Justin reached for the sturdy black Glock in the holster at his hip, its reassuring weight and textured grip filling his hand. Balancing himself on the seat with his knees, he aimed the gun at the passenger seat as he reached forward with his free hand. Grabbing the top of the back of the seat, he flicked a level with one finger and yanked the back forward quickly, bringing his free hand back to stabilize his grip on the handgun, his arms nearly fully extended to point the tip of the gun at the opening behind the seat. I know youre back there, so you might as well come out.

He tensed as he heard shuffling from the rear access, and he nearly fired the gun when he saw the tawny cap emerge first, and then a human head of a familiar brown-haired woman. You can put away the gun now. I dont bite. Much. She smiled, her deep brown eyes sparkling with personality. She was dressed in a startling yellow blouse and purple jeans, and her ears were pointed.

Justins arms lowered as he stared in shock. Cera?! What are you doing here?

Justin walked through the woods on his way to a Segan dig, the cool mountain air crisp and refreshing in his lungs. He was definitely more at home in a garage under a car hood, but it was a pleasant change of pace. The weather felt great today.

A snap and a bang later, and Justin looked up to see a woman in yellow and purple falling from the sky only a few feet above him. She landed right on top of him, sending him flat on his stomach and slamming the air out of his chest.

What happened? asked the girl as she raised a small globe in her hand, Segan glyphs marked in its smooth surface. Then she looked down and noticed Justin. Oh! Im sorry!

Justin groaned, but his lips formed the sloppiest grin they had ever shaped. Its raining women!

So you stowed away after hearing I was going on a mysterious dig?

Cera brushed back some loose bangs in front of her eyes as she sat in the passenger side seat. I thought itd be fun. You know I like this kind of stuff. Exploring, looking for treasure.

Justin turned to look back through the rear window. The dusty haze of the swirling sandstorm outside made it impossible to see more than a foot beyond the truck, but he could see the black cable that connected the truck to the communication pod. The dark line was the only thing keeping the truck from being entirely lost in the storm; fortunately the pod was heavy enough to act as an anchor, though Justin had no idea how long that would last.

Id ask Vec to teleport you back, said Justin carefully as he turned back around in his seat to face forward, deliberately keeping his eyes off of Cera as he did so, but I need your help to get this truck started up again.

Out of his peripheral vision, he could tell that Cera was giving him a peculiar look, but she merely asked, How do I do that?

Justin reached over and pulled open a panel in the ratty-looking dashboard, revealing a tangled bunch of wires. Give that a jolt, that should give the engine the jumpstart it needs.

Cera leaned over and extended her hand until her fingers hovered a few inches from the wires. With a flash and an electric zot sound, a miniature lightning bolt leapt from her fingertips and into the wires. That enough? she asked.

Should be. Justin crossed his own fingers and turned the ignition.

The trucks engine growled, then rumbled to vibrating life.

There we go. Justin let out a relieved sigh, then noticed Cera looking at him and immediately sat up and looked forward, stiffening in his seat. Lets get this bird grounded.

He pressed the AEGIS button again, and there was a brief hum as the outline of an egg-shaped force field glowed around the truck before it vanished. The howl of the wind outside died down to a whisper, and the sand struck the invisible shield and flowed like grainy water around the truck. The truck floated back down toward the ground and hovered there without a hint of momentum from the storms velocity. It was a surrealistic experience to see the fury of the sandstorm outside, yet feel so safe and contained.

Justin put the truck into gear again, and it pushed forward through the murky darkness. This could take a while. Hope youre comfortable.

For a few moments, there was silence in the cab as Justin drove while Cera sat back. But then Justin felt Ceras hand on her arm.

Justintheres another reason I tagged along. Something I wanna know.

Justin braced himself, and he stopped the truck and turned his head to look at her face. She was looking intensely at him, urgency in her eyes as well asJustin didnt want to think about the emotions that swirled in those brown irises like a sandstorm of their own. He already knew exactly what she wanted to know about, and in a way his feelings reflected hers.

Justin and Cera hiked along a mountain trail together, talking and laughing as they walked up the dirt path. The early morning still held back the sun behind the mountains, though its light gave enough light to travel by as the two hikers made their way up a steep tree-covered slope. They reached the top of the slope and walked through a rocky pair of cliffs that made a short corridor into a mountain valley.

And they entered a world of wonder as they walked in an immense field of flowers. Blue, red, yellow, and so many others, a pallet of colored flowers swathed in a field of wild green grass. A slow-rolling river fed the valley, its water sparkling and crystal clear; Justin and Cera saw all the way to the pebble-covered riverbed. The sun peeked out over the cliffs and poured warm yellow light over the fields, and the flowers responded by slowly opening their soft petals and turning toward the light. Butterflies fluttered through the air in small aerial herds. And at the head of the river was a steady waterfall, speckled with the sunlight and reflecting a shining rainbow in the mist surrounding the waterfall basin.

