"Yuan?" Colette shook her head. "Nope, no idea," she said apologetically. "Sorry." Botta bit his lip.

It was getting to be quite late, and Yuan had not returned from wherever he had gone. Botta was getting nervous, afraid his comrade had had some misfortune befall him. A strong yet gentle hand rested on his shoulder. "Yuan will be fine," said Kratos. "He can take care of himself, probably better than you could. He is an angel, after all. Perhaps his longevity will wane due to choices of his own, but his power will not decrease, at any rate. I'm sure he knows exactly what he's doing."

Yuan had no idea what was going on. Even with his eyes squeezed shut, his head spun and swam dizzyingly. He began to feel sick to his stomach. When he dared to open his eyes, he remembered not what he saw, but whatever it was, it made him even more nauseous. Martel would then quickly brush her fingers over his eyes and he gladly obliged to close them. "Is this it?" whispered Martel.

A boom like that of thunder caused Yuan to open his eyes. All round him was a shimmering yellow disturbance, like the ripples in the air from extreme heat. The shimmering came into focus and appeared to retreat into their bodies. Yuan found himself sitting on a green hillside in the middle of the day, cool grass beneath him, with Martel clinging to his back. "Hmmm," she said.

"Where are we?" asked Yuan. From where he sat, he could see a vast valley stretched out before him, a river of vegetation between banks of snow-capped rock. Martel examined the land. "I don't know," she said at last. "It's pretty, though." Yuan sighed and rubbed his forehead. "That's not going to help get us home," he muttered. Martel stood up and stretched. "Well, I know that," she said, "but, well, if I do it again, it will most likely come out a lot smoother, less uncomfortable, and a lot more accurate. That spell I had to make was made in haste, and the field generated was somewhat unstable. I was fortunate to land us here. I feared that we might wind up in the wrong dimension, or a shifted time scale, but, well, I can tell it didn't, so that's really all that matters, right?"

Yuan shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so," he said. "All right then, come back here," she instructed. Yuan stood up and returned to her. "Let's do it right this time, okay?" he asked. She smiled. "Of course!" she replied. "I might not get the exact location, but I'm pretty sure I know where the island is. If we don't land in the city, well, we can figure it out from there. Okay. So. Ready?" Yuan nodded.

Martel sighed, closed her eyes, and let herself connect to the mana of the land. She began the spell again, and this time, unhurried, she pronounced the words clearly and correctly, and manipulated the mana with greater precision than before. She finished the spell, and opened her eyes. Suddenly a spherical blue globe surrounded them, tinting the world in hues of indigo and azure. Martel bent her head in thought. The outside world disappeared, and for a moment they saw nothing but black around them. A bright yellow star blazed far off in the distance, and then swirls of color began to rush past them. Yuan saw strange, beautiful things, other worlds, and things he never would have imagined. "Where are we?" asked Yuan, whispering for no apparent reason. "It's the transfer area," she explained. "It's, ah, well, here we are."

The world returned, and the blue globe dissolved. Yuan glanced around at the wet buildings in the dark. "I think I know where we are," he said with a smile. "Let's go!"

It was just before morning. Moonlight spilled into the room, giving everything inside a cool glow. For a moment Presea sat in bed, confused. Regal stood knelt next to her, looking at her compassionately. It was only then that she realized she was crying.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently. Presea opened her mouth to say something, but she had nothing to say. She knew not why she had suddenly woken up, nor why she was crying. "You were calling for your mother," said Regal softly, as if reading her mind. Presea's face scrunched up. "Mommy," she whispered, and fresh tears began to flow. She closed her eyes and wept. Regal's large arms wrapped around her. She gripped them tightly and pressed her face into his chest. Regal kissed her forehead and stroked her hair, whispering reassuring words into her ear. It was not the same as having her father, but still, she was grateful to have Regal. He was really the only father figure she had left, and while it was not as good as the real thing, it was a great comfort to her.

After a few minutes she calmed down and rubbed her eyes. Regal looked at her face. "I am sorry for your losses," he said, "and while I advise you not to hold on to your grief, I, nor the others, hold anything against you for being affected by it. It only means you have the capacity to care and have love for others. Now, I know I can't do much for you, but I will do what I can. Is there anything I can do, to help?" Presea nodded, and whispered in his ear. Regal smiled and nodded. "That much I can do," he said.

