Companion to Chapter 44 of AUP.

CHAPTER 6: FINDING HOPE

His head felt as if it had been shoved underwater and banged repeatedly against a wall. Every second, it was a struggle to breathe, and all around him was darkness.

The pain was far too much for him to handle. He felt as if it was burning into him, destroying every part of his body. He couldn't move. All throughout this time, he had succumbed to the dark void within him, the one that kept him trapped.

Through the darkness, he thought he could see a face ahead of him. A woman's face was ahead of him, and she was smiling - but not in a pleasant way. Her emerald eyes were cruel and catlike as she gazed at him.

"Hello, Timothy," she said, her voice a sneer. "So glad you could make it." Her eyes glinted. "Lucky to have made it this far, are you?"

"I don't know what you mean," Timmy's voice wavered.

"You're smarter than I thought you'd be, I'll give you that," she smirked. "But still a fool, as always. Fighting for a lost cause!"

"You're not a lost-cause!" Timmy yelled back. "I tried to save her, Flora! I really did!"

"Oh, you thought I was talking about me?" she laughed. "Then you're even stupider than I thought. No, Timothy, I was talking about you!"

Timmy's heart thudded. He stared dismally at her, at her cruel eyes and dark spirit. Then countless more faces appeared in the dark.

"You always keep fighting for your right to be recognized." First appeared Sky's face, his blond hair flowing elegantly and prettily down his face. "But what's the point, when you don't even know how to fight?"

"You're just weak," Brandon added, holding his arms up. Timmy's heart hammered as he saw Brandon's huge muscles.

"Stop!" he shouted. "That doesn't mean" -

"You couldn't even play magiball," his father said. "All those times we took you to the field, and you never learned. How pathetic."

"You were the child we never wanted," his mother added. "You were just an accident."

"Yeah, Timothy," another voice added. Timmy stared up at Jay Singh, whose blue jersey gleamed at him. His black hair, hair that everyone in his family but him and Saladin possessed, was long and sleek. "How could anyone ever want you, when they have me?"

"Stop it!" Timmy bawled. "Stop it! Stop it!"

"I never wanted you to come to Red Fountain," Saladin added. "You're so lucky you got in, boy. Mark my words, you don't deserve to be part of my prestigious establishment!"

Now tears were running freely down Timmy's face. He lowered his head, and then all the voices joined together in unison.

"Failure," they chanted, their eyes darkening. "Failure! Failure! Failure!"

"No!" Timmy cried out. He collapsed to the ground.

He refused to look up as the people swirled around him, cackling. They all hate me… He shuddered, filled with pain. Then he heard footsteps, and then stared up.

Tecna was walking towards him, her neon eyes glowing. She stared down at him, knelt on the ground. Unlike the others, she had no expression on her face, no emotion whatsoever. Through the glow of her eyes, her metal arm and leg gleamed. Her voice too was flat and lifeless.

"You abandoned me," she said. "You left me, when I needed you the most. It's because of you that I disappeared down the Omega Portal in the first place."

"I know!" Timmy cried. "I wanted to make it up to you, Tec!"

"You're too late," she answered coldly. "I'm far, far out of your reach now."

No, Timmy thought. That can't be true! He stared up at Tecna.

As he stared at her, he thought he could see something. The faint outline of wings, just behind her. Unlike the triangular wings from before, though, these were much more elaborate. He stared at those, and then stared up at Tecna's eyes.

This isn't Tecna, he realized. There had been a time, in past years, when Tecna would've been cruel like this. But this was not the Tecna he'd fallen in love with, not the Tecna who existed now. Never in the past year had she ever spoken to him like this. She had treated him with nothing but kindness, though there had been always a certain wariness he'd detested. He'd felt that she was avoiding him, because she thought he was weak.

But that's not true, he realized. She was only trying to protect me. From dark forces I never could've imagined. He stared forward.

Now it's my turn to protect her. It's my turn to get out into the world, to save her from herself! He turned towards all the apparitions, shaking his head sadly.

"Goodbye," he murmured. They all vanished into mist, leaving nothing but memories in their wake.

