A/N: Don't own Skyland. Sorry it took so long to update.

Reviews are always welcome!

The night was calm.

Few stars speckled the sky; but those who were present looked like precious gems, floating in the void. The white moon continued its sleepy journey across the heavens. Resting on the lower half of the horizon, was a stretch of wind-swept white clouds, feathered and rippled by the wind. Above it, skimming its creamy surface, was a miniature red fleck, speeding through the air; the Hyperion. The ship was flying at such high speeds that when it passed a rare, drifting island, the latter resembled a mottled, grey blur.

Inside the cockpit of the speedy ship, two people were sitting in the semi-darkness illuminated by the somewhat eerie orange glow of the controls. There was a girl sitting rigidly in her seat; she was dishevelled and covered in scrapes and bruises; her blue eyes were wide and crazy looking, as if she had just narrowly escaped from disaster alive, which in fact, she had.

There was a young pirate in the orange pilot seat. He, in contrast to the girl, appeared concentrated rather than stressed by the events that had unfolded. His face was bloodied and the sphere uniform which he had stolen was now tinted with hints of blood across his arms and chest. He gritted his teeth, unsuccessfully trying to hide the boiling anger that was spreading through him.

The radar was blank. No enemies were in pursuit.

Mila had just defied the Academy, a place she had once considered her home, although strict; she had prided herself for being a guardian in training. Of course, everything had changed. Now, the only feeling that rushed through her mind when she thought of the Sphere, was hatred. The Sphere had transformed Priscilla into a cruel, thoughtless shell; it had tried to force her, Mila, into killing Marcus, it had stolen, tortured and murdered without mercy. No, she wanted no part of this organization, not anymore. She truly wanted to join the rebellion now. She hoped the resistance was honourable, that it didn't steal water just to hoard it all for itself; that would make it just as immoral as the Sphere...

"I can't believe we made it!" Mila exclaimed in disbelief for the millionth time; Marcus said nothing however. Mila had expected to die when Priscilla had reappeared in the docking bay.

Priscilla. She was dead.

Mila felt conflicted; some part of her was actually… satisfied that she was dead. Nevertheless, Priscilla had evidently been brainwashed to act that way, it wasn't entirely her fault. Mila wondered if she would have met the same fate as her colleague had she chosen to stay with the Sphere, would she have become a harsh, merciless guardian driven half insane? She shook the terrible thought away. The real Priscilla had been her friend, and it was the real Priscilla that she would miss; not this individual that had claimed her physical appearance. She was too astonished by the turn of events to feel grief for her colleague – her mind was numb.

Her long sleeved, navy blue shirt had a metallic zipper that kept clinking annoyingly. Mila suddenly wondered why she had gotten such a fashionable attire, commonly, the uniforms ranged from white to black, varying in different shades of grey. Had Oslo purposefully given this to her; had he really thought that she would have changed her mind about the Sphere over clothing? She exhaled noisily and shook her head the slightest bit. Oslo was obsessive with the Prophecy; she had never seen him like this at the Academy... Although, she thought, back then she had probably been too fixated with being the Lady of Light to notice his behaviour. He had always conformed to the rules without a second thought; he didn't need his mind to be 'perfected', he would undoubtedly be the ideal Sphere candidate. The difference between them was clear; whereas they were both powerful seijins, Mila had rejected the Prophecy, for reasons she still did not understand, and therefore she had rejected the prospect of endless power; something Oslo embraced. Something she used to welcome herself before she found out the truth. Before she found Marcus...

Suddenly, Mila found the strained silence very unnerving.

Mila stared at Marcus for a second but couldn't think of what to say; her mouth opened and closed without a sound. He really was an exceptional pilot, she thought, or else maybe the Hyperion had a mind of its own... Marcus stared resolutely forwards, still averting her eyes.

"There's a neutral block a few hours away." He finally said but when he spoke, it was in a cold, angered voice.

Mila froze; she felt like he had just punched her in the stomach. "What do you mean?" She asked, her voice rising with apprehension.

"Our deal, remember? I'm taking you to a neutral block…"

"Oh…" Mila gave the tiniest of smiles and waved her hand dismissively. "No matter – Actually, I thought I could come along with you-"

Marcus shook his head with apparent disbelief. "Who said you were coming with me?" He asked.

