Char watched as the transport pulled away into the distance, disappearing into the horizon. Why had he not taken the shot? The woman's words echoed through his mind, "We weren't the first ones to open fire." He had given specific directions that none of his men were allowed to open fire unless first fired upon. Was the woman lying, or was there something more to it?

As he opened the hatch of his Wolf and stepped out, he looked across the scene that lay before him. Ruins, as far as his eyes could see. Is this truly what I wanted? Before Char could continue his thoughts, the watch he wore on his left wrist began to ring. It was Faust, most likely wanting to hear how the Alphas had been captured. He felt a tinge of disappointment, thinking back to how excited they had been to stumble across the girl again.

"Faust, are you there?" The established line was fuzzy, and Char was unsure if the signal was properly getting through.

"I read you loud and clear Director. So tell me, how many of them went down fighting?"

"Three, but not of theirs." Char glanced back at his mech. If his hadn't been a specialized model, he would have suffered the same fate as the other three soldiers that were with him. Sure, the soldiers were all genetically produced and conditioned by Helix, but that didn't mean he still refused to think of them as human beings.

"What? Are you trying to tell me they managed to get away?" Faust sounded furious. They had let another perfect opportunity escape from their hands, aware it may be a long time before they get another chance.

"Just get some soldiers up here to pick me up. We have some discussing to do anyways." Char cut off his comm link, and rested his body against the leg of his mech. He realised that given the distance they had traveled, he may have a bit of a wait...

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Maple felt her head throb as the darkness that surrounded her vision began to clear. A bright light was shining down onto her, covers tucked under her sides. As she tried to move, she felt her arms sting, the pain resonating throughout them. She looked down at her chest, realizing she was laying in a bed, a white room surrounding her.

From a window across from her, she saw buildings sprouting from the ground. They were clean, almost as if they belonged in another world entirely. As she followed the buildings up, her eyes came to rest on what was supposed to be the sky. Instead, a large, azure blue dome blocked out the view, its crystalline shell shimmering from the sunlight striking it from outside.

She looked back at the room around her. It lacked any detail, just plain white. Next to her, a chair had been placed, her clothes, gloves and bandana stacked neatly upon it. As she tried to raise up, she felt her arms go limp and slid back down into the bed. Everything was still a haze to her. How did she get here and where was she?

The door at the end of the room suddenly creaked open, and she saw her father step through. Marcus peeked through the door and saw Maple leaning up to try to see who was there. He felt a wave of relief come over him at seeing her awake and alert. He gently pushed the door open and stepped on through.

Maple followed him with her eyes as he stepped into the room and placed her clothes at the end of her bed, taking a seat upon the chair. As she went to speak, he held up a single finger, hushing her, "Don't worry. You're fine now. I'm just glad to see you awake."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

It was fairly obvious that she was curious to her surroundings, and she wasn't satisfied with his answer, "I don't really remember much. Where are we?" Maple tried to cross her arms, but the stinging sensation returned tenfold. She let out a small cry and looked down at her arms. Each arm had been wrapped up in a spongy gauze and had been secured in place with the gown she had on.

"I know you're concerned but you need to rest. You lost control of your power again, and we brought you here." Marcus was still hiding something from her. She remembered carrying Alyssa onto the transport, but everything else was black to her. "Your arms were severely burned this time, even for an Alpha with skin like yours. You're in what we call a hospital. Back when the world was still functioning they were used to treat people who were sick or hurt."

The word sounded foreign to Maple. Her father had never told her of what a hospital was, nor did the idea make sense to her. Why dedicate a facility to helping sick people when it was difficult enough to take care of oneself? She quickly brushed the thought away and brought her mind back. Where was Alyssa?

"Dad, where's Alyssa? I remember carrying her onto the transport, but everything else after that is gone. Is she here at the hospital too?" Maple's tone was anxious, worried that Alyssa was injured as well.

Marcus bit his tounge. He knew he couldn't tell her about Alyssa at the moment, she was still too volatile. He thought about how to approach the situation and slowly replied, "She's...she's here at the hospital too, but I can't take you to see her right now." To his surprise, Lyria had insisted that they stop at the hospital first before checking in with her group. She had been concerned at seeing the extent of Maple's condition and also seemed to want to make sure Alyssa's body was properly cared for. It was something Marcus found they had in common.

Maple glanced back down, averting her gaze. She didn't like the idea, but if she couldn't even raise herself out of the bed, then how could she even visit Alyssa? She only hoped that her injuries had been properly cared for. "Um, I know you said this is a hospital, but where are we exactly?"

Marcus figured it wouldn't cause any harm to at least let her know where she actually was. "We're actually in a place called Celestia. Lyria brought us here. Her organization works out of this...sanctuary if we can call it that." Marcus glanced out at the dome. He knew that it should have already caught Maple's attention. "If you're curious about that dome, it's made of a crystalline structure. It's molecules are packed so close that even warheads can't penetrate it. It's what's keeping Helix from enforcing their law in this place."

Maple gazed at the dome once more. It was like a guardian angel to the city, protecting it from the world outside. She never thought a place such as this could exist. It had always been one ruined place to the next, death lurking around every corner. 

"Um, Dad. Is everybody else ok?" The thought had just occured to her that everybody else had been fighting and she was unaware if they were hurt. Marcus simply nodded his head, giving a small smile to add to the reassurance. She felt bad that it wasn't the first question she asked, but she was glad that the outcome had went well. 

"I'm going to step back outside now and speak to everyone else. We still need to figure out what we're going to do from here. If you need anything, there's a small button on the side of your bed that you can use to call for someone. Whether it be going to the restroom or even a glass of water, they can bring it to you." Maple simply nodded at his statement, spotting the small button on the rail of the bed, speaker attached to the side.

As Marcus left the room, she looked back down at her arms. Her powers had always left burns on her hands, but she couldn't recall them ever leaving injuries that far up her arm. She tried to move her hands from within the wraps, but the gauze kept her fingers secure. She laid them back down on her legs, and stretched her body out. 

As she gazed up at the textureless ceiling, she pondered  about what she learned about Celestia. It almost seemed bizarre to her to be in such a place. She had remembered spending her whole life in seclusion and now she laid in a hospital bed. As she began to close her eyes, she let her thoughts drift back to Alyssa. She hoped that she wasn't too badly injured from the concrete slab...