Nicolette

"Keep running!" I called to the troop behind me. Our footsteps thudded in the empty hallway as we ran through. I set the pace in the front, slowing down as my new group of privates needed to while still pushing them to their limits.

"Yes, Sensei Nicolette!" they panted in unison. I laughed and shook my bangs out of my eyes, thankful the rest of my hair was up in a ponytail. We passed a group of Galaxy Soldiers heading to the lobby and I saluted them. They did the same.

I checked my radio. It was 1800. Nearly time for a break.

Since Arthur had become the leader of the GSA, several changes had been implemented to the army. One of them was finally promoting me from a Senmonka to a Sensei in the Ninja Special Forces and starting a tighter training schedule. We all thought that Galacta Knight was demanding; Arthur was much worse.

We woke up every morning at 0500 sharp and went straight into a morning run. After that, we were served a breakfast full of carbs and proteins. The oatmeal we ate was better than whatever mush Galacta Knight fed us, but the taste was only slightly better. Then we did personal workouts for an hour, then group training until 1300, then had lunch at different times according to the division of the army you belonged to. I and the Ninja Special Forces ate lunch last after the Martial Art Forces and the Galaxy Soldiers. The Martial Arts Forces was a new branch of the army; after consulting Amai and The Sage, Arthur decided that we had enough martial artists to start their own branch. Amai was one of their leaders.

After lunch, we had more training, and then we finished the day with a final run and had dinner. As a Sensei, I was in charge of the Ninja Special Forces workouts. Yamikage helped sometimes, but I hadn't seen him in a while. He had told Arthur and me that since the Ninja Special Forces was largely its own branch of the army that worked separately from the Galaxy Soldiers, it was up to him as a Sensei to decide what he should do with himself. He assigned himself missions and never told me where he went, and I couldn't decide if it was good or bad. It was strange behaviour, for he used to be very involved in the GSA. My intuition repeatedly told me to ask Meta Knight about him, as I could sense Meta was hiding something from me, but I never worked up the courage.

Part of sharing a mental power with Meta was that he and I could enter each other's minds no matter the distance or situation, but the person initiating the bonding had to let the other in. That was what my mother had called it when two people started sharing a mind: bonding. And whenever I brought up Yamikage in a conversation with Meta, he would instantly build a mental barrier that I couldn't get through. I had rules as to how far I would go when using my powers, and one of those rules was that I wouldn't enter someone's mind without their permission. Unless my life was threatened or the situation called for it, I refused to do it against their will. Hence, I wouldn't push Meta to give me information that he wasn't ready to give me.

Still, despite the rigorous new training program, Arthur still allowed for socializing during dinner hours and a brief combat hour for those who enjoyed fighting in the ring. Because of his training, I had reached a whole new level of physical strength. I worked out with my regime every day, even though I wasn't required to do the training with my recruits like I did. However, I wanted to do the workouts with them because it encouraged them to know that they weren't doing them alone. My ninjas were also thankful when I joined them in their runs because I always ran five laps around the Enterprise instead of Arthur's standard seven.

Yamikage never trained like this with us, I thought bitterly. My breath became shorter as we finished the fourth lap around the ship. One more lap and our evening run would be done.

Keep it up, I thought to the recruits. Don't think about what you're doing; if you are struggling, focus on your breathing. I looked behind me to see their responses, but they merely blinked and did as I said. They had gotten used to me talking to them telepathically.

We passed by the regular Galaxy Soldier training gyms and I spotted Meta Knight watching us from his sword match against Ren. His soldiers-in-training stood around his training mat and watched the match with open mouths. That was another new rule; every soldier had to train, regardless of your rank or status, and because of Meta's meticulous schedule as one of the highest ranking Galaxy Soldiers in the army, he had to have all of his recruits with him for his training. He had limited time to train, as I did, for we were sent out on missions at least once a week. And missions tend to last several days.

As we passed, I made eye contact with Meta and he looked at my outfit in surprise. I wasn't wearing my typical armor; instead, I was wearing a black tank top, gray striped leggings, and black combat boots. I felt his familiar mental chi connect with mine, which felt like someone tapping on my brain, and I let the bond connect.

Since when did you dress like a private? he thought to me. I hadn't dressed like this since I was a private myself four years ago in my time, which was several galactic years ago. I was twenty years old now, turning twenty-one in a few months. All of my friends were at least three years my senior, like Meta and Arthur. They wouldn't think of dressing like a private after being in the army for as long as they have been. Not me. My battle armor was on a stand in my room; as part of training with my new ninjas, I dressed like they had to, too.