Oh, stars! exclaimed Cera with a bright countenance despite the sweat and effort of the climb. Its so beautiful!

It is, agreed Justin but his eyes were only on Cera. But it hardly compares to you.

Cera turned and looked at Justin with wide, doe-like eyes; his own cheeks were burning at this admission, which was something he had wanted to say for weeks now. Would she take it the right way? Was it time to take their relationship a step past friendship?

Justin couldnt help but grin back at Cera as she smiled and slipped her hand into his. Stole the words outta my mouth.

They sat by the waterfall and watched as the glorious morning unfolded in the valley.

What did I do wrong, Justin? What drove you away?

Justin shook his head as he reached up and placed one hand over Ceras fingers on his arm. Cera, you never did anything wrong. So dont blame yourself, it isnt your fault.

Then why? Cera looked at him imploringly. You know I wont stand in your way, butI want to know why.

Those soft brown eyes melted Justins heart, just like they always did. He felt his resolve weakening. Could he keep hiding his reasons from this woman he had grown to love in between his adventures as Tergonaut? Their close proximity did not help; she was beautiful, and they were in the enclosed space of his truck, the clean scent of her brown hair teasing his nostrils. Her hand was soft as he clasped it in his own, and he looked back into her eyes. Cera He unconsciously leaned closer to her, and only realized what he was doing when she did the same. I-

JUSTIN! DO YOU READ ME!?

AAAH!

BZZAP!

Justin felt volts of electricity burn across his nerves as Cera literally shocked him. She released him quickly and fell back into her seat, and the searing pain quickly faded, leaving a numb feeling and the smoky smell of singed hair. Im sorry, Justin! she apologized quickly, horrified at the accidental release of her electric control.

Its okay, he said blankly as he reached over and tapped the communication panel on the dashboard. Vec, I read you. The shields up now and it works like a charm. The communicator must have taken some time to reload.

The throaty sigh of relief over the relay was deep and heavy. I was afraid the storm had torn you to ribbons! But it looks like the satellite pod is still working. Are you still able to proceed further in?

Justin gazed across at Cera, and realized that their moment together had ended. She looked down at her feet, with her fingers curled as her wrists rested on her knees. Yeah, we should be fine.

We?

Justin examined Cera for a few more moments before turning to the console. We as in, like, you and me, right? We need to do this dig.

There was a moment of silence, punctuated by a sputter of static. All right. Report immediately if anything happens. If the signal gets lost, then Ill teleport you back right away. We cant afford to push the mission if the commline gets cut.

Roger, Vec. Ill check back in as necessary. Over and out.

Justin clicked off the input on the communicator with the twist of a dial, then started the truck forward again deeper into the sandstorm. Why didnt you tell him I was here? asked Cera, puzzled.

You saved my bacon earlier. Justins eyes met hers. Do you want to stay?

Yes. Thank you.

Only the muted sounds of the sandstorm outside and the grumbling motor of the truck entered the space between Cera and Justin as they sat in their separate bucket seats.

The hover-skating rink felt alive as Justin led Cera to one of the benches at the edge of the smooth-floored room, where many other forumers and NPCs zoomed about on skates that held them up above the ground as if by magic. Sitting down, the pair strapped on their hover-skates and Justin stood up, holding a hand out to Cera to help her. Back on my world, I used to skate a lot, but on wheels.

I havent skated at all, admitted Cera as her legs wobbled under her. But Im willing to learn.

Then lets start with the lessons, Justin said with a nod.

They skated jerkily at first as Justin stayed by her side and helped her get used to the side-to-side motion of skating, and then they smoothed out as they skated around the rink once together. Over the blaring music, Justin asked, Think youre ready to go solo?

Only one way to find out! she answered with that cheeky grin that Justin liked so much.

Justin let her go, weaving ahead of her and turning so that he skated backwards ahead of her, with his arms out toward her as her legs wobbled and trembled. Just keep going, youre doing good. Great jo-

Cera let out an Oops! as she stumbled forward into Justins arms, sending them both tumbling to the ground as Cera lost control of her electric powers for just a moment. Despite the impossibility of the motion, Justin caught her with his arms in a kiss as they fell backward. The shock released from Cera ran through Justins body, and then it stopped, and they broke the kiss. Justin looked up into Ceras eyes with a bit of a daze not all of it from the zap.