Regal took Presea downstairs. "Where is everyone?" whispered Presea. "Sleeping," he replied. "It will be morning in an hour or so, though." Presea tilted her head, trying to recall the events leading to her sleep. "Why were you with me and not Genis?" she asked as Regal set her down in a chair in the kitchen. Regal put on an apron and opened a few drawers. "Well, it seems, contrary to what he said, Zelos allowed you some liquor," he said while searching for items, "and you fell asleep at the club. Genis dozed off too, as well as a couple of others, so we decided to get going. When we got home, Genis didn't even bother to change. He just laid down on a couch in the living room and fell back asleep. I took you upstairs, laid you in bed, and sat down. I didn't realize my fatigue until that moment when I hit the chair. I fell asleep almost instantly. So when you woke up and called for your mother, I was the only one who heard, since I was the only one near enough. You didn't really shout it. It was more of a...call, or something like that. A bit loud, but not loud enough for anyone outside of the room to hear." Regal glanced back at her to see her nod slowly.

He returned to the countertop and began mixing ingredients. There was a long silence, until Regal broke it with an unexpected question. "Genis seems quite old, doesn't he?" he said. Presea's head snapped up from its resting place in her hands. "Ah, yeah, I suppose," she said, wondering what prompted him to say a thing like that. "I would venture to say it's because he is mature," Regal added. "More mature than a lot of people much older than he is. But there is still a good amount of youth and fun loving attitude left in him, so that he's not entirely cynical." He cast a sidelong look at her while stirring a mixture in a bowl. "Where are you going with this?" she asked slowly. Regal let the question hang a moment before answering it.

"Only where you want and allow it to go," he said at last. "I like the boy. I admire him." He paused, then continued. "Perhaps, perhaps I just want to say, that you have made a good choice. You could do a lot worse than him. And," he added, smiling at her, "if it is not too bold to say, there is not much better he could do. Begging your pardon, of course." Presea smiled warmly. "Thank you, Regal," she said. Regal smiled again. "No problem," he said, and turned on the stove.

Yuan bent over double, trying to catch his breath. Martel trotted up alongside him, and he brought up his head to take a look around. "Are you certain you know where we are?" asked Martel doubtfully. Yuan looked at her, squinting one eye in the sunlight radiating from behind her and panting. "I was never certain," he replied, standing erect.

Yuan looked around again. "If I remember correctly," he said, "I said I thought I knew where we were. Not once did I say I was certain. In fact, I haven't seen an absolutely, positively familiar sight since we arrived in this city. It all looks somewhat familiar, but that could just be because the architecture is all the same!" He sighed and hung his head. "I hate to admit it, but we're lost. We don't know where we are, and we don't have a clue as to where our city is."

Martel was silent, her eyes cast downwards. Yuan looked up and lifted an eyebrow. A man was coming towards them from behind Martel. Yuan stepped in front of Martel, positioning himself between the two of them. "May I help you?" asked Yuan warily when the man was close. The man said something in Japanese, narrowed his eyes, and waited. Yuan sighed, wishing Sheena was with them. "Ah, I'm sorry, but I don't speak your language," said Yuan helplessly. The man said something else angrily, and put out his hand. "I don't understand," said Yuan. The man cursed, and drew a pistol from inside his leather jacket. He pulled back the top part and let it snap back into place. He pointed it at Yuan's head, repeated what he said, and stuck out his palm again. "I think he wants money," said Martel. "You think?" said Yuan.

Yuan had no money to give, and that was the worst thing he thought possible. The crook would likely leave them alone if he handed over some cash, but this hotheaded thief would probably get even angrier at the fact that they had no money and would shoot them. Yuan would have to bluff it. He raised his hands in peace, and slowly reached for his back pocket, remembering all the times he had seen Earthlings do it. There was no cash in the wallet he carried, but if he was right, it wouldn't matter.

Yuan drew out the wallet and slowly handed it over to the man, who snatched it away.

Yuan was right.

For a split second, the man glanced down to look at the wallet, for reasons unknown, and that proved to be his undoing. Using a technique the Arbiter had once shown him, Yuan grabbed the man's wrist, squeezed the pressure point, and wrenched the gun from his grip, all before the man had time to react. Yuan pointed the barrel at the man's head, and extended his hand with a grim smile. Terrified, the man handed the wallet back. Yuan took it and pointed in the direction the robber had come from. "Go," said Yuan grimly. The man didn't hesitate for a moment before sprinting off in the direction he came. Yuan sighed, and looked at the gun. "What should I do with this?" he asked Martel, and himself.

