AN: Second chapter up. Review and let me know what you think, feedback is important to me. A reminder that this fic will most likely contain Trance spoilers. Thank you to my brother Cullen for Beta-ing this chapter.

The golden sphere hangs above Trance's hands for a moment. Mesmerized by it, Trance notices the little tendrils of light that seem to reach out from the center of the ball. It pulses slowly, and Trance can feel herself drawn to it, almost magnetically. Slowly, gracefully, the ball dips lower. Setting down like a feather, it makes contact with her palms.

A warm, serene feeling flows up her arms and down her spine. Instantly, everything around Trance is illuminated by a brilliant white light. The white blinds her just as effectively as the black had. Although she squints, she is unable to see anything past the pure radiance.

Gently, Trance cups her hands until they are wrapped around the ball of light. Beams shine out from between her fingers, and they provide a more tolerable light. Trance stares into the glow for a moment, feeling a pull that she has never felt before.

"Your first lesson." The voice whispers, and Trance can feel a presence from the ball of light. She is aware of a vast knowledge that is just out of her reach, for now. "Between the white and the black, you need to look for the shades of grey."

Finally able to see, Trance finds herself in a small room. The walls are a dingy beige. In the far left corner is a small bed, not much more than a mattress on a metal frame, with a thin brown blanket folded near the end. Across from the bed is a shabby bookshelf, dented and bare, save for cobwebs and dust. Beside the shelf is a hard wooden chair. The only ornamentation in the whole room is a flowery pattern engraved into the back of the chair. There are no doors or windows.

"Look for the grey." Trance repeats softly. She moves to the chair, the light still cupped inside her hands. She watches the ball. Every so often, small tendrils of light escape from between her fingers, only to retreat back inside a moment later.

Eventually, her curiousity breaks her away from the light and she turns her attention to the room. She tries to find traces of the room's previous occupants, a clue to why she is here, anything, but the room does not give up its secrets. No prints in the dust, no indentations in the bed. No writing on the wall. She pulls the blanket off of the mattress and wraps the ball of light inside, leaving it open at the top to light the room, and gently slides the wrapped bundle onto the shelf.

Returning to her seat on the chair, Trance watches the ball of light poke through the top of the blanket. After a moment, she reaches out for the ball and places the bundle onto her lap. Keeping her attention focused on the light, she asks, "Why am I here?"

A tiny finger of light reaches out as the whispered voice again answers. "You are here because there is much you need to learn."

Trance sighs, leaning back in the chair. "How do I learn?"

"You must listen."

Trance remains silent, listening obediently for a moment, but she hears nothing. She waits for the voice to continue, but no more words come. She shifts in her chair, and a note of impatience enters her voice. Clutching the bundle a little tighter, she gazes down into its depths. "Please, I know there is much to learn, but I want to learn what I must. I need to get back to the Andromeda. I'm worried about Dylan, and Beka, and Harper and -"

"LISTEN!" The whispered voice gains volume and grows to a thunder that reverberates through Trance's very being and freezes her words in mid-sentence. The bundle in her lap flares up, great splashes of light exploding into her face.

Images flood her mind as the world turns white around her, and then fades through grey into deep black.