You should try this sometime, I replied. Wearing that clunky metal all day has gotta be exhausting. Meta's eyes turned pink as swung behind his head without looking and caught Ren's sword before it struck him. He raised his eyebrows at me, smirking beneath his mask, and I rolled my eyes and ran past him. Well, most of us are exhausted from wearing clunky metal all day.

Glad you see it my way, he replied. His swordsmanship was incredible; I envied him for the ease with which he sliced the air with his blade. He had taken up finishing my own swordsmanship training, and I was decent with a regular blade, but I sometimes proved a challenge even to him with my katanas. Even so, I had yet to beat him.

Keep running those kids like that and you won't have any ninjas left, he thought to me. I closed my eyes and looked through his. Ren, tough and fierce, looked so tall through his eyes. Hey! I can read your mind, too, you know. I'm not short.

Haha, mister. Stick to your sword and I'll stick to my chi. He smiled at me while blocking a broad swing from Ren, then whipped around and returned a blow that struck Ren on his shoulder. Poor Galeren's face was utter confusion. I sighed in exhaustion, returned my vision to my own eyes, severed the bond between Meta and I, and returned my focus to running.

Neither Meta or I had told anyone about our bonding, so when someone noticed us speaking telepathically to each other, they were oftentimes confused. The Sage hadn't given me any more leads as to the "bonding" Meta and I had done or any clues as to the extent of my mother's power. It was difficult to draw information out of him without telling him what was happening, so I didn't question him much. My mother's scroll hadn't been much of a help either. Most of the things she wrote about were the power of foresight and how to use it, but none of it seemed to apply to me. Her mind, unsurprisingly, was very different from my own.

You must unlock the internal power that lies within you, she had written. Meta Knight had told me something very similar once, in a training session that gave me my armor and led to my first mission. I still had no idea what that meant, so I was nowhere closer to understanding my abilities.

I drew in a deep breath of air and was thankful to see the door to the Ninja Special Forces room just up ahead. My legs screamed in thanks when I slowed my pace and held up my hand.

"And, halt," I shouted to my regiment, panting. Five laps. The privates behind me skidded to a halt and doubled over, gasping for air.

Stand up and put your hands over your heads, I told them, quickly catching my breath and walking through the rows of recruits. They obeyed and groaned at the pain of moving their arms. Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth. Even though most of them seemed angry at me for the fast pace I set, I knew deep down they were thankful for the laps I hadn't made them do. I opened the doors to the NSF training room and breathed in the familiar smell of leather and metal. Ninjas trudged past me and sat down on the cold floor.

"Well, well, well," a snooty voice said from the back of the room. A figure weaved through the bodies of young recruits toward me, and I was in no mood to deal with her.

Rose, I thought tiredly.

"All work and no play, still, Sensei Princess?"

Rose, I don't have time for this right now, I thought to her, dismissing my regiment to their rooms to take a shower. Go finish your training, please.

"Stay out of my head," she retorted, following me out of the NSF room.

I'm not in your head if I'm just talking to you. I'm sending messages to you like I would if I was talking out loud. Look, Rose, I'm really tired. Please go do your training.

"I did already. Now, can you please show me how to talk back to you with my mind if you won't stay out of mine?"

I sighed and ran my hands through my sweaty bangs. Rose had been asking for a long time now about me teaching her how to communicate telepathically. Every time I turned her away, for the only way she could get what she wanted was through bonding, and there was no way I was going to bond with her. It made me even more thankful that I could only bond with one person.

"Rose, we talked about this. You can't do what I can do. It's not something that can be learned."

"Then at least tell me how to respond to you when you talk in my head."

"We've been through this, too. If you want to communicate something to me, you just need to think of it. Imagine the picture if that's what you want me to see, or think up the words and say them in your mind." I sighed and tried to avoid showing my annoyance. "Let's try this again. I won't enter your mind, just read what you let me see. Now, imagine you're saying hi to me, but do it only in your mind."

I didn't bother closing my eyes, as there was no need to anymore, but Rose squinted hers shut and grunted in concentration. I clapped a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing.

HI...NI..NICO...NICOLE... she screamed.

My eyes twitched in pain and I thought to her, Don't think so forcefully. You're yelling at me. As I walked with her, I put my hand on her arm and pulled her out of the way of an incoming group of martial arts fighters.

