The twins walked amongst confused faces as they made their way down pristine streets. The sensation of color and reality was still sinking in for everyone that had been trapped or brought to Old J, and there wasn’t a trace of City I anywhere to be found. Tanesh and Scud’s noses busily taking in the odd smells of the once Fragmented City, the group received plenty of looks at every turn. By now, they were well known here, and the people silently and graciously thanked them at every possible moment.

  It didn’t take them long to meet up with Rivia and his Angels, at the public meeting square where he had been during their first visit. Shin couldn’t help but shoot a smile at her older cousin as he rubbed his tired eyes and absorbed a non-monochrome world. Tabi and Viktor were off to the side with the small, special army Rivia had conceived, where they tried to get their bearings and go over their immediate plans once again. Norria stood silently near Rivia, with a huge look of gratitude.

  “It… worked,” Garder mumbled. “It’s hard to believe I’m seeing you in color again, General…”

  “What was it like on your end?” Milla asked. “We had flashes, and then black flames appeared and basically just consumed City I.”

  “We were scared as hell, to put it mildly,” Rivia replied with a laugh. “Everything went dark for a long time, and we felt an endless earthquake. Energy ripped through us—felt like I was being torn apart. And then suddenly, we have light again. Light, color, the sound of wind… I hadn’t been trapped for that long, but I had already begun to miss it. I can’t imagine how those here the longest feel right now.”

  “Rivia, as you can see, Aurra is… not well,” Shin said. “But for a moment, when you returned, the sun was a little brighter and all of the nearby haze was blown away. Any idea why that happened?”

  “Oh, I could come up with a dozen speculations, but let’s focus on more important matters for the time being. We have places to go.”

  “I thought this was going to be our home base…” Xavier replied.

  “No, no. Not at all. We’re far too isolated up here to do what we need to do. And we have no food. You’ll know everything soon—all that I’ve kept a secret from you. Where are Tess and Hekens, by the way?”

  “Still up in the observation tower,” Verim replied.

  “We should say our farewells. We may not see them for a long time to come. Ah, seeing this landscape again… Rare Aurrian nostalgia.”

  “Rivia… what are you talking about?” Milla wondered. “Just where are we going?”

  “Soon—soon you’ll know everything. I’ve revealed to you much about my aspirations and the hidden truths of Aurra, but now you’re about to find out just who I am, work with, and what we’re really fighting. For now, let us return to the observation deck.”

  “Wait…” Garder sighed. “We need to tell you something first.”

  “Yes? What is it?”

  “We, um… We lost Rayna. The pretorians have her.”

  “They were after me, too,” Temki added. “I’m sorry, Mr. Rivia… We tried to stop her, but Trinqit surprised us.”

  “Unfortunate… We’ll have to tell her parents. I believe they should come with us, as well.”

  “Guess we’ll see if they’ve had any past lives, too,” Garder replied. “But I worry about Rayna… What do you think they’ll do with her?”

  “If I my suspicions about Drides and the king are correct, I might have some idea. We’ll have plenty to discuss shortly. Let us hurry and fetch Rayna’s parents and say our goodbyes to what’s left of I.”

  He led the large group through the City, back towards the building where Rayna’s mother and father were staying. Along the way, they walked past large groups of the City’s inhabitants, most of which seemed to be waking up from a very long sleep. It was obvious that it would take quite some time for the once-imprisoned people to get used to their new lives.

  “Is I in the Fragmented Dimension now?” Masayuki wondered.

  “It’s likely,” Rivia replied. “We probably didn’t change anything about how that dimension functions. People may still get trapped there.”

  “Then we’ll just have to keep freeing them,” Garder stated.

  “We may have to, yes… Well, here we are,” Rivia said as they stopped in front of the apartment. “We don’t all need to go in, of course.”

  “I will,” Milla replied.

  “Yeah, same here,” Garder added.

  “You weren’t even there when it happened,” Lechi noted.

  “So? What does that matter?”

  “I want to say something to them, also,” Temki replied.

  “Alright. Everyone else, we’ll make this quick,” Rivia said.

  The others scattered about on the street and made idle conversation with the locals as Rivia, the twins, and the two remaining children went inside the derelict stone apartment building and returned to the room where Rayna’s parents had been patiently waiting.