"I would suggest you keep it," she said. "It would be far worse to leave it somewhere. Well, actually, you could destroy it..." Yuan considered it briefly before shaking his head. "Nah, too dangerous," he said. "I guess I'll keep it. But it could be ready to fire. Now, one of these buttons here probably activates a safety measure, or ejects the ammunition, or something..." He gingerly laid a finger on one of the buttons, before pressing down. There was a click, and the magazine came out into Yuan's hand. "I hope there's no, uh, bullets left inside," he said, momentarily forgetting the word. "Well, I guess there's only one way to find out..." He pointed the gun at a trashbag. "Don't!" exclaimed Martel, but it was too late. Yuan squeezed the trigger.

The gun fired, a deafeningly loud noise. Yuan squeezed the trigger several more times, for good measure. When he was satisfied, he hid both the weapon and the ammo in a fold of his cloak. "Well, I suppose we should find out if this is our city first," said Martel, "before we decide what to do next." Yuan nodded. "I'll take a quick survey," he said. "Don't let anyone see you," warned Martel. "I won't," he reassured her.

He lifted himself into the air and flew up to the top of a nearby skyscraper. From the top he could see the entire city. Yuan remembered a certain building, very tall and impressive, that he had seen in the city in which he lived. It would be impossible to miss. Yuan scanned the skyline, but try as he might, there was no building like the one he had seen in his city. He flew back down and told Martel. "Well," she said, "I can sense the intense population of humans in cities within a certain area. We could go from city to city until we find yours." Yuan shrugged. "Sounds like a plan," he said. "Let's start looking!"

Martel came over and wrapped her arms around Yuan. She closed her eyes, and with a flash of a thought, a blue light enveloped them, and they disappeared.

"That was them?" said the girl. "That was one of them," said the man over the radio. "The man was one of the ones we had learned of. This is the first we've seen of this woman." The girl fell silent, thinking. "Well, what do you suggest we do?" she said at last. There was the sound of rustling papers over the comm.

"Reports indicate the group lives in Tokyo," the man said. He coughed, and more papers rustled. "Go there, and find out what you can. It's a large area, but from what we've learned, they all live in one place, and it's somewhere large and seemingly well known. If we find out anything more, we'll let you know. Rick out." The man signed off, and the radio was quiet.

The girl stood and stretched. "Well, you heard him, Violet," she said to herself. "You've got yourself some supers to find, and sitting around here isn't going to get things done any faster." With that, she leapt off the roof she had been on, and ran off to find passage to Tokyo.

The day of March 17 was quite an eventful one, at least for those in the house of Lloyd and Sheena Irving (since it was theirs, legally). Lloyd got to begin his day to the sounds of vomiting. Lloyd yawned and rubbed his eyes. Stretching, he sat up and looked at the space his wife usually occupied. "Sheena?" he called.

It had been about a month since the night at the club, and since they had so much fun, they had planned another visit. Unless, of course, something went wrong. Lloyd sighed, fearing Sheena's sickness would ruin their evening. He got out of bed and went into the bathroom.

Sheena sat disheveled on the floor, her head resting on the toilet seat. She moaned and stood up shakily. Her eyes were tired as she lurched into Lloyd's arms. She reached out a hand and found the knob to flush the toilet, but her hand slipped. She groaned with frustration and nausea. Lloyd frowned sympathetically and pressed the lever. "Thanks, Lloyd," she said into his chest. "Sorry if this ruins our plans." "Well, it's not like you can help it," he assured her. "Thank you," she said, not moving. "But the worst part is, I'm so hungry...but if I eat, I know I'll puke again..."

Lloyd took her head in his hand and moved it back so he could see her face. He brushed her silky, deep violet hair out of her eyes and smiled. Her eyes were red, but Lloyd couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked. "Well, you look really good," said Lloyd with a lop-sided smile. "In fact, you look just like an angel. You're positively glow...ing..."