HHII- "Nicole! Don't touch me! I can't focus right when you're messing with me!" She yanked her arm from me and I rubbed my temples and sighed. The martial artists saluted me and I nodded to them.

"We'll do this some other time, Rose. Good try, though." I made it to my room and reached for the old doorknob. The painted number 25 on the door was slowly fading away. I touched it lovingly, reminiscing the easier days when I was a recruit, Yamikage the master, and Rose the soldier.

"I'm getting better, right?" Rose asked hopefully, interrupting my thoughts. I opened the door to my room and turned to face her, a forced smile spread on my face.

"Yeah, you get better every day," I said kindly. She gave me a proud smirk and walked away. Like normal, she didn't thank me or apologize for interrupting my training session.

As soon as she was out of earshot, I sighed heavily and walked across my empty room and flopped onto my bed. Lifting my head from the pillow and adjusting it so I could see the room, I scanned the only other empty cot. Val's ax rested against her bed stand next to a journal and pen. I sighed and touched the dragon necklace around my neck when I saw my armor near my nightstand. I missed Garlude.

She had moved out a few galactic years ago after she and Blizzard married. That was another new thing. Galacta Knight had refused anyone getting married publicly, while Arthur didn't mind, as long as you were still present for the missions assigned to you. Blizz and Garlude's wedding was very quiet and peaceful, and only their closest friends were invited. She asked Amai to be her maid of honor, and Blizz asked Jecra to be the best man. Meta was a groomsman and I a bridesmaid. The whole thing was elegant and kept quiet. The Sage was the officiant that married them. There wasn't time for a honeymoon though, for two days after their wedding Blizz was called away to defend his home planet Minoa from an attack from NME. He'd been gone for many months, and it was hard on Garlude. During that time, she was moved into a suite that she and Blizz would share and Val was reassigned to Joanna. Val still lived in my room, though, for there wasn't space in Joanna's. I was glad I didn't plan on marrying anytime soon. It was hard enough managing yourself in the army, much less a spouse.

I rolled over onto my back and glanced at the old clock on my nightstand. 1850. Dinner started in ten minutes. Moaning through clenched teeth, I hauled myself out of bed and trudged to the bathroom to take a shower. A few minutes later I was clean, dressed, and hungry. I brushed out my damp hair and let it hang over my shoulders to dry, then exited the room in my trademark golden armor.

As I passed through the lobby, I stopped at my favorite window seat and looked out at the view of the stars. Meta, Ren, or Amai would sit in the seat to my left and watch the meteor showers with me. Most of the time, late at night when I couldn't sleep, Ren would come out and sit with me and talk. We did this so often he got in the habit of calling me —

"Hey, Comet!" Ren was standing with Dragato and Nonsurat and showing off a new sword move he had mastered, and he stopped when he saw me and called out to me. Classic Ren, as prideful as ever, looked handsome with his hair down around his shoulders and his amber eyes gleaming as he lifted his chin to greet me. I smiled and waved at him, and he came over and joined me. "You going to dinner? Your hair smells nice, by the way."

"Oh, thanks, I just showered. And yeah, I was just going that way," I replied. His eyes twinkled mischievously as he offered me his arm.

"Mind if I escort you, Lady Nicolette?" he said.

"I suppose, Sir Galeren," I said with as much mock regalness as I could put into my voice, then took his arm and gave him a slight elbow in the ribs. Goofball.

Always, he thought, chuckling. He knew how to formulate full sentences and memories and present them in his mind for me to see since we had spent countless hours at night practicing. His mind was incredibly strong mind and made me sharper, quicker, and sneakier with how I used my telepathic powers. He was very open with me and encouraged me to practice tearing down his mental walls and sort through his memories, while I taught him how to make his walls stronger. Now, parading through the halls of the Enterprise with Ren wearing his silly half-smile, he presented happy thoughts and an all-too-familiar warm feeling to me. I glanced him, and he smiled at me in such a soft, gentle way that I blushed. Slightly uncomfortable, I retracted my arm from him and walked by his side. A small part of me hoped that Meta Knight hadn't seen us.

"I heard that Arthur planned for steak to be served tonight!" Ren said excitedly. "I hope he made some rare; it's been so long since we've had nice meat and I'm craving a rare steak..."

