Mia looked over the balcony on the top of Lux to oversee the grands below. On a surface level inspection, everything was as it should be. A few airships flying around, normal looking emissions coming from the factories in places like ShiShi and Gurut. All was well on the surface. But just a little further beyond, where the cluster lay, was a troubling situation. Several computers in Lux were hacked, showing the face of a man calling himself Manuel saying he was from the cluster and that they had at least two important people, showing off Fiorella and Capri in some kind of prison cell. They were safe, but if they wanted to keep it that way, she had to appear to some kind of negotiations. She called Zach as soon as the message got out, and he confirmed that Capri, Fiorella, Cassandra, Julian, and Roxanne had all disappeared. He swore he had nothing to do with it, and made his way over as soon as he able to. He was waiting on the bottom by the ship, and Mia was making final preparations.

"Are you sure the black blazer would make sense?" Her husband asked.

"I'm certain." She nodded calmly as she tried it on. She was hoping to be more diplomatic, but she was half expecting a fight of some kind to break out. So in the case of bloodshed, she could wear a black blazer and trousers above a dark yellow shirt. She felt red would make her intentions too obvious, and while blood on yellow would be noticeable, she could easily cover it up. It could also create a false sense of security to the Legion.

"And are you sure you don't need me?" Her husband asked.

"I'm certain." She said coldly. Her husband had a master of business sense with a wit to match, but his fighting abilities were lacking in basically every area.

"And the sword?"

Zach had a replica made for him before he came. She was almost certain that it would be asked for in return for the kidnapped ones, so a replica would work. With luck, they wouldn't know how to activate a relic, and by the time they knew they were deceived, it would be too late for them.

She descended using the elevator, seeing the people go about their lives. The interior of Lux was as bright as the skies future, a glistening white with important politicians and businessmen helping to guide it. Slightly below them were the stars. The movie stars, producers looking for their next hit, and people lounging about trying to get noticed and put in some kind of production and hopefully get an important contract from that alone. But what united them was being Lux. There was a stereotype that Lux were self important, that they didn't have time for anyone else. While there was tragically some truth to that statement, they were all busy. Most of them wanted what everyone else wanted. Peace among ships and a world in which everyone is free to pursue the life they want. And while she wasn't one to brag, she felt she and the other Lux did a fine enough job.

When she reached the bottom floor, Zach was waiting with an empty bowl next to him.

"We ready?" He asked, getting up and loading himself on the ship without any further explanation.

The ride was silent. Zach stood deep in thought, eyes shut, looking like a statue while Mia drove. She knew Zach was stewing on just how to handle the people waiting for them inside the Cluster. She just knew he'd try appealing to their emotions with some speech about better lives and promising clean slates. And the worst part is that he meant it. But with so many people on the Cluster, one of them was bound to take up the offer with devious intentions. Still, she had to break down barriers to form some kind of dialogue. It was her job, after all.

"May I offer you a coffee?" She asked, trying her best to look neutral.

"Goes right through me." He said calmly, his eyes remaining unopened.

"I see." Mia nodded. As if he was looking at her to disagree. "Well, maybe a snack will help you to calm your nerves."

"My nerves are calm enough, thanks."

The barrier was up. She wasn't getting through to him, and he probably knew he wasn't getting to her. She envisioned an iron wall between them, as he probably was. The silence continued, until they were informed that they were at the Cluster.

When they stepped off, they were greeted by a series of young looking people in front of the door leading to the rest of the place, seven in total. The one in the middle, a girl that couldn't be any older than fifteen, stepped up to greet the two of them.

"You two are Mia and Zach, correct?" She asked after flicking through a shoddily made handbook. "The masters are upstairs. There will be someone on the level to tell you to stop climbing."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The six teenagers in front of the door formed two orderly lines, three at each side. The two did as obliged, going up the seemingly endless supply of stairs. After what felt like an eternity to Mia, the two were at the top. Another young boy was smiling at them, who looked about the same age as the people in the hangar.

"This is the floor you're looking for."

The two stepped out, and the leader of Chelic was stood there. He was dressed so…casually. A man in a smart suit stood next to him, alongside eight other young people stood behind him. A large woman in a flannel shirt was holding both Fiorella and Capri. Both at least looked alive. But there was no sign of the other three.

"If it isn't my favourite rulers!" The suited man yelled, going up to pat them both on the shoulder, grabbing them both closer for a group hug. He excitedly sprang back to his posse.

"Now, I know you've never seen me in the flesh, but I'm Chelic. Real deal. I call the shots, and I've been tracking down your little weapons."

"We're aware." Mia said, her heart being filled with nothing but burning hatred.