The smile slipped from his face and plunged downward, dragging his whole face with it. "Oh, man," he whispered, the heavy realization sinking in. Sheena frowned. "What is it?" she asked. Lloyd's head dropped and shook back and forth. "Oh man oh man oh man," he said. "I don't think I'm ready for this yet..." Sheena still didn't get it. "What?" she asked. "What do you mean oh." It hit her in mid-sentence. In spite of her feeling so bad, she couldn't help but start smiling. "Wow," she whispered, her hands going to her cheeks. "Wow...so...this is...what it feels like..." Glee built up within her and exploded. "Oh Lloyd!" she squealed, throwing her arms around her husband. "I'm so happy!"

Lloyd looked at her in shock. "Y-you're happy about this!" he asked, dumbstruck. Sheena nodded, still smiling. "Of course!" she said. "What's not to be happy about? It's a wonderful thing!" "But, but," Lloyd fumbled. "Besides," continued Sheena, "there's a giant family right here in this house that would be more than happy to help us out!" Lloyd nodded and stuck his upward pointed finger in the air. "First, let's make sure," he said. "I don't want to have to go through all this if you're not pregnant." "Of course," said Sheena. "To the doctor it is."

"Yippee!" shrieked Sheena. "I'm pregnant!" Lloyd just shook his head. "Let's just...go home," he muttered. The doctor laughed.

Soon after a small celebration party, the whole "family", which now included Martel, drifted off to sleep, much earlier than usual. Peacefully, strewn about the house, they dreamt of pleasant things, of happy times and beautiful places. For a while, at least.

Zelos, sleeping on a couch in the living room, woke to the sound of something scratching at the front door. He sat up, a bit dazed, and drew his sword drunkenly. "Who there?" he whispered. The scratching stopped, and there was nothing for a few seconds. Zelos stared at the door, wondering if he had really heard anything.

Suddenly a blue beam of light appeared where the lock used to be, and the door swung open. The Arbiter stepped through, holding a glowing energy sword. Zelos' grip relaxed on his sword. "Arbiter?" he asked sleepily. "Whass goin' on?"

"There's no time to explain," he said shortly. "We must get everyone out of the house, now!" He flipped a light switch. "Awake!" he bellowed. "Hurry! You must get out now!" The others all woke instantly, nearly forgotten battle alertness heightening their senses. "Go, go, go!" yelled the Arbiter.

Everyone grabbed a nearby weapon and left the house through the nearest exit. They met in the backyard. "What's going on?" asked Presea of the Arbiter. "My foes have found me," he said gravely, "and are intending to capture you all and use you as bargaining pieces. We must flee. There is little chance we could defeat the task force they have sent."

"Whatever chance we have," said Kratos, "may be the chance we have to take." "Why?" asked Raine. As if to answer her question, the lights in the house suddenly turned on all at once. The sound of heavy feet could be heard tramping in the yard not far from them. Without a word, they sprinted, taking their chances on having their backs turned. The owners of the heavy feet gave chase, their boots thumping on the soft turf.

The Symphonians, along with the Arbiter, soon ran into the tall fence at the edge of their property. There they spent precious seconds leaping over it. The Arbiter covered them until they were all over, before jumping over himself. Just as he landed on the other side, silenced guns fired at the fence, and wood splintered as bullets smacked into the dense trees encroaching the Symphonians' property. The Arbiter ran behind his friends, hoping those trees would afford them enough protection.

What was it about dark forests? What, really, made them so foreboding and full of mystery, intrigue, and horror? Was it the black of night so amplified by the close-pressing trees so that you could not see what was around you? Was it the unidentifiable noises that drifted through the air? Questions like these floated up to Raine's mind as she ran with the others into the dense wood. She knew best of all what kinds of things would lurk in areas like these, and she was pretty sure that there was nothing to be feared of them except what strangers entered into them. That knowledge only made her inexplicable terror just that: inexplicable.

She saw Kratos halt and hold up his hand. They all came to a stop and strained to listen over their own labored breathing and pounding hearts. They stood listening a good while, just to make sure they had indeed lost their pursuers. Kratos sighed. "Let's go," he whispered.

Things happened so fast, Raine wasn't even sure what had happened. First, there was a click as someone cocked a gun behind them. Then, everyone turned to look at once, just in time to see a dark figure fall to the ground with a heavy thump, and then a high-pitched alarm wailed from the place where the figure had fallen. Everyone cringed noticeably at the sound. Their position was given away, and they knew it. Just as they were about to start running again, something caught Kratos by the wrist and began pulling him to the left. "This way," whispered a girl's voice. Kratos let himself follow the invisible hand guide him, and at a beckon from the force leading him, broke out into a run.