Mila's eyebrows lowered, her cobalt blue eyes blazed with indignation. "You did! That first night we met… You- you said that the rebellion could use people like me…"

"That was a mistake."

Mila blinked.

"Do you really think that I'm going to risk the rebellion's security for you?" The last word was layered with dislike. "You can't be trusted."

"Excuse me?" Mila exclaimed in rising fury. "Are you honestly telling me that you still think I set you up?" Hadn't she proven herself trustworthy by saving him from that cell, by destroying the skylight which was their window to freedom? She had thought that her actions had spoken clearly, she had thought that it was now common knowledge that she hadn't sold him out to the Sphere.

"From my point of view, it doesn't look good." Marcus said, this time turning to look at the ex-guardian; his face passive yet pale with rage.

"You don't understand-"

"Let me explain." He interrupted. "First: we leave Babylonia, which had no means of communication with the outside world, and we 'coincidently' run into some S-15's." He did air quotes with his fingers when he said 'coincidently'; Mila watched him with augmenting ferocity. "Second: you try to take control of the ship when I shoot at them-"

"I told you, my friend was in there and I didn't know at the time-"

"Third:" He continued loudly, overpowering her voice. "After that storm, I hide the ship in the middle of nowhere. You wake up. I head outside while you somehow manage to contact this guardian…"

"I did no such thing!"

"And then, you kiss me just to keep me distracted while this so-called friend comes back!" He paused for a moment, as if lost in the memory; it was a pause in which Mila flinched backwards, yelling something about him kissing her first. He ignored this and continued, his tone rising as he pursued with his story. "The Sphere, apparently, was under the impression that I kidnapped you…" He laughed slightly; a bitter, icy laugh. "So later, you're supposed to kill me; and then…"

"That's not how it happened and you know it!" Mila shouted abruptly, her fury spreading through her body, like a scrap of paper being set aflame. She had done everything for him; everything! And he doubted her? He had the nerve to doubt her?

"I am no traitor! For your information Marcus, that 'friend' captured me as well! I woke up in a cell, alone, worried half to death… Afterwards, I had to find a way for us to escape! Yes, us…" She repeated as Marcus sighed impatiently. "Priscilla was going to kill me next! Then, I played the part of a kidnapped victim because I had to. Not because I was betraying you! I thought it was plainly obvious… I made my decision to leave the Sphere. I expected you to believe it."

Marcus looked momentarily speechless but then he recomposed himself. "Sure I believed you... when I still thought that you were mentally balanced! She was right; you can't decide which side you want to be on!"

"She… Priscilla? You believe her?"

"No! It's just - I…"

"It's because of what she told you isn't it? Isn't it! What she said about me in the docking bay; she told you that I didn't care… She – was – lying! It's her job to torment others Marcus, you, of all people, should have known…"

"You just don't get it!"

"Oh, I understand perfectly. You started doubting my motives when she told you those lies about me, otherwise, you would have mentioned something before now…"

"I didn't mention anything since there was no time to argue while we were escaping!" He yelled.

"Well," Mila pursued, "If I did set you up, then why did you rescue me on the roof hmm? Wouldn't it have been easier to let the traitor fall to her death…"

"Maybe I should've let you fall!" He blurted before he could stop himself and his eyes instantly lost their spark of anger as Mila's eyes widened with sadness and she looked away.

For a while, all that could be heard was the rushing air outside and a slight hum from the ship.

After a long pause, Mila spoke. "According to the oh-so-truthful Priscilla, you're falling in love with me." She stated in a matter-of-fact voice.

"She lied." Marcus retorted sharply.

Her heart twisted.

Mila spun around to face him. "The feeling's mutual!" She snarled and crossed her arms angrily.

"Fine!" He yelled, giving a jerk on the joystick by accident so that the ship swerved for a moment.

"Fine!" She repeated glumly before scrunching up her left fist. "And for the record: I did not set you up!" She punched him on the arm, not as hard as she would have liked because she used her injured arm which throbbed painfully on impact.

"Hey!" Marcus exclaimed angrily.

She leaned back onto her seat, cradling the now reopened wound on her forearm as she ignored Marcus's glare. The blood was leaking out of the deepened cut now, and she could see tiny glinting fragments of glass implanted in her flesh, left behind from the shard that had sliced through her skin when she had shattered the skylight window. She dared not touch them.