We walked into the mess hall and I sat down at a table with some young ninjas and soldiers I didn't know yet and introduced myself and Ren. During meal times, I purposefully acquainted myself with soldiers I didn't know to make them feel comfortable and to give them support. Ren pulled out my chair for me, much to my displeasure, and offered to get me some steak. I shrugged and gave in. I had come to learn that when it came to gentlemanly manners, it was nearly impossible to make him stop.

After talking to the young soldiers, I learned their names and positions. There were two ninjas named Niko and Nyla, brother and sister, and two knights named Terryn and Asher. The ninjas were shaped similarly to Yamikage, their bodies shaped like ovals, and had yellow eyes; they wore black kimonos and grey iron-laced underarmor with stars on their foreheads and sandals on their feet. Their curly brown hair stuck up in a ponytail from the tops of their heads. Terryn, on the other hand, had straight blond hair, bright green eyes, and dark green armor with a black cape on his back that had a cream-colored underside. Asher had dark hair the color of soot, blue eyes, and navy blue armor with a dark blue cape that rested across his neck and over his left shoulder. Both had swords that they carried in holsters on their left sides, though Asher was taller and had a broadsword like Ren's. All of them had recently graduated from new recruits to privates, and the two ninja siblings knew me from training. Terryn and Asher had been trained by Falspar. We talked about their experiences on missions, where they were from, and what they hoped to become in the army until Ren came back with the food.

"Here you are," Ren said, both of his arms full of plates. "I know you like medium-well cooked steak, Nikki, so I managed to persuade the person with the last piece to give it to me."

I laughed. What did you offer them instead?"

"My helping of dessert." He set my plate of steak and salad and a heaping bowl of ice cream in front me and took his seat. It was a rare thing to eat ice cream in the army.

"Ren, you shouldn't have!" I exclaimed, smacking his arm as he sat down. "I feel terrible! You love ice cream! Here, have mine." I pushed the bowl over to him, but he pushed it back.

"Nah, you would like it more. It's cookies and cream."

"But that's your favorite kind!" I pushed the bowl scornfully back. The soldiers and ninjas around the table laughed as he picked it up and put it in between my arms.

"I got it for you though!" There was laughter in his voice, and my scorn turned to frustrated amusement.

"Galeren, I don't want it!" I exclaimed and shoved the bowl of ice cream at him as hard as I could. It tipped over onto Ren's arm as he tried to stop it and dumped its contents all over his armor. Some of it splattered onto his steak and salad.

I gasped and stared in horror at the mess. The laughter halted around the table as we awaited Ren's reaction, for he was frozen in shock with his elbows planted on the table and one arm up to block his face while the other blocked the half-filled bowl.

"Ren...I didn't mean for that to happen, I'm really sorry," I said, reaching for my napkin and wiping off his arm. To my surprise, his shoulders started moving up and down and he sounded like he was coughing. Then it progressed to a low chuckle, then a loud laugh. Niko and Nyla joined in, and soon my table was dying of laughter. And then I heard a deep laugh that I had rarely heard before, a loud bellow with a touch of an accent, and I glanced in front of me to see Meta Knight holding his chest and nearly crying.

My cheeks were hot as I dropped the napkin and stared at my plate, forcing myself to smile and join in.

"It's all good, Nikki," Ren said good-naturedly. "No harm, no foul."

Meta Knight, quite forcefully, collected himself and pulled a napkin out of his cape. "You got a little on your face, Nicolette." He was about to wipe the sticky substance off for me, but he stopped mid-motion with his gaze fixed on Ren. Then Ren's hand was reaching across me and taking the napkin from Meta, his hand was under my chin and turning my face towards his. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion as I glanced at Meta, but he was stone. Completely unreadable.

Then, as Ren's hand started to dab at the ice cream on my rosy cheeks, a great tremor shook the ship.

I was thrown from my seat onto my back with the table crashing after me. Instinctively, I crossed my arms in front of my face and created a chi shield. The sharp steak knives clattered onto the shimmering shield and one knife landed point-down above my eyes. Gasping, I saw the large circular table coming down after it. It crashed down onto the shield, splintering in half on impact with a shudder, and pushed the knife a few inches further in. Steak, salad, and ice cream splattered onto my opaque shield and obscured my vision. Screams and cries from the soldiers in the mess hall filled my ears, so I pushed my crossed arms away from me and the shield flew into the air and disappeared. The steak knife tumbled end-over-end in the air, and I flipped onto my feet and caught it by the handle, holding it out in front of me and searching for an attacker.

