This one is…long. This pretty much ends my entire English project. On word it came to 24 pages, I believe, and the limit was actually 6-10 pages. *sigh* I couldn't seem to convince myself that I could write a good story in 10 pages max. Oh well, I still got an A. Anywho, even if no one reviews, I'm gonna keep on writing. If you do R&R, I thank you for your support.

Trinity and Naomi skidded to a stop, facing the fourth group of Cats they ran into in such a short period of time. They were everywhere, as impossible as that seemed. It was a routine of running away from a mass chasing after them, and then losing that mass only to find another one. There wasn't a bit of rest. A couple of times Naomi was sick of everything and drew her gun to shoot, but was always stopped by Trinity, who told her to think of her package before she tried anything reckless.

Finally Naomi stopped and rested her head against the wall, tired from carrying another body other than her own through all that strenuous activity. Vivi and Trinity exchanged glances. The little girl tapped Naomi's shoulder.

"I can get down now." Naomi shook her head, refusing the request. Stood behind the two and Vivi nodded when he fixed her with a questioning gaze. He put his hands under her arms and tried to release Vivi from Naomi's hold. When Naomi felt the load get lighter she tightened her grip on Vivi's legs.

"Naomi…"

"I don't need your pity, Trinity." Naomi growled. Trinity sighed. She was so touchy on that point.

"I know, Naomi, but I assure you that there is no pity involved here. For the sake of this mission we have to go as fast as we can." He paused to let his words sink in. "We'll switch off, to save our energy." There was silence while Naomi thought about what Trinity said, and then loosened her grip and released Vivi from her hold. Vivi climbed on Trinity's back and they both waited while Naomi caught her breath. She was never really good at sprinting for long periods of time but even the best had to pant a bit after all that. Cathigans could run at least two times as long without having those conditions.

"I'm fine," Naomi said, straightening up and breathing in sharply. "Let's get going. I want to get out of here as soon as possible." Trinity nodded, and they set off again, Naomi leading the way this time. It was strange that there were certain places that were deserted when others were crowded with the aliens, but the humans didn't have time to think about that; their mind was set on breaking free to even notice that they were being lead. They could only hope that they would leave this place with as little injuries as possible, or without dying.

Turning another corner, Naomi finally caught sight of two large doors. These ones were different from the others. They were solid wood, quite different from everything else, and they had iron, circular handles. The three humans paused, suspicious of the doors and the room it might lead to, but the cries of approaching aliens told them otherwise, and they were reduced to taking a chance and opening the entrance of life or death. Trinity took the left while Naomi held the right and both pulled with all their might, heaving apart their way in. As soon as they created a crack big enough that they could slip through, Trinity stopped and ran in first, followed closely by his companion. Immediately, they leaned on the doors and closed them, panting heavily and calming their pumping hearts. Opening his eyes and looking forward, Trinity's heart froze completely and his eyes narrowed in shock. On his back, Vivi gasped and shuddered, hiding her face. Naomi cursed and banged on the doors angrily. In front of them stood that Cat they met before, the one that stopped Trinity's bullet and completely turned it against him. He was standing on a platform in front of a tall chair in the middle of the room, grinning, and said something in his language the soldiers couldn't comprehend.

A grin spread on Hungar's lips as the doors to his throne room slowly opened and the Alterians came into his sight once again. When they finally noticed they were in his presence, he spoke to them even though he knew already there was no way they would understand.

"I was starting to worry that I would have to opened the doors myself and invite you stupid Alterians in." His grin turned smug. "Welcome to your deaths."

Vivi listened to the words that only she out of the three could understand. "I was starting to worry that I would have to opened the doors myself and invite you stupid Alterians in. Welcome to your deaths." They had walked right into a trap, and under the suit, Vivi felt Trinity's muscles tense and his heart skip a beat. Sweat formed on the side of his face and he held his breath for a considerable length of time. Naomi cursed and cursed again, banging the door over and over. Then she paused and looked at Trinity from the corner of her eye.

