Chapter 9

"I want that bird in air and inbound in five minutes!" Director Grant ordered.

"Yes sir." The pilot next to him answered keeping step with him as they walked rapidly through the hallways of Chevalier HQ.

"You can't do this!" Charon argued following behind the two men. Claire kept up beside her zipping her combat uniform up to her neck. She pulled a pair of gloves on over her hands tightening the Velcro around her wrists.

"This is not up for debate Ms. Fairchild. You are grounded from this mission. Claire can handle this on her own." Director Grant answered.

"You continue to make excuses to keep us apart and I grow tired of it. I have waited patiently for this day for far too long!" She complained as they rounded another corner.

"You have personal interest in this mission and I will not accept any foul ups. Your obsession with the Justicar has made you a liability for this mission. You will wait for Claire's signal and teleport her into position. Other than that your involvement in this is nonexistent." He responded. Claire looked straight ahead walking at the same pace as everyone else.

"Damnit Claire say something!" Charon yelled, but her sister continued to face forward.

"You know full well what they did Charon. He wasn't who you thought he was. He's a traitor and a terrorist. I will fulfill my responsibilities." Claire said.

"I can convince him! I can make him see reason! Don't do this! Give me a chance!" Charon pleaded.

"He killed General Renalt and now makes his way towards Amelia Evans. We cannot let them take her. Your personal feelings for him no longer matter. You do not know this man; he will not see reason." Director Grant answered. Charon fumed fighting to hold back her anger.

"You lied to me!" Charon screamed as she watched them exit onto the landing pad. She paced back and forth for a few minutes before punching a hole in the concrete wall. She stormed back down the hallway making her way back towards her room. It wasn't possible that the Justicar was a terrorist. He was the missing piece in her life. There had to be more to it. He fought for Chevalier and the people just like she did. It made no sense for him to snap and attack Chevalier unprovoked.

"Liars!" She roared slamming her door open. No, it was impossible that he would do something like this. Director Grant was lying. Claire had always been obedient and was simply following orders. It was his fault that this was happening. If only she could be there. Charon knew she could convince him to see reason. To come back to Chevalier and be with her.

"It hurts…" She cried clutching her chest. Her heart pounded in her chest as the feeling of helplessness began to set in. She buried her face in her pillow and screamed at the top of her lungs. She sobbed alone waiting until she received the signal to activate her powers through her sister.

"Claire! Oh my god!" Charon jumped up from the bed as her sister walked in slowly. A Pandora helped her into the room letting Charon take her.

"Got her?" The Pandora asked nervously and Charon nodded helping Claire to the bed. The Pandora exited quickly leaving them together. Blood ran down Claire's face and she struggled to walk.

"Claire, what happened?" Charon asked laying her down on her back. She brushed her hair back seeing a large cut running along her hairline. She ran to the sink grabbing a small towel and poured water onto it before coming back and wiping the blood from her sister's face.

"I was stupid Charon. I was overconfident thinking that because I was a Novaborn they would go down easy." Claire said through labored breath.

"You're alright now, you're home. I'm with you." Charon said running the cloth over her head.

"I saw him Charon. Varen Askiligar, the Justicar." Claire answered. Charon tried to contain her excitement focusing on relieving her sister's pain.

"And?"

"He's strong. I could feel it just being near him. I don't think he realizes it yet, but fighting against him felt like he wasn't at his full potential. If he is able to realize this and access all the power within him he would be unstoppable." Claire answered.

"Tell me everything, please?" Charon asked.

"After you teleported me in, it was just him and two of his friends. Two Pandora, one with white hair and the other with red. Neither of them were any trouble to dispatch and to be honest although he surprised me a few times he was not able to fight on par with me. I failed to notice another group of his friends outside of the containment lab who broke in and managed to tackle me from my flank. Cassie Lockheart from East Genetics created an opening for them to turn on me. That white haired girl got my faceplate with her volt weapon. A huge flail looking thing that shattered it." Claire explained.

"I'm glad you are safe Claire."

"I'm sorry Charon. You should have been there too, not just me. It's just…now that I've met him and seen him I don't think he would see reason. The people he's with, they aren't like normal Limiters and Pandora. There was something different about them. Their movements and attacks were far more coordinated than anything I've seen. They did not hesitate to protect one another and they held nothing back. I cannot take them down alone Charon. I need you." Claire said reaching out and holding Charon's hand.