Cera was about to apologize, but the sloppy grin on Justins face told her that she didnt need to worry. You planned that, didnt you?

Couldnt have been better if I did, replied Justin as Cera pushed herself off of him so she sat next to him, allowing him to sit up and face her.

Her mouth quirked in a smile as she leaned close, her arms wrapping around Justins neck. Then lets try it again, and do it right this time.

Justin was the one caught by surprise as Cera kissed him back passionately enough to throw them off balance and fall over again.

Justin drove on through the whirling grainy sandstorm, and he stole the occasional glance at Cera, but carefully avoided letting her see. His heart ached and screamed to stop the truck, hold her in an embrace and never let go again. His decision to break up with her had left him questioning himself for weeks, and now that she was right here within his reach, the temptation to take her back and keep her was mounting.

The transition happened before Justin realized it; suddenly the air was clear around the truck as it hovered out onto still sands. Even though the storm raged fiercely, it appeared unable to enter a circular perimeter that extended straight up into the blue sky. The quiet zone felt like a tomb by comparison, and this impression was enhanced by the monolithic structure that stood at the center of the clearing.

Justin thumbed the commline back on. Vec, Vec! Do you read? Im sending a visual feed to you right now! We found it!

Justin raised his left arm and pressed a button on the side of his compwatch. The computerized device immediately extended a tiny lens that started recording what Justin pointed it at and transmitted it over the commlines frequency so Vector could see for himself.

Justin and Cera both looked up at the standing pillar. Justins compwatch recorded its height at being sixty feet tall and forty feet wide precisely, and while external analysis couldnt determine the type of alloys used in its obsidian-coated structure, there was enough data to indicate it was Segan in origin. It loomed over the comparatively tiny truck, and Justin nearly thought it would topple over onto them. At this distance the tower appeared smooth and with only three large circles imprinted onto the black surface of one of the sides.

Looks like the mark of the Triple Threat, all right, said Justin as he brought the truck closer to that particular side of the structure. But I dont see a door anywhere. Not that the Segans made their front doors obvious to begin with, but it looks like a solid object.

Proceed carefully, Justin it could be a doomsday weapon they left behind.

Thanks for the encouragement. Im getting in closer to take a look, maybe there is a clue hidden closer to it.

Affirmative.

The truck inched closer to the monolith. Despite its dull sheen, the hulk did not give off the shimmering waves of heat that should have baked off of its black surface. As they got closer, Justin recognized countless Segan hieroglyphs etched cleanly into its surface. No noise emanated from the structure, however although the whirling storm screamed around them, so he might have missed such a detail in the howl of the wind.

Justin stopped the truck and turned off the hover engines, lowering it gently to the ground before popping the door open. Cera got out on her side. The heat caused them to start sweating immediately as they approached the structure to look at it more closely. Justin was amazed to see that the obelisk had a layer of perfectly transparent material over its ebony surface; this glassy layer contained the runes etched into it. It only took a few seconds to activate his compwatch again, this time projecting a circular holographic screen. He tapped the holoscreen, rotating it through a variety of symbols as text explanations whizzed by. Theres a lot of warning symbols hereDanger, Death, Doom and a few others.

Cera raised an eyebrow as she looked over Justins shoulder at the holographic screen. Doesnt sound like they wanted anyone inside. Out of the corner of his eye, Justin saw a familiar grin spread onto her tanned face. Must mean something valuables inside.

If there even is an inside, said Justin. But there are also symbols for Fear, Hollow, Abomination, Gateway, and Containwait, thats past tense. Contained. Or maybe Containment? He turned to look at Cera, his face close to her, which he realized only after doing so, trying to ignore the curves of her lips. And he failed miserably, but he pressed on. Its like the Segans just put a bunch of symbols all over this but didnt put it in a reasonable order. Like they were in a hurry to get it over with.

Those words hung in the arid air for a few moments, and then Justin forced himself away from Cera and reached out toward the obelisk. I dont think Ive seen anything like this material before in any of the other-

Sand burst into the air on either side, and Justin spun to see he and Cera surrounded by scorpion-shaped robots with glowing red eyes and clacking pincers. Their gleaming metal carapace was the same tan color of the sand, and their bodies were segmented into spheres, all the way to their claws and pointed tails. They were silent themselves, but the blades of their pincers buzzed open and closed so fast that they became a blur, and their tails spun like drills with a whizzing noise.

Badniks! shouted Justin as he grabbed his Glock out of its holster, sidestepping one of the scorpions as it lunged at him with a tail strike. He shot it at point blank, stumbling backward against the obelisk as the blue-tipped bullet zapped the Badnik into an electronic sparking spasm before it clunked lifelessly onto the surface of the sand.

