Remi had been sitting with her arms wrapped around her legs while she waited for whatever was happening in the End Sphere to finish. The energy emanating from it left her feeling tired, numb, and strangely, passionless. Maintaining the triangle around the sphere, Arya, Aquas, and Theresa stood with their arms held out and their eyes closed. Strange black shadows had appeared from their hands, seeping forth into the sphere, and Remi thought that the wave of emotions she felt were stemming from them.

“What do you think is happening in—”

Baelie’s voice was cut off as the End Sphere shattered with a loud crack, like a hammer striking a glass window. The shards from the sphere split into jagged fragments of sparkling energy. The Valyti glittered as if it were raining liquid diamonds all about the cold white stone. The energy whirled around the room in a mirage of vibrant colors before returning to each individual member of the Force. The morbid feeling surrounding Remi and her two sisters lifted like a morning fog, and their senses cleared. Maile stirred, sat up straight, and yawned.

A charred black ring had formed around the two figures that were slumped against one another where the End Sphere had once stood. Remi didn’t understand, because neither figure was recognizable. She suddenly choked back a gasp of terror. They looked like mangled corpses. Blood was everywhere. It was the most blood she had ever seen. Her eyes widened, realizing that the bloodied figure of Enies was lying motionless against Sakura’s. The Vice-Captain’s body was covered in deep, thick gashes that looked as if she had been tortured by a mad butcher. Sakura’s silvery blue hair was matted with blood, and her eyes were wide open, as if dead-locked on a ghost. Just then Sakura’s eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she collapsed with Enies on top of her.

“Are they d-d-dead?” Maile trembled.

Remi clutched her little sister’s hand, afraid to answer. Baelie didn’t speak. She couldn’t. The longest minutes of her life went by as the Force rushed toward Enies and Sakura, separated the two, and began healing them. Aquas kneeled over the unconscious Sakura and the same emerald aura that had once healed Baelie encased her. Baelie could faintly see what looked like a couple rocks fall out of Sakura’s hands and onto the ground.

Remi noticed them, too. She probably wouldn’t have paid much attention to them if Arya and Theresa hadn’t each picked one up, staring at them inquisitively, as if searching for the same answer Remi was. Watching everything unfold, Remi noticed another strange thing transpiring. The Force treated Sakura with a cautious type of respect. Yet, the opposite had occurred for Enies, who had been taken far away from Sakura, and was being tended to by a different healer in a white robe.

It was then that Sakura sat up, blinked once or twice, and looked into the eyes of the Force.

“Well fought, Vice-Captain,” said Arya, kneeling down on one knee and bowing. Theresa grimaced as she followed suit. Sano, Aquas’s tree spirit, leapt from her robes and approached Sakura, running his head against her leg. Aquas smiled her same cheerful smile, then kneeled as well.

“You are truly something else, Lady Sakura,” Aquas said. “Nigh unbelievable.”

Remi was jumbled. Had she heard Arya correctly? Could it be true? Could Sakura really have accomplished what none in the Valyti had thought possible? No. Some mistake must have been made. From afar, Sakura spoke in a whisper that the three sisters could not hear. Baelie stood with her mouth hung open, staring in absolute disbelief as the Force knelt to Sakura. Despite seeing with her own eyes and knowing what the gestures entailed, she still couldn’t believe it.

Aquas stood and nodded to Sakura, then turned and approached the three sisters. Sano ran along at her heels, jumping at her robes along the way. Remi and Maile quickly stood beside Baelie.

“Lady Sakura would like a word with you three,” Aquas said, her voice warm like a loving mother’s. As she turned, her fluttering robes whipped out, propelling Sano into a great leap to catch them. Remi watched as Sano missed the robes, tumbled head over heels and bumped into Maile’s foot. Maile knelt and smiled at the tree spirit, carefully touching the tips of its ears. Remi lowered herself as well, met Sano’s eyes, and felt the tranquility of the tree spirit pass into her soul. A great calm washed over her, cleansing her of the dark memories created by the End Sphere.

“Remi, Maile,” said Baelie, completely dumbfounded. “I think, I think she just became the Vice-Captain . . .”

