Disclaimer & stuff: You all know the drill.

Note: Ahhhh, my muse is playing a bad game of hide and seek with me, so please please don't hate me if the chapter sucks. I kept writing a little here and there…trying to get things to come out right. So Sorry! I hope to catch the pesky critter before the next chapter.

I'm so glad you all love my little geek here. In high school I fell in the geek-nerd group (as did all my friends). Just gotta love those geeks!

Inside My Heart

Chapter 11

Fayt lifted up as far as he could from the hard bed. His wrists were bound to the table along with his waist and ankles. He struggled against the cold metal of his restraints, but found no give.

He lay back down and growled. He looked into the darkness over him, hoping some grand idea of escape would hit him. "We need to get out of here Roger."

"I know," Roger spoke.

Roger's voice was close…too close. Fayt turned his head to see the Menodix standing right beside his bed.

"Roger! How'd you…?"

Roger smiled. His face beamed of pride. "A real man can get out of any situation. And, besides, after that whole Moonshadow thingy I learned to pick locks."

"Pick locks? With what?"

Roger started to smile real big, but Fayt cut him off before he could say a word. "Never mind, just get me off this thing."

Roger circled the table, inspecting the metal clasp holing Fayt down. "There's no lock on these things."

Fayt looked over at the computer system that Luther had just left from. "Probably controlled by remote access. I bet there's a way to get these to open by entering the correct command on the system."

Roger pranced up to the computer and scratched his head. "You mean this?"

"Yeah."

"What do I do?"

"Just pull up the subcommands and look for anything related to opening these restraints," Fayt blurted out before thinking.

"Do what with the subcomas?"

Fayt signed. "Subcommands, not subcomas...That's right, you've never used a computer. Err…just try pressing some buttons."

Roger's ears perked at the command. He had wanted to press buttons while on the Silver Fox. He was finally going to get a chance to do what he hadn't been able to before. Smiling mischievously, Roger pounded on the keyboard like a musician playing a piano.

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Gates stood in the middle of the room and racked his brain. He was trying to remember what he had learned at those summer classes. The instructor had only briefly touched on the designs of different ships. Gates recalled that there was suppose to be a defining difference between the doors.

"But what was it?" He closed his eyes, willing the classroom to appear behind his eyelids. He focused on the memory of that particular class, trying to see the notes he had once taken. The imaginary paper formed in his imagination.

"That's it! One door opens on the right side and one on the left side. How was it I remembered which was which? Let's see…I used my bedroom door as reference. My door opened from the right side…my room was a 'safe' spot so the way to the interior is the door that opens from the right."

Gates smiled. He was ready to get moving. He glanced at both doors and moved to the one whose handle was on the right side. He took a deep breath and swung the door open. Hot air immediately hit his face as he met a corridor.

He couldn't help but to sigh in relief as he scanned the hallway. Both ways looked the same so he chose one at random. He hadn't been walking long before he heard commotion ahead.

He slowed his pace and moved silently, trying to get close enough to know what was going on without being noticed.

His breath got caught in his throat when he heard Mirage.

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Mirage felt her heart sink. There was something different about her former enemy she couldn't quite put her finger on…something that she didn't like one bit. She instinctively took a step back. Her gut intuition screamed at her to run. The fighter in her made her hold her ground. The person in her instantly dreaded that her friends, and most importantly Cliff, where in danger.

It wasn't the men that made her unsettled, it was Luther. She knew the men weren't anything to fear. But there was something about Luther's aura that caused her panic.

"Guys, I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Agreed," Maria said, backing Mirage.

Peppita had backed up and now stood right in front of Sashia. "Plan?"

Mirage cleared her throat. "Yeah, come one guys. Time to run."

As much as Mirage hated to run, she had learned long ago to trust her gut instinct.

-Flashback-

Mirage lightly hit her own forehead on the soft ground under her. Why she had been so confident was something that escaped her. The men hadn't looked that strong and yet they had beaten her.

She lifted her head to see a group of Quark members take out the remaining men.

After surveying the area, Cliff moved to Mirage and helped her to her feet. Once up, Mirage tried to stand on her own, but found her left leg unable to support her.

"Whoa there," Cliff remarked, catching her. "Take it easy. We'll need to get that patched up. But first, mind telling me what you think you were doing back there?"

Mirage grunted. "I didn't see the phase cannon. You know as well as I that they didn't stand a chance. It was the cannon that got me."