Ceras fingers glowed with electric energy and she fired a bolt of lightning that struck another Badnik and fried its internal circuitry. But more scorpions advanced slowly, as if enjoying their clear numerical advantage and in no hurry to finish their butchery.

Justin felt the adrenaline spiking in his blood, that familiar rush of energy as his brain spun with the action around him. He fired three more shots, each one taking out another scorpion, but a quick mental count indicated that there were six bullets left in his gun and there were more scorpions than that around them.

Theyre getting closer! yelled Cera as she focused another bolt of energy, black smoke rising from the remains of her target.

Wait, thats how well stop them! Justin reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of golden rings the currency of Sega City. Cera, youve got some money, right?

Yes, but wha-

Get it out and throw it at them!

Justin pulled back his arm and threw his rings forward. The scorpions halted as the rings pelted against their round surfaces with an almost musical tinkling in the air. But, sensing no threat from the circular objects, they continued to advance, their nubby legs pushing across the sand.

Youd better pay me back later! fumed Cera as she reluctantly tossed a pocketful of rings in a spray over the scorpions.

Back up to the wall, cautioned Justin as he gripped his pistol with both hands and raised it, pressing his back to the wall. Can you use your bow and arrow trick?

Ceras hand whipped the small collapsible bow out of its sheath at her thigh, and with a click the arms flipped into place. She drew back on the bow, a shining line of electricity forming a rudimentary arrow. Her shoulder rubbed against his as she backed up as well. Theyve surrounded uswe wont be able to run out.

I know. Fire on threeonetwoTHREE!

Justin and Cera fired at the same time, nailing two more of the Badniks. But this time, the powerful electricity arced and traveled through the scattered rings, spreading like wildfire as they caught more of the scorpion robots in a net of lightning. The chain reaction flashed and blazed, sparks filling the air until the electricity finally faded, leaving a pile of incinerated robots in its wake.

YES! It worked! shouted Justin with a pump of his fist, relieved that his plan worked. Now lets-

More Badniks burst up from the sand further away, and the sound of their drills and pincers reflected irritation with the intruders who felled their brethren.

Cera drew back another arrow and let it loose without hesitation. Get us inside, fast! Ill hold them off!

Justin emptied his gun at the approaching Badniks, then holstered it and turned to the mass of hieroglyphs on the wall. His eyes darted back and forth, looking for the familiar runes that indicated an entrance. Behind him, he heard the explosions of robots, the popping of circuitry and the crackle of electricity. Cera muttered under her breath next to him in words he couldnt hear, but he figured they werent polite ones. The smell of ozone burned Justins nostrils, but he concentrated on his task, his compwatch active again. How could they get in?

Thats it! Justin exclaimed as he activated his compwatch and projected the yellow image of one of the glyphs into the outline carved into the clear glass. The runes next to it glowed as well with their own light, and then the ones next to those in an ever-expanding fashion until the entire obelisks surface was covered in shining runes in reds, blues and golds. The outline of a door appeared, and suddenly it shot down into the ground, revealing a darkened opening.

About time! rasped Cera as she let one more arrow loose before turning and darting with Justin into the opening. Close it, close it!

Justin turned, frantically looking for another rune on the inside, but the door snapped shut without his bidding. They stood in the darkness, and all sounds of the wind and buzzing scorpions stopped outside. Deathly quiet reigned here.

It closed by itself, said Justin as he turned slowly around. Cera, stay close.

Not hard, since Im not going to let you out of my sight again until you pay me back for those rings, Cera sniffed.

Justin laughed, then reached down to his compwatch and pressed a button. An orb of white light rose out of the watch and hovered an inch above the watch face, casting light all around. Ceras face was outlined in the stark light as she joined Justin in looking around in the enclosed space they stood in.

Justin estimated that the walls of the obelisk were only about a foot or two thick; this internal room was nearly as high and wide as the outside had been. Sheer black material made up the walls and floor, and they absorbed light. There were no features anywhere in the octagonal room besides a pedestal in the middle of the room. It was a perfect replica of the obelisk itself, with eight sides and the same strange glassy overlay over its ebony shell.

Ten to one, this pedestal is the key to understanding this structure, said Justin aloud as he approached it, focusing the light orb onto the pedestals flat-edged surface.

Looks like theres a place to put something, said Cera as she pointed at a bowl-shaped opening in the top of the pedestal.

Youre right. Justin looked at it more closely, and then he looked up excitedly. Cera! Do you still have that stone you found? The one you had when we first met?

Cera reached into her pocket and pulled out the glassy sphere, which suddenly started glowing through its Segan glyphs. This thing? I found this miles and miles away in Nintendo Land. Dyou really think itll work?

