The New Candidates, New Dangers
“What is going on”, Kizna asked Zero, “Why is your Ex going off now?”
“I wish I knew”, Zero said, “But I don’t know, so let me go!” Kizna let
go of Zero’s shirt. “Clay do you know what’s going on?”, Saki asked,
“Have you ever read or heard about something like this happening?” “No”,
Clay answered, “I want to know what’s happening and why too.” “Do any
of you know”, Saki asked the other candidates. Everyone shook their
heads. “I think it has something to do with the bands on their arms”, Erts
said knelling down next to them, “They sent off weird vibes to me since
I first saw them.” “Are you sure that is what’s causing this?”, Aracd
asked. “Doesn’t seem strange that a new victim appears”, Hiead said,
“And at the same time we get two new mysterious candidates that the
computers have no data on?” “How would you know if the computer has data on
them?”, Zero asked. “I had Ikhny check it out while everyone was running
here”, Hiead said.
The doors opened and Azuma and Dr. Croford walked in. “Has anything
happened”, Azuma asked the candidates. “Nothing except us trying to
figure out what’s going on”, Force said. “I also wonder what’s going on”,
Dr. Croford said, “I have never seen anything like this.” “Did you get
them checked during the decontamination?”, Azuma asked. Dr. Croford shook
her head. “I didn’t have enough time”, she said, “I had to get them to
the recognition ceremony. But I think that the bands on their arms is
what is causing the problem.” “But how can a couple of colored bands
cause their Ex to go off?”, Clay asked.
“They aren’t just colored bands”, Dr. Croford said, “I think they are
the back up source of their power. Lilly’s bands are red and blue. So I
think that they represent fire and water. Crystal’s bands are white and
green. So I think that they represent wind and earth. The bands give
them some protection against certain things. They also remind me of
someone from the past that was at G.O.A. a long time ago when I was here as
a child. It wasn’t a candidate though. It was a instructor, but I can’t
seem to remember her name. She was just like these girls. Strong,
confident, and smart. She knew about many different things that most people
didn’t. She seemed to know a great deal about Zion, like she lived on
it a long time ago before the space colonies were built.”
The bands stopped glowing. Zero, Hiead, Lilly, and Crystal’s Ex
stopped. “It stopped”, Kizna said, “Like you were waking up something in it’s
past that is really important.” Lilly and Crystal started to wake up.
Lilly sat up first, rubbing her head. “What’s going on?”, she asked
standing up, “What’s the matter with all of you?” Crystal stood up too. “I
feel like I just went through a really intense battle”, Crystal said.
“Don’t you remember anything?”, Azuma asked, “You were in-” “Wait”, Dr.
Croford said, “Don’t tell them now Azuma. I want to get that
examination done now. Girls would you please follow me.”
Lilly and Crystal followed Dr. Croford out of the observation room.
“What was Azuma trying to tell us?”, Crystal asked, “It seemed really
important.” “I’ll tell you after the examination”, Dr. Croford said. They
entered a room full of capsules. Dr. Croford opened two of them. “I
need you to each get into different capsules”, she explained, “Then I’ll
give more directions from the observation room up.” She pointed to the
window across from the capsules. “Nothing bad will happen to you”, Dr.
Croford assured them, “You just need to follow my instructions and
you’ll be fine.” Lilly and Crystal got into the capsules. The capsules shut
slowly and Dr. Croford’s voice echoed through the room.
“The capsule will fill with water”, she said, “Just stay calm and
close your eyes.” Water started flood into the capsule. Lilly and Crystal
remained clam and closed their eyes as the liquid started to cover their
faces. “You’re doing fine”, Dr. Croford said, “This will only take a
minute. Then you can go and join the others.”
In the room across from the capsules, Miche was having some problems.
“Dr.”, she said, “You should see this.” Dr. Croford walked over to
Miche. “what is it?”, Dr. Croford asked. “Their energy levels”, Miche
said, “They are unusually high for a normal human’s level. Even with out
their Ex energy added, their levels are higher than the highest Ex power
level ever recorded. Plus they don’t seem to have any problems with the
structure of their bodies.” “Did you analyze the bands on their arms?”,
Dr. Croford asked. “I can’t”, Miche said, “The computer won’t read them
for some reason.” “Try to”, Dr. Croford said, “If they can be analyzed,
I want them analyzed.” Miche started to try to analyze the bands. The
computer beeped twice and a bunch of zeros and ones started to flood the
screen. “I think I did something”, Miche said, “The computer is acting
funny.” “Reboot it”, Dr. Croford said, “This means they can’t be
analyzed. We’ll just have to ask about them.” “The computer has frozen”,
Miche said, “I can’t get it to do anything.” In every part of G.O.A.,
anything that was run by power went out. “I think we have a problem”, Dr.