Cliff shook his head. "Look, I know those guys got you angry. Shoot, they got us all angry with what they did to Zoe, but that's no reason to rush head first into something. Didn't your dad teach you anything?"

Mirage couldn't help but to chuckle lightly. That was the way he always chastised her. But he was right. Something had told her she should have waited before rushing in. She let anger control her and she ignored her instinct.

And if the rest of her crewmates hadn't showed up, it would have cost her her life.

-End Flashback-

Mirage quickly moved to Cliff's side and took some of the contents out of the bag he was carrying. She managed to get a hold of Nel's daggers and Adray's katana. As the group ran briskly down the hall, she distributed the items.

Cliff followed her example and gave Peppita her bangles. This left only Albel's katana and claw. He weaved slightly through the group to find Albel. The look Albel gave him sent chills down his spine.

"Yo," Cliff said handing Albel the bag.

Albel took the bag and did his best to look inside while running. Albel hated, above all things, to run. He felt furious with himself, but he wasn't stupid. He picked up that something wasn't right. As much as he hated to run, he knew that his survival wasn't waiting for him back there.

"Hey," Sashia said, running beside Sophia. "Mind if I hold that for you?" she asked indicating the spear.

Without a word, Sophia smiled and passed the item to her. Sashia smiled back. She carefully maneuvered her body so she could fasten the spear to her back without fear of hitting an ally in the process.

The group ran down twist after twist, finally ending up in a large room. It appeared to be a training room with only one exit, and that was the door they had just come through. Realizing this too late, the group turned almost in unison to see Luther at the door.

He didn't smile or talk as he slowly stepped over the threshold.

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Fayt shot off the table once the metal contracted. He had tried once before, but thanks to Roger's random pounding, the restraints had closed before Fayt could react.

"Okay, Roger. That's enough."

Roger stopped only when Fayt nudged him gently out of the way. Reluctantly taking the seat Luther had been seated in, Fayt sat and quickly began to search the subcommands. He wanted to know exactly what Luther had been doing and why.

After ten minutes had passed, he had found most the answers he wanted – and more. The information he found chilled him to the bone.

Roger looked at Fayt and shadowed his worry. "What did you find out?"

Fayt took a deep breath and looked at Roger. "Okay, I'll try to explain this best I can. When we fought Luther, he took into account that he might not win so he set up a safety net of sorts. He wrote a program that would automatically download his consciousness into the Eternal Sphere if he died." Fayt took a breath as he looked down at Roger. Fayt could tell by the expression on his face that he was confused.

"Do you know what a clone is?" Fayt asked.

Roger shook his head but didn't say a word.

"Okay, how about a duplicate?"

"Yeah. That's a copy of somethin', right?"

"Yes, and a clone is a copy of a living thing. Understand?"

"Yeah."

Fayt nodded. "Well, the Luther we see isn't the real Luther. It's a clone, kind of. And, according to the system, he just downloaded a program into himself. The Inhibitor001." Fayt stopped to take a breath. He was trying to slow his heart beat. "The program is designed to stop all human emotion, causing him to act according to a specific plan and not deviate from it what so ever. It also helps to inhibit some of his physical restrictions causing him to be faster, stronger, and more durable then humanly possible."

"So," Roger responded in a hesitant voice. "You're saying that Luther is superhuman?"

"Well, he has abilities far outreaching any human. But I wouldn't say he was human. When we killed him and his conscious was being downloaded into the program he created, something happened and the transfer wasn't able to be completed. He's still mentally unstable."

"Whoa, you mean he's even loonier then before?"

Fayt nodded. "Come on Roger. We've got to find the others before Luther does."

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Marietta paced circles around the bridge, causing everyone who watched her to go dizzy. She had never felt so helpless before. She didn't even feel this helpless when the battle against the creator was occurring three years ago.

A tear hung suspended in her eye. She didn't know whether to lash out in anger or cry from sorrow, so her tears filled her eyes but never flowed. The mental image of the cruiser blowing up kept playing in her mind.

She blamed herself for letting Gates go. She should have stopped him or done something. She would have felt better if she had gone with him. Not that she would actually feel better since the whole crew had seen the explosion. No, she would have been dead.

"Dead…Gates is dead and it's my fault."

Kevin, who had watched his captain pace the floor for what seemed like an eternity, was startled when she suddenly banged her fist on the console right beside him. Immediately he came out of his chair and stood at attention. "Yes sir!"

Marietta scowled at him. She sighed heavily. "Ideas people! I need ideas and I need them now. How are we going to get to the ship and how are we going to get Mirage and the others out of there?"