“I think you just might be right,” said Remi. “Let’s go find out what happened!”

The three girls looked at each other before nodding, and side by side, they walked up to Sakura. They passed Theresa, whose eyes were focused only on the ground. They walked past Zeila, who was holding a shimmering red gem in her hand, the black mage who had been training with the tree spirits. She wore a smile that spoke of accomplishment. They passed Aquas, who nodded at them reassuringly, and finally, past Arya, who bowed her eyes gently.

They came to a stop in front of Sakura, who had been given a new white cloak that hung from her shoulders and fell nearly to the floor. The back of the cloak was decorated with the royal symbol of the Empress, and laced with gold trim. Her arms were folded inside the sleeves, which hung elegantly at her sides.

Remi met the eyes of Sakura, the daring young woman who had stood up to the frightening Enies, and a newfound respect formed in her heart. In that moment, Sakura became one of Remi’s heroes, although she might never admit it.

“Princesses, please allow me to apologize for exposing you to such violence and to the effects of the End Sphere, which I am sure must have been most unsettling for you,” Sakura began. Her voice was serene and calming, still as the leaves without wind. Baelie met Sakura’s eyes, and the new Vice-Captain smiled at her, causing tears to well up in Baelie’s eyes.

Baelie raised the sorian salute proudly. Returning the gesture, Sakura saluted, bringing even more tears to Baelie’s eyes. In turn, Arya, Aquas, Theresa, and Zeila saluted as well. Remi looked at the sight in awe, realizing that the entire energy of the Valyti had changed in a single moment, as if spring had finally come after a long, abysmal winter.

“You remind me of the Empress, the three of you,” Sakura said. “Big hearts.”

With those words, smiles lifted on the faces of the three girls. True comfort filled them for the first time since they had arrived in the Valyti. Baelie bowed deeply in recognition of the words.

“As you must know by now,” continued Sakura. “You three were summoned here for a reason, that you were. And that reason is to bestow upon you a mission of utmost importance. I believe my Captain trusts that you can accomplish this mission. Why? At first, I honestly did not know.”

Baelie bit her lip, but did not drop her salute.

Sakura faced Baelie and clasped her shoulder. “But the Captain sees in ways we may never understand. That is why she is the leader. The former Vice-Captain, Enies, did not see you fit for the task, but the Captain and I am different. I believe that, some, even though they may seem inadequate or have a lack of strength, can overcome anything with the power of will. That being said, under direct command of the Captain, you three will be given the chance to prove yourselves to the Force, and to the Empress.”

“T-thank you, Lady—”

A sudden voice lashed out, piercing the warm energy of the room like a spear of ice. Walking angrily towards them was none other than Enies, who had been healed of her grievous wounds. Remi nearly choked upon seeing her, and Baelie and Maile froze. A soft hand fell on Remi’s shoulder as Sakura walked out in front of them like a guardian, and the Force appeared at her sides.

Enies spat at Sakura’s feet. “You treacherous coward! You sabotaged the End Sphere by bringing in Sacred to give you energy!” The accusation was startling to say the least. Whispering could be heard amongst the Force, and Remi could feel the past coldness of the Valyti returning. She looked at Sakura, hoping that the words of Enies were not true.

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Sakura simply smiled and began walking away from Enies.

“Don’t you walk away from me! Your betrayal will not go unpunished! You were a fool for having the white mage mend my memories, Sakura! I hope you enjoyed your short-lived time as Vice-Captain, because now I’m going to kill you for the traitor you are!”

Sakura came to a stop within the middle of the black ring that was the remnant of the End Sphere. On the ground were two dull rocks of the most ordinary kind. She picked them up and walked back, holding them up for all to see.

“I merely played your weakness against you, Enies,” said Sakura. “As you can see, what you thought were Sacred were nothing but ordinary rocks, infused with my own energy to trick you and draw out your temper. It was a gamble, I admit, but since memories are lost in the End Sphere, I was hoping that your knowledge of the Sacred’s color, in particular, might have been slightly evaporated by the time I played my trump card. It seems I was right, that I was.”

Enies’s eyes were filled with a deep fury, and her mouth opened, but no words came out.

