared at him for a second. "Immediately."

They both turned to Alpha. "We need a way out. And you will probably need to explain what's going on to the others."

"Easily remedied. Follow this corridor to the end, then turn left. There's a spiral stairwell that leads all the way to the left forefoot of this monster. It won't move until I command it to, so you'll be able to come back in the way you left however long from now it takes to get back. On the wall to the right is a keypad with three buttons. Press red, green, blue, then hold down red and the foot will open a hatch for you. It acts as its own pressurized airlock, so no need to worry about radioactive backfeed. I bid you both good luck, and I'll be here to help you in any way I can."

James stood and shook the boy's hand firmly. Cynthia repeated the action. "We'll be back soon," Cynthia called, sounding as though she were heading to the supermarket rather than out into the world to fight mother nature once again.

The two strode away and down the hall. James plucked the antenna from his helmet and silenced his audio projection system. "This won't be easy. If you're serious about going with me, you'll need to do exactly as I say in order to stay alive."

She silenced her own projection system. "And if you're serious about going to do this, you'll know you need to listen to me just the same to stay sane out there."

He nodded once, a very tiny motion of his head, but it was enough. She felt herself swelling with a small bundle of pride. Perhaps the shell James had holed up in was still open. She knew it took a great deal of humbleness for any man to admit to a fault, and James with his ego was even less inclined. The thought that she, Cynthia Aurora Vortex, had gotten James Isaac Neutron to admit to his flaw, was a staggering accomplishment and a well-deserved moment for a mental pat on the back.

They stopped at the bottom of the stairwell. "Ready for this?"

She approached the panel and stared at the buttons. "As ready as when we fought those eggheads," she returned. She thumbed the buttons quickly and with a practiced flourish, just as she'd done several times before. And the door slid open, just as expected, and they both stepped into the atmosphere, hearing the light hiss of the pressure lock dissipate the carbon dioxide mist into the atmosphere, and they stood under the red sun on the red earth gazing at the rocks and cliffs around them, feeling very much alone.

"Together," she said.

And they walked forward in silence.

And that's the end of this shorter chapter. Sorry I couldn't flesh it out a bit more; I'm not ready for them to have a serious "boss-fight" encounter. This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I don't think you'd enjoy Cynthia getting freaky with Prissy. As for where the apple-haired woman came from, go read Pushed To Breaking Point's incomplete form and see where she was first created. I love you all my gentle snowflakes, and I hope you'll bear with me as I delay posting Chapter 8: Sleep-walking Minefield for just a little while until these chapters settle. ~Kyttin