"We need to distract him." Trinity snorted disbelievingly, obviously thinking there was a fat chance that would work. "But we can't let Vivi get involved with the distraction, so set her down." Trinity looked at her quizzically but sank to his knees and released Vivi on the floor. "Good, now make sure to distract him for as long as you can manage." Trinity fell forward as if someone whacked the back of his head and did a face plant against the metal ground.

"I thought you were going to say that." His muffled voice stated, exasperated.

"Now don't act like that, Trinity. You have to do it for the sake of the mission."

"Why can't you…" Trinity jumped to his feet and threw his face right in front of Naomi as she took Vivi's hand. "…be the sacrifice?"

"I need you to distract him while I plant some bombs on the walls. If I remember correctly, this room is the closest to the rendezvous point."

"So?"

"I have the explosives, you don't." Naomi said simply.

"You're just making excuses!!"

"Idiot. Can't you tell his focus is on you right now? Are you really that ignorant?" Trinity fumed for a moment about being called ignorant, but Vivi bit her lip. She knew Naomi was right. She knew the Cathigan commander was focusing his stare completely on the young man. She watched as Trinity took a deep breath and sigh.

"Why is it always me?"

Naomi shrugged. "You're the one that shot without thinking before."

"I wasn't asking you." Trinity replied angrily.

"Whatever. Just distract already." Vivi tugged on her hat while Trinity took another deep breath and sighed. Pulling out his gun, he twirled around and shot aimlessly around the room. Cathigans tried to take cover but were shot by flailing bullets, and the commander just stared, raising his hand and stopping most of the bullets that came towards him. Only a few succeeded in scratching him, most minor but one or two bled heavily. The Cathigan growled angrily.

Hungar watched the amusing scene the Alterians played. By the tone of their voices it could be that they were arguing, perhaps about who's to die first, or if they should just give up the golden girl and try to leave peacefully, or perhaps…

Hungar frowned as the male Alterian spun around and shot his weapon recklessly around the throne room, his throne room. Whether on purpose or not, the Alterian killed all of his guards, who were unable to escape in time or were stupid enough to just stand there. It was no trouble to the commander, but he couldn't stop them all. Parts of his body started to sting a bit as bullets barely made contact with the mark. "Filthy Alterian…you will die. I will kill you myself." Once the bullets ceased, Hungar removed the dulled metal from his sharp claws and stepped down from his platform.

Naomi gaped at Trinity as he randomly shot his gun. "What do you think you are doing?!"

"Distracting," he answered without looking at her. Naomi smacked her forehead. Trinity's gun clicked as he pulled the trigger. Trinity inspected the weapon and shrugged. "Out of bullets…"

"Obviously," Naomi growled. "Now what, genius?" Trinity turned around and winked.

"Now you run while he's occupied." Naomi glanced at the Cat and watched him slowly remove the metal guards one by one. "Only way to fully distract him is to fight him, right?" Naomi opened her mouth to reply, then closed it and tightened her grip on Vivi's hand and hid from the Cat's sight. Her pack hit the floor and she rummaged through its contents, pulling out a circular looking object, flashing a soft yet bold blue color around the middle where "COP – 5" was printed.

Trinity watched Naomi and Vivi scamper hurriedly out of his sight and sighed. He was talking big there, with his adrenaline racing in his blood. He hoped he at least seemed confident. As the Cat drew nearer, Trinity's finger slid under the barrel of the gun and shifted slightly, a switch moving to the right to a different level. "Gear Two." He said, raising the gun and pointing the gun at the enemy. The Cat laughed, saying something in his language while still advancing on his "prey". Trinity pulled the trigger and fired a black light in the rough form of a teardrop towards the startled alien.

Vivi poked her head from behind the throne platform in the middle of the room. She tugged on her hat and watched curiously as Trinity fired something she hadn't seen before. She raced over to where Naomi was planting a bomb on a wall and tugged on her uniform. "Naomi, what is that Trinity is shooting?"