"We'll go together next time. Director Grant won't hold me back I'm sure of it." Charon said, but Claire shook her head.

"They killed a lot of people Charon. A lot of innocent lives at the facility were lost when they attacked without warning. He started a war with us Charon. He has to pay for that." Claire said and her sister forced a smile brushing her brow.

"Let me worry about that now alright? Just rest." Charon said leaning down and kissing Claire on the forehead. If Claire was unable to stop them alone then it meant that Director Grant would have no chance but to include her on the next operation. When that happened she would win him over.

"Chiffon Fairchild." Charon said quietly kneeling down and touching the engraving. Her sister's name was etched into the statue along with an assortment of other names. Clearly, this was some sort of memorial statue to those who died. She had been standing in front of this statue for well over an hour absorbing the atmosphere. This was where she called home. An immense facility called West Genetics.

It was Charon's first time in one and she could not deny it was impressive. Students and staff walked the paths heading to and from class as she watched from afar. Those who looked her way tended to wear fearful expressions. She didn't blame them. She was here with a host of Chevalier soldiers looking for answers.

Charon had gotten what she desired. Director Grant put her in charge of locating Varen Askiligar who had gone missing after breaking Amelia Evans out. All traces of him disappeared and they were left blind. Investigating West Genetics was the first piece to finding him. Someone here had to know where he was hiding. A hand on her shoulder made her jump slightly in surprise and she turned to see Claire standing behind her.

"He's not here. The headmaster seems to know little. Apparently his team stole an Interceptor late in the night. He had access and clearance to everything he would need to do it. By the time she knew something was amiss most of the conflict had already ended. His room had nothing of value or consequence in it. Neither did any of the other Pandora or Limiters involved." Claire explained.

"So they covered their tracks well." Charon stated and Claire nodded.

"A Pandora, Ingrid Bernstein has assumed command of the Nightingales in his absence. He left her in charge when he went to Spireach as well. He must trust her to leave her with such responsibility, and yet she was not part of his insurrection." Claire said.

"Suspicious. You think she might know something?" Charon asked and Claire knelt down looking at Chiffon's name on the statue.

"I do. I will see what she knows. What will you do?" The silver haired girl asked.

"I will wait here and try to find him by other means." Charon answered causing Claire to look over her shoulder at her.

"You will attempt to link with him? That is dangerous. You can't see him so you could lose yourself in the void." Claire said concerned.

"I will find him. I told you, he and I are kindred spirits." Charon reassured.

"As you wish." Claire answered standing up and heading towards the Nightingale command center. Charon sat down staring at the statue and folded her hands. After taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and focused her energy on opening a mental connection. She had never seen, heard, nor touched Varen so her ability to connect to him was near impossible. The danger was that she could mentally tumble out of control in the void of mental space and never find her way back. She had to rely on her own discipline to succeed.

A wave of relief washed over her as she narrowed down her probe's search and seemingly began closing in. Excitement began to fill her as her vision began to flash vividly forming the connection she would need to link with him. After all this time waiting to speak to him she would finally have a chance to meet the man she knew she was destined for.

Charon looked around finding herself in a lightly wooded area beneath a star filled night. It was the most beautiful night she had ever seen in her life. Even though this was only a projection of their subconscious she couldn't have asked for a better location. She took a step and nearly fell over as a wave of energy washed over her. It was intense and hit her so fast she could barely recover. Panic began to overwhelm her thoughts at the unexplained phenomena. Another burst connected with her body dropping her to her knees.

"Where are you?" She asked painfully crawling along the ground up a small hill. If she could just find him maybe, he could stop whatever was happening. She crested the hill looking over small pools of steaming water illuminated by the moon. Charon Fairchild lost something in that moment she came over the hill. The last shred of hope and sanity she clung to was torn away from her and ripped apart. Her heart sank and all coherent thought left her mind. It was replaced by an all-consuming rage.

Below her she saw the man she had sought for what felt like an eternity. His arms entwined around a girl with long red hair as they embraced each other passionately. As her connection broke with him a female voice whispered two words in her ear making her scream in agony.

"Crimson Queen."