  When they entered, they seemed to be quietly ecstatic; both were in a mix of a deep concentration and held back excitement on the room’s bed. After they heard Rivia enter, they got to their feet and quickly greeted him.

  “Oh, Mr. Rivia!” Phoebe started. “It’s amazing! One moment, I think my body’s about to be torn apart, the next, I’m seeing so many… vivid images. Memories I never knew existed flooding into my mind…”

  “So this is recollection?” Louis continued. “Astounding. It’s like I’ve never forgotten a thing at all! I’ve had… seven… no, eight past lives.”

  “Four here, I think. I can’t believe that I was an almost famous artist in Paris back in the 19th century! But to tell you the truth, I’ve always felt like I had a touch of painterly talent in my blood.”

  “And I spent one of my lives as a naval captain in… I don’t know, it must’ve been at least three hundred years ago.”

  “Oh, but recollection isn’t all we’re thankful for, of course.”

  “Yes, that’s right—we have to tell you how grateful we are that you freed us from that prison. I thought I’d never see color again.”

  “Mr. and Mrs. Carthy, I’m glad to see that you are excited,” Rivia replied calmly. “I know well of the euphoria that can come with the return of recollection. But, I’m afraid that I have some bad news…”

  “Oh?” Louis’ expression diminished quickly. “What? What is it?”

  Phoebe looked over Rivia’s shoulder at the twins, and to Tanesh, Lechi and Temki. A feeling of dread was already pulsating through her.

  “Mr. Rivia… where’s my daughter?” Phoebe asked worryingly.

  “Rayna? Yes… Where is Rayna?”

  “Listen…” Rivia sighed and dipped his head. “I’m afraid that the pretorians managed to take her from us. As bad as that may seem… Well, I can’t really explain this in full, but she could be in more danger if she were to fall into Lontonkon’s hands. He’s the one that… no, that isn’t important. But I promise you, we will get her back as soon as we can.”

  “They… they took Rayna?” Louis repeated as he and his wife fell back to the bed in despair. “How could this happen?”

  “I’m very sorry,” Milla replied. “She was my responsibility.”

  “But to be fair, the pretorian did catch us off guard,” Lechi added. “I mean, we really weren’t expecting her to show up.”

  “I’m sorry, as well,” Temki continued. “I couldn’t protect her even when she right next to me…”

  Phoebe covered her eyes. “She… she must be so scared.”

  “They aren’t going to hurt her,” Rivia assured. “She’s important to them. And if Drides is planning what I think he is… Well, he’s going to try and keep her from the king as long as possible.”

  “I don’t understand.” Phoebe sobbed. “Why is she so important? Isn’t she just like any other child?”

  “I… I will tell you what I know. Very shortly. Please, stay here for now, and I will be back momentarily. I’m about to bring everyone to a hidden, safe place, and after that, we’ll go and rescue her. I swear it.”

  The five left the parents in silence to give them a few minutes to collect their thoughts and take in what they had just heard. It had been tough for all of them; hearing Rivia say out loud that Rayna had been taken made it seem so much more real. The four that had spent nearly a month with the child now felt as if they had just lost a family member.

  “Rayna was born from a rock inscribed with a demon’s DNA…” Garder muttered as they went down the hall. “I wonder how they’ll take that news. How long has Lontonkon been planning… whatever his plan is?”

  “Not even I know that much about him,” Rivia replied. “But I’m beginning to think that the demon was about much more than the claws. Those were just a bonus for the scheme he’s thought up over the decades.”

  “Could he want the demon itself? Maybe its power?” Lechi asked.

  “I don’t know how he could control such a thing,” Milla said. “But why else would he want Rayna? Rivia, that reminds me… she can create nova spells. She used one against Trinqit before she was captured.”

  Rivia stopped in mid stride and turned to Milla. “Are you sure?”

  “I saw it happen,” Temki replied. “I was barely awake, but I definitely saw her conjure up a bright, exploding sphere.”

  “I see… I think that proves it. Lontonkon has created the first ever nova adept, in some twisted way. The power and danger she could hold… We can’t rely on Drides to keep her from him for long. I saw contention between the two when I was sent here, enough to know that they’re not on good terms. Rayna could be the ultimate bargaining piece among them.”

  Milla sighed. “She’s a child. She wouldn’t understand any of this.”

  “The place I’m going to take you to has people that might just be able to pull off a rescue. We should keep our farewells with Hekens and Tess brief, as I wanted to get to this place as soon as we returned to Aurra. So let’s get the rest of your group and move along.”