Only one way to find out. Justin placed his hand on top of the sphere. Wed better put it in together if it teleports us anywhere like it did with you, itd be better if we both went instead of one of us getting left behind.

Cera nodded, and they both moved their hands over the pedestal. Then Cera slowly moved her hand around until the sphere dropped into place, with her hand on top of Justins.

Nothing happened, but Justin didnt mind at all. He looked up at Cera and caught himself staring into her pretty brown eyes. Cera, I-

The sphere pulsed with light that spread through the pedestal and into the rest of the structure, everything going white as globules of light streaked from the ceiling up into the air. Justin instinctively grabbed onto Ceras hand and braced himself. HANG ON! he heard Cera shout above the thrumming that vibrated through the structure, and Justin realized in a horrible instant that if this was indeed a transport beam, he was going to be in trouble on the other-

Everything went white, and then faded to black.

Justin felt heavy with regret as he left out the front door of the lodge, his two suitcases in hand. But he had made his decision, and while he had enjoyed his time here, he knew it was time to go.

He slung his suitcases into the back of the junky old hover truck, but he heard footsteps behind him, and he whirled around to see Cera standing there. C-Cera? He hadnt been expecting to see her, had hoped he could just slip away

Hey, howre you doin? She looked behind Justin at the truck, then back at him. Something going on?

Im leaving the lodge. Justin turned around and fiddled with the restraints on the toolbox, which he had already loaded.

Uhmwhy?

Its just time. Ive stayed here long enough.

Wanderingwell who can stop you? He could tell she was trying to be brave, but he detected the slightest quaver of concern in her voice.

His shoulders slumped. And it means that I wont be seeing you again.

There was a brief pause. You aint gonna show up again? Why?

Justins mouth felt dry; he tried to gather the words he had prepared ahead of time. Ive been thinking about it, andits better that way. It wouldnt work out.

Who says? Things have been going pretty well! Least I thought

This was hurting too much, but he had to cut it off. Look, it just wont. He turned around, although he couldnt bring himself to look into Ceras face. He ended up looking at a pile of leaves that hadnt been raked from the front lawn, looking as brown and dried up as his feelings. Im sorry.

But its been doing goodI dontwhy?

I wish I could tell you. And he meant that. But telling her would just make it worse. He turned back to the truck and walked to the cab, opening the door.

But there aint nothing stopping you from saying She was fighting back tears, and so far she was winning. Justin had always admired her ability to hang tough, though this was a challenge for both of them. Look, I dont have a right to say you cant, butplease let me know why

Itll save you the trouble of saying goodbye to me later. His voice sounded harder than he had meant it to be, but this was so frustrating that he couldnt tell her what she wanted to know.

But who says I want to?

Sometimes we do things because we have to, not because we want to!

Justin saw Cera wince out of the corner of his eye, and he wanted to punch himself in the teeth. She quietly said, I cant stop youcan I at least have one more hug then? To see you off?

Justin shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to let Cera see the tears building up in them. Im sorry. Goodbye, Cera. He got into the truck and slammed the door, and before he knew it he was driving away from the lodge, watching Cera in his rearview mirror. She was so brave, and she even turned around and walked back toward the lodge, but just as he was pulling out of view of the lodge, she broke into a run and went through the front door, clearly upset.

Justin had to stop the truck after about a mile to wipe the tears from his eyes. BlazesIm so sorry, Cera, I love youI know you love me, I wishplease understand, please.
* * *
There were tears in Justins eyes as hard reality coagulated around him and Cera, but these were caused by something besides emotion as he plunged to his knees, clutched his stomach, and chunked his cookies onto the cold stone floor.

Justin! shrieked Cera, her distress clear as a bell as she knelt at his side with an arm around his shoulders. Whats the matter?!

Justin took a moment to make sure he wouldnt throw up again before he answered. Itsteleportation sickness. Always happens when I get caught in a transport beam, nothing to worry about.

But theres blood

Justin looked at the mess he had just made, and besides the bits of his lunch that he recognized to his disgust, there was a large blotch of darkening red in the middle of the pile. His blood ran cold, but he was more afraid of Cera finding out than of the fate that awaited him. That happens sometimes, he lied.

Cera handed him a handkerchief, which he received gratefully and used to wipe his mouth. He folded it up and offered it back, but she shook her head. Thats the money and a hankie you owe me now.

Justin shrugged as he stuffed the white cloth into his own pocket, and with Ceras help he got to his feet. Finally he was able to look around at where they were, and as he did, he was astounded.

