A/N I DON'T OWN SKYLAND.

The two young guardians stood on the docks having just disembarked from their S-15's. They seemed to stand out from the rest of the populace in their dark grey uniforms with the Sphere crest on the right side chest pocket; the workers patrolling the docks all wore brightly colored clothing that contrasted against them.

Mila felt like a knot had twisted inside her; she was eager to start the mission but she had a strange uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach, the same you get before a thunderstorm strikes. Thrilling yes; but terrifying at the same time.

Mila waited. Oslo was setting up the radio frequencies on their mobile receivers so that they wouldn't have any disturbances from other airwaves.

From where they stood, they had a great view of the lesser city which was swarming with people. The concrete buildings were all mainly short and stocky; this was a commercial block; where ships stopped to get repairs or make deliveries and the whole city was, in a sense, a market place. Farmers came here from their home blocks to sell their harvests and produce. Salesman sold their new vessels.

The city was also notorious for its black market; outlaws selling water or weaponry. Sphere officials patrolled this block on a regular basis and people were accustomed to a no fly zone being imposed here; which is why there was a multitude of inns and hotels to stay the night. Mila was discouraged by the hordes of people walking about; this wasn't going to be an easy task. Sunshine scorched the sidewalk, making heat waves rise and distort what was further ahead.

"Let's split up. If you see the criminal, call me and we'll corner him." Oslo said.

"Right." Mila agreed. She turned to leave, her braided black hair swishing through the air.

"Mila?"

"What?"

"Watch yourself."

Before she could respond, he took off down a cobbled stone street and disappeared into the crowd.

Watch yourself… I think I can take care of a pirate.

The afternoon consisted of walking around looking for the rebel in the streets. Finding the pirate on this block would be impossible! Why had they been assigned such a hopeless mission? Mila stopped a few people on the way to ask them if they had seen the criminal. Most of them gave her a dirty look and said 'no'. Others ignored her completely. Why did people treat her this way? She didn't know.

"Any luck…" Oslo's voice asked through her receiver. She unclipped the phone from her belt and lifted it to her mouth as she strode forwards, her eyes searching restlessly for anything unusual. Anything out of place...

"No." She answered as she walked into a square lined with market stands laden with fruits and nuts. There was cursing followed by silence on the other end.

"I see…" He paused. "Mila, I was wondering..."

"Yes?" She asked.

"You're not seeing anyone… are you?"

Mila just stared at the phone for a few seconds before responding impatiently. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"I only thought that; you know that since - Do you want to go out?" He blurted. On Mila's end there was a little static.

"I didn't catch that." Said Mila.

"I said: do you want to go out? With me, I mean."

This time Mila heard it clearly and her mind raced. They were just friends… not in that way. Oh no. Her eyes set on someone in the market place bent over a stall, looking at the fruits on the shelves. She saw a weapon strapped on his belt; not many carried weaponry in the open like that… Momentarily forgetting Oslo, she tapped the stranger's shoulder curiously.

"Excuse me sir-" She started as he whirled around quickly and stared at her.

It was Marcus Farrell.

For a second they just stared at each other in shock. Then, without warning, he pushed her roughly into a barrel of stacked apples and took off.

"You there! STOP!" She yelled as she struggled and pushed her backside out of the barrel before sprinting after him. She threw a crackling energy orb his way but he ducked it. It exploded a wooden market stand a few feet behind him, making some unsuspecting pedestrians scream. Unfortunately, out of that stand tumbled hundreds of round nuts that made her slip and fall onto the dirty walkway. She grunted angrily and picked up her receiver.

"Oslo. I've got him." She half-screamed into the phone. With that said, she picked herself up and pelted after him. Oslo would be able to pinpoint her location with the tracking device in the phone. "Pirate! You're under arrest!" She yelled as he ran ahead of her.

He was swift and fast; avoiding her energy blasts with ease and toppling objects behind him to trip her. It was a crazy race though dark alleys and down crowded streets but Mila didn't let up; she had been training for this her whole life. Her lungs seared painfully as the chase stretched into minutes. She might have been able to blast him with an energy orb but he was always cutting through crowds and she didn't want to injure any innocent bystanders. She temporarily lost sight of him in a mass of people but then spotted him again as he entered the side door of a large garage.