"Hm?" Naomi mumbled, slightly distracted. "What's it look like?" Vivi twirled a finger in her hair.

"Kind of like an oval with a pointy end." Naomi looked at the girl, puzzled, and stretched her neck to see past the platform.

"Ah, that teardrop looking thing," she stated once she managed to catch a glimpse of it. "That would be a 'Gear Two' form of a bullet."

"Gear Two?"

"Yep. N.A.O…you do know what N.A.O is, right?" Vivi nodded. "Good, well they enhanced the normal gun to a new level, adding a stronger…power to it. 'Gear Two', as they call it, doesn't exactly need a bullet, but there are certain elements in the barrel of the gun that combine and cause a…mini explosion, I guess, and that just shoots out." Vivi blinked, not exactly comprehending Naomi's explanation. Naomi sighed. "I don't understand it myself. If you want to know, ask the chemic, science, and who-cares-what-else geeks what the heck they did."

Trinity dodged the claws of the Cat, his face barely missing the sharp, potentially dangerous points. The gun felt lighter, which meant the thing was almost out of juice. He shifted his gaze to where he last saw Vivi's head watching their battle. He was succeeding in completely erasing the two girls from the Cat's mind, but Naomi should have been done by now. 'She better not be taking her time setting those bombs up. Who said I can distract him forever?' Trinity grunted as he felt a breeze as the Cat's claws barely missed him again and marveled at the speed. 'As expected from a commander, or at least I think he's a commander. It won't be long until he catches up t…'

Trinity's thought was shattered as he cried out, bolts of pain speeding through his arm. He glanced down; catching a quick glimpse of two of the Cat's claws that pierced through his left arm before the Cat pulled them away, grinning triumphantly. Trinity dropped his gun and covered the spots where his blood was spilling out, wincing, glaring at the alien as it chuckled softly, turning into an all out hysterical laugh. The Cat raised his claws to his lips, and his tongue reached out, licking a small amount of the blood into his mouth. Trinity cursed as he saw the Cat's eyes turn blood red and backed away, out of the Cat's reach and continued to back away.

Vivi bit back a despaired moan. Even from a distance she could see the Cathigan's eyes with her exceptional sight. She knew what that meant, when a Cathigan's eyes turned scarlet like that: they were berserk. She remembered the lesson on that topic, the danger of that situation. It was a phase of mind where everything was forgotten except their one desire: to kill. In that state a Cathigan would kill his own comrades if they were in his sight, if they got in his way. They gain an out-of-control power, their strength doubles, triples, or…well, the point was made. They get a ridiculous amount of speed and strength for a period of time, until they return to normal, for those who could relatively control it, or until they destroyed themselves.

Bottom line was that a Cathigan's berserk mode was threateningly perilous. Apparently N.A.O had come up with a sort of power that could match up to the force of the berserk mode, but Vivi didn't remember what it was called…all she knew was that the commander was serious, completely serious about killing his opponent. Vivi shuddered and backed away the same time Trinity did. There was no doubt in her mind. Trinity was going to die if they didn't get out of here soon.

The Cat quickly leaped at him, claws outstretched, adapting to the berserk state of mind faster than Trinity expected. He tried to dodge it completely but as it swept past his left side blood spilled from underneath a torn uniform. Trinity gasped and shut his eyes at the pain, but that proved to be a mistake. It was always taught at Headquarters to never take your eyes off an attacking Cat if possible. The Cat raised Trinity off the ground by his throat and slammed him against a nearby wall and drove his claws directly under the shoulder on his right. Trinity tried to pry open the fingers squeezing his throat and felt a shout preparing itself, but it never had a chance to be released. The Cat pulled his arm back and continually slammed his victim against the wall, so much that he eventually dented it to a point where even the most ignorant person would notice.