Almost everyone was on the ground, the one exception being Meta Knight, who stood above Asher and Nyla and pulled them to their feet. Ren was covered in more than just ice cream and he held his head with both hands. A large lump was forming on his forehead. After making sure that there was no imminent threat, I lowered my knife and helped Ren up.

"Is everyone alright?" I asked. Several soldiers moaned in response, but no one was seriously injured. I sighed in relief and grabbed my radio.

"This is Lady Nicolette, speaking to Commander Arthur, over," I said.

After a few moments, he replied, "This is Commander Arthur, over." He sounded tired and distressed.

"Arthur, what was that?" I asked, going around and checking soldiers.

"I don't know, we're looking right now—"

BOOM! I fell backward and slid toward the starboard end of the ship. The radio flew from my hands and I slammed against a window. My throbbing head blurred my vision as I saw soldiers and tables following my path. Then Nyla landed on my stomach, shoving the air from my lungs, and Niko landed on top of her. I gasped and struggled to get control of my mind and body, then I heard a terrifying sound.

CRRRAAACCKK....

The glass. I shook my head free of the fuzziness I felt and looked at the breaking window beneath me. The glass was breaking.

"Nicolette!" Meta Knight yelled. I looked up and saw him hanging from the ceiling on a lantern stand with a whip. A bond started between us and in a matter of seconds he had communicated a plan to me.

I nodded at him and then looked down the windows of the mess hall. The ship had tilted sideways and all of the soldiers that were in the room had landed on the windows or the walls. I pressed my hands on the glass behind me and heard an unpleasant crunch. Taking a deep breath to calm my rattled nerves, I shifted my weight on the window to minimize the damage done when any of the soldiers on top of me moved. I was about to issue an order to them when suddenly, the ship's emergency alarms started up and the lights went black.

Beep beep...Beep beep... The shrill shriek of the alarms sounded in my ears and red lights flashed. The lanterns that hung from the ceiling had swung into each other during the tremor and any flammable part of them had set fire. An electric light in the middle of the room flickered on with a static buzz, and then flickered off again. Gasps and screams echoed around the room under the scream of the sirens and, just under that, I heard the sound of crunching glass.

"Don't move!!!" Ren yelled to the scrambling soldiers, climbing off of Terryn and trying to stand on the tipped floor. "The glass, guys, the glass!" But it was no use. His yelling only made the panic of the situation worse.

Everyone freeze! I commanded sternly but calmly, and sent the order to everyone in the room. Instantly, every soldier, ninja, and martial artist alike was silent and paralyzed in fear. The screeching sirens drowned out any whimpering or complaints. I looked down at Niko and said, Niko, get up very slowly. Spread your weight out as much as you can, and take Meta Knight's hand. He jumped, making the glass crack more. Niko, move!

Taking a trembling breath, Niko planted one foot on the ground and one foot on his sister's leg, testing his balance, then pulled a shuriken from his robes and stabbed it into the ground. The glass cracked even more and I held my breath. Crouching down, he pulled himself up with the shuriken and kicked his feet and clambered to where Meta Knight stood waiting. When he was close enough, Meta grabbed his arms and hauled him up onto a stack of tables and chairs.

Now you, Nyla, I told the young ninja girl. She did the same thing her brother did, and soon she was safe with Niko. While she did that, I had sent orders to Ren to instruct the other soldiers trapped on windows to do the same thing we were doing. Now, every soldier was climbing safely down off of the windows.

Your turn, Nic, Meta said to me, holding out his hand. Taking a deep breath, I pressed my feet against the glass, spread out my arms, leaned back against the window, and shimmied down to where the floor met the wall. High pitch-breaking sounds followed me as I scooted down the window and time seemed to freeze with every move I made. And then, with a huge gasp of relief, I fell off the window and onto the tilted floor.

It was impossible to walk normally, so I had to crawl upward on my hands and knees using chi spikes in my gloves. Meta Knight clung to his whip with one hand and reached out to me with the other. I stretched my hand to grab his, and in the corner of my peripheral vision, I saw the taut rope that Meta clung to. I followed the rope up to the lantern stand it held and froze in horror. The stand was on fire, and so was the whip.

"Meta Knight!" I cried, standing on both feet and running lopsided toward him. The orange flames seemed determined to beat me to him, for they flew down the rope. But before the fire touched him or the wooden tables he stood on, I grabbed the whip from him and threw it back the way I came. It narrowly missed hitting a stool and flopped against the wall, writhing and hissing like a snake.