The others had no choice but to follow him. If someone was going to guide them, that was great. They could only hope it was not to their doom. For some reason, Kratos seemed to trust it, and everyone else trusted Kratos, so...

Whoever was leading seemed to be doing a good job: there were no more sounds of anyone following them, and the woods were thinning. Soon they emerged on the far side of the patch of trees, and were greeted by the sight of a sleek, black jet sitting in a clearing on the crown of a hill. The group hesitated.

"I think it would be better to make an informed decision, wouldn't you say?" Zelos said. Raine nodded. "I agree," she said. "We're not going any further until we know who you are and what you want." "Fair enough," said the girl's voice again. At that moment a slim girl with long black hair and an odd costume appeared out of thin air. "What do you want to know?" she asked, a somewhat smug smile turning her lips.

"Well, who you are, for starters," Zelos said. "I never date--uh, used to date--anyone without a little background info. So, what's your name, what do you do, and why are you wearing that, ah, unique outfit?" The girl raised an eyebrow. "For now, you can call me Aegis," she said. "If it turns out well, well, then perhaps you can know my real name. In case you haven't guessed, I'm a super, as is all of my family. I wear this outfit because it hides my secret identity." The group absorbed this with less disbelief than she expected.

"You don't think it's absurd?" she asked. "Well, what's a super?" asked Lloyd. "You know, a superhero," she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "What's that?" he asked, wrinkling his nose. She sighed. "You know, people with superpowers, powers that humans don't have," she said. "Watch." She extended a hand and a blue-violet semitransparent orb appeared around her. At the same time she disappeared. "Try to hit me," she said, her voice muffled. Kratos shrugged and struck the field with his sword. The barrier flashed and his sword rang as it was flung back from the shield. The field disappeared and she reappeared. "Ahhh, well the costume makes sense now," said Raine. "If you have powers like that, then your foes would likely have powers as well...or they might not. If you have a secret, by which I assume you mean normal, identity, then it would be easy to threaten you and your loved ones if they knew who you were."

"Exactly," said Aegis. "I get it!" exclaimed Lloyd. The girl sighed again. "Geez, are you guys from another world or something?" she asked in frustration. "Actually, yes," said Kratos. There was a brief moment of silence, after which Aegis asked, "You're kidding, right?" Kratos merely looked back at her. "Does something in my expression indicate that possibility?" he said. Her face fell, and she looked as if she was bored beyond imagining. "I should have known better than to ask," she muttered. "Well, anything's possible. Anyways, what we were out here for is that we got wind of the possibility of some supers living out here, supers the American government had no record of. So they dispatched my family and I to check it out. So, here we are, and if you'll come with us, I'm sure you'll find out a lot of interesting stuff. And hey, it beats fighting those dudes back there. Your choice, though."

No sooner had her lips stopped moving than a hail of bullets opened up on them. The girl gasped and quickly put up a barrier around them. "Decide now!" she barked. "Let's go," said Kratos immediately. "We've run out of options." They all nodded. "I've got to let it down," said Aegis. "When I do, you've got to run for the plane, got it?" They nodded. "All right," she said. "On three-one, two...three!" She let down the shield around them and instantly caused another one to appear between them and the source of the bullets. The group ran for the plane, which extended a ramp to meet them. Zelos stopped before he got there, noticing their guide had been left behind. He turned around and headed back for her. "Zelos!" cried Colette. He looked back, his eyes betraying no intention of stopping. "Be careful," she said. He nodded, and sprinted over to Aegis.

Pulling a pair of nine-millimeter handguns out of hidden holsters, Zelos cocked them both and came up to the slowly retreating Aegis. "Let's go!" he shouted. "They're gonna flank us quick!" With that she nodded and started to back up faster, letting down her shield and putting one up around herself. "Go!" shouted Zelos, moving around her. The shooters obviously knew they weren't going to break the shield, which must mean that they were distracting them. "Go!" he shouted again. "Can't you see they're up to something! Drop the damn shield and run!" Zelos raised his pistols and returned fire into the trees. He dodged and ducked as he retreated to the aircraft. On the way back he had the satisfaction of hearing several times the alarm he had heard earlier when their attacker in the woods had crumpled over. Finally he scurried up the ramp as the plane lifted into the air.Zelos peered down out a window to see a huge plume of fire rise up beneath them. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Wait," he said after a second, "why didn't they attach the bomb to the plane?"