Clouds floated outside of the windows of the stone room that they found themselves in. Long green light bars illuminated the gray room, composed of a rocky gray that felt slightly rough under Justins feet. The octagonal room had only a single exit, an open doorway into a corridor lit by more of the green bars. Out through the windows on the sides of the room closest to the corridor, they saw a massive black fortress, with large green hover emitters glowing at intervals along its angular surface.

Looking more closely, Justin and Cera saw out the window and down through the sky toward the ground below, and this was the thing that boggled Justins mind. Were up in the sky! exclaimed Cera, dumbfounded. That teleporter mustve taken us all the way up here!

A castle in the sky? asked Justin in awe. The Segans must have combined all of their technology to form this structure. Its the most advanced thing Ive seen ever.

Then Justin started as he looked at his compwatch; the light orb had automatically shut off during the transport procedure. He tapped the compwatch on. Vec, do you read me?

Static filled the commline, and Justin barely made out Vectors growly voice. -can barely he------ignal jumped miles into the a-----ll right?

Everything okay here, Vec! Were in a castle in the sky! Its like a fortress!

---eaking up, youll have to use----best judgment, call back if you nee----

With a final burst of white noise, the commline went silent.

This structure is probably blocking the transmission, said Justin as he shut off the compwatch. Looks like we either transport back, or we go on.

Im game to keep goin if you are. Cera had composed herself during Justins conversation, and she looked determined as ever. Besides, we got this far, didnt we?

We did. Lets go then.

The simple blocky corridor had narrow windows that gave other views of the black fortress as they walked down it. But ahead, the gray gave way to black, and in fact it seemed as if the corridor ended abruptly, terminated by pure impenetrable darkness that permeated in straight lines through the gray rock. It was a flat wall of shadow.

Justin and Cera stood before the wall of darkness, and Justin gave Cera a sidelong glance. Be ready, this could be a trap or a barrier. Im gonna try to touch it.

Cera nodded, and she slipped her hand into his. Ill hold on. And then she added, Just in case.

Of course. Justin smiled at her, and she smiled back. Then he turned to the wall of darkness, and he reached out with his fingers to touch it.

His fingers slipped through the darkness, which rippled like water around his hand as he inadvertently plunged his hand up to the wrist through the barrier. But despite this visual effect, it felt like he had just moved his hand through the air, albeit the air on the other side felt slightly colder. He pulled his hand back out, examined it to see that his hand was still normal, then reached further in with his arm, with the same result as goose bumps rippled along his skin. He then bent down on one knee and probed with his fingers to find that there was solid ground on the other side. Justin stood back up and looked at Cera, who watched him carefully. A little chilly, but seems like its just dark.

What about your light? Will that work?

Justin activated his light globe, and extended it through the black wall. It vanished instantly into the dark. When he pulled it back out, this time the darkness clung to the light like dripping slime, drowning it in black. But before Justin could react, the watery shadows thinned and vanished as the light punched through it and eventually absorbed it.

Thats weirdit reacts to light, said Justin, blinking. But it didnt hurt anything. Maybe the light works on the other side or something.

Only one way to find out. But theres something about this that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end, like this aint natural.

Justin felt the same way, but he kept the light globe activated and stepped into the darkness with Cera on his heels. His eyes were immediately blinded on the other side by a flash of light that centered on his light globe. He shut his eyes tightly, unable to open them even a sliver without pain searing his head. He heard a cry from Cera as she too was past the barrier, and her hand clutched his shoulder. The air around them was cool and clammy, and though there was solid ground underneath them, not being able to see it made Justin hesitant to go any further.

Cant see! Too bright! shouted Justin.

Turn off the light! shouted Cera back. Turn it off!

Justin didnt have any idea what Cera meant at first, since the light seemed to come from everywhere, blinding them both. But he realized she was talking about his own light, and he flicked the switch that powered down the compwatchs light globe. And in that instant, the bright orange against Justins eyelids went completely dark.

Justin and Cera opened their eyes, enveloped in complete and utter darkness. Justin took a step back and put an arm around Ceras waist. I guess you were supposed to come along, Cera. I dont think I would have thought to turn off my light.

Cera shifted slightly next to Justin. Youve got your hand on my butt.

Err, sorry, apologized Justin as he tried removing his hand, but Cera caught his arm and pulled it so that it rested more properly around her waist. His cheeks felt warm at his honest mistake, but he was confused by Ceras willingness to stay this close to him.

We gotta stick together so we dont get lost in here, right?

Even in the dark, Justin felt Ceras infectious smile, that little smirk that was at once smug and cute. Right, he said, smiling back and trying not to sound too excited. He told himself that she was just being practical, that there wasnt any harm in this. Still, the beating of his heart accelerated at feeling the motion of her breathing through his arm.