"Everyone to the emergency bunkers, now!" I yelled. Scraping sounds of armor on concrete and breathless gasps followed, and in the dim light of the room from the fire, flashing sirens, and flickering light, I saw a flood of soldiers rushing through the double doors and into the hallway. "Make sure they get there safe," I said to Meta Knight. "I'll deal with the fire." He nodded and joined the others.

Meanwhile, the fires were growing, and fast. The lanterns had fallen from their chandeliers and landed on tables, setting the room ablaze.

I need to put this out, I thought, my eyes burning from the hazy smoke filling the room, or the entire ship could set on fire. On the port side of the room there was a fire extinguisher. Coughing from smoke and stumbling over myself and furniture, I haphazardly dodged roaring fires and ran toward it.

Then, when I was within a few feet of the box that held the extinguisher, I heard a creaking sound overhead. Daringly, I glanced up as I dodged obstacles and small blazes on the floor and saw that one of the chandeliers was ripped from the ceiling and clung to it with only a few wires. Slowly, the wires extended under the weight of the silver metal and snapped, and the chandelier alight with fiery lanterns descended on me. Panicking, I fell to the floor and slid to the fire extinguisher, grabbed the box that contained it, and jumped on top of it as the flaming chandelier smashed into the ground with a terrible crashing sound in front of me. The fire danced from the lanterns onto nearby tables and chairs and grasped at the box I stood on. Jumping down and stamping out the limb of the fire before it could touch me, I kicked the lock off of the box, opened the lid, pulled out the fire extinguisher, released the pin, and sprayed every flaming thing in sight. The white foam soaked the orange flames and smothered them, and in a matter of minutes the fires around me were out.

Leaping over the piles of ashes and half-burnt furniture, I raced to the other fires and tried to put them out as well. Just as I doused the last fire, the can hissed and ceased spraying the foam. Sighing in frustration, I threw the can away and held out my arms to the fire. Golden chi shimmered on them and spread from me to the fire, covering the flames and moving and squeezing the air from them until the fire dissolved.

"By Nova," I exclaimed, falling to my knees and looking around the ruined mess hall. Darkness lay over the room like a suffocating blanket and was only lifted by the red flashing lights and that creepy light when it flickered on.

Buzz... I watched it flicker for a moment, and then suddenly it grew brighter and brighter, so much so that I covered my eyes. Then the alarm lights in the walls and ceiling stopped flashing and burned with such intensity that I huddled into a fetal position with my head between my knees and held my arms over my head to block my face from the painful, blinding lights.

"Meta Knight!" I screamed in fear. The buzzing from the electric light became a high-pitched whir and I was afraid bulbs would burst from the sudden electric current, but instead, the lights suddenly died with a spine-tingling zap and the room turned pitch black.

I raised my head from my knees and blinked to adjust to the sudden darkness. The shrill beeping of the sirens still echoed in the room, but the red alarm lights were off. Drenched in cold sweat, I slowly stood up and felt for any other presences of physical energy, which I could sense when someone or something else was nearby. Catching my breath and raising my fist, I created chi blades on my hands that glowed with a golden light. It wasn't much, but at least I could see.

Suddenly I was keenly aware of a familiar energy close by. Nicolette! I heard, and I turned in circles looking for him. Nicolette, where are you? Are you alright?

"Meta Knight, I'm in the mess hall!" I yelled into the blackness. Then I heard the thud of footsteps and suddenly he appeared within the light of my chi. Before I could react, Meta wrapped me in a tight hug, then grabbed my hand and yanked me back the way he had come.

"Wait, Meta, what's going on?" I asked, and then I stepped on something that cracked. Stopping and bending down, I scraped the remains of my radio off of my boot.

I'll explain when we get to the bunker, but you cannot talk out loud, Meta Knight thought to me and continued pulling me along. I held out my glowing blade so he could see and we ran down a narrow hallway toward the emergency bunkers.

Where's Arthur? I asked.

Already in the bunker. He's holding it open until we get there. As far as I know, we're the only ones still outside.

A light overhead suddenly turned on, blinding us with white light, and then flickered off again. While the light was on, I saw that smoke from the mess hall had filled the hallway and all of the red emergency lights had been broken. Well, all except for one. There was a single red light glowing at the very end of the hallway, and even after the light had turned off, I could still see it. The sirens kept screaming, filling the air with an eerie cry. Pipes in the walls had burst and sent out a hissing noise from the escaping pressure.