"Move!" She yelled as she shoved people aside roughly and burst through the door into still darkness.

She waited as her eyes adjusted to the dark and she sprained her ears for any sound. The door closed behind her with a whiny creak. She prowled noiselessly between rows of large mounted metallic crates. It seemed she was inside some sort of storage garage filled with stacked supplies.

"I know you're in here pirate. Come out, you're surrounded." Her voice echoed ominously.

She continued patrolling between the rows of metal boxes while keeping a watchful eye on the exit door. Small ventilation slits on the high ceiling spotted certain places with minimal lighting. A slow, rusted fan turned lazily above the place, casting eerie moving shadows. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

Suddenly, she heard a sliding sound; like corroded metal grinding against the floor. She jumped to the side just as a crate fell with a loud ruckus where she had been standing a few seconds earlier. The crash of resounded metal reverberated through the building as she spun around in fear. She jerked her head up to see the rebel running along on top of the stock piles, his silhouette visible under the scarce rectangular gaps of light.

His footsteps echoed with a metallic twinge as he sprinted on top of the uneven boxes. Mila wasted no time; she powered a fizzing energy orb in her hands. With a yell of effort, she blasted once... twice, and missed him. The third time however, she exploded the crates right under him, making them shatter and cascade into a mess of broken wood and scattered metal shrapnel. The pirate yelped and fell amongst the debris.

Silence fell as the cloud of dust settled. Mila remembered to breathe with a gasp and approached carefully.

She spotted his dark profile lying under some wooden planks. He coughed and pushed the heavy boards off. He stood up uncertainly, swayed and leaned on a metal crate behind him to avoid falling over.

"You're under arrest." She asserted proudly as she approached. She had him cornered now.

"You've told me that four times already." He grumbled.

She blushed angrily and recomposed herself. Now that they stood beneath a stripe of dusty lighting, she could see him clearly. The young man was about her age, maybe older; he had tousled dark hair and obscure eyes. He wore brown cargo pants, heavy boots and a ruffled, black jacket. He was tall and slim but still well muscled. He shifted his arm to grab the gun strapped on his belt but Mila snatched it away with her powers before he could use it. She threw it across the garage and its broken parts skidded noisily across the cement floor.

They froze in a fixed stare as if waiting for the other to take action, a distance of about five metres separated them. Mila wasn't sure what to do now; learning the steps of capture in class was one thing but actually doing it? She was having trouble remembering what to do next.

"Give it up pirate, it's over…" She ordered, trying to fill the awkward silence. Her voice echoed on the high ceiling and she was surprised at how unconvincing she sounded.

"You're wrong. Even if I die the rebellion will still go on." He said as he stared at her with hatred. His voice however, remained calm.

"Don't give yourself so much importance. I seriously doubt that you're the brains behind the rebellion."

"Not the brains." He straightened his shoulders proudly, "A leader."

Mila laughed tensely. "You? You're way too young."

"I could say the same about you." He retorted calmly.

She hated how composed and cool he was; didn't he know that she could kill him any second with her powers? Would she? Mila wanted to use up a little time until Oslo got here to help. She doubted the rebel would run off though, seeing how he needed to lean on the crate to stand.

"Leading a rebellion." She snarled as she crossed her arms. "You'll never win against us."

"Dictatorships never prosper either." He reasoned.

"What's wrong with you?" She exclaimed furiously. Pirates stole countless water shipments destined for deprived areas and horded it for themselves, in the process costing lives of hundreds of thirsty citizens. Of course a totalitarian government was essential; if everyone was left to fight over the water resources on their own, there would be endless chaos. She took a breath before continuing; "We're trying to keep the peace in this mess of a world and you just throw it into turmoil again!"

He frowned and stepped forward angrily. "Throw it into turmoil? We're trying to survive!" He shouted. "Not that you would know what it's like to run out of water and food, being pampered at the Academy-"

"Pampered? We're trained-"

"Don't tell me that you ever ran out of vital resources or comfort over there."

Where was Oslo already? Mila waved her hand impatiently to silence him. "It doesn't matter what you say, you'll just end up like that red haired rebel we caught a few weeks ago." She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth.

