Chapter 28: Shattered

In the early morning, the sky is clothed in a gray blanket of clouds. Faint droplets fall upon the empress' ship, as it curtains down onto the landscape below as far as the eye can see.

Within the docking bay, a large spaceship is being held, along with smaller ones, like Aven's.

The interior is large, and spacious. The ceiling is high above the single great ship. There's but one entrance to the bay behind the ship itself.

Mechanics continue to do their work around the ship, along with the small ones. Soldiers stand guard near the large ship, observing their surroundings. Ten, to twenty workers walk around the bay, some taking notes, while others work on the ship.

Two individuals, a man and a woman walk beside each other among the crowd of workers, and residents. They are both wearing gray armor around their torso, that is polished to a shine. Two wings are sculpted on the chest plate, which stretch to their shoulders.

The young woman tightens the red sash around her waist, with the length of it reaching down to her one knee.

The man next to her watches as she stops tightening it.

"Leah?" He said, his eyes narrow, urging her to look at him.

"I always see you wearing that. Is it really that special to you?"

"It was a gift from my brother, Kase" She said, looking away and watches as she passes two workers comparing notes.

"Is that so..." Kase said, and shifts past a male worker in his way.

"That was nice of him."

"I suppose." She said, locking her eyes on the large ship she recognises all too well, the same ship, Raine's crew members came from.

The ship has a unique shape, the rear of it is wide, while the front is narrow. The large engines are vertical. It appears as if it can move to the rear to accelerate itself.

"It's a beautiful ship isn't it." Kase said, noticing Leah gazing at it.

"One can only wonder how many planets it visited."

"I wonder..." Shs simply said, now looking ahead of herself as she walks along side him.

"Is that the ship we're piloting?" He said, his eyes locked on the large ship.

"No." She said, shaking her head.

"Why?" He said, puzzled.

"I thought that wa-"

"That vessel is the one that invaded." She said, waving back at a female worker with a smile.

"What!?" He said, his eyes wide.

"I didn't know that." He continues to stated at it.

"That's the ship you and I are going in." She said, pointing ahead at a docked, medium-sized ship.

Kase narrows his eyes for a moment and smiles.

"Oh..." He said, his voice fading.

"That's... Not what I was expecting."

Leah chuckles.

"You sound disappointed there." She said, looking at him with a smirk.

"I was expecting a large ship like that invaders' one." He said, eyeing Raine's ship for a moment.

"This will be a quick journey." She said, her tone now calm.

"We're not going on some grand adventure."

She stops by the hatch of the ship, and stands near a woman with a tablet in her possession.

"Hey there." Leah said, in a pleasant tone.

"Is there enough supplies?" She

asked.

"Hmm." The woman scrolls through her tablet.

"Yes you have twenty rashens of food, and ten bottles of water, and ten beverages; if you want to have some flavor to it." She looks up at Leah.

"Thank you." Leah, said with a nod and walks up the hatch.

"The amount of supplies she mentioned." Kase said, following her into the ship.

"This would make me think it's for some grand adventure."

"No not really." She said, pressing a large button on the frame, and the hatch starts closing.

"My brother didn't think to bring any supplies last time." She said, turning away, and walks towards the cockpit.

"Oh...?" He said, his eyes narrow as he watches her.

"Where did the two of you go?" He walks towards the seat next to Leah, and sits down.

"Earth." said she, buckling herself up, only for Kase to do the same.

"Earth?" He simply said with a puzzled look in his eyes, only for him to finish buckling himself.

"I wonder." He continues, gazing down in thought, and turns to her.

"That's the same planet the seraphims went to wipe out its inhabitants, am I correct?"

"Yes." She simply said, now flipping the switches along the ceiling.

"What was it like there?" He asked, his eyes showing curiosity.

She stops with a sigh, her gaze now drawn to her lap.

"Bad." She said, looking at him.

"There was almost nothing there."

His eyes narrows.

"So they did what they set out to do?" He presumed.

"No!" She said, turning to him with a frown, only to look look ahead, and continues to flip more switches.

"There were still a handful of people that were alive."

"Why did you go there?." He asked, watching as she stops flipping switches.

Leah stops for a moment with a sigh, and turns to him with stern gaze.

"That's classified." She said, and powers up the engines of the ship.

"Now stop asking questions."

"Hey, I'm just curious!" He said, looking at her with a irritated look on his face, urging Leah to stare at him with a scowl.

"Fine..." He looks away, and shakes his head slightly.

"Your path to the exit of the docking bay is now clear ma'am." a woman's voice said from the console of the ship.

The ship levitates off the ground, and hovers through the guided path towards the exit.

The ship exits the docking bay, into the heavy rain, leaving the empress' ship behind, and flies off into the gray clouds.

The heavy rain slams against the window as Leah flies through the gray fog, while ascending high.

Turbulence begins to rattle the ship, as it continues to fly through. Kase holds on to his seat, his knuckles white. Looking at Leah now and again.

"This is getting a bit rough don't you think!?" He said, looking at her, however she's far too focused to pay any attention to him.

"Come on." She said, holding the control panel firm.

"You can do it."

The fog slowly begins to brighten.

"Almost there." She said, now gritting her teeth. Just then, the ship stops rattling, along with the welcome of the blue sky before her, only for a slight smile to form on her face.

"We did it."

She looks at him for a moment.

"And you were worried?" She said, glancing at his hands still gripping the seat, only for her to look ahead once more.

"Not really." He said, making himself comfortable.

"We'll be at Epra soon." Leah said, accelerating the ship.

Kase turns to her with a frownful gaze, only to look ahead once more, now watching as the blue sky before them slowly fading out, and what takes its place, is the black endless void of space.