Croford said, “Are you sure the computer won’t go?” “Positive”, Miche
said, “But what about them?” “They might be able to help us”, Dr. Croford
said, “I would go and release them, but the doors won’t open.” “Then
their stuck there until the power comes back on?”, Miche asked. “Yes”,
Dr. Croford.
Everyone was still in the observation room when the power went out.
“What’s going on?”, Kizna asked as the power went out, “Azuma do you know
what’s going on?” “No”, he said, “Just stay here. I’ll go and find out
what caused the blackout.” He went over to the doors and tried to open
them, but they wouldn’t open. He tried again, but it was the same
result, they wouldn’t open. “I guess we’re stuck here until the power comes
back on.” “What do you think could have cause this?”, Zero asked, “Is
it the aftermath from the fight earlier today against victim?” “I don’t
know”, Azuma said, “and we won’t know until we get out of here.” Kizna
walked over to the window. “Do you think has anything to do with Lilly
and Crystal?”, Kizna asked. “I don’t think so”, Saki said, “If it did
have something to do them, they would have fixed it by now.” “I still
think it has something to do with Lilly and Crystal”, Kizna said, “Weird
things have happened since they came. Think about it. Hiead is
defeated.” “Thanks for rubbing it in”, Hiead said. “A new victim appears”,
Kizna continued, “and now a mysterious blackout.” “You do have a point”,
Force said, “Things have been getting weird since they stepped foot on
G.O.A. I think they’re victims themselves.” “Don’t be silly”, Clay said,
“How can victims become humans or take human form?” “I don’t know?”,
Force said, “It was just a thought.” But what if they really are victims,
Zero asked himself, What if Force is right and we can’t stop them.
Dr. Croford and Miche were still trying to get G.O.A. back online. “We
have to try everything”, Dr. Croford said, “There has to be way to get
through this.” Two lights started to come from the capsules Lilly and
Crystal were in. The lights floated from the capsules and landed in the
room with Dr. Croford and Miche. When the light had cleared, Lilly and
Crystal were standing in the lights’ place. “I thought you would try to
analyze our bands”, Crystal said, “The bands can’t be analyzed. We’ve
all ready tried to analyze them. It didn’t work.” “Is G.O.A. off-line?”,
Lilly asked. “Yes”, Miche said, “How did you know?” “Anything that
tries to analyze these bands will usually freeze”, Crystal said, “I think I
can put G.O.A. back online.” “It will take you a few hours”, Lilly
said, “I’ll take this job. I can do it in about ten minutes.” “Fine”,
Crystal said, “You can have this one.” “Just show me the computer I can work
on”, Lilly said. Miche got up from her seat at the computer. “You can
work on this one”, she said, “That is if you can make it turn on.” Lilly
sat down. “Well”, she said examining the computer’s hard drive, “I
think this should turn it on.” Lilly flipped one of the switches up on the
back of the hard drive. The screen lit up and the computer started to
run.
“Now for the hard part”, Lilly said, “I’m going to have to hack into
G.O.A.’s computer base to load a backup system in. It can stand up to
any virus and will automatically start when G.O.A.’s primary system stops
working or a virus gets into the system.” Lilly’s fingers were flying
across the keyboard. “But how can you get into G.O.A.’s main computer”,
Dr. Croford asked Lilly. “I’ll go through the Goddess’s computer
frame”, Lilly said, “It will provide some protection and I can get into the
main computer faster. I’m in. Whoa. This is the biggest computer I’ve
ever seen.” “Will this slow you down?”, Crystal asked. “It shouldn’t”,
Lilly said, “I’ve worked on my computer before and it’s slightly smaller
than this one. Is this password protected?” “Not that I know of”, Dr.
Croford said, “If it is then the Goddess pilots would know what the
password is. They are the only ones who are suppose to use this computer
system.” A big x appeared on the screen. “Well”, Lilly said, “I guess
that answers my question. It is password protected. Hey Crystal, can you
go and get the password from the Goddess pilots for me?” “I guess I
could go”, Crystal said, “But how am I going to find my way to the hanger?”