  “Rivia, can’t you tell us just one thing about this ‘place’ you keep talking about?” Garder asked. “At least give us a name.”

  “Fine… But none of you can repeat these two words outside of the facility that has them as its title. Understand?”

  “Y-yeah, of course.”

  “I trust you. We’re going to ‘Eden’s Burrow’.”

  “Wait—is that a nomadic town or something? I know that Aurrian vagrants give their little villages names and such,” Milla replied.

  “Sounds like a place in the American Midwest with a population of about five hundred or so to me…” Garder mumbled to himself.

  “It’s nothing any of you could expect. And this may seem hard to believe, but you’re all going to be there within the hour.”

  Two demirriages warped in at a clear spot within the observation deck. Most of it had been cleared out, with the exception of Hekens, Tess, and some remaining City staff. Each of them had a forlorn expression.

  “Oh, Rivia…” Tess greeted. “It’s been so long since we’ve seen you up here. It’s… too bad you couldn’t see I one last time. It’s all gone.”

  “Either obliterated or traded for this ancient metropolis,” Hekens added. “We must’ve done something so illegal that there isn’t a law for it.”

  “We already filled our violation quota with Simon,” Garder replied.

  “I will miss it, but surely we can rebuild it,” Rivia said. “There’s plenty of room nearby.”

  “But where will we get that many synthids?” Hekens wondered. “No doubt they’re all going to the war effort now.”

  “A raid on City S is inevitable. I’ll be sure and set aside plenty of super synthids for you when that moment finally arrives.”

  “Anyway, Rivia, we are very glad to see that everything worked out on your end. But I don’t know what to do with all of my people.”

  “The City would seem better than the cave,” Shin commented.

  “Yes, but if it was at full capacity when it left Aurra, and took in more people over the years… How could there be room for us there?”

  “Yeah, good point.”

  “Rivia, what state do you think I’s old Administrative complex is in?” Tess wondered. “I could never find out that much about ancient J.”

  “J had, or has no such complex,” Rivia answered. “It was built before the Administration existed in a global underground network. All your entryways to that place have no doubt been twisted and bent out of shape, but you should be able to get back down into it if you tried.”

  “Wait a minute,” Wendell spoke up. “Surely all of those people in J would no longer wish to be there, correct? Why not just move them out like we’ve been doing and move the I’ers back in? Trains may still work, right?”

  “If they do, you should start working on that right away, Hekens.”

  “Yes, but… I can’t leave Jeremi out in D by himself any longer. I’m going to be on the first train out.”

  “Greg, your people need you…” Tess protested.

  “I know they do. I’ll return as soon as I find my son. I regret taking him out of the City, and I still don’t have faith in D’s safety. Something… worries me. I fear that the Guard may attempt to retake it with brute force.”

  “I doubt it,” Verim said. “They’ve done nothing but screw up.”

  “Don’t underestimate them,” Lechi replied. “They’re still capable of anything, and D is flanked by Cities heavily occupied by the Guard.”

  “We’ll keep in close contact,” Rivia said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more for my home, but I’ve got someplace to be. Good luck with whatever you come up with. I know you’ve got a tough challenge ahead.”

  “Thank you, Rivia,” Hekens said. “I’ll try and see if I can match your expectations. I can’t let my people suffer for much longer.”

  “Bye, everyone,” Milla said. “I hope we get to meet again. I’d love to spend a lifetime in a new I. Do me a favor and make sure it’s rebuilt.”

  “Sure thing,” Tess replied with a smile. “Take care, all of you.”

  “I hope Zala will still find ways to help you guys,” Lechi said.

  “Oh, I’m sure she will.”

  They finished their farewells, and the group took off once again. It was a little strange to finally have Rivia himself as part of the team, but at the same time, it felt like they would quickly adapt, almost as if he had been there from the beginning.

  “Garder, you man the second demirriage,” Rivia ordered as the three paradigms, Rayna’s parents, and Norria crammed into two carriages.

  “Got it. Where are we going?”

  “City C. Pang’s office. I’ll go first.”

  “That place is pretty small, so I guess we don’t want to appear in the same place and have our atoms collide, heh…”

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “A-are these things safe?” Louis worried. “I’ve heard stories…”

  “Goodness, what a strange vehicle…” Phoebe added. “I never even liked the sound of these things in Aurrian history books.”