The sound from the engines fade away as they reach further out, until they break the planet's gravitational pull.

Leah unbuckles her seat, and slowly levitates off, with her ponytail suspended up.

"Peace, and silence." She said, pushing herself forward, and heads to the back of the ship.

Kase looks over his shoulder at her with a puzzled expression.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

Leah ignores him, and straightens herself. She grips the lever on the wall.

"This might feel a bit odd." She said, pulling it down.

"What wo-" Kase pauses with a wide eyed look, as he notices the loose objects fall to the floor.

"Wow." He continued, looking blankly ahead.

"That was the most strangest feeling."

"Told you." She said, with a chuckle, and walks towards the cockpit.

"Now you can unbuckle your seat." She said, taking a seat next to him.

He stares at her for a moment, only for her to notice.

"What?" She said, her eyes narrow.

"Aren't we pressed for time?" He asked, with a puzzled look on his face.

"No, not really." She said, taking out her device, and starts scrolling on the screen with her finger.

"If there's no one waiting for us, then why rush?" She looks at him, as she dips in her pocket, and pulls out two small devices.

"Oh, I guess you've got a good poi-" He stops, noticing her placing the devices in her ears.

"What are you doing?" He asked, frowning.

She looks up at him with a slight smile, and taps the screen, only for a faint sound of beats in a rythem can be heard from the devices in her ears.

"Oh..." He said, rolling his eyes.

"Listening to music." He unbuckles his seat, and stands up.

He walks to the one cabinet at the back of the ship, and opens it. He looks at it for a moment, and takes out a beverage, and opens it.

He sits next to her, and takes a sip from the bottle. He lets out a sigh while looking at the bottle within his hand

"This is good." He said, looking at Leah, only to notice her eyes closed.

She opens her eyes, and takes out the devices from her ears.

"Going for the drinks already I see." She said, her one eyebrow raised.

"Well, there's nothing better to do, is there?" He answered her, and takes a sip.

"That was meant for when we're on Epra, not here." She explained.

"Aww come on." He said, lowering his drink with a sigh.

"It's just one."

"I'm just joking with you." She said, chuckling, only to place the devices in her ears.

"Drink away." She taps the screen once more, and proceeds in listening to her music.

Kase smiles, staring at Leah, and takes a sip from his drink, only to look ahead, now watching the dark-void of space before him.

--

Meanwhile on their home planet, on Ruth's ship. Within the prison, near the guard halls.

From Raine's cell, a blue glowing light is seen emitting from it. Within it, Raine stands with her back against the wall. Her whole body constantly emitting dark-blue, transparent flames. The flames themselves look as if they want to burst out, but can't as it pulses around her.

Her hands gripping her head, her eyes wide open, her pupils shining bright. She grits her teeth as she moans in pain, only for her to shut her eyes. Hunching over, she lets out a scream.

The lights within the prison start flickering, the sounds of her crying can be heard. The prisoners themselves watch from their cells in awe.

The flames around her surge brighter, and its radios increase in size. Opening eyes, Raine's pupils glows sapphire. With that, her cries stop. Only for small flaming wings to form on her back.

Slowly, she lowers her hands to her side, and stands straight. Her cries have stopped completely, with only the sound of the surging flames.

Just then, she lets out a loud scream as she arches back, only for her body to emit a blinding blue light that illuminates most of the prison on the outside.

Her cell gets destroyed, leaving behind a cloud of dust. Only a dim blue light can be seen from it. The lights within the prison burst, with shards of glass falling to the floor.

The red emergency light ĺn the prison starts flickering, with the alarm sounding off.

"Warning! Warning!" a digitized male voice called out.

"There's a cell breach!" Only for it to repeat.

The dust clears, and Raine is now visible. Her whole body being covered in transparent dark-blue flames, as it slowly flows around her, still with small flaming wings on her back.

--

Away from the prison, at Ruth's palace. Within the dining hall. Alecia, Ruth, Aven, and Lumina are seen at the table. Trays of food spread out along the table, with each person having their own plate of food.

Ruth is seen at the end of the table, Lumina, on her left, with Alecia on the right, who's sitting next to Aven.

"You two were quite the trouble makers, weren't you?" Aven said, gathering his food with his tensel.

Ruth chuckles, only to look at him.

"We were sometimes up to no good." She looks down at her food.

"However, we weren't always causing trouble for ourselves, hey sis?" She looks at Alecia.

Alecia gets pulled from her thoughts.

"Oh yeah." She chuckles out, and takes a spoon full of food in her mouth.

It's been so long since Ruth called her that, it's comforting to hear it from her. Does it mean that she forgives her in some way? She looks at Ruth who's still talking to Aven.

One can only wonder if she has.

"Oh and you should have seen her face when she first met Clay." Aven chuckles slightly.

"Oh? Is that so?" Ruth said, looking at Alecia.

Alecia looks at them both

"Well, anyone would be freaked out by him." She looks down and proceeds to gather her food from the plate.

"He may be rough around the edges," Ruth said, taking a sip from her glass.

"He does his job well. He, after all, made you those antidotes, did he not?"

Alecia nods slowly.

"True, he did." She clears her throat.

"And I thank h-" Just then, she drops her tinsel as her pupils flash blue, leaving her staring blankly ahead.

"Aven..." Alecia said, looking at him.

"Did you feel that?"

"I did." Aven said, staring ahead of himself, with a calm expression on her face.

"It's big."

"What do you mean?" Ruth said, looking at them both, with a puzzled gaze. Lumina, stays quiet as she listens in to their conversation.

Alecia's breathing begins to stutter, while she stares ahead, wide-eyed.

"It is..." She pauses.

"It's her." Her voice trembled out.