At her orders, the crew set to the task of; either looking busy or turning their heads. No one knew what to do, and no one wanted to die.

Then a voice spoke up from the back of the crowd. "Captain. I might have found a way through their defenses. It would take some recalibration of the ships phase cannons, but there's a possibility it will work."

Marietta ran her hand through her hair. "If it is possible, I'm sure we can expect a fight. Is there a way to enhance our defenses? We'll be under fire the moment we try."

"Yes," the engineer at the back responded. "I think so. If you would allow me, I would like to get a crew together and start right away."

Marietta smiled weakly. Her crew had no personal reasons to care about anyone trapped on the ship. They were all her friends and only known by name to her crew. She supposed some of her crew hoped to become famous from this. The crew that saved the heroes. But she just wanted to see her friends alive.

She couldn't let their deaths hang on her. She already had one death she felt guilty about and she didn't need more.

"Okay, get to work."

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To Mirage, the whole scene seemed to move in slow motion. She heard the sounds of everyone around her getting ready for battle. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw small movements, but her attention would not deviate from the man who was slowly approaching the group.

His movements were more like that of a machine. He walked like a man, and moved like a man…but each step he took was perfectly timed. Each stride was precisely measured.

Behind Luther, the seven men followed. They stayed behind him, waiting for orders.

"Mirage," Sashia spoke softly. "I think we need a strategy. That moron is sending off some creepy vibs."

Mirage tried to nod, but her head wouldn't move. "Agreed. We need to find a way around him. Something tells me it would be unwise to engage in a fight with him…even if we do have him out numbered."

Luther stopped when he was halfway between the door and the back wall. He pointed a finger out. "You know what to do."

At his orders, the men spread out and came at them.

As if they all shared the same thoughts, the group waited for the enemy to come for them. They had formed a line – shoulder to shoulder – and would stick together until forced apart.

Before she could blink, Mirage found herself jabbing the gut of one of the men. He doubled over and staggered back a step before standing straight and coming back at her. He threw a punch at her face, which she easy dodged. She responded with a kick, but missed.

This time the enemy was more flexible and durable. She didn't remember the fight being this tough before. He threw another punch. She dodged but was caught off guard when he immediately followed with another. Contact was made to her left kidney.

She staggered back. She was only in mild pain. His punch felt like a brick had hit her. She had never taken a punch like that, not even when training in the dojo with other Klausians. She forced herself to forget the pain. Right now she had a fight to win.

The man went at her again, only to fall in mid stride. She watched the man fall and smiled to see Cliff. He had both hands interlocked and positioned toward his midriff. He winked quickly before he turned back to the fight.

Mirage looked down at the man who lay on the floor. By now, the enemies from earlier had disappeared. This one however, was rising on his elbows. This time around, the enemy was not going to be defeated as effortlessly as before.

She kicked him in the center of his back, forcing him to fall back to the ground. Once again, he started to rise. He reminded her of a puppet. Something told her that he would continue to rise no matter what.

"Mirage!" Sashia yelled as she pulled her spear back. "We need a new plan. These guys won't stay down!"

Albel glided between the two. He had just cut down the same man for the third time and frustration was setting in. "Why won't you die maggot?"

Mirage turned to survey her surroundings. They outnumbered the men by one. If Luther joined the fight then the numbers would be even. Somehow, she was glad but unsettled that all he did was watch.

Sophia dodged an attack, and jumped back; giving Adray the chance to use his katana. Adrenaline rushed through her as she dodged everything thrown at her. She had no weapon and was doing her best to get a kick or hit in when she could. That was, without getting hurt in the process.

She hadn't kept up with where she was going. Her mind was set on avoiding injury. Everything stopped when she did. Her thoughts and movements ended when she felt something grab a hold of both her arms.

She let out a yelp as the grip tightened. She flung herself back, trying to knock her adversary off, but it was no good. She pulled away, only to be taken back in. Finally giving into fear, she bent her head back and came face to face with Luther.

Sashia looked up just in time to see Sophia struggle with Luther. She jumped forward, trying to figure what her best course of action would be. It was just when she was to Luther's left that she could see the door behind him.

She smiled and nodded, keeping her eyes set on the door. "Mirage! Looks like it's time for a distraction…Keen-Hood Style!"

Mirage jerked her head up, her eyes full of hope as she scanned the room. She could hardly believe what she was hearing. If Sashia's word were true then somewhere she would see…yes, there at the door. There was hope.