  “We’re lucky,” Tabi replied as she made room inside the carriage of light. “The maximum capacity for these models is eight. We can just fit.”

  “Wonder why Norria is coming along…” Garder murmured to the others in his carriage. “Rivia never said much about her, did he?”

  “There’s something strange about that girl,” Temki replied. “Her thought patterns are… a little odd. It’s like a blur trying to read her.”

  “What do you mean trying to read her?” Xavier wondered. “Do you go around reading minds all the time or something?”

  “No, it’s just, I can always see thought patterns. It’s hard to explain. It’s like electricity surrounding someone’s body. If I could compare it with color, Garder’s patterns are a swirling blue, and Simon’s are bright yellow.”

  “So are they based off of alchemagi alignment?” Garder asked.

  “It might be a part of it, but not exactly. Milla has a deep purple and not the blue-green that vector spells have. But Norria’s… I can’t see the color, or the pattern. It’s just a big mess.”

  “Some kind of blocker implant or something? Eh, I don’t know what I’m talking about, but I’m sure something like that exists.”

  The carriage with Rivia, the paradigms, Norria, Wendell and Rayna’s parents vanished into the air. Garder prepared to push the pedestal in front of him, giving the other group about a minute to disembark first.

  “Kinda weird going back to C again,” Lechi mentioned. “Wonder why. Is this super secret place connected to it somehow?”

  “Could be. That City’s pretty messed up already. Wouldn’t be surprised if it had some more dark secrets.”

  “Wonder if Tanesh will remember it,” she added as her dog licked at her face from her arms. “Place is a bit scary, though. All those weird experiments and everything…”

  “Yeah, well, what can we do? Rivia’s bossing us around again,” Garder replied jokingly and hit the pedestal.

  Pang’s office was brightly lit, and from the floor’s height, they got their first clear, long-distance view of the world’s new atmosphere. The haze was thicker than ever, and visibility was now perhaps no more than a few miles outside of the protective shell.

  “So, everyone’s here…” Pangs coughed at his desk. “Garder, Milla, Lechi… Hello. It feels like it’s been a long time. And… new friends, too.”

  “Hello, Pangs,” Milla greeted back.

  “I suppose we shouldn’t waste time. Rivia’s here, standing in my office, and this means that something important is up and coming, so…”

  “That’s exactly it,” Rivia replied as he pocketed the demirriage scroll. “Pangs, I’m sure that you haven’t forgotten this saying we agreed upon. Well, I’m here today to say it now. It’s time for us to go.”

  Pangs froze for a few seconds behind his desk before sighing, “I figured as much. Very well. Given the situation, let us set aside all of the pleasantries and get you all moving.”

  “What? It’s time? What the heck’s that mean?” Garder mumbled.

  “Everyone, follow me. I will bring you to your next destination.”

  Still waiting for so many answers, the large group followed Rivia and Pangs back to the elevator and piled in. Pangs brought everyone down to the third floor, and after the doors opened, they all stepped out into a very dark room filled with dusty metal filing cabinets.

  “I can’t believe this day has arrived,” Pangs said as they proceeded down through the room. “Rivia, how much do you know about this place?”

  “I haven’t had much of a chance to learn about it,” he replied.

  “At least Norria here will be going home after all this time.”

  “Huh?” Garder murmured. “She lives in this place?”

  “I do,” she answered. “I’d like to tell you about it, but there’s really not much reason to until we actually arrive.”

  “Speaking of which, here we are.” Pangs stopped at a large door that was partially concealed into the wall. “And here we go…”

  He pressed down onto a panel, causing it to slide up and reveal a keypad. After typing in a long combination, the keypad reconcealed itself, and the door shuddered as it slowly opened from the sides. A second pair of doors opened on the other side, and lights came on beyond them.

  The room past the door actually appeared to be a tramcar of some sort, complete with seat belts and small, thick windows. Its interior lights were dim, and only darkness surrounded the vehicle.

  “Right.” Pangs turned to everyone. “This will take you to your destination. It will be a lengthy trip—fifteen minutes or so. This will also be a one-way trip.”

  “We can’t come back?” Verim questioned.

  “Not from there to here. After you arrive, bombs will cause the tunnel to collapse behind you.”

  “That’s extreme. Doesn’t this just run on a track system?”