She hissed and clenched her teeth as pain seared through her arm, regretting her last action. The wound was getting infected; the skin around it was now swollen and bloody.

She wouldn't look at him, no she would not. Her eyes smarted and she closed them for a second.

The stillness was suddenly broken by a harsh sound.

Mila opened her eyes and looked at Marcus with surprise. He had just ripped off his shirt's left sleeve, leaving the sphere uniform uneven. He started tearing it into long, neat strips with a sort of grim satisfaction.

"What are you doing?" She demanded, her throat felt dry from shouting and dehydration.

Without a word, he took one of the narrower fabric shreds and motioned towards her; he took her wrist with his left hand to get a better look at her injury. Mila was immobile as he pushed her sleeve upwards and, after a brief pause, started wrapping a piece of sphere fabric around the wound. Mila felt insulted by this: first of all, she could take care of herself, secondly, he was being unjust.

"It's not so deep." He mentioned as he knotted the fabric around her lower arm; it would staunch the bleeding for now at least.

"Ouch." She slapped his hand. "Not so tight!"

"Sorry." He muttered absently. He loosened the knot. "There, better?"

"Yes." She mumbled wretchedly.

Why was it that every time she was angry with him, he did something this unfair? What was he playing at!

It occurred to her that she probably shouldn't have hit him; he was in worse shape than she was… It should have been the other way around. She should have been helping him. Her anger faded somewhat as she felt his left hand closed gently around her wrist; his fingers felt cold against her skin. She couldn't understand him and she wondered if she ever would.

They were silent for a moment, just half-glaring at each other tensely.

Marcus's eyes were alert, like his usual concentrated self; he would have looked normal if it hadn't been for the dried blood or blue bruises on his face. His nose wasn't broken at least... Unexpectedly, she felt her heart throb with guilt. Mila had just remembered an awful truth that she had pushed to the back of her mind; Oslo had found them because of her. Because of her ridiculous, last resort stunt in the storm; in her panic, she hadn't thought about how blue seijin energy sometimes drifted or remained intact in the air. She had just been thinking about saving their lives; it seemed that even when she tried to use her powers for good, it still resulted in catastrophe.

She was not sure why, but somehow, maybe out of concern, her right hand lifted and her fingers touched the purplish bruise across the side of his eye and cheekbone. There was a sharp intake of breath but he did not move away. She applied less pressure, the tips of her fingers were barely brushing against his skin now; his facial expression relaxed as the pain faded. Her sapphire blue eyes met his dark eyes.

"I never meant for this to happen you know." She whispered as she remembered how shocking it had been when Oslo had found them that night. How surprised she had been when the sharp whiz of a dart had sliced through the calm moonlight.

Marcus had reasons to doubt her after all.

"What happened?" She asked as she let her hand drop. Curiosity had gotten the better of her; she needed to know what had happened when they had been separated at the Academy.

At first he said nothing; Mila noticed that he had clumsily ripped off the sphere shirt's entire left sleeve, leaving one of his arms bare. She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes; how could he be so temperamental and yet gentle at the same time? It made no sense.

"I... Well… I fought against some brigs…"

Mila stared with disbelief. She imagined some brigadiers trying to drag him along a metallic corridor.

"Managed to knock down three of them before – " He paused, she noticed his other hand clench into a fist as if he was absent-mindedly reliving the fight. "Well, there were more of them…" He shrugged and wiped some dried blood away from his eye.

Mila swallowed. "Then… what happened?" She prodded.

For a moment he just stared into her eyes. "It was her… She wanted the coordinates. I-I can't… remember. I don't think she found them…"

"She didn't get them." Mila finished for him as a look of confusion dawned on his face. "Besides… she's dead." Any rebel coordinates the guardian could have seen had died with Priscilla.

He nodded. Mila realized he was still holding her wrist, he seemed unaware. "I heard a scream. On the roof. It was your scream Mila… Then I sort of- woke up."

And you saved my life.

There was an uncomfortable pause in which they both tried to look anywhere else than into each other's eyes; Mila glanced at her boots and Marcus seemed to realise that he had ripped off the whole left sleeve of his shirt. He tugged the tattered end of fabric at his shoulder with apparent surprise. Mila was still incredibly angry with him but somehow, it was slowly fading due to the fact that she was too exhausted to even fight anymore.