After a series of blows to the wall, the alien paused for a quick second before throwing the human at the wall again. That was all Trinity needed to add something of his own in the fight. With much effort, after being hitting the wall with all that force, Trinity lifted his leg and struck with all the strength he could muster, striking the center of the alien's chest with his heel. The Cat grunted and released his grip, dropping Trinity on the floor and sliding back a few feet. Trinity sat on his knees, breathing as deeply as his aching lungs would allow, his heart pumping wildly, and rose to his feet, staggering a few steps before he could actually stand still.

Feeling his strength slowly return Trinity reached in the collar of his uniform and pulled out a chain. On it was a symbol, three tiny silver circles and resting in the middle was a blue fire. 'I can't screw this up now. If I'm not serious, I will die, and so will everyone else. I can't play nice anymore.' The Cat stared towards the human and started to step forward, and as he did, Trinity gripped the symbol and ripped it off the chain.

Instantly a golden light shone underneath his feet and formed itself into three circles, the same circles on the chain and on the uniform helmets. Surrounding those three circles was a large one, almost like a barrier. Like it was protecting the circles and restraining them at the same time. Trinity raised both of his arms until they were aligned with his shoulders. The Cat watched as Trinity's hands and wrists disappeared for a few seconds and then suddenly reappear, drawing out two long objects as if his hands were reaching into an invisible compartment. As soon as the objects were pulled completely out of wherever they came from, the gold light changed into a bold blue glow.

Trinity lowered his arms again, thumbs shifting underneath the rim and pushed, sounds of clicking as the rim and its body separated, sliding off and onto the floor, revealing the silvery gleam of a sword's blade. Trinity raised his emerald eyes and gazed directly into the Cat's ruby stare. "Sapphire Phoenix."

Vivi breathed deeply in awe of the luminous blue and how the light reflected off the swords' blades. It was a beautiful sight. She tiptoed over to where Naomi was struggling with attaching the last bomb and tugged on her uniform. "Naomi, look!"

"I'm busy." The older girl growled, frustrated.

"But it is so pretty! Naomi, where did that light come from, and how did Trinity get swords." Naomi impatiently huffed and glanced over to the battle she had been ignoring all the time. Her gaze softened a little and all the impatience flew away.

"Oh, that. That, Vivi, is called 'Trinity Circle'." Naomi shifted her gaze at the younger girl. "I assume you have heard of it." Vivi nodded, and then shook her head. "Well, what is it? Either you know it or you don't."

"Well, I have heard of it, or at least the name, but I do not know what it is." Naomi shrugged and continued to struggle with the "COP – 5".

"To put it simply, I guess, it's a weapon created by N.A.O. They make most of everything nowadays. The reason it's called 'Trinity' is because they take three different…materials and combine them to make it one being. That's one theory. The other is that it takes those materials and calls a being from a different dimension, a different world and brings it to this world as a weapon. The oldest theory, a theory that is abandoned by everyone except for a few states that the weapons is a part of soul, of what's in our soul, or at least I think that's it. Honestly, I have no clue. It's kind of up for scientific debate. For all we know, it could be none of these.

"Anyway, each 'Trinity Circle', each weapon, is different. There are different powers, different effects, and different names. The only thing that they all share is that they drain your life force." Vivi gawked at Naomi, shocked at such a side effect. "Not permanently, though! If you rest and take it easy for a while, it will come back and you'll be as good as new. That's why you can't fight with 'Trinity Circle' for too long. You'll eventually die if you don't know your own limit." Vivi nodded, beginning to understand what she just said, but it still wasn't that clear to her. Her curiosity was rising quickly, immediately asking questions in her head, like, "What are the materials used", "How come it drains your life force", or "If we can draw them from their world, can we be pulled into from ours into theirs". Vivi succeeded in suppressing all those questions and many more, knowing Naomi was busy with a crucial something else.

"So, what is Trinity's weapon called?" Vivi's curiosity had to know something.

"Sapphire Phoenix."

"Phoenix? So is his special power fire?"

"Part of it specializes in that element, yes."

"So what is yours, Naomi?" Naomi turned her head and winked.

"Watch me fight sometime and you might find out." Vivi pouted a bit, then returned to her former position, watching the battle while Naomi softly cursed at the bomb.