“Take Star”, Lilly said tossing Crystal a small compact computer, “She
should be able to find the hanger. Then tell Azuma that the power will
be back up in no time.” “Okay”, Crystal said. She took Star and went
through the closed doors without opening them.
“How did she do that?”, Dr. Croford asked after Crystal left. “You
mean walk through solid matter?”, Lilly asked, “It’s simple. All you have
to do is concentrate on walking through it and most of the time it will
work.” “What are you going to do until Crystal gets back with the
password?”, Miche asked. “I’ll try to get in through the main computer
again”, Lilly said, “It’s a bit risky, but it might work.”
Crystal was running down the halls with the small compact open. There
was a map with two dots on the screen. The red one indicated where she
was and the blue one indicated where the hanger was. She was getting
closer to the hanger. She was almost to it, when a girl appeared from the
shadows. She looked about seventeen. She had black shorts and a black
shirt the was cut off to show her stomach and arms. She had long black
hair that was pulled back.
“Where do you think you’re going?”, the girl
asked, “And why in such a rush?” “Why would it matter to you?”, Crystal
asked closing the compact. She stuck it in her pocket. “Who are you and
what do you want?”, Crystal asked. “I am your worst nightmare”, the
girl said, “I want the four bands that you stole from me. If you don’t
give them to me, I’ll take them by force.” “Sorry to disappoint you”,
Crystal said with a smirk on her face, “But I don’t have the bands that you
are looking for. The bands on my arm I have had since before I can
remember. They don’t belong to you, so if you’ll excuse me.” Crystal walked
past the girl to the door of the hanger. She was about to walk in, when
the girl pushed her through. The door crashed in and Crystal went
flying across the room. She hit the wall and fell to the ground. The pilots,
who were alarmed by the crash, looked at the two girls. The girl that
pasted Crystal was slowly walking into the hanger. “I told you that I
want the bands”, she said, “Give the bands now!” Crystal got up and wiped
the blood from corner of the mouth. “I already told you that I don’t
have the bands that you are looking for”, Crystal said, “So just come off
of it. I know you were sent here by a victim.” “So you figured it out”,
the girl said, “I have come for the bands and the lives of the pilots
of the Goddesses.” “Did the ultimate victim send you?”, Crystal asked,
“Or did someone else send you?” “The king of victims sent me”, the girl
said, “I have taken the side of the victims. They will soon rule this
world and take out all of humanity.” “Not if I can help it”, Crystal
said. She raise her hand so it pointed to the girl. A arrow came out from
the tip of her finger. She grabbed it and a bow appeared. She pulled
the arrow back and aimed it at the girl. “I’ll release you from the spell
that victim has put you under”, Crystal said, “And I’ll do it using the
Arrow of the Twin Forests.” Crystal released the arrow. It flew right
for the girl’s heart. She tried to dodge it, but the glowing green arrow
was too fast. It hit the girl’s heart and the green glow started to
flow through the girl’s body. “Power of the earth ”, Crystal said,
“Release the spell that victim has put over this girl.” Then arrow turned into
a flower and surrounded the girl. When the flower’s petals had faded
into dust, the girl was still standing there.
“Where am I?”, the girl
asked, “What am I doing here?” “Do you remember anything”, Crystal asked.
The girl shook her head. “The spell worked”, Crystal said. She walked
over to the Goddess pilots. “I need the password to the computer system
you use”, Crystal said, “G.O.A.’s computer system has crashed and we’re
trying to get it back online.” “Why do you need the password?”, Teela
asked Crystal, “What are you planning to do with the password?” “I’ll
use it to get into the system you use and enter G.O.A.’s system through
yours”, Crystal said, “That’s it.” “Are you even a candidate?”, Teela
asked. “Yes”, Crystal said, “Check it out if you want. the number is 98.”
Teela walked over to the computer and typed in 98. Crystal’s name
appeared on the screen along with a picture. “So you are the one chosen for
the special project”, Teela said, “Crystal Hamiya. Ex: controls wind
and earth and has high strength levels in mental and psychical
categories. You’re only fifteen?” “Yes”, Crystal said, “Can I please have the
password now?” “It’s goddess”, Teela said, “Why didn’t you ask Dr.
Croford? She knows it.” “She said she didn’t”, Crystal said, “What are you
going to do about the girl?” “I guess we’ll watch after her until G.O.A.
is back online”, Teela said, “You should get back now.” “Okay”, Crystal
said. She took off back down the halls flying as fast as she could.