"Probably because they couldn't," said a new voice. Zelos and his turned around to see a gray-haired man in a matching gray suit. He had deep creases in his face, a large nose, sunken eyes, but somehow seemed quite cheerful despite his weary visage. All of them stood in a small steel gray room, its only exits beneath them and behind the old man." This plane is specially designed to be, well, stick-proof," said the older man. "It's similar to Teflon, but much better. It also helps reflect any damage it might receive from impacts, like from bullets and missiles." He extended a hand to Zelos. "My name is Rick Dickers," said the gray-haired man. "Good to meet you. May I ask the names of our guests?"

"Uhhhh," Zelos said uncertainly, with a glance towards Kratos, who nodded. "Okay. My name is Zelos Wilder, magic swordsman. Behind me we have our mana master and chef Genis Sage and his gorgeous, intelligent sister Raine Bryant, wife of martial artist Regal Bryant. Next is Lloyd Irving, dual sword wielding tactician and husband to the lovely Sheena Irving, a guardian card user and mother-to-be. After that we have my wife, the sweet Colette Wilder, chakram-throwing expert. Then we have the imposing swordsman Kratos Aurion, father of our very own Lloyd Irving. We've also got double-bladed sword wielder Yuan and his wife Martel, and our good friend Botta, heavy sword extraordinaire. Oh, and how could I forget the oh-so-cute Presea Combatir, a champion of the ax. Last, but certainly not least, the mysterious Arbiter, an alien warrior and master of the mind. Well, I think that's everyone. Sorry if I embellished too much, but it's in my nature. So, you know who we are, why don't you give us a little info?"

Rick nodded. "Certainly," he said. "I apologize, but for obvious reasons I took a lie detector test of all of you while Zelos was speaking. As you know, it was negative for lies. Perhaps now that our friends backstage see that you're open about yourselves, they'll open up about themselves. Won't you?" He directed the last two words behind him, into the darkened door behind him. "Well, come on in," called a voice from behind it. Rick smiled. "Good," he said to them, and led the way back.

They were led into a large room that took up most of the plane. It consisted of the cockpit and tactical stations. Liquid crystal displays stood about the room and hung on the walls. Raine paid close attention as their group was introduced to their hosts. She listened intently as Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl, the Dash, Aegis, and Frozone introduced themselves and explained their powers. Raine wished she had a notebook.

Zelos was interested at first, too, but soon they began talking about technical things, and then it turned into another session of world history as Raine, once again, started to explain the process of how they had gotten to where they were now. He dozed off for a while, and woke up to find Raine almost at the end of her tale.

Zelos got up, stretched, and glanced quickly at the group before wandering off to look at stuff. He came up behind the pilot, who, although she was flying the plane, listened attentively as well through an intraplane comm channel directed into her headset. Zelos looked over the complex controls and sighed. He would like to learn how to fly one of these badboys, but so many things to know...

Zelos spied something interesting a few feet away, next to the flight controls. He moved closer to it and was soon rewarded with an unobstructed view of what hung on the wall. "Whoa," whispered Zelos, running his finger over it. There, mounted on the wall, was a gun Zelos had seen in action only once before. It was a gunmetal gray, top loading pump-action shotgun with a black, heavy plastic stock. He noticed that the stock was hollow; at least a dozen red shells were slotted into the underside.

The pretty, white-haired pilot saw him eyeing the gun and smiled. "It's for emergency situations only," she said in a slightly seductive, accented voice. "We keep it loaded at all times, however. The safety is on, so as long as you don't press any switches, you're welcome to inspect it." Zelos looked at her and then looked back. After a moment, he cautiously took the gun and gently slid it out of the clip on the wall. He set it in a firing position and aimed it at the wall. In the dim light, he could see the sights glow faintly. "It's a ten gauge," said the pilot. "What's that mean?" Zelos asked. The pilot smiled. "The size of the barrel," she explained. "It means it's powerful enough to blow just about anyone off their feet." Zelos made a low whistle, and unconsciously thumbed the safety off.

Zelos noticed a flashing red indicator on the pilot's board. "What's-" he began.