  “No. It will take you down below the Administration complex first, and then begin a shallow, diagonal drop to your location. The tunnel you’ll be going through was only temporary, dug into the rock and earth. All that will propel you downwards is gravity and some locked wheels.”

  “So we’re going down some deep, made-to-collapse tunnel in a box with wheels,” Garder summarized. “This place had better be worth it…”

  Shin asked, “But there are other entryways into this place, right?”

  “There must be a few,” Rivia answered. “Now, everyone in. I will explain a few things as we travel. Pangs, thank you for letting them set this up in your City. I’m sure we’ll be working closely together from now on.”

  “Indeed. Now get going, the lot of you,” Pangs replied.

  Once everyone was inside and secured, the doors slammed shut, and the tram free-fell several thousand feet before stopping with a terrifying jolt. The crude transport system made some audible adjustments, and then the vehicle began its steady descent downwards. The lights, powered solely by the moving wheels outside, flickered in and out as the metal box dug its way deeper down the tunnel.

  “Listen…” Rivia began from his seat. “First of all, I’d like to clarify something about City J. I’m sure you’ve been wondering what it was that I removed or changed to bring it back, and why no one had done it before.”

  “Uh, sure,” Garder said with a shrug.

  “The scientists that brought the City into its dimension surely would’ve brought it back again, correct? They were the ones that told me about the details of the entire incident to begin with, after all. Well, actually, they couldn’t return, no matter what they tried. This is because they lacked one important thing—a key to deactivate the machine.”

  “A key?” Milla replied. “Wouldn’t they have something like that before they activated the dimensional machinery that caused the accident?”

  “No. Because what they had built was a reconstruction of an even more ancient instrument that, well, didn’t exactly come with instructions. I didn’t know any of this before going there, mind you. Do you remember why I got myself sent there in the first place? It was the safest place I could be at the time. I relied on you to use my research and find a way to open a pathway to the dimension. The Guard hadn’t expected this to happen, and I had doubts of my own. That, and I still wanted to see the realm for myself. Prior to my arrival, however, I had no idea of just what the truth was…

  “Everyone, Norria is very unlike us. She was created in Eden’s Burrow. She is something of an artificial life form, although she very much does have a soul of her own, and previous lives that she can remember.”

  “Is she a clone?” Garder replied, thinking immediately of Kamsa.

  “No,” Norria said. “I was created the same way, to some degree, that biological implants are made. I am like a living, programmed machine. There was nothing special about my lives prior to entering this body. And although I was angry at first for the fate bestowed upon me, I accepted that I was needed in some way. I was constructed in a manner that lets me bypass every single Aurrian law transmitted. I can get by any biological security process, as well. I am like a living skeleton key.”

  “But… how?” Simon asked. “How can she do all of that? Even if she was constructed, she’s still human… right?”

  “I am human… but skewed, shifted. I am, in fact, a human spirit living inside of a reborn physical shell designed to take human form. The physical shell I speak of is that of a species which died out long ago.”

  With the exception of Rivia and Norria, no one in the tram had the slightest idea about how to respond to such information.

  “Let me just say this,” Rivia spoke after a few seconds. “We were not the first. There was an intelligent species that lived before we did. At least in Aurra; we aren’t sure about Earth. Norria is… a hybrid between the two species. She was created based off of an ancient datastone written by this race. One that captured all of their genetic information.”

  “Are… are you serious?” Garder stuttered, his eyes wide open. “A race that existed before us? Did they start off in Aurra or something?”

  “I don’t know yet. I just told you all of what little I do know.”

  “So Norria… that’s why your thought patterns are so strange…” Temki murmured. “You’re both a human… and this ancient race?”

  “Yes. About a third of my genetic structure belongs to this race, but everything to do with my outward appearance is human. Although it may seem unnatural, my creators managed to pull it off. Other than my hybrid genetics, I am quite a normal child. I am ten years old, I grew up in Eden’s Burrow, and I keep memories of everything I’ve seen there protected under a sturdy mental shield.”

  “This discovery was an immense surprise,” Rivia continued. “Honestly, it’s something I’d never have expected in my search for truth.”

  “After we heard that Rivia had been brought to the Fragmented Dimension, my people sent me in after him with the key. We’d been waiting to release the City from that world, after using it, in a sense, to keep what you know now as the Angels in a safe place. We are like the Administration in some ways as we can monitor all of Aurra, just on likely a smaller scale.”