"Andy… Where'd you take him!" He yelled furiously, surprising her with the fact that he knew the dead boy's name.

Mila's eyes lowered guiltily. She guessed that they must have known each other; she had just been trying to scare him.

He caught her look and his eyes widened. "You killed him." He stated, his voice dangerously calm.

"I didn't-" She started saying when he unexpectedly grabbed a curved metal pole lying in the debris and ran at her, arms raised. She cried out in fear and instinctively blasted him with her powers.

He slammed back into the crate behind him; the metal pole slid out of his grasp and was thrown away, spinning through the air. A heavy piece of shrapnel wood already laying precariously on the top edge of the crate behind the rebel, swayed dangerously. It had undoubtedly been thrown there when Mila had exploded the other crate with a seijin blast; the guardian noticed the hazard, but Farrell did not. Abruptly, the object tumbled downwards and fell smack on his head. For a moment he just stood there, glaring at her as the wooden board clattered onto the cement floor. Then he groaned… and collapsed.

Mila stood there wincing, with her arms outstretched in their last movement of sending an energy flare. Her eyes widened as she peered at him, lying face first on the ground. She unfroze and approached cautiously, step by step. The girl kicked his arm tentatively and flinched back in case he was faking. He remained sprawled on the floor.

She kneeled next to him; he wasn't dead because she could hear him breathing. Well, she had done it; captured her first rebel. It was an achievement to be proud of, or rather, she should be feeling pride right this moment. No feeling of happiness crossed her mind however, that pesky guilt clawing inside her had just augmented, making her feel worse than ever.

She couldn't deny it; there was something about this whole situation that didn't feel right. If she was doing something good, then she shouldn't feel so awful. This instinctive remorse was present for a reason. But for what? He'd tried to kill her! Twice! Still… She was hunting him down and ultimately bringing him to the people who would kill him.

She would have done the same in his position if someone had killed her annoying colleague, Priscilla. Or was the cause of all this the fact that this criminal had known Andy and she had done nothing to help him? Perhaps it was true that Mila couldn't have done anything for him without ending up just like Katie. But she could now... Oddly enough, she felt sorry for this ignorant pirate, lying there all bloody and worn out. He didn't know if he had been told lies about the Sphere… It wasn't his fault. Shouldn't he get a second chance where Andy didn't? Saving him might be a way to get rid of the guilt that's been bothering her all this time. She hadn't been herself ever since they had killed Katie's brother in front of her.

However, she couldn't just bring him with her and plead the guardian not to kill him. The way she figured, questioning meant torture followed by certain death. No, she couldn't let that happen; living with that guilt for the rest of her life would be unbearable. Even if he was just a pirate.

She looked at his rebel outfit; it was just screaming out adventure. Her sight set on his face and she pushed back some of the strands of hair from his forehead to see if he was seriously injured. He seemed alright, maybe a little bruised though. She drew her hand back abruptly.

What was she doing?

Oslo wouldn't help her save Farrell; he was too proud to be with the Sphere and he hated non-seijins. At least one of them was destined to be a successful guardian. Mila was powerful, and she knew it, but these emotional walls were pushing her away from her goals.

Mila closed her eyes and faded into the pirate's mind; it was easier to read someone's thoughts if they weren't conscious but even then it was tricky. Mila managed to enter and was met with such a confusing jumble of thoughts that she could barely make sense of it all. In the end, she was able to scan the young man's recent memories quickly and she saw everything from his point of view as he escaped his crashed ship, unharmed. It was stalled, not wrecked. This surprised her; the guardian who had given her this mission had told her that they had shot him down. Did she lie because she didn't want to admit that the pirate had almost escaped them?

In vision flashes, she saw everything from his point of view as he wandered through the market place, hid in the shadows as he attempted contacting rebel acolytes who didn't respond. Stranded, he kept to the crowds, wandering aimlessly to avoid getting noticed. Then she saw her own face. Was that really what she looked like? "Excuse me sir…" She stopped reading his thoughts, let her arms drop to her sides and concentrated.