He didn't finish his sentence. A green flash of light flooded the room and the pilot whirled to face the confused passengers. "Enemy contacts!" she said tersely. Turning back to her controls, she added, "They've taken Zelos."

Lloyd jumped to his feet. "What!" he exclaimed. "How!" The pilot shook her head. "Some sort of transporter," she said. "I don't think they'll harm him, but we've got to keep those craft in our sights or we'll lose him. He's got to be on one of them."

"How many are there?" asked Rick. "Three," replied the pilot. Rick nodded. "Stay on their tails," he said. "We'll think of something."

For a few moments Zelos could not feel his body at all, and he wondered where he was. Then he felt his body phase into existence quickly, from a wisp of gas to a solid form. Zelos took one fast look at his surroundings, made a few very fast observances, assumptions, and deductions, and squeezed the trigger of the gun he still held in his hand.

The shell tore through two masked beings, and although it had been too dark to see them on the ground, Zelos knew it was the same ones who had attacked them earlier. This time, however, he was ready for them. He pumped the slide back and then forward again, ejecting the empty shell and loading a fresh one into the pipe.

He took a second to aim and fired again, causing another pair of guards to stagger and fall to the deck. By this time it had dawned on some of the kidnappers what was going on, and several grabbed SMGs from resting places. Zelos caught one in the chest as he lunged for a gun, pumped and blew another back as it cocked its gun, and pumped once more before one of them began to open fire. Zelos rolled out of the way and squeezed off a shot at the one with its gun trained on him. The guard fell, suit alarm wailing.

Zelos got to his feet and pumped the gun again. He found he was in a small ten by ten foot room, with a door directly ahead of him. Behind him he saw a machine, no doubt the one that snatched him from his plane. Gun racks lined the walls, and oddly convoluted boxes were mounted beneath these. He guessed there were probably more enemies in the room beyond. It was amazing that no one else had come back here.

Carefully, he slunk over to the door, positioned himself on the opposite side of the door from the knob, and placed his hand over it. He took a deep breath, and twisted the knob and flung the door open. Or at least, he tried to. The knob wouldn't turn. Zelos thought he understood the situation before; he was beginning to change those perceptions.

An idea dawned on him. He opened one of the boxes on a hunch and was rewarded according to his hope. Inside the box was foam packing containing five long cylinders, each with a square attachment on top stuck through with a pin on a ring. Grenades. Zelos smiled. He had seen enough to know what they did and how they worked.

He took one from the packing and walked back over to the door. Zelos jammed the cylinder between the knob and the doorframe. He slipped his finger into the ring and jerked on it. The pin slid out smoothly and a red light glowed on the square attachment. Zelos ran as far away as he could, turned around, squatted down and covered his ears.

As he watched, the grenade detonated, blowing the door off its hinges. Zelos rushed through the smoke filled doorway and found one enemy in front of him, which he quickly dispatched. He took a good look around and found that his second suspicion had been correct; there was nothing beyond this door except for the cockpit and the pilot. Whom he had just killed. Whom he needed to fly the plane. Zelos rubbed his temples.

Just then a crackling noise came from the controls. "Zelos?" called a familiar voice. "This is the Arbiter. Don't try to respond, just listen, there's no time. In front of you there should be a control yoke, shaped in a semicircle. This flies the plane. To move up, pull back on the yoke. To go down, push on it. To go right, pull right, and to go left, pull left. Soon the other planes will realize what's happened and will shoot you down. If you absolutely must bail out, you'll have to leave via the transporter you came in on. To transport yourself to the ground, choose the coordinates on the map by moving the lines on it with the two switches. You'll know which ones I mean. To activate the portal, press the large green button. Move into the transporter and you will appear on the ground in a second or two. Do all that as fast as you can, because you will soon move out of the transporter's range and will have to start over." Static hissed for a moment as Zelos settled into the pilot's seat. "Zelos," came the Arbiter's voice again, "you are moving too fast for us to catch up without drawing suspicion. This means we can't help you except by talking. Your best bet would be to try to shoot down the other planes before they understand what the situation is. Locate the glowing blue switch on your left, assuming you're in the pilot's chair."