Sakura dropped the rocks on the ground before Enies. “And if that is not proof enough, then think back to when the energy consumed my body. It was gold in color, was it not? You were so blinded by your own rage and the fear of losing your seat that you immediately assumed treachery. I knew in a fight of pure strength I could not compete with you Enies, since your wrath fuels your power. But in order to turn that power against you, all I needed was to invoke your rage. If you hadn’t lost the memory of what color Sacred should be, I would be lying dead on the Valyti floor. But that is not the case, and you are no longer the Vice-Captain, that you are not.”

A look of pure rage came across Enies’s face, but she held her tongue. Her fists were clenched and shaking violently. It was clear that she had been outsmarted. “What trickery is this, Sakura?” she spat. “Your aura grew in power! I could feel it, and it illuminated the End Sphere!”

“Yes, that is true,” said Sakura. “Because I was draining all of my energy to feed you that illusion. I told you that I had discovered your weakness in the End Sphere. In most cases, one’s strength is also their greatest weakness, and for you, that was the role of Vice-Captain. You were so confident in your own power that you thought your rank could never be threatened. Thus, the only way to reveal your weakness was to make you feel like your rank was in danger, so I gave you the impression that I would triumph in the End Sphere. After that, all I needed to do was let your fears do the rest of the work for me.”

“You little bi—”

“Yet you forget, Enies,” Sakura cut her off. “The true ending of the story you told me. Memories do return from the End Sphere, unless one spends an inordinate amount of time within. The criminals who were first placed in the End Sphere were locked inside for many, many shades and, thus, grew withered. Your logic and clear thinking were clouded by your anger, which gave rise to your fears and your inevitable downfall. You are powerful, Enies, powerful indeed, but you have lost your way, and now is the time to relinquish that which you cared for most. You should be happy enough to have come out of the End Sphere alive.”

Enies collapsed to her knees, letting out a flustered scream, as she finally understood that she had lost. Her voice changed, and her confident demeanor vanished. Remi cupped her hand over her mouth as she saw tears falling from Enies’s cheeks.

“I . . . I lost,” Enies tried to speak. “Y-You would have died had I noticed, but that was your risk to take. All this time, I felt that I had reached my peak strength. I felt I was capable of even overcoming the Captain. But I was wrong . . . I see my weakness now, so clearly it hurts. You risked everything, all of your memories, even your life. The power of your will . . .” Enies looked up at Sakura. “It is beyond mine.”

Enies gritted her teeth, her tears falling harder. “No . . . I can’t be banished . . . I can’t. You can’t do this to me! I have nothing but this!” Tears flowed freely from her eyes, and for the first time, Remi felt a sense of empathy for the fallen Vice-Captain. Sakura had broken that which could not be broken.

Sakura held out her hand, and a trace of aura appeared, connecting the two women until the symbols on their shoulders vanished without a trace. Then, like the etching of a dark invisible pen, the symbols redrew themselves again, leaving Sakura with the number 2 magically appearing on her. Enies looked down at her own shoulder, and felt something etch into her skin. Enies froze as she realized Sakura’s act of mercy. The symbol for 9 was looking back up at her. She turned to face Sakura slowly.

“What . . . are you doing?” Enies whispered.

Sakura came before Enies and knelt at her side. “I will not banish you, Enies, for I feel you are much too important to merely throw away, that you are. You have become lost in your ways, but we as the Force are a family, and I will not betray one of my own. Through new training, you may regain your former position, but now, only the hard way, for you must defeat all those who stand before you before challenging me again. You will now be forced to learn respect for your comrades and for others. But with this tribulation, I offer you all the help and trust of the Force. If you succeed in returning, you may have the chance to face me again. Learn from your weakness, and make it your strength!”

Sakura stood, then held out her arm. “What say you, Enies?”

Enies met Sakura’s eyes. “One day, you will fall by my hand. Remember these words, for they are the truest words I have ever spoken.” Enies clasped Sakura’s forearm and stood. “This is my only vow, Lady Sakura.”

Arya raised an eyebrow as Enies regarded Sakura formally, a final acceptance of a hard truth.