So, Marcus wouldn't trust her. What did it matter? She was quite capable of going off on her own, if it's one thing her years of Academy training had given her, it was a hardened heart. She wasn't weak. She could defend herself. She was a very powerful seijin who was able to kill... if it ever resorted to that. Maybe.

Mila shifted uncomfortably and Marcus let go of her wrist suddenly, he leaned back on the pilot seat. There passed several minutes of strained silence as the Hyperion soared ever further.

"I wouldn't have done it." He said.

"What…"

"I wouldn't have let you fall." He muttered tiredly.

Mila nodded slightly, her lips pressed together as her heart seemed to expand a little.

"Listen, Marcus…" She spoke in the most impersonal tone she could manage. "You can choose to believe anything you want. I don't blame you for hating me, really, I don't... But I'm telling the truth: I never betrayed you."

Not intentionally at least.

That was all she had to say. He would either trust her or not. She wasn't going to apologize again; she wasn't going to follow after someone who no longer wanted her around.

She knew what he thought of her. It was simple; he probably thought that she had changed her mind in the process of turning him in to the Sphere. Maybe he thought that she was merely a confused guardian who couldn't decide which side to take... The evidence was against her, that was certain. The whole situation would look bad from Marcus's perspective... She sighed. What Priscilla had said hadn't helped either. It was true, she had trouble seeing where she belonged; but honestly, changing your whole perspective on life in a mere two weeks wasn't exactly and easy task!

He glanced in her direction, and this time Mila stared outside at the expanse of free sky, holding her injured arm carefully. Whatever happened, a new life awaited. She would find a place in the immensity of Skyland, she didn't need him. The outline of her face was dark against the moonlit whiteness outside; her eyelashes fluttered slowly.

It was strange to think that, in the minimal span of two weeks' time, she had completely changed direction in life. Her future had seemed clear and bright with the Sphere, everything had been organized, and she had had friends... Sometimes, in some secluded part of mind, she really did wish that she hadn't seen the Sphere's true nature, that way, she wouldn't have had to go through this atrocious journey. And for what? So that, in the end, the person she cared the most about would leave her behind. Why should she care about him anyways? At the moment, she wasn't even certain about her feelings towards Marcus anymore... It suddenly hit her that maybe all those lies Priscilla had thrown in her face, weren't so untruthful after all...

"We'll arrive in a few hours." Marcus said brusquely.

Her heart gave yet another nauseating twirl.

Mila just shrugged, feigning indifference. She really couldn't care less; she didn't care if she never saw him again, she didn't care.

She wouldn't care.

It was still and dark. The night had flown by, as if time had decided to slip through faster than usual.

The thick darkness had swallowed the Hyperion whole; the ship looked nothing more than an obscure, black shadow, gliding through the air like a sinister creature of the night. The scenery had changed; the sky seemed relatively empty, there was no longer a silvery white ocean fused to the bottom half of the horizon. As time had passed, the moon had taken refuge behind murky, dark clouds; plunging the sky into complete obscurity. The few scattered, lonely stars continued to shine.

The cockpit window gleamed with a faint, misty orange light that persisted through the shadows. This light illuminated the front seats, where it also shone upon two immobile figures. It seemed that both passengers had unintentionally fallen asleep. They were so exhausted and dehydrated that it had been difficult not to take a quick nap which had quickly transformed into a deep sleep.

Some unknown coordinates flashed a continuous white on a rounded screen which was on the control panel in front of the sleeping pirate. The controls also displayed that the autopilot had been set on course, for temporary purposes (Marcus had not expected falling asleep this rapidly), but it was now leading the way.

The rebel mumbled something in his sleep; he shifted a little and let out a particularly loud snore.

Yet, not loud enough a snore to awaken the sphere deserter on the adjoining orange seat.

Mila's face was squished against the cold window on her right as she sagged sideways in her seat. Her breath was fogging up the glass as she slept soundly, oblivious to the world. For the ship's destination was still unknown to the girl.

Marcus however, had known exactly where the Hyperion was going before he succumbed to sleep...

A/N It actually took quite some time to complete this chapter and be content with the end-result. Keep on reading; there are more unexpected twists ahead...

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