The moment Trinity's feet left their spot, the bold light vanished, leaving only him and his weapons. "Sapphire Phoenix" had increased his speed and strength enough so that he could match the Cat's berserk. He leaped at him and brought one of his sharp blades down towards the alien's head. The Cat growled and blocked the blade with one arm, with some difficulty, and grabbed an approaching blade to his chest, stopping it only inches away from its mark but cutting his hand deeply. Roaring furiously, the Cat threw his opponent over his head and across the room. Trinity twisted, landing on the back of the throne room chair and launching off it, the momentum carrying him at the twice the speed of if he just ran towards him.

The Cat jumped to one side, baring his teeth when blood spurted from his cheek. Looking around to find the human, he spotted Trinity just in time to dodge another flying attack, but didn't completely succeed as he found that a deep cut had formed on his left arm. More furious than ever he sprung towards the human, red eyes blazing. He swiped at the legs, at the chest, neck, everywhere, clashing against two gleaming blades. He couldn't scratch Trinity; it was practically impossible. Trinity matched the blows with equal speed and strength, his green eyes refusing to close and die. But even so, his situation was the same as the Cat's. He couldn't get a chance to finish this, to make his enemy breath his last and become cold stone. Everyone that had 'Trinity Circle's power knew it as dangerous to be battling for long, even if you could go on for hours, or maybe even days. It would be great if Naomi would hurry up. What did she think he was doing, dancing?

"Finally!" Naomi shouted, then clapped a hand over her mouth, realizing she really shouldn't be making a whole ton of noise, and pumped a fist in the air. She actually managed to make the retarded bomb stick. It was so stubborn! Reaching a hand into a pocket, she pulled out a small circular object with a red button smack in the middle. Naomi cocked an eyebrow. 'How more obvious can you get?' she thought and pushed it, dropping it on the ground and twisting her body around while the three bombs she planted started to count down, not vocally of course.

10…

9…

8…

Naomi grabbed Vivi's arm and continued to run towards the throne chair.

7…

6…

5…

They crouched down behind it, facing the back of the room.

4…

3…

2…

'Wait a second. I planted one on that back wall. Should we really be…?'

1…

All around them flames erupted and the walls exploded with a loud bang pounding in their ears. Covering her eyes with her hand, she saw through a crack in her fingers the space in front of her and yelped. Placing an arm around Vivi's shoulders she pushed the younger girl down to the floor as a large chunk of metal crashed on the back of the chair above them and falling to the side. Naomi raised her head wearily and sighed. 'No, I suppose not.'

The sound of the explosion was practically music to his ears. It was loud and harsh music to the ears, but music all the same. Trinity grinned, relaxing a bit, losing his focus on the opponent. Shifting his sight behind him to get a view of the damaged, he was disappointed to find a cloud, made from tiny shards of metal, was obstructing his sight so that he could see only a foggy outline of a hole in the back wall. The gray and silver mist swirled in the air, and Trinity could not see Naomi and Vivi at all. He bit his lip until it started to bleed and gripped his swords tightly, worrying over whether or not they had been gravely hurt by the blast.

The Cathigan grinned, finally able to see an opening in Trinity's defense. He would make sure that the human would regret ever turning his back on an enemy as powerful as he was. The Cat advanced on the unaware human, raising his arm and swinging it mightily down towards Trinity's head. The Cat's berserk eyes glinted and his grin grew wider in triumph as a swift and deadly blow flew towards his unexpecting opponent.

A tiny spark, or a small voice as some people would describe, flashed in Trinity's mind, warning him of something that he couldn't guess at the moment. Then his mind froze as he remembered the situation he was in, and an important lesson that was drilled into every soldier's head.

'Never take your eyes off your opponent. Especially in a one-on-one battle. No matter the circumstances, no matter the situation your companions could be in, remember that a glance in the wrong direction, an opportunity you give to an enemy, could prove to be a fatal flaw.'