His thoughts were interrupted as tiny dots of light slowly appeared in midair in front of him and Cera. He blinked, thinking that he saw afterimages of the light from before, or that something was going wrong with his eyes. But the moment his eyes were closed, he couldnt see the lights, and when he opened his eyes again, the dots had grown, each glistening and glowing with a different color of light that illuminated the black stone corridor.

Cera looked behind herself. Theyre behind us too. Theyre all around.

So both of us can see them, said Justin slowly as the lights hovered around the two of them. Like rainbow fireflies, they flitted about as if with a life of their own, and yet maintained an oddly regular distance from the intruders. Well, if it was a security system, then we should be dead, so Im guessing its some kind of lighting system.

Cera reached out to try to touch one of the speckles of light, but it twirled around her finger a few times before continuing its orbit with its fellow light mites. They seem shy enough. Maybe theyre jealous of other lights, though, if they were what blinded us earlier.

Or it might be some kind of test for anyone intruding here, voiced Justin, musingly. The corridor ahead is straight. Watch out for anything that might look like a trap.

You say that like I dont know what Im doing, teased Cera. Lets go.

Justin and Cera walked forward, slow and careful as they moved down the corridor. Their steps echoed down the empty hallway, and after those first tense moments where Justin worried about being attacked by more Badniks or falling into some kind of pit trap, he relaxed and looked upward. The corridors ceiling was curved upward, with rippling bumps that dotted it, giving it an almost organic look. And now that he realized it, the walls were curved outward and reaching up to the rounded corners that edged the ceiling. He looked back, and the wall of darkness completely concealed the straight lines of the earlier gray section making it appear that this hallway had always been rounded. Only the edges of the floor were harder, and this to support the structure and provide a flat surface to walk on. The tiles that made up the surfaces were smooth, black, and unyielding, hard as stone and perhaps slightly colder.

Cera shivered and leaned closer to Justin, and for a fleeting moment he was thankful for the chill in the air.

But the corridor ended, opening into a wide room before continuing again on the other side. The room kept the same features as the hallway, but stood wide enough to be nearly the size of a football field. The hovering lights scattered away from Justin and Cera, filling the air as they entered the room, like dots of starlight gently illuminating the entire room. Justin became focused as he looked carefully around, wary of the change in scene. There was no furniture, no sign that anything had ever lived here, and this thought tingled down his spine in a chill unrelated to the cool air.

When they walked about a third of the way across the room, the pinpoints of light dazzled, then shot simultaneous beams at a single spot in the middle of the room. Justin reflexively reached for his pistol, and he felt the hairs of his arm around Cera rise up as static force crackled around her.

The laser beams converged, and the point at which they met, a shape emerged. First a perfect orb, it uncurled and became the figure of a red echidna. But this was like no echidna that Justin had ever seen before, for he was taller than Justin and boasted impressive muscles, which seemed to cover his entire body. He wore a ceremonial loincloth and bands of leather that crisscrossed his skin, and the exposed skin that remained was painted in markings of white. His hands were large, and flexed into fists covered in spiked gloves. He was more like an echidna god reborn.

The echidnas eyes opened in a flash of stern blue, and he stood straight up, proud and unyielding. I am Dietat, the forty-second leader of the Crimson. My place is to stand as a Guardian of the people of the Segans, both spiritually and physically. This recording is made as a warning to any who might come to this unholy place in search of the Segan race.

Dietat pointed right at Justin and Cera, as if able to see them. Beware! For this flying fortress is not a stronghold for the Segan people, but a grave for an abominable demon! Here lies the body of the Griefbringer, who laid waste to our peoples greatest cities and spread carnage and blood across the face of this world. Even now, the Griefbringers body emanates an aura of evil and shadow, defiling its own resting place.

The echidna leader pulled back his hand into a fist, which shook as his face contorted into a mixture of pain and sadness. And all this because of the pride of our people. Even I blinded myself to the reality of our sorry state, thinking that I taught truth and righteousness. And in many ways our people were and are yet noble. But we sought for power beyond that which is granted to mortals, and for that we earned our punishment from that very power we brought into our world. We thought it our place to transcend our position in the universe, and it brought us chaos and devastation. You who have entered this place, learn from our mistakes! Do not seek that which you ought not! Or you will merely bring about the doom of life on this planet! Beware! BEWARE!

This last roar of a warning left his lips, and the image faded away as the laser beams ceased.

Justin hardly believed what he had just seen. Grave of the GriefbringerCera, Ive heard of the Griefbringer before! It was supposed to be connected to the mystery of where the Segans vanished to, leaving all of these ruins behindbut this is the first time that Ive heard any message from the Segans after the destruction of the Griefbringer.