Mirage nodded at Sashia. "Get ready guys!" she yelled to the group.

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Fayt and Roger ran aimlessly through hall after hall. Frustration and anticipation built in Fayt's gut. He didn't care what happened, he just wished he would either find something to help or run into an enemy.

Anything was better then knowing that people he cared about were in trouble. He felt angry at himself for being so helpless. He needed to find them. He needed to help.

Instead, he found the ships control room. He looked around, hoping that something would come to him. An action of any kind would be welcomed. He was dangerously on the edge of panic and needed a control.

He moved to the first terminal and began entering command after command. He cursed himself for spending so much time on Elicoor. His home for the last three years had caused him to become rusty when it came to technology.

Beside him, Roger followed suite and began typing away again – only at a much slower pace. Then the screen in front of Roger blinked.

Fayt looked up, wondering what he had done this time. Then Marietta appeared.

"Fayt? Fayt! Is that you? I mean really you?"

Fayt opened his mouth to talk, but his words wouldn't follow his commands. He swallowed, trying to open his clenched throat.

"Yeah, it's me. Marietta, where are you?"

"Not that far from your location. We're about to try a prototype out. We think we can get through the shields. Do you think you can disable the security system?"

"Pretty sure."

"Good." Marietta shook her head lightly. "Either that or open a non-secure channel. We might be able to take control from here."

"You can do that?" asked Roger.

"Yeah, we can. I'll let you in on a little secret. We only double as a trading corporation."

Fayt forced a smile. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get to it."

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Blue Thoughts: YAY, I finally finished this 'rather shorter then the last' chapter. I know it probably sucks…It took me too long to get it out. But on the bright side, I answered the question about Luther so I hope that makes up for it.

Blue Reviews:

IceBlueWings: Yes, even the strongest of us need someone…Mirage included. Here's a list of those with the restraining bands and those without. With: Sophia, Maria, Peppita, Nel, Adray, and Sashia. Without: Mirage, Cliff, Roger, Fayt, Albel, and Gates. Those with the bands can not use symbology, but they can use battle skills (with the exception of Sashia who has very limited symbology abilities because the bands aren't fully effective on her). Hope that helps.

Macky: So glad you enjoy it. Thank you so much. I try and sometimes get a little scared that I'm not writing good enough to keep an audience. Its people like you that keep me going.

BlueTrillium: I love my 'teddy bear' friends. And yes GEEKS RULE! Well, Luther and a deal with the devil…you know some places I read on line about SO3 call him Lucifer. I'm trying to metaphorically give him the image of going from god to demon. And the binary quote: I saw a shirt with that and laughed so hard. I told mom (just joking) Well, if I wear that I'll be able to tell the smart people from the not-so-smart people. And my brother says: Yeah, all the smart people will be laughing at you. Hehehehe. (I was joking at that and am in no way calling anyone dumb) Gates' still has a role to play in this…I think you can probably draw some good theories from this chapter (but I just can't have him save them all – he's a support character, even if he is uber-great!)

dark-pheonix1: Geek Powah…oh yeah. Well, the big showdown has just started. I liked Cliff from the first time I saw him in the game. He just automatically hit me as the 'teddy bear' type. Once again, sorry for the long wait. That darn muse has some splanin' to do when I find it!

Guardian Of Yami: Thank you, I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint too much. Fayt…I'm working on that…I think if things go the way they are then he'll end up with someone. Still haven't figured that out all the way yet. YAY for CliffXMirage!

darkladyxion959: Yes, reunited and it feels so good (Okay, I'm not mentally stable-hehehe). About Nel and Albel…I was thinking about doing a sequel after this is over to focus on the Nel and Albel parts. Glad you liked the Shake-rattle-'n roll. I figured that after so much time together the two would have some combo moves and since the game didn't give any, I made up my own. I do hope you are happy, I finally answered the question about Luther…hope I did a good job at explaining that. And yes…I OWN CHILE! Hehehe, and from now on you may all call me 'Mistress Blue of Chile, super uber-cool chick!'

Alora Skye: I'm so glad everyone's in character. I'm trying so hard. With this chapter I couldn't help but to make Roger into a child ready to play even when in danger type. He's cute…sometimes XD

Silver Thorns: Sashia and Gates…yes, I'm happy with the way they are coming along. It's not that easy to add your own characters…well not as easy as I thought it would be. And I really have seen Luther referred to as Lucifer online. It's freaky. Hehehe, I couldn't stop writing just like you can't…I guess it's a common bond we share…either that or we both need therapy XD