If she could bring him back to his ship and then drop him off somewhere before anyone knew- Yes, that could work. Well, it was the best idea she could think of at least. But it was such a stupid plan! It would never-

"Mila?"

She gasped as she heard Oslo's voice echo in the garage. For a second of blind panic, she knew not what to do. She had to make a decision. The seijin glanced once more at the pirate and, with a moment of inner frustration, made her choice.

She quickly levitated the pirate to a standing position, his arms dangled loosely from his body and his head lolled forwards. She started sneaking down one row of crates, hearing Oslo's footsteps on the other end of the building. Mila hastily wedged her receiver under the rubble of the exploded box before leaving so Oslo wouldn't be heading for the exit. She made her way to the exit door, the pirate hovering like a ghost behind her; carefully taking steps when Oslo did so that he wouldn't notice the noise. Finally, she opened the door to go outside and pushed Farrell out before closing it silently.

Oslo was still in there and she had a few minutes of advance if all went well. All right, now what? She would pretend to have captured the pirate and go back to his ship for 'inspection'. She didn't want to use her S-15, it had too many tracking devices. She'd convince the guards to let her use his ship and blast off before anyone figured out what was happening.

Fortunately, sunset had fallen by the time Mila had sneaked out of the stocking garage. There must have been a strict curfew on this block because the streets that were so crowded a few minutes earlier were now deserted.

She must have looked strange... walking around with a floating, unconscious pirate. The seijin had to hurry, her energy reserves were getting low and she didn't want to drag him all the way. She found a pair of slightly cracked shaded glasses lying under a closed market stand and plunked them on his face.

There, that looked better. Now anyone who glanced their way would think that they were walking together.

Sort of.

She walked hastily down the street, her eyes gleaming with purpose; Oslo would start worrying now, he could call in reinforcements. She had to review the rebel's memories to find his ship which was in the outskirts of the city on sandy terrain. Soon, she was out of the city, rushing across a dry, windswept landscape; as she hurried forwards, slightly panting from all the running and the strain of levitating someone all this way, she noticed dots of light up ahead. Underfoot, there were two long dents in the sand where the ship in question had skimmed the earth as it fell. The moving specks of light belonged to the heads of the elongated humanoid silhouettes of brigadiers which were assembled around a gleaming red and grey ship with pointed ends sitting in the sand.

Mila stopped dead in her tracks for a second.

The Hyperion…

This pirate had stolen one of the greatest prototypes created by the Sphere. For a moment, Mila was tempted in actually turning him in but she was reminded that she was in too deep to turn back now.

When she arrived, a few brigadiers guarded the 'crash site' and Mila understood why; the ship in question was valuable, it had been stolen a year ago by the rebellion. It was the fastest ship in its class, a real innovation.

The robots' single eyes shone discordantly in the night, flashing against the ship's hull and blinding her.

"Halt." The brigadiers answered in synchronization.

She came into view and bathed into the floodlight they projected into the darkness.

"Identifying…" One of them said. At soon as they registered Mila's chip card, the robots saluted her and lowered their weapons.

"I order you to disperse. You are relieved of this task." Said Mila in a formal tone.

"Negative." One of them said.

"I have been instructed to inspect the crash. You are impeding on the site, the evidence could be corrupted." She retorted, edgy with fear.

The brigs stood still.

"Disperse!" She yelled in her most commanding voice.

They stomped off in an orderly line. Mila watched them until their lights disappeared in the distance. Once they were far enough, she breathed with relief and opened the cockpit hatch. She dumped the pirate roughly in the back seat of the cockpit and she climbed impatiently in the front.

"I must be mental..." She muttered and she buttoned the control panel. She threw out the tracking device the brigs had put in. It took half an hour to successfully restart the engines and by that time, sweat beaded her forehead and her hands shook with panic.

They would imprison her! They would kill her for betraying them!

Calm down, breathe in, and breathe out.

The engines hummed. Finally! She was about to take off when it occurred to her that Farrell would not stay unconscious forever. She cuffed his hands behind his back as he lay face first on the back seat, the glasses askew, drooling slightly.

Well, look who's not so fabulous now, she thought smugly. The ship took off, accelerating into the distance with speed exceeding any S-15.

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