Companion to Chapter 38 of AUP.

CHAPTER 4: SESTRA

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Mara's furious voice exploded. "I told you not to bring that thing with you!"

It had been a week since the conquest of Zenith. On Duodecemensis 22, Valtor had flown into Zenith, staging an onslaught against Kremniy; by Duodecemensis 23, Premier Alexandrova was dead. Valtor had declared himself as Emperor of Zenith. It was Duodecemensis 30 now, and tensions were still high.

"Well, he hasn't caught us, has he?" Timmy pointed out. "Valtor's not a master of technology, nor does he have the support of people who are masters. We're able to get many more missions done now that the system's dismantled."

It was true. Now that the police-force and droid-system was practically in disarray, the Resistance was able to continue on many more undercover missions than before. Still, Mara wasn't buying it.

"The fact that you were even willing to risk that shows how much you don't care," she snarled. "And while we're on the subject, how much of that program have you actually written? Have you got us any closer to finding Anastasia?"

"No," Timmy said through gritted teeth, "but I'm trying, which is more than I can say for you!"

He froze. In the dim light of the tunnel, Mara's face had turn deadly, her eyes narrowed, and all color disappearing from her thin face. Her brown eyes pierced through to his soul.

"You say I'm not trying?" she whispered. Her voice was sharper than that of a knife's edge. "Every minute of my life is dedicated to the Resistance, to the betterment of life for my fellow citizens. And you had the gall to call me selfish? You promised undying loyalty to our cause, but I have never seen that. You don't care!" She spat in his face. "Now get out of my sight."

"But" –

"Get out! Get out!" she hissed, pointing to the end of the tunnel.

Blindly, Timmy ran out of the tunnel, into the dim night. There was no one to be seen – everyone was hiding indoors, in fear of Valtor's new regime. Angrily, he sat on the curb, glaring into the night.

I'm just useless, aren't I? Everyone thought he was useless – even Tecna before her disappearance into the Omega Portal. I can't believe I thought I was going to find her. He buried his head in his hands.

He couldn't believe he'd ever thought he'd find her. No matter how hard he tried, he would never have the skills for anything. He wasn't good enough to be a Red Fountain hero, and he certainly wasn't good enough to find her. He buried his face in his hands.

"Hey."

Timmy jumped. Rasputin was standing behind him, and he felt a surge of irritation. "What?" he snapped. "Can't you see I'm not in the mood for your theatrics right now?"

True to his character, Rasputin wasn't offended – instead, he smiled. "Nah. Just hear to give ya some advice."

"What is it, O Great Master?" Timmy asked sarcastically. "More about Zenith's impending doom? 'Cause that's the last thing I want to hear now." The wind whipped past him, and he shivered at the cold.

"No," Rasputin answered. "I just wanted to say that, when Mara gets mad, she doesn't really mean it."

Timmy laughed. "Are you trying to tell me that she didn't mean to insult me?" He glared at Rasputin. "Every day, she tries to make my life miserable. Grumbles and complains at every single thing I do. It's just so annoying, okay?"

"Yeah, but here's the thing." Rasputin sat next to Timmy, uncomfortably close, and Timmy pulled away. Still Rasputin moved closer. "She gets mad and all that, but she's really cool. When I was a kid, she saved me from a police raid."

"Great," Timmy muttered, but Rasputin wasn't finished.

"She's also been through a lot," he said. "When she was only six, both of her parents were brutally murdered in a gang attack, and the Resistance took her in. Ever since then, she's been fighting for our cause."

"So you expect me to feel sympathy for her?" Timmy asked in disbelief. "My girlfriend disappeared into a portal, okay? In addition, she was abused by her employer for eight years, has faced multiple villains of the Magical Dimension, and everyone thinks she's dead! So excuse me if I don't feel sorry for her!"

"I'm not sayin' that," Rasputin protested. "I'm just tellin' ya to see the good in life – why dwell on the bad? She saved us from the Ivanov house – that was pretty awesome." His impish grin came back. "Ya know, ya are like her. She obsesses over the big picture, but I like to remind her about the little wins, every day of our" –

"I don't care!" Timmy yelled. "Listen, I've had it with you, Rasputin! You can convince yourself whatever you want about Mara, but I'm not coming back. I'm leaving, and I'm going to find my girlfriend by myself!"

"Timmy," Rasputin protested, but Timmy had already run off.

I have to get out of here, he thought. The Lower District had the most smog, especially at night, which would easily cloak him – he was amazed at how he'd gotten used to it in the past month. But he had enough stalling. For too long, he'd put off his most important mission – looking for Tecna.

I'm done worrying about the Zenithians' need for freedom. Let them deal with it on their own. He had a girlfriend to save.

He didn't know how he was going to get into the Middle District. This wasn't exactly a tourist area, and so it was very hard to find out where to go. But he would find a way. Panting, he made his way down the road.

And then froze as soon as he saw a glittering orange fairy above.

Immediately, Timmy drew his blaster. He could hear a giggling voice above him, one that sounded slightly silly and slightly delusional. Whatever it was, he had to be ready.

It happened all too soon. One moment, the orange fairy was flying, and the next second, he hit the ground. Dirt splayed everywhere, all onto Timmy's clothes, and the fairy let out a yell.