  “And apparently, the tram Pangs was watching over is one of several single use methods of entry to Eden’s Burrow.”

  “Can’t we just use a demirriage to get in?” Tabi wondered.

  “No. Aside from a few rooms, all alchemagi is blocked in Eden’s Burrow. Entry via anything non-direct is impossible,” Norria explained. “It’s more like a high-tech laboratory you’d find on Earth. Some equipment has even been taken from there, as it would be very difficult to synthesize.”

  “Like computers?” Simon replied.

  “Yes, exactly. Compact, powerful computer systems have been one thing we can’t synthesize properly in Aurra. Microchips are too difficult to create, needing accuracy on a nano-scale we can’t replicate.”

  “I see… I’m kind of getting excited about this place.”

  “If we’re going to win this war… we need to cheat a little,” Rivia said. “Tactics, tech, new ways of thinking. That’s how we beat the Guard.”

  “What about the other Angels? We kind of just left them out there,” Garder inquired.

  Viktor answered, “They are each going to act as officers for various rebel cells, and try to unify them all with focused goals. I think the plan was to scatter them about as soon as we are done here.”

  “Eden’s Burrow is going to be our central, very hidden base of operations. Very, very few people are going to know about it,” Rivia explained. “Hold on, feels like it’s going to get a bit rough here.”

  “Yeah, we’re really picking up speed. Listen to the air outside pushing against the tram,” Shin replied.

  “How far down is this place, anyway?” Verim wondered.

  “Classified,” Norria replied. “Actually, I’m one of the very few who knows that fact. Keeping our distance under the surface a secret adds to our safety. I can assure you that it is deeper than any Administration complex.”

  By now, the air rushing against the vehicle and the sound of the wheels spinning thousands of times a minute were so loud, that yelling would’ve been the only way to hold a conversation, so everyone went silent. Soon after, the light flickered off, leaving them in darkness.

  Seconds later, the tram hit water and leveled out. Going through water quickly reduced its speed, but the final impact against the tunnel wall was still fairly jarring—the force even cracked some of the windows. After the lights came back to life, Shin and Verim opened the side door with some effort, and the group departed their transportation onto dry land.

  The cave was eerily quiet, and glowed in a deep orange from the pair of lanterns hanging above the small chamber. Metal pillars provided support, but otherwise the chamber was completely empty aside from the single metal door on the other side.

  “Ah…” Louis bent over and caught his breath. “I hope that ride doesn’t make me sick…”

  “Are you all right, dear?” Phoebe worried.

  “Yeah, yeah. Seems my motion sickness gets carried over. I’ve had the problem several times, if I remember.”

  “I’d like to hear all about your past lives, but we’d better keep moving,” Rivia replied. “We don’t know when those tunnel bombs will go off, and this chamber may not be safe.”

  The group of fifteen kept close and went up to the metal door, which opened as they approached. They piled into a dark, cold, steel room with only the dimmest of blue lighting and no visible exit. After Lechi and Tanesh went in last, the door slammed shut, and the room vented some air.

  Suddenly, a ray of light burst out from a machine on the ceiling and scanned over them feverishly. A speaker then buzzed out some feedback, and a man’s sharp voice spoke to the cramped visitors.

  “Do not move. We are performing biotic scans… Okay, we’ve got something here. Data coming in… Look at this, sir. Could be trouble.”

  “What is it?”

  “We’re picking up two Guardian implants, a corrupted implant of unknown origin, and… hold on… Performing alchemagi scan.”

  The white scanner light turned gold as the group nervously waited. There was a long pause before the man on the other end continued.

  “Damn! Look at this, sir. Four paradigms, a solar, and two… I can’t explain it. Two have a bizarre energy structure. And this child here, I can’t get a lock on her at all. Some sort of blocking implant…”

  “You idiot, you left the mic on,” the other voice said with a sigh. “We’ve been waiting for these people. Let them in immediately.”

  “Oh… yes, of course, sir.”

  A giant metal door slowly worked its way open in front of them, complete with grinding noises and constant shuddering. The eyes of the group adjusted to a bright white hallway with two armed guards at either side, in unfamiliar solid black uniforms.

  Two men then stepped in and looked over the puzzled group. Once they could see, they saw that one of them had a familiar, friendly face.