Trinity swung his head around just in time to spot the coming strike and just in time to shift his stance and raise his weapons defensively, but a second too late to completely deflect it. He managed to parry part of the blow and change its direction, but that barely did anything to the momentum. The Cat's claws sliced through the uniform covering Trinity's chest and side. Trinity cried out in pain and his breath shuddered, his body seeming to be entering a state of shock. His eyes stared, watching blood free itself from his skin from the middle of his chest to his waist on the right side of his body, staining the area around the long tears on his green uniform.

His legs shook and Trinity stumbled slightly, his endurance strained as he willed himself to remain standing. The Cathigan spat disappointedly, but satisfied that Trinity's body was affected enough from the deep cuts to limit his irritating movements. The Cat raised his claws to his lips and licked some of the blood dripping off the sides. It was satisfactory, yes, but the Cat wanted to play the human a bit more before dealing the finishing blow. His fingers curled slightly so that it formed a half fist, taking in consideration the fact that piercing one's hand with his own claws was not a smart concept. Taking advantage of Trinity's weakened state, the Cat retracted his arm and thrusted it forward, aimed directly for his chest.

Trinity saw it coming, but even so it wouldn't have helped him at all in his current state. He it took most of his remaining strength just to be standing, and even if he tried, he wouldn't be able to dodge this time. Just before the impact, Trinity shut his eyes and braced himself.

The blow sent him flying. The force against his chest stopped his breath and forced his mouth to cough up some blood. Through the air and across the room he flew and eventually his back collided with the top of the throne room chair. His body flipped over and landed on the other side, blocked from the Cat's view.

Vivi almost screamed when an object slammed only two feet away from her, startling both her and Naomi to the point where their skeleton could have jumped out of their skin. The young girl took a few deep breaths and stared at the…long object, or at least longer and bigger than hers, trying to guess what it could be through the metallic fog.

"Holy Mother of God!" Naomi whispered, seeming twice as startled as Vivi was for two seconds until a worried look overcame it. She inched closer and reached out touch the object. She bit her lip and reached under it, turning it over and reaching into her pack. The young woman shuffled through it and brought out a flashlight. Vivi stared at the pack.

'How much stuff can that sack carry?!' She thought, amazed, while Naomi turned the flashlight on and shone it over the thing in front of her. Naomi cursed and kept cursing when Vivi stifled a gasp.

"Trinity," Naomi muttered, placing a hand on his chest and the other feeling for his pulse in his neck while holding the flashlight between her teeth. "Dang it, you're not making my job any easier, you idiot." Her muffled voice growled fiercely as she gazed at the blood on her hand. Trinity laughed shakily, and then coughed up more blood at the effort.

"Sorry abou…about that," Trinity said huskily, gasping for as much air as his aching lungs would allow. "Caught me off gu…guard, that's…all." Naomi snorted.

"Ell, oiusly. Tot oo uld have larned py now tat it is pad fer ur helth hen oo hoo tat." (Translation: Well, obviously. Thought you would have learned by now that it is bad for your health when you do that.)

"Yeah…guess you…you're right." Trinity said, breathing deeply now that things had calmed down a bit. Naomi removed the flashlight from her mouth and sat back, sighing and rubbing her forehead, thinking furiously. After a few seconds she dropped the flashlight back in her pack and handed it to Vivi.

"Hold that, please. I'm going to be carrying a much heavier load. We can't relax yet." Vivi nodded and swung it over her shoulders. Trinity glanced up at Naomi.

"That's not a good…idea, Naomi. There is…no way we will be able…to get out of here wi…with you carrying me." Trinity pushed himself into a sitting position using his forearms, and with much effort. "I can walk…by myself." Naomi rolled her eyes.