Lilly was having some trouble back at the computer. “This computer is
stuck”, Lilly said, “It won’t let me do anything. I guess it’s time to
call Star.” Lilly tapped the blue band on her arm. “What is it now”, a
voice said from the band. “Did Crystal get the password yet”, Lilly
asked, “Tell her I need it now.” “She got the password”, the voice said,
“It’s goddess. What happened now?” “The computer system crashed”, Lilly
said, “Do you think you can get into it and bring back online Star?” “I
can do anything”, Star said. “Well I guess I won’t be needing you to
help me out”, Lilly said, “I’m in. Where is Crystal?” “She’s on her way
to Azuma”, Star said, “There was someone who wanted the bands from
Crystal. She met her right before she got to the hanger.” “Did they get the
bands?”, Lilly asked as she worked on the computer, “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine”, Star said, “There seems to be a new type of victim. There’s
this king of victims. The girl that Crystal came across was under a
spell by him. Crystal erased the spell and got the password with no
problem.”
“Why does victim want the bands”, Lilly asked Star, “Do you know
anything about the bands that you aren’t telling me?” “I know as much as you
do”, Star said, “I can’t analyze the bands. That’s how I got split into
two.” “Well it helps”, Lilly said, “I know where you’re at and you can
tell me where you’re at if I don’t know. Plus Crystal can take you with
her and I’ll be able to tell whether or not she is okay.” “Are you done
with that yet”, Crystal’s voice asked, “I just told Azuma that the
power would be back in a few minutes. I’m with them right now.” “Yeah I’m
almost done”, Lilly said, “All power will be back in about one minute.”
Lilly’s fingers started to slow down. “The power should come on”, Lilly
said, “About now.” She pressed one final key and the lights came back
on. “The power’s back on over here”, Crystal said, “I’ll see you in a
few minutes.” “Okay”, Lilly said. She got up. “That hurts”, Lilly said
stretching, “I can’t stay seated that long. Do you have anymore questions
before I leave?” “Not that I can think of”, Dr. Croford said, “Expect
for one. What colony did you come from?” “I don’t know”, Lilly said. She
stopped stretching and looked at the floor. “I was found in space along
with Crystal when we were younger”, Lilly said, “We don’t have many
memories of our younger years and we don’t really like to talk about it.”
Lilly turned at walked out of the room. Crystal was walking toward her.
“What’s the matter?”, Crystal asked when she saw Lilly’s face, “Hey
what’s up?!” “Nothing”, Lilly said, “I’m hungry. What’s for lunch?” “I
don’t know”, Crystal said, “I think everyone has already started eating.”
“Well what are we waiting for?”, Lilly asked, “Let’s get something to
eat.” “But where do we get something to eat?”, Crystal. “Just follow
me”, Lilly said, “My nose never lies when it comes to food.” “That’s for
sure”, Crystal said. Lilly had already started to walk down the hall.
“Hey wait up!”, Crystal yelled as she ran to catch up with Lilly.
When she finally caught up with Lilly, they were at the lunch hall. “I
told you my nose never lies”, Lilly said, “Let’s get lunch.” They got
in line and got their lunch. They found an empty table and sat down. “I
wonder how good the food is”, Lilly said. She tasted the food. “Yuck”,
Lilly said, “This tastes bad.” “It’s the only thing to eat”, Crystal
said. She began to eat it. “How can you eat that?”, Lilly asked, “I’m not
eating it. I don’t care if I don’t eat anything for the rest of my
life. I will not eat this.” “Can I sit here?”, someone asked from behind
Lilly. It was Erts. “Sure”, Lilly said. “Why aren’t you sitting with the
other candidates in your group?”, Crystal asked. “They aren’t my only
friends I have at G.O.A.”, Erts said, “I like to make new friends.” “Why
do the top candidates seem to hate us?”, Lilly asked, “And how can you
eat this food?” “They don’t really hate you”, Erts said, “They just
haven’t met someone like you. You get used to the food after a while. Why
did you come to G.OA?” “We’re not really sure yet”, Lilly said, “The
people who picked us told us we were going to come to G.O.A. for some
special project. They didn’t say anything else about it. I thought there
would be more female pilots and candidates.” “We don’t usually get
female pilots or candidates”, Erts said, “Teela is the only female that I
know that is a pilot.” “I met her today”, Crystal said, “She seems a bit
mysterious.” “How could you tell?”, Lilly asked. “I sensed a mysterious
aura around her”, Crystal said, “It’s like something or someone is
missing.” “Did you see my brother?”, Erts asked, “His name’s Ernst.”