  “Osk!” Milla almost shouted in excitement. “Do you live here? We had thought the worst when we heard you disappeared…”

  “Ah, I apologize for that, Ms. Nolland. But I had to come home.”

  “Home, huh…” Garder murmured.

  “I’m sorry about Cordalite here. He’s a bit jumpy,” Osk apologized for the short, rather frail man at his side.

  “Oh, um, glad to meet you,” he said. “I feel like a fool for not being able to recognize Norria… But I’m glad to see her back, definitely.”

  Norria, the first to step out of the security room, replied, “Hello, Osk, Cordalite. Keeping well, I hope?”

  “Well enough,” Osk replied. “Before any of you say anything, I’d like you to know that we pretty much know everything on your end already. We’re tapped into all rebel networks and some Guard and under-City Administrative channels, as well. We’re so far below the surface that we’d be cut off if it weren’t for our information gathering abilities.”

  “Please, follow us to the lobby,” Norria said. “From there, we can introduce you to Eden’s Burrow proper.”

  “Osk… Why did you come back here, exactly?” Rivia asked.

  “I’m sorry that I couldn’t tell you. While I served faithfully in your early rebellion and still want to, I have actually been the vice administrator of this facility for years now. I had signed on for the Saharan battle because we had reliable information that the Guard would attempt to bring out the demon there. Then I served elsewhere until I could secure a ride home. I too am glad Norria is back. We’ve missed her. She’s been gone a year.”

  “Yeah, but… what is this place, really?” Shin wondered.

  “Let’s go to the atrium. I’ll give you a quick rundown, and then you can rest. But, for most of you, there is someone you should meet before that. Everything will make sense to you within a few days. Follow me.”

  They obliged, tagging behind Osk as they went down a long white hallway. They passed by laboratories separated by glass doors and windows, their workers using computers normally found on Earth, yet wearing attire similar to Hold’s. The facility seemed far removed from the rest of Aurra.

  It was also exceedingly busy. By the time the group was within a hundred feet of the atrium and surrounded by hundreds of the local subterranean citizens, Garder could no longer hold in any questions.

  “Osk, how many people work… well, I guess live and work here?”

  “Nearly three thousand,” he replied without turning around.

  “Three thousand…” Simon repeated. “This place must be vast.”

  “It’s a little spacious, but the design is simple enough that you should never get lost. Every worker has their own apartment, albeit small ones. We even have family units.”

  “So this place is like a miniature, hidden City,” Milla observed. “One conducting high level research about an ancient, lost race.”

  “Rivia brought that up, eh? Our administrator will tell you all about our studies. He returned not too long ago. So, here we are at the atrium.”

  They strode into a massive, dome-shaped room with monitors posted on nearly every spot of wall space. On one side was a lounge area, complete with a television. To the surprise of the visitors, several children were occupying the space at the moment and were watching a modern kid’s movie, even as working adults busily went by them, most with their arms full of clipboards, lab equipment, or laptop computers.

  “This place is unbelievable,” Simon murmured. “TVs, movies? Modern computers? You’d never find this stuff on the surface.”

  “You have to understand, there is boredom to be curbed here,” Osk explained. “And also, we like to use our abilities to create a sort of… middle ground between Earth and Aurra. Although we block alchemagi in almost every room, and we rely almost solely on Earth tech for our studies, nearly every bit of our research is on Aurrian subject matter.”

  “I get it. You’re studying Aurra in brand new ways, almost from a completely different angle. Science versus magic. Or rather, alchemagi.”

  “That’s a good summation,” Norria replied. “Our studies range from the haze to how the laws work, to new research on aechens.”

  “We’ve got a wide array of Earth objects, as well,” Osk continued. “Aside from the tech, we have a large library of both books and film.”

  “How do you bring all of that stuff here?” Verim wondered.

  “We’ve relied on portal technology developed by professor Flicker. Until recently, most of our staff even had week-long ‘Earth leaves.’ Given our capabilities, we could send people anywhere in either world.”

  “Though in Aurra, we keep our travel restricted,” Norria added. “On Earth’s side, such security measures were more lax. But thanks partly to the sudden changes, our studies on the inglix—the name of the extinct race—have intensified. But we have yet to make any breakthroughs. We just know they existed, along with a few things our administrator will tell you.”

  “Well, you’ve got quite a place here, but have you got a pub?” Wendell asked almost jokingly, thinking he already knew the answer.