Timmy strode forward furiously. "What in Rajana's name do you think you're doing?" he snapped.

The fairy lifted his head. Timmy realized that he wasn't just any fairy – he was a little child. Child or not, he still poses a threat. Everyone in this forsaken realm posed a threat, and he wasn't about to forget it. "Put your hands up," he ordered.

The boy raised his hands. Timmy tied the rope around his wrists, and the fairy stared up at him. For a moment, he thought he was going to laugh at him again, but then he said just about the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. "You're a kid."

How dare he? In fury, Timmy kneed him, and the boy yelped as he fell to the ground. A tiny glimmer of regret rose in Timmy, but it was not enough for him to care. He glared down at the boy.

"Who do you think you are?" he snapped. "Are you a spy for the Zenithian government? Are you keeping track of me?"

The boy stared around the city stupidly, as if seeing it for the first time. In Timmy's eyes, he did not appear very intelligent. The orange-haired teen let out a snort.

"I take that back – there's no way you're a spy," he muttered. "You gleam bright orange against the sky."

"I do?" the boy asked stupidly. "How do I look?"

"Like a fool!" Timmy snapped. "Flying is forbidden above this city, you idiotic non-spy. I say you have about two seconds before you get caught by the police!" He stormed off, anger rising in his throat.

I can't believe I wasted my time on this kid. He had to get out of there, before the police arrived at the scene.

"Wait!" the kid called. "You can't leave me! I'm lost!"

"Figure it out yourself!" Timmy retorted. "I'm on a mission right now, and you're slowing me down!"

"I'm on a mission, too!" the kid shouted frantically. "To save the world! Don't you see? I'm the Lost Prince of Zenith!"

The teenager turned around and stared at him. He stared at his long purple hair, his glittering orange suit, his yellow bead at the center of his chest. He does kind of look like that portrait I saw in History of Magic…

No, he isn't, the voice in his head, one which was getting louder every day, responded back. He's a fool! Don't let him make you a fool, too!

Timmy threw back his head and laughed. Overcome with hysteria, he laughed painfully as the boy stared on.

"What kind of an idiot do you take me for?" he smirked. "The prince of Zenith is dead! He was born a thousand years ago!"

"It's true!" the boy insisted. "I was trapped in the ice for a thousand years!

"Okay, Your Highness." Timmy crossed his arms. "How do you explain how you went missing for a thousand years?"

"A thousand years ago, an ice-dragon of Omega froze me," the explained earnestly. "But since I have special powers, I was able to stop the ice from hurting me. Look!" He created a prism in his hands.

Timmy stared at the boy, his eyes wide. That ancient power – one which hasn't been seen in centuries – "You – you" – he stuttered.

"That's right," Cyros grinned. "I've got the power of Prism-Making! And I'm gonna use it to save Zenith."

"I'm sorry, but I can't help you." Timmy turned abruptly and stalked off. That's it, I can't take this anymore! He had to leave as soon as possible.

"Wait!" the boy called. Timmy continued to walk, not turning around. "You've got to help me save Zenith! Don't you see the state of this place? We've gotta fix it!"

Timmy glared at the ground. I'm not. I can't. He'd spent a month with the Resistance, and what good had come out of that? All he'd done was waste his time. I'm not helping a little kid now.

"Don't you see?" the boy shouted. "The whole world is in danger, and you're doing nothing about it! My Sestra would be so angry with you if she knew! You – you're being so mean right now!"

Something inside of Timmy snapped. He whirled around, glaring at the boy furiously, who took an alarmed step back.

"How dare you talk to me like that? You're nothing but a child! You haven't seen the world the way I have! My girlfriend is in danger, and I won't stop to" –

"You're being awful right now!" the boy screamed back. "When I find Tecna, I'm gonna tell her about how mean you were!"

Timmy felt as if his heart had stopped beating. He… he… Had his Tecna been found? He strode straight towards the boy, grabbing him by the shirt.

"Where. Is. She?" he whispered. His voice was quieter than he'd ever heard it, but the deadliness in it made it sharp, like a knife. "Where has she gone?"

"Some witches kidnapped her from Omega," the boy answered urgently. "I snuck atop their spaceship, but fell out before I could find out where they were going. I landed here."

Timmy smacked himself in the forehead. Of course! Tecna had been in Omega all this time, not on Zenith. How in Rajana's name did I not realize that? The portal, after all, had been to Omega, not Zenith.

Falling to his knees, Timmy pulled out his device. I'm going to find her. Using all of the updated information, he scanned the area.

A red dot was on the screen; above it, he could make out the words "Kremniy Laboratory" in the Common Tongue. His eyes widened.

"Let's go," he said, grabbing the boy by the arm.

"Wait!" he yelped. "What're you doing?"

"I'm taking you to find her!" Timmy snapped back. "She's being held in the Kremniy Laboratory, and I have to save her! And you're coming with me until I find her!" He dragged the boy on the ground.

He was going to find her, no matter what. She had to be around somewhere. Heart filled with determination, he strode forward, ignoring the child's shouts as he dragged him along.

Suddenly, he was blasted to the ground. He let out a yelp as the other boy was thrown to the side, both of them hitting the ground. His blood turned cold as he heard a drawl above them. "Going somewhere?"