“Yeah”, Crystal said, “He seems to be quite a character. Does he have the
same Ex as you?” “Yes”, Erts said, “But how did you know that I have an
Ex?” “We both have Ex of our own”, Lilly said, “Mine is the ability to
control fire and water. Plus I also have high mental and psychical
strength levels.” “My Ex is the ability to control wind and earth”, Crystal
said, “I also have the same levels of psychical and mental strength as
Lilly.” “You are sisters”, Erts asked. Lilly nodded. “I’m one year
younger”, Lilly said, “She’s fifteen and I’m fourteen.” “More like two”,
Crystal said, “You act like you’re less than half your age.” “I do not”,
Lilly said, “You’re just jealous because I am more likable than you.”
As Lilly and Crystal bickered about Lilly’s maturity level and which
of them was more likable, Erts was laughing. “What’s so funny?”, Lilly
asked, “I don’t get it.” “It’s nothing”, Erts said, “I just could help
laughing because you remind me of an old friend of mine.” “When do we
have to be back in class?”, Crystal asked, “I mean we are put in the same
class as you and candidates that are your partners.” “We don’t have to
be in class for another half hour”, Erts said, “Are you going to eat?”
“No”, Lilly said, “I don’t like the taste of the food. I’ll be in the
relaxation room if you need me.” Lilly got up and left. “Where are the
rest of the top candidates?”, Crystal asked, “Are they eating lunch
too?” “They are on their way here”, Erts said, “They sometimes don’t eat
lunch. Can she last through all of the training if she doesn’t eat
anything?” “She can last a few months without eating anything”, Crystal said,
“I can too, but I choose not too. The other candidates are here and
they’re walking over here.” “Can we sit here?”, Sure asked. “I don’t see
why not”, Crystal said. They all sat down and started to eat. “Where is
your sister?”, Force asked, “I thought I saw her walking down the
hall.” “She left”, Crystal said, “She doesn’t like the food, so she went to
the relaxation room for a little bit.” “Doesn’t she need to eat
something?”, Force asked, “She’ll get hungry with all of the training she’ll
have to go through.” “She can last a few months”, Crystal said, “Once
she lasted six months without anything to eat. I can last a few months
without food, but I choose not too. I’ll be in the relaxation room if you
need me. Come and get me when it’s time to go back to class.” Crystal
got up and left.
Lilly was heading to the relaxation room. When she got there, she
climbed the tree and sat on one of the branches looking out of the window
into space. She started to remember the time she and Crystal were found
in space. They were only a few years old. The goddesses had found them
and brought them back to the colony closest to Zion. “Hey what are you
doing up there?”, a voice said bring Lilly back to the present. It was
Crystal. “What are you doing?”, she asked, “I thought you would be
working out or something like that.” “Nope”, Lilly said as she jumped down
from the tree’s branch, “I can’t seem to concentrate. I keep having
flashbacks from the time when we were found floating in space. I can’t get
it out of my head.” “I know what you mean”, Crystal said sitting down
on the ground, “I’ve tried to get it out of my head, but I can’t. All we
can do now is protect Zion like we’re going to be recruited to do.” The
doors opened and Erts walked in. “Classes are about to start in five
minutes”, he said, “The other guys want to know if you’ll walk with
them.” “Yeah sure”, Crystal said getting up, “I guess we could.” Lilly and
Crystal walked out of the relaxation room. The other candidates were
waiting outside for them.
“Let’s go”, Force said, “We’ll be late if we
don’t go now.” Everyone started walking except Lilly. Lilly snapped her
fingers and her clothes changed. She was now wearing a pair of light
blue jogging pants with two white strips down each side. She also had a
white tank top with a water lily on it. Crystal turned around and shook
her head. “You have to be a show off don’t you?”, Crystal asked, “You
had better come on or you’ll be late and cause the rest of us to be
late.” “I’m coming”, Lilly said running to catch up with them. “Aren’t you
going to change?”, Lilly asked Crystal. “No”, Crystal said, “why should
I?” “I don’t know”, Lilly said as they entered the room, “I was just
wondering.” “You’re just on time”, Azuma said, “The other candidates beat
you here.” “we went the long way so we could tell them they needed to
get to class”, Force said pointing to Lilly and Crystal, “So what are we
doing today?” “All of you are going on a special training mission”,
Azuma said, “It has never been tested before so you’ll be the first ones.
You’ll be going to Zion for this training.”
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