Meta, where's the bunker located?

At the end of this hallway, near that red light.

Another light, farther down the hall, flashed on and blinded us, and in the haze, I saw that the red light was on a floating circle. The smoke distorted the light path of the red light and the figure, but I could see very clearly that that circle was moving. Then the overhead light flickered off. My skin crawled and I pulled Meta Knight to a stop. The red light became bigger.

Meta, do you see that?

Is that light... He didn't finish.

Then the red light vanished into the darkness, and I gripped Meta's hand in mine while holding my glowing hand in front of us. Controlling my breathing, I felt out into the air for any kind of unfamiliar chi. And I found that chi, alright, and it was resonating from that creepy ball with the glowing red light.

Nic, I think we should move, Meta Knight thought to me, and I heard him pull his sword from his holster. I did the same.

Just then, the light directly over us turned on and the floating circle was before us. The red light burned into my eyes, making me tired, and the circle rose into the air. It was wrapped in bandages like a mummy, and the only places that weren't covered were its mouth and glowing red eye. Its jaw unhinged like a snake's and I saw two rows of yellow and red pointy teeth. Meta Knight yelled something at me and I fell to my knees, but I couldn't hear him. Slowly coming toward me, the creature screamed a terrible, low roar that shook the ground and walls. As I watched, the overhead light shut off and I was covered in darkness.

The screech echoed in the air again, this time from all around me, and I felt a sharp pain in my arm. Suddenly, I came to my senses and raised my hand to find that the creature was tearing into my flesh. It's eye glued to mine as my jaw slackened and I watched in horror. Blood was the red stuff in between its teeth. Screaming in terror and pain, I slashed at its face and threw it off of me. It fell away into the darkness and closed its eye.

"AAHHH!" Meta Knight yelled, and I raised my hand to find him fighting off three of the frightening monsters. One was chewing at his foot, another at his arm, and the last, and biggest, trying to bite his mask. Its jaws were clamped around his body and his hands were against the beast's teeth, trying to push it off. His palms were red from the monster's teeth sinking into them.

I threw a shuriken at the smallest monster and it let go of his leg, tumbling away into the darkness. Pulling a katana from my back, I held it above my head, came in close, and sliced another away from Meta's arm. Then, raising my blade above me, I stood in front of Meta and impaled the monster from behind. It's growling turned to shrieking and it coughed goo all over Meta Knight's face before letting go of him. Disgusted, I held my shish kebabbed monster in front of me and kicked it off of my katana. It flew away into the darkness.

Are you okay? I thought to Meta, assessing his injuries. His cuts, although minor, were bleeding heavily, and his face was covered with a disgusting green ooze from the belly of the monster. It smelled terrible.

Yes, I'm fine, he thought, grabbing my hand once more with his bloody one and pulling me away from the bunker. Run, Nic, as fast as you can!

Meta Knight, what were those? I asked, sprinting to keep up with him. The smoke made it so hard to breathe. He didn't reply and kept running.

With the light of my chi blades, we maneuvered through two more hallways before entering a third that served as a back route to the emergency bunker. So far, we hadn't seen any more monsters. I was beginning to think we might be safe as we approached the massive metal door to the bunker, but I was too quick in my judgment, for suddenly I heard a roar so loud I fell to the ground and covered my ears. Looking up, I saw glowing red lights everywhere. A loose wire hanging from the ceiling sparked with sizzling and crackling sounds and gave off short bursts of very bright light. And through that light, I saw a horde of bloodthirsty floating monsters. They had surrounded us and the bunker room.

Don't look them in the eyes, or you will grow too weary to fight back, Meta ordered, holding his sword with both hands and standing in front of me. Suddenly, a pair of glowing green eyes appeared amidst the red ones and a strangely familiar maniacal laughter filled my ears. In between the flashes of light from the loose wire, I saw Galeren with strange ooze and blood on his armor, and behind him, a group of other soldiers all possessed with the same glowing green eyes.

What's happened? I thought to Meta, fighting through the pain of the roar and pulling my other katana from my back.

They've taken over their minds and made these soldiers release them. We must find daylight; it's the only way to destroy these monsters and free our friends. Our weapons are useless against them.

Ren pulled his sword from its sheath and advanced toward us. The creepy monsters hissed and shuddered.

Meta Knight, what are these things?

Meta Knight looked at me sidelong and his eyes filled with worry.

Mumbies.