“I would expect nothing less.”

Enies stared hard into Sakura’s eyes one last time before turning and walking away. She did not look at the three sisters as she passed, but despite what had happened, they could still feel the faint remnants of hatred lingering within her. Remi’s intuition warned her that they had made more than one enemy in their adventure so far.

Sakura turned to the sisters. “Well, that went better than expected. Now, I ask you, young princesses, Remi, Baelie and Maile. Do you accept the mission of guarding the Relic Room during the 250th Annual Soldier Games?”

Three instant responses of vastly different natures leapt from the mouths of the sisters.

“We’re going to be in the Soldier Games!?” Maile squeaked.

“I’m going to miss the Soldier Games!?” Remi cried.

“Yes, ma’am, Lady Sakura, Defeater of the Evil Enies!” Baelie saluted.

After Sakura had dismissed them, Arya walked the girls to the far side of the Valyti, where a glass chamber the size of a large closet stood. It seemed to have a living mist floating within it, and along its outer edges were several colorful gems surrounding a palm-sized emerald stone.

“Isn’t there one of these in the base of the tower?” Remi asked, eyeing it suspiciously.

“Perceptive, aren’t we?” Arya replied. “This particular creation was built and designed by Lady Galileo long ago, and named the Leap Chamber.” Arya pointed at the pristine emerald stone surrounded by other gems above the entrance. Within it was a strange swirling current that reminded her of something Remi couldn’t quite put her finger on.

“Of Galileo’s creations, the seven Space Tear Stones, or Binding Stones, were probably the most unique, though many were lost long ago,” said Arya. “Most of her creations were designed to help the curseborn with their daily lives, but now they are used equally throughout Risia and Falia, perhaps even more so on Risia now.” She shifted her gaze and focus back to the gem above the chamber, pointing.

“Luckily, we have found six of the seven Space Tear Stones, and positioned one of them here, and another at the base floor of Islair Tower, to make for easier travel back and forth.”

“What . . . does it do?” Maile asked warily.

“Where are the other stones?” Remi questioned, curiosity touching her.

“What it does, you will soon see,” said Arya. “And as to the whereabouts of the other four stones, I cannot reveal such information. The seventh and last stone, the master stone, was lost long ago, and no one knows where it is. Some believe it was lost with the body of Lady Galileo herself.”

“Is this what gives you special powers?” Baelie asked quietly, weaving her fingers together. She seemed to have less confidence in herself after the incident with Enies. Undoubtedly, she had been surprised upon seeing the Force’s true strength.

Arya smiled, placing her hand on Baelie’s shoulder. “All of our powers come from focus and hard work, little one. If you train hard enough, every day without faltering, even you can enter the Force. Believe in yourself, and anything is possible.”

A beaming smile curved across Baelie’s face. “I will! Thank you, Lady Arya!”

“Simply speaking the truth, young master Baelie.”

Baelie saluted resolutely. “One day, I will join the Force! Maybe I won’t be the Vice-Captain right away . . .” She paused, carefully choosing her words. “I really like Lady Sakura. I think she is a worthy Vice-Captain . . .” She turned to look for her newest hero.

In the far distance, Sakura was standing on the same floating rock in the sky.

“Yes, she is,” answered Arya. “And maybe, one day, you will be too.” Baelie’s eyes lit up.

“Now,” said Arya, ushering them towards the strange misty cage. “Be thankful that you needn’t ride the lift ring back up to the tower. Unfortunately, for one who has never been to the Valyti, you can only use the Leap Chamber once you have come the long way, at least, once.” The glass door slid open. Remi, Maile, and Baelie stepped cautiously inside the misty space, pondering her words.

“So, how are we getting back?” Maile asked, knocking on the glass.

“Based on its name, I think I have an idea,” muttered Remi.

The instant she spoke, the door slid closed, and the mist grew thick and heavy about them. It swirled back and forth, growing thicker and thicker until Remi could no longer see her palms, even when placed directly in front of her face. The muffled whimpering of Maile faded as a high-pitched sound took note.

“Vice-Captain, here I come!” Baelie shouted. “Let’s go!!!”

And just like that, everything went dark.