"Oh please. You can't even speak one sentence without pausing at least once or twice, and you're telling me you can just stand up and walk, just like that? I don't think so." Trinity opened his mouth to argue with her, but coughed instead. Naomi knelt on one knee next to him. "And you aren't feeling so well. You're coughing up blood and that is never a good sign." Trinity sighed and ruffled his hair, frustrated. Naomi smiled slightly. "Yeah, I know how you feel. Can you at least turn your 'Trinity Circle' off?" Trinity nodded and removed an extra chain from a leg pocket and slid it through the 'Trinity Circle' pendant he had held in his hand the entire time. Motioning for Naomi to help him, he circled it around his neck and clasped the chain ends shut.

As soon as it was done, the swords in Trinity's hands slowly dissolved, starting from the tips of the blades down to the bottom of the blue and silver hilt. Naomi shifted her crouching stance so that Trinity could climb on her back and heaved herself up, grunting with the effort. "We're lucky to have this cloud shielding us. I don't know what that Cat is doing but I'm sure glad that he's busy enough to not hurry over here." With that Naomi nodded to Vivi and the three of them set off through the back wall and into nick in the canyon wall that was actually a small passageway leading to an area where small transport jumpers were waiting to escort the Senator's daughter home.

Hungar's berserk mode faded after he sent the pathetic Alterian soaring across the room. He wouldn't need it to defeat that low life form anymore, not that he needed it in the first place. The red disappeared from his eyes and was replaced with the golden glow once again. Hungar licked the remaining blood from his gleaming claws, now stained, of course, and watched out of the corner of his eye the sheathes of that Alterian's blades disintegrate out of existence. The Cathigan commander narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Now that his mind was clearer, wasn't there more Alterians with that one? They disappeared before his fight began, so where did they go?

The Cathigan growled and strode towards where the metallic cloud hung, his right hand held out in front of him as an invisible force built up around his palm. As soon as he was near enough that power was released, acting as a form of repelling force field, blowing away the mist and clearing up his vision. It wasn't a supernatural power, or some sort of psychic ability, but Hungar wasn't going to let those stupid Alterians know. It was a device, connected to the palm and covered by padding, by a sort of glove. It was like a shield, taking in air from the surroundings and compressing it. You the amount of time it took compressing it and how much you compress will determine the size of the "shield" and force whatever was in front away from the user of the device. That was how he prevented most of the bullets from before ever making it to him.

Now that he was able to see the area, rage built up inside of Hungar. The Alterian, all of those irritating Alterians were gone, disappeared just like before. Three holes just as tall as the Cathigan commander were in three different places on three different sides. The Alterians must have done this to buy time, to confuse him, the powerful commander of this base. They escaped him, but that would only prolong their fate. He would track them down and kill them. He would send scouting patrols to search. Those feeble Alterians couldn't have gotten far with an injured one.

"Naomi, stop. You need to rest." Trinity whispered in her ear after travelling twenty minutes down a dark path. The young woman was already staggering a few steps and stumbled at least once since they left the throne room. Naomi paused for only a few seconds to catch her breath before replying.

"We can't, Trinity, and you know that. We have to get out of here as soon as we possibly can or its doomsday for all of us." Silently, Trinity agreed with her logic, but another even louder voice in his head told him she would be too exhausted to walk soon if something didn't change.

"Fine, we'll compromise. Set me down and I'll walk by myself." Naomi turned her head and in the light from the flashlight Vivi was holding he was a stubborn glint in the young woman's eyes.

"You are in no condition to do that." Trinity glared right back with an equally stubborn look.

"And I'm saying that I can do this for the remaining time. Put me down."

"I'm telling you no!"

"And I'm telling you," Trinity started, raising his voce a little, "That I'll force both of us to the ground, which would just make circumstances even harder than they already are if you don't!" Naomi started to reply, but paused for a few moments.

"You would, wouldn't you?" She asked suspiciously. Trinity's stare told her everything. Naomi sighed, defeated. Trinity could be just as stubborn as she could be sometimes. Secretly, she was relieved at the idea that she wouldn't have to carry Trinity's weight around anymore, but there was no way she would openly admit to it. "Fine." She stated, bending so that the other person could slid off and onto his feet. "But as soon as we see those jumpers, you aren't walking by yourself anymore." Trinity shrugged, breathing heavily and started walking forward. Vivi was on his right while Naomi was on his left, ready to support him in case he stumbled and fell.