Zelos found it and waited for the Arbiter to continue. "If you flip that switch, it will turn on your targeting screen," he explained. Zelos flipped the switch, and a deep indigo hue slid down the viewscreen until it coated the whole of the screen. The two planes in front of him were flares of red and orange on the midnight background. Zelos did his best to try and keep his plane steady. More static, then, "Now, the plane recognizes friendly craft and won't let you get a lock on them. To disable this, look up and follow my instructions. You should see a series of covered switches. To enable friendly fire, flip open the cover and press the switch of each switch I tell you, in order. Ready?" Zelos nodded to no one in particular, and poised his finger over the switches. Following the Arbiter's prompts, Zelos opened the covers and pressed the switches as the Arbiter called them out. Before giving him the last prompt between two switches, the Arbiter warned, "Once you have disabled this safety, an alarm will immediately be broadcast to all friendly aircraft. You'll have to act quickly to catch them as they attempt to override their securities. Since yours will already be off, you'll have a few precious seconds to squeeze the left trigger on the yoke and select a target, and then squeeze the right and fire a homing missile. Get in position now. Alright, press the one that looks like two triangles with points touching. Then press the last one. That's all I can provide for now, Zelos. The next few minutes will be up to you."

The radio fell silent, and Zelos swallowed. His finger hovered below the final switch, glowing and eagerly asking to be pushed. He looked straight at the planes ahead, grabbed the yoke, and took a deep breath. He moved his finger straight up and depressed the button. He squeezed the left trigger as his right hand came down to the yoke. A yellow triangle appeared around the left plane. It quickly shrunk, turned red and began to flash rapidly. Zelos squeezed the right trigger and the plane shook as a rocket, glaringly white on the infrared screen, launched forth from the underside of the plane and obliterated the plane. The plane on the right began to swerve as Zelos squeezed the left trigger again and got a lock on the plane. The plane came straight at him and opened fire with twin autocannons. Zelos pulled the plane into a tight roll as he launched a second missile. It dropped away and streaked away behind his field of vision, tracking its target. Zelos recovered from the barrel roll and turned to get a better view of the enemy plane.

Zelos saw the plane duck and roll frantically to avoid the incoming missile. Almost as an afterthought, a last-ditch effort, it deployed its chaff from compartments hidden in the aft section. The missile's guidance system fell for a false target and exploded. As the enemy plane wheeled to face him, Zelos established another lock and fired. Realizing he had thumbswitches, he pressed them while aiming at the plane. Twin bursts of fire lanced toward the plane and nicked the hull. Zelos grinned and leaned on the gun fire control. The rounds tore into the planes hull, damaging the plane enough to allow the rocket to catch up with it in a white-hot sphere of flame.

Zelos sighed and fell back against the seat. He closed his eyes and smiled. A second later they flew open at the sound of a repeating, shrieking alarm. A red light flashed on the panel. Strange characters appeared one at a time, stayed for a second, and then were replaced by new characters. The Arbiter said something over the intercom, but Zelos didn't hear it. He had enough sense to know what that display was showing: a countdown.

Zelos hurriedly flipped the switches on the teleporter, urging the machine to warm up as the alarms wailed ever more insistent. The sirens had nearly turned into a constant howl when the green orb appeared in the machine. Zelos wildly punched in some coordinates and ran into the portal, just as the plane's engines went critical, and the plane, along with everything on it, ceased to exist as anything vaguely reminiscent of physical matter.

The Arbiter cast his eyes downward as the screen flooded with an intense white light. The light faded, and everyone hesitated a moment before dropping their arms from their faces, fearing the image they knew they would see. There was nothing where the aircraft had been. Colette's heart leapt into her throat. "Is he...?" she whispered. The Arbiter shook his head. "We can't be sure of where he is now," he said quietly. "A split second before the aircraft self-destructed, Zelos' heat signature vanished from the rear of the plane, as he was moving in the direction of the transportation device. It may have been an error as the plane was exploding and discrepancies in the synchronization of the display crystals, but from the looks of things, Zelos likely made it through the portal. However," he added, anticipating unfounded expressions of relief, "without time to accurately locate a suitable site for the teleport, he could be in more danger than he was before. Or worse. Now, the range of that teleporter is only about a half of a mile, but well..." The Arbiter coughed, and frowned.

"What do you mean?" asked Lloyd. "Well," said the Arbiter bringing his hands together in front of himself and clasping them, "let's just say this. Most likely, he is within a half-mile radius of the explosion area. Technically, however, it is possible that he could be anywhere. In the known, or unknown, universe."