Then the darkness began to fade. He slowly felt himself starting to regain consciousness, feeling his body again. First his fingers and his toes, and then his arms and legs, and then, his heart. The last to regain feeling was his head as he opened his eyes, staring around.

He was in a prison-cell. Vaguely, he remembered having a potion shoved down his throat, darkness condensing on him like night. But for how long? He stared around.

There was only one way to find out. He ran to the bars, trying to push through, but they held firm. Staring helplessly, he knew there was a spell on them, preventing them from opening.

Suddenly, a rumble sounded above him. Timmy gasped in horror as he saw the ceiling breaking, threatening to fall onto his head. He let out a cry.

I have to get out of here, and fast!

The ceiling was about to give way. From his position in the bars, Timmy stared up helplessly.

I can't believe it! He wasn't going to let himself die now, not at this moment. I have to get out of here! He stared up frantically, pushing at the bars.

To his shock, the bars bent ever-so-slightly. The metal was rather weak and easily bendable - and it looked new, too. As if it'd been constructed during Valtor's reign.

The miners must've shipped him weak metal, Timmy realized. He may have taken over their nation, but not their hearts! But if he broke the bars, the ceiling's supports would be completely gone.

I'll have to be quick. Using all the strength he had, he squeezed his skinny body through, breaking the bars. They bent more and more, and more material fell from the ceiling. Timmy stared upwards, his mouth hardening.

Now! Using all his strength, he shoved his way through, forcing himself in through the bars. He managed to reach the other side, falling to the floor just as the ceiling caved in.

I made it! Nearly weeping with relief, he pulled himself to his feet, running towards the exit.

Now all he had to do was search around. Search, and find out where Tecna was. He headed down the hall, glancing around.

The laboratory. He was in the laboratory, the place where Tecna was being held. Overjoyed, he reached into his pocket, and then frowned.

My locating device - it's gone! The guards must've taken it from him when he was arrested. Frustrated, he stared around, trying to figure out where he was.

But just then, an idea came to him. If I can get to the sanctum of the laboratory, maybe I can create a new one! He had memorized all of the details about Tecna's cyborg-programming, including her serial-number. Creeping into the side of the hall, he found a mecha-suit, hiding inside.

The disguise worked. He headed down the corridor, looking through the suit's programming to find the location of the central chamber. Due south. In relief, he followed the directions, walking past robotic and human guards alike.

Timmy gazed around at the circular room in awe. The dome, he could tell, was a feat of engineering, something he could've never imagined before. The glass shined brightly, bringing light inside. It was almost beautiful.

If it wasn't for the horrors certainly held in this room, it would be.

Timmy gazed around the room, at the computers on the side. If only I can find a phone here… He headed to one of the computers' desks, finding a phone inside the drawer. Gazing at the computer in front of him, he frowned.

The test-tube the computer was supposed to control was gone. Every single one of the purple test-tubes was intact, but the one in front of him wasn't. That's odd. Frowning, he connected the phone to the computer. Using the programming mechanisms he'd used before, he coded it to understand Tecna's location.

Since this phone was much newer than his device, it was able to understand his directions easily. He entered the software, and the phone bleeped.

SOFTWARE UPLOADING, it read.

It'll take another thirty minutes for it to upload, Timmy thought. In the meantime, he would wait. Gazing around the room, he frowned.

A chalice of golden liquid was before him. He walked up to it cautiously, staring at its bubbling surface. Is that a potion? He pulled out the phone, scanning its surface.

MADE OF FLORES DE IRIS AND METAL, the reading came back.

What's that for? Timmy thought curiously. He gazed down, staring at the pot in fascination.

He was so busy with his new discovery, he didn't even hear anyone enter the room. Only when something cold touched the back of his head did he recoil in surprise. He slowly turned around, and had the shock of his life.

A glass cannon stared straight into his face, threatening to strike at any moment. It had the same sickly purple color as the test-tubes, and was likely made out of the same material. A superweapon… Vasiliev was perched above on the balcony, his eyes glimmering.

"Make one move," he warned, "and you'll wish you were never born."