  “Ah, cheers to that,” Viktor replied. “Can’t remember the last time I’ve had a drink. Been stuck in that place for far too damned long…”

  “We do have a limited variety of alcohol in our recreation lounge, although its consumption is moderated,” Norria answered.

  “Really?” Wendell replied. “That’s definitely better than nothing.”

  Shin offered another summary, “So you’re a secret City, perhaps miles under the surface, doing scientific studies on Aurra with Earth technology, and monitoring every major comms network you can get your claws into. And of course, security is a priority.”

  “Yes,” Osk replied. “With demirriages, the fibrocators, and even the process of tearing yourself doorways with your claws, it would be easy to get into even Eden’s Burrow if you knew how. But this atrium has twenty-four auto-turrets alone. They pop right out of the ceilings in the event of an emergency. Luckily, it seems you’ve been successfully tagged as good guys.”

  “But just in case, please behave yourselves,” Norria added as she waved to a group of lab workers who had recognized her.

  One of the children in the group watching TV nearby walked up, an older one maybe seven or eight years old. Osk turned to him, and gave his head a pat. It was quickly apparent that they were related, as the boy looked a lot like the captain, just with slightly darker skin.

  “Ah, yes, this is my son Brim,” Osk explained. “Born and raised right here, with our ten other kids. Brim, these are some new friends.”

  “Hi,” he said with a light wave. “Norria. I’m almost as tall as you.”

  “That’s because I haven’t aged,” she replied with a smile.

  “Dad, I want to practice my alchemagi,” Brim asked his father.

  “I have an appointment for us, in thirty-five hours. Be patient.” Osk looked at the others. “He’s a vector, just like our administrator.”

  “I might be able to help with that training,” Milla offered.

  “I’d appreciate it. We only have a single instructor of the alignment. Anyway, we can set up your apartments and rest for a busy day tomorrow, but at the moment, he wanted to meet with a few of you personally.”

  “I’m guessing the eight of us and Rivia are the ones this guy wants to see?” Garder asked. “I guess we kinda form the heart of ‘Rivia’s Circle’.”

  “Rivia’s… Circle? What the heck’s that?” Verim questioned.

  “I just made it up. We needed a name for ourselves, right?”

  “Let’s see…” Norria looked everyone over. “He asked for by name the Holdians, the twins, Lechi and Temki, and Wendell and Simon.”

  “Then that’d be the ‘Circle’,” Osk replied. “Norria, please bring them to the administrator’s office, and I’ll tend to the others.”

  “Understood. Can the nine of you follow me?”

  Rivia turned to Xavier and murmured, “Please inform them of the situation with Rayna. They may already know, but just in case…”

  “Got it, sir,” Xavier replied and joined up with the other group.

  The atrium split off into six different hallways. While Osk led his son, the three paradigms, Rayna’s parents, and Xavier to the west, Norria led Rivia’s group to the east. Garder, trailing the others, noticed that Verim had yet to move with the others, and came up to him for a moment.

  “Verim? You okay?”

  “Yeah… I’m fine.”

  “Then hurry up, don’t get left behind.”

  “Corrupted implant…” Verim muttered to himself before catching up with the others. “Is that how they interpret my… condition? Damn… What the hell’s wrong with me?”

  Several twisted and empty hallways later, Norria stopped at a large, decorated glass door adorned with the words “Head of Facility”.

  “Here we are. I hope he’ll be able to provide you with the answers you need. Just a forewarning… The truth can be very painful.”

  “Huh?” Garder breathed out.

  “You’ll… you’ll see.”

  She triggered the door’s control system, and after it slid open, the man behind the black desk in a large, white room looked up. His face was clearly distinguishable from the colorful swirls of the wall-sized cubist painting behind him. Garder was the first to make a sound.

  “Y-you?!” he nearly shouted. “I mean… of all the… You?”

  “Um, Garder, are you okay?” Milla replied.

  “Do you know him from somewhere?” Shin added.

  The man at the desk stood and looked over at their pathfinder.

  “Thank you, Norria. You can go now.”

  “Very well. I wish you all ease and peace of mind after hearing what you are about to. I will see you soon.”

  “Please, sit anywhere you’d like. This may take a while,” the man at the desk said as he lowered himself back into his chair. “Don’t worry about pleasantries. Please, just call me Leovyn.”