"Is this what death is like?"

"No, child, but it comes close."

Guest replies are somewhere . . .

And, ha-ha, small little plot hole I've noticed (more like, crap, how did I not see that?), so this fanfic will follow plot lines just after Zero Hour. I know the early chapters don't follow this plot line so they will be re-written at some later date when I have time, or you can imagine them, that works to. (-_-`) My bad.


Equinox dashed through the stacks of machinery without hesitation - having committed the layout to memory as a precaution earlier - which left the others stumbling through the dark and bumping into piles. She noticed this quickly and barked a harsh command that turned all of the lights on with a loud click.

"Get over here NOW!" Equinox shouted at the group, turning a corner and yanking on the handle to the room with the air controls. It didn't budge.

The others came into view, slightly out of breath and all anticipating a fight. Equinox pulled harder on the door handle, knowing that all the brute force in the world wasn't going to make a dent.

"It's locked," Equinox practically growled, aiming a sharp kick at the door frame. "I know there's more than one person in there!"

Shelby picked at the rubber bottom of her shoe. "Let me see if I can open it." Seconds after Shelby said this, a white flash burst out from under the door frame.

"No," Equinox commanded. "Move back."

An orange-colored glow appeared in Equinox's eyes and she brought her hands up in front of her. Sparks flew from her fingers and suddenly it seemed like all the oxygen in the room was sucked away. The blast blew the door right off its frame, sending it careening across the room and landing with colossal bang. She stepped into the room and let out a shout of frustration. No one was there.

"Where's Solstice gone off to?" Otto asked. He didn't appreciate the lack of information Equinox and Solstice had neglected to provide; something about the cryptic-ness of the entire situation was setting off warning bells in his head.

Equinox stormed away. "We're taking the ATV's." She said it with a sort of definite air that suggested arguing with her would result in some very short life spans.

Laura crossed her arms. "This is ridiculous. You're not telling us anything about what's going on and you and your Friend of Certain Death and Destruction just fall into fatal situation after situation like it's your jobs. I'm not going anywhere."

Equinox didn't even turn around from her stride. "Fine, stay here for all I care. I'm going to find Sol and you can go-"

All at once, klaxons began blaring throughout the facility and a soft voice came over the loud speakers. "Thirty seconds until self-destruct sequence UNIT/BOREALIS/BETA is complete."

"Run!" Equinox ordered, dashing away towards the storage area of the ATV's. One thought flitted through her head as she checked over her shoulder to make sure everyone was following her, Thirty seconds isn't enough.

. . . 25 . . . 24 . . . 23 . . .


Borealis slung Solstice over his shoulder, throwing her gun away into a dark corner of the room. "We're leaving. Get a move on, Aurora."

Aurora grabbed on to Borealis' wrist when the first of Equinox's assaults started on the door. She snapped, a bright white flooding the room and the three disappeared. Miles away, an identical light lit up a spot of a densely forested hilltop and the group materialized. Borealis dropped Solstice - still unconscious - on the ground unceremoniously.

Solstice's skin was a drained white, almost the same as the snow around her head, but something sinister and black surfaced in the capillaries of her face - something that looked alive.

Borealis shoved the silver cylinder into Aurora's hands. "Do it now, before this brat wakes up. I wouldn't want to have to put my prize out of its misery before the fun even starts."

Aurora twisted the cylinder and intricate computerized grid appeared on the surface and the metal adjusted itself into a new shape. Some taunting voice whispered that she should stop, that this was madness, hurting a dumb kid who had no say in the matter she was fighting for. She mentally argued back that going against Borealis was the real madness.

She placed the metallic object, now with a goggle like form on one side on Solstice's face. The goggles molded to her face and sharp metal instruments jutted out from the inside of the goggles and into Solstice's eyes. Even unconscious, Solstice winced and balled her hands into fists, a strangled cry escaping her lips. The piece made an audible click and it disintegrated into nothing but ash, leaving red marks around her eyes where the machinery had entered into her skin.

Borealis took an injector from the clip at his hip and pressed it into Solstice's neck. She sat up slowly, rubbing away the pain in her eyes; her rapid regeneration removing all traces of injury in a few seconds. Looking up, a blue light flickered awake in her eyes.

"State your purpose," Borealis said curtly, a sneer plastered across his twisted face.

Solstice stood up and calmly brushed snow off of her. Looking Borealis straight in the face, she said, devoid of all emotion, "I exist to serve."


Guest: I hope this was a satisfying chapter. Thanks for reviewing! ┐( ̄ヮ ̄)┌