Zelda peeked up at a small window, still a bit shocked to see space so close. Even though her body had left earth for the celestial heavens, she couldn't believe that the stars were still so far away. The dim, twinkling specks of light scattered across the dark, empty abyss like glitter dust flung against an inky backdrop.
Exhaling slowly, she let her head rest against the icy wall of her containment. She wondered how on earth- er, space- was she here? By a major chance of luck and Caterina's instructions, they were on the same small ship that was moving Tres to the Rozen Kreuz Orden's main hub.
She snuck a glance up at her ex-partner, whose cart happened to be only three inches from her face. Since she had last seen him, the ice had begun to grow, forming a large rectangular block. The ice wasn't the problem though. It was finding and obtaining the chip that would wake him from this slumber mode. Thankfully, they hadn't rushed into this without some sort of information. Once they were away from the Orden, they contacted Caterina aboard the Iron Maiden.
"He's on the MOON?!" despair fell heavily on Zelda and she sunk to her knees, tears threatening in her eyes.
Caterina sighed over the radio. "Don't give up. There is a small chance of success but you must take it."
"Oh yeah? How are we going to find Kain's room, find the chip, find wherever they take Tres, remove the ice, get out and accomplish all of this without being noticed?"
"She did say there was a small chance of success," Professor horribly attempted to lighten the situation.
"I can help you with two of your problems. I can tell you that Kain-sa… Kain's room is on the west wing of the 127th floor in the main structure and a way to escape is to use the emergency pods. They're on the 3rd floor, three right turns after you come down a flight of stairs. The best time to search inside his room is while he is taking his daily bath. The only one who would become a problem to you then is Isaak. No one else would venture near his bedroom."
Zelda brought her knees up to her chin and hugged her legs. "We're doomed, aren't we? How do we keep ourselves from being noticed? I mean, you would think they would see two humans from Earth roaming around their station."
"There is only security on the outside. It's enough to keep nearly everyone out. Since the security is impossible to penetrate on the outside, and they are on the inside, they don't think they need anything else. We didn't think we needed anything else," she admitted. "The only security you will have a problem with is if you run into someone."
Zelda looked out again, in complete awe of what she saw before her. On the dark side of the moon, was the base. It blended in so well that nobody from Earth would ever notice. The base itself was like a creature from the inner core of the satellite, crawling its way out into the open. It's long onyx claws were clutching at the rocky surface, forcing its entry into space.
Professor, who couldn't see the sight from his position, breathed, "We're about to land. Put your head down."
She nodded and curled up into a ball. Trying to keep her heart from beating so quickly, she took deep breaths and closed her eyes. The impact of landing caused the ship to shudder and tremble, giving them reason to believe it was unstable and difficult to enter the moon base. A few minutes after feeling the quakes and vibrations, someone unlocked the door to their cramped storage space.
"Eh?! You want me to lift and move a 500-pound robot?!! Out of all the things you have ever commanded me to do, this is the most absurd of them all," the man at the door complained.
Someone else replied to his remark.
He sighed, "Fine, fine. Just where do you want me to take him?" The other person responded. "Eighth floor?! Great, just great. Today is just not my day."
As he reached in to pull out Tres, the other man's voice became audible. "And yet, I wonder why I keep you."
"Understood master," he said in a more humble tone. Because of the fierce tugging of Zelda's former tovares through the door, the man didn't see them in the back. Of course, who would expect anyone to hide out on Kämpher's ship?
It felt as if hours trickled by slowly as they froze in a silent posture. Eons could have passed, Tres' death could have passed, the Orden's destruction could have passed and yet they sat. Growing impatient, Zelda asked, "Please can we leave now?"
The Professor rubbed his face, thinking. "…Yeah."
Creeping through the other objects in the compartment, she grasped the glossy silver handle and pulled it down centimeter by centimeter. She glanced through a small crack to see if the coast was clear. Seeing no one around, she jumped out of the ship and ran like mad to get to the other side of the room.
The Professor followed her and whispered, "Well, that was a smart move. What if someone had been here?!"
"But there's not. So, let's take this chance and go before that one person comes back for the other cargo." Zelda opened a random door and disappeared into a long, white marble corridor.
---
"What… level… are we… on?" William desperately tried to catch his breath. They paused in the infinite staircase to regain their strength.
She shook her head and gulped, "I lost count at floor 78."
"We must be close now."
One staircase down, someone opened the door. They held their breaths- although their bodies screamed for oxygen. The person began to climb towards them, causing them to feel panic.
She glanced around and knew that there was nowhere to run, no place to hide. Grabbing the Professor by the back of his shirt, she dragged him up another level. Throwing caution into the wind, she flung open the door to that floor and rushed inside. She placed her ear against the wall, listening to the other person's footsteps fade away.
She hung her head and exhaled in relief. "Well, maybe we can see what level we're on now."
"Hey, Zelda," his voice was smiling. "Thanks to whoever nearly found us, we're on floor 127."
"Are you serious?!" She spun around to face the small plaque on the wall that read: '127'.
He clamped his hand over her mouth, "Shh. We don't know if he's still here. Who knows what time it is." She nodded and he let her go. They stole down the inky hallway, searching for his room. Thankfully, there was only one door on the entire floor. Zelda reached for the knob but paused. A crypt-like aura pulsed and seeped out, tainting the air she breathed, while an even thicker darkness gathered inside.
Choking, she motioned, "Go hide." He nodded once and went away. Now that she was alone, she let her nerves crash down on her. All of her instincts told her to stay away. Her frame shook and she had trouble swallowing. Holding the handle, she hesitantly turned it and pushed open the creaking door.
Please don't be in here. Please don't be in here. Please don't be in here, She prayed repeatedly. Shadows so thick she couldn't breathe, see her hand or even feel her face covered her as she stepped into the room. For the first time in her life, she was afraid of the dark.
Shaking her head, she backed up and collided with something. Fear destroyed whatever was left of her sanity but her body moved unconsciously, responding to the object. After fully turning around, someone caught her hands.
A soul-shattering scream clogged her throat. She stared up at the xanthous leader of the Orden. Kain closed his eyes and smiled, "Who is this?"