It was about another ten minutes before they even saw light at the end of the tunnel, and in this case, walking towards that light was something everyone thought was the best thing to do. Naomi grabbed Trinity's left arm and laid it across her shoulders, supporting him while they increased their pace. Vivi turned off the flashlight just before they broke through the doorway, exiting darkness.

It was a welcome sight after all they had been through. They saw people of their own kind with relieved smiles on their faces. People rushed over from three different transport jumpers to examine their comrades, some fussing over Trinity's wounds and making more of a deal out of it than he would have liked, but that was medics for you. One scratch and you were bandaged up like a mummy. Vivi tugged on her hat and ran her fingers through her hair shyly, turning to look up at her two rescuers.

"Thank you Trinity, and you Naomi. Thank you so much for coming to my aid and getting me out of that horrible place." The two of them smiled at her, probably just as relieved as she was about escaping from the dangers they were through.

"Your very much welcome, but the person you should really than…" Trinity paused to cough a bit, causing the medics fuss even more and forcing him to sit while they got a stretcher. "You should really thank Chris." Vivi tilted her head, puzzled.

"Chris? Who is that?"

"He was one of your escorts." This time it was Naomi who answered. "From before the Cats kidnapped you, remember? Christophe O'Brien of Grey Zero, along with three others who accompanied you." Vivi bit her lip, embarrassed about not remembering the name and straying back to the memory of the exploding transport, killing her escorts inside. Then realization struck.

"Wait, one of them survived?! Is he still alive?! Really?" Naomi nodded, but a hand on her shoulder made her pause. A women around her early twenties dressed in the white uniform medics wore shook her head.

"We received a message not too long ago. Christophe died about an hour ago." Naomi closed her eyes as her head sunk to her chest, and Trinity rubbed a grey stripe down the sleeve of his right arm. Vivi gazed at it and was once again struck with realization.

"My escorts…were they from your group? Grey Zero?" Trinity glanced at her with sad eyes.

"Yeah," he stated simply, allowing the two novice medics to lift him on a stretcher they had just brought. "That's why…why Grey Zero was responsible for getting you back. It was our job to…keep you safe to…begin with." Trinity took a deep breath and smiled shakily before closing his eyes. The woman medic that bore the sad news before checked his pulse and breathing.

"He's unconscious and heavily injured. Always so troublesome, Grey Zero is. We need to get him back to HQ immediately." While they carried his body the woman shouted to the others that they needed to prepare to leave and then depart in the next five minutes. Vivi gazed at Naomi despairingly and guiltily.

"I am sorry, Naomi. It is because of me your friends died." Naomi laughed softly and laid a hand on the younger girl's shoulder.

"Death is to be expected in war. None of us can hang over every single one or we might not be able to move on. Right now, all of us need to concentrate on the present." Vivi looked down, still feeling guilty. Naomi patted the girl's cheek and lifted her head. "Look up and don't kill yourself over this. Grey Zero will survive. We'll all move on if we want to end this war and making these sacrifices." Vivi nodded slowly, showing that she understood. "Good." Naomi smiled a little wider. "Now Vivi, how about we concentrate on returning you to home?"

Vivi smiled back at her. Home sounded sweet and warm, like a glass of warm milk that soothed your heart. She was suddenly filled with desperation and impatience to see the place she called her home.

Lord Hungar slammed a fist angrily against the wall in his den. Those pathetic, weak, feeble, low-life Alterians escaped his grasp. Everywhere they searched, all throughout the area surrounding this base and there wasn't a trace. Filled with rage he overturned the table and broke the chair, creating chaos in the room. The only thing that was running through his head was the thought that if he ever saw that one Alterian's face, that one, puny, troublesome, green-eyed Alterian ever again, he would make sure that he would disappear…permanently, and with him, the great commander, there to witness it.