"Yeah, it's hard not to be these days." Chelic shrugged. "Anyway, we've prepared some light refreshments for ya. We got juice, biscuits, a couple chocolates, even!" He clapped his hands, and a scrawny man near the back approached with a platter containing everything he described.

"I ate on the way here." Zach said, calmly pushing the man away.

"I'd like to discuss your prisoners." Mia asked.

Chelic looked absentminded for a brief second, but the words hit his brain as his face exploded into a smile.

"Oh right, the prisoners! Look, I'm gonna be honest. You guys hitting my place? Not cool."

"I assure you, we had nothing to do with this. We wanted this outcome as much as you do." Mia said calmly.

"Although I should mention, you were the ones who invaded my country and took Cassandra first." Zach said calmly. "May I ask the reason for that?"

"Yeah, that." Chelic nodded. "Look, I found my long lost niece, who I have legal ownership of, and knew she wouldn't come without a fight. So I took her back. May have gone a little overboard, but we can look past that, right?"

"Where's the proof you're related?" Mia asked.

"Well, I don't have the documents…buuut neither do you. And they don't exist because we don't have birth certificates here."

"Listen." Zach said, walking straight up to Chelic. "I'm gonna need you to shut up and tell us where she is."

"I was getting to that." Chelic replied through gritted teeth. "Look, I'll be honest. Thanks to a guy who went insane and attacked me, she's a little…on the surface right now. Might be alive, probably not."

"Excuse me?" Mia asked. She put her hand on her sword for a brief second.

"Look, this wasn't my plan, okay?" Chelic said as he put his hands up. "The shield of Sangaria and Bow of Saoloro was taken with them too, okay? This is a bad day for everybody."

"Look, we can try to figure something out later." Mia sighed, putting a hand on Zach's shoulder. "Let's discuss the two here."

"Ah, the accomplices!" Chelic chuckled. "Look, let's just get to it, okay? Give me a relic weapon, can be either of yours, and you get them back. Sound good?"

"That's hardly a fair trade." Mia asked.

"I know, right?" Chelic replied while slumping over and faking a miserable expression. "One relic for two people. If you truly cared, you'd give two, but then there's a chance you'd let them die, and more of that'd be a mess for me too, considering what went down yesterday. One of my people, don't worry."

"Well, Mia?" Zach sighed with a pained expression. "What's the verdict?"

"We can get the weapon back later." Mia sighed, unsheathing the replica sword and handing it to an excited Chelic. He was clearly trying not to squeal. He returned rapidly to a neutral position, snapped his fingers, and the two girls were let go, so they immediately scampered behind Zach.

"So I'm guessing we can go now?" he asked.

"Hey now, I'm happy to let you stay a while." Chelic said calmly as he handed the weapon to his assistant. "Unless you gotta leave quick because you're somehow messing with us."

Chelic stared at Mia, intentionally bugging his eyes out in an attempt to look intimidating. It didn't work on her, but both heroes flinched a little.

"It's just that we have countries to run." Mia said calmly. There was no way to prove the weapon was fake, at least at a glance. Or so she hoped.

"Look, if I may ask something." Zach said, cutting between the two. "What is it you want with these weapons?"

"I wanna take over the Skyspace, duh?" Chelic asked.

"For what ends?"

"Because you people are sick." Chelic said, all jovial tones quickly leaving his voice. "You destroyed the world below, leaving when it too much to bear. And me? I'm the revolution, baby."

Zach sighed, getting down on his knees and kneeling before Chelic.

"Look, if it makes you happy, I fully apologise for what my ancestors did. I'm not sure if I can even make it up to you, but I'm willing to try."

"Nah." Chelic replied. "I get the plan. Become a citizen of your little place, be used as a puppet to try and say no to any actual change, and no problems actually get solved."

"If you tell me what the problems are, we can work towards fixing them!"

Zach got back to his feet, his façade of calm quickly turning to anger.

"Look, I'm not going to say I have all the answers, or that everything is perfect. But I can say one thing. That the world where the people and rulers work in tandem for a better tomorrow. Because the one thing I can guarantee is that you'll be taken better care of with us than if you stay here."

The sound of psychotic laughter filled the room. The girl in flannel who held the girls was looking at Zach, and she went up to meet him. She nearly caught up to him in both height and physique. She threw a punch, sending him flying back against the wall. He put his hands up to block the next attack, which came quicker than he could react.

"Hey Aubrey, duck!"

Chelic pointed the fake sword to Zach, while the girl ducked less then a second after hearing the order.

"No fucking way." Chelic chuckled. "I knew you were lying to me! I knew it was fake!"

He ran towards Mia, who responded by taking another sword and blocking his slash.

"Yep, seems plans fell flat! Guys, feel free to kill at will!"