So this thing is real? Cera questioned. Sounds like the sort of thing they put in crypts to keep thieves out. You know, keep the tourists away.

But as you know, neither of us are tourists, said Justin. Weve got to keep going, see if there are any other messages. The corridor still goes on ahead and this room doesnt look like the Griefbringer is stored hereso I guess they managed to stop it, but that still doesnt explain where the Segans went.

Maybe well know if we go on.

Maybe.

A moment of silent passed between the two, and then they walked forward into the next corridor. The speckles of light dropped from their appointed places and caught up to the pair before swirling around them again, lighting the way.

Looks like another room ahead, stated Justin as they approached it. They were only holding hands now, staying watchful for traps but moving faster. It did not take them long to come into the room, and when they did, the will-o-wisps once again dispersed throughout the room. It looked exactly like the room before it, except Justin thought it might be even larger.

Wonder if well get the same message or different? wondered Cera aloud.

She was answered as they reached partway across the room, and the lights shot beams together to form another perfect hologram. This time it was an orange two-tailed fox, again with that most unusual tallness and godlike proportions. He was dressed in a bright blue uniform with golden shoulders, with a green scarf around his neck and a tool belt around his waist. A pair of goggles was mounted on his brow. In one white-gloved hand, he held a computer tablet with information displayed on its glowing screen.

The fox looked with soft gray eyes at Justin and Cera, a tiny smile on his face. I am Chief Engineer Antimus Kiero. My mentors and predecessors, Rolo Bruntking and Professor Ariyanna Fulmore, are dead, killed by the Griefbringer as they stayed behind and ensured the safety of students and laboratory assistants. I was called upon to replace them; I hope that I can fill their place and make as remarkable a contribution as theirs was to our society.

He gestured with a sweeping arm to the ceiling. As the leader of the Gold, it was my task to oversee the construction of this containment facility. We decided, due to the corrupting influence of the Griefbringers body, to raise it up above the planet so that life could return. Our finest anti-gravity technicians salvaged from the remains of the floating city Angelica and allowed a platform to be raised up into the air. We constructed the rest of the structure in the air, setting a teleportation beacon point at one end to bring up supplies. The strange properties of the dark field around the Griefbringer made it impossible for us to use standard materials, so we worked with the Crimson sect to put together special holy substances blessed by their priests so we could finish the work. Still, our lives were in danger every moment.

The masterpiece of this facility is the containment unit itself. We opened a gateway to a pocket dimension, connected it to this structure via a portal, then brought the Griefbringers corpse through the gateway and sealed the portal physically. Unfortunately, to maintain the pocket dimension, it is necessary to keep it open to our world, which is why the influence of the Griefbringer is still present, though diminished by dimensional distance. The seal itself cannot be opened by anything short of a starburster missile, or a weapon or energy of a similar scale.

Antimus leaned forward, his brow creasing. Nevertheless, we never anticipated something as devastating as the Griefbringer. And there are forces that we cannot pretend to understand, such as the soul. Keep the transmigrator away from here at all costs. That is my final request. Antimus Kiero, out.

The hologram winked out. They keep talking about the Griefbringers body like its almost separate from the Griefbringer itself, said Justin. Did its soul somehow get taken away from its body?

Beats me. Im more clueless than you are, this is your specialty.

Thisthe transmigrator is connected to this. We found it when Stahlmansche had an expedition and we entered a Segan city. The Segans were testing it for the first timeand it seems like that was when the Griefbringer appeared. Justin raised his free hand to his chin, rubbing it with his thumb. And at the end of the crisis, they brought the body here. But what we dont know is what happened in between those two points in time, how many of the Segans survived, or where they went.

Justin started forward again with Cera. And to top it off, Terrornaut stole the transmigrator after we beat Overkillso we dont know where the transmigrator is, or Overkill. Or Terrornaut.

Cera considered this, and tightened her grip on Justins hand. I remember you telling me that the Segans had three different sects, named after a representative color. Crimson, Gold, and Cobalt, werent they? So if weve seen messages from the leaders of the other two

Then maybe well find our answers in the next room, finished Justin.

And so they moved on, the lights following them.
* * *
The third room was also the final room, and as they approached, a chill wind rose and grew in strength. Justin and Cera saw that the wall and ceiling tiles were not in straight lines like in the rest of the structure, but were warped and jagged. The curves of the walls and ceiling were disrupted by jagged outcroppings of crystals that glistened with odd distorted light. And unlike the deathly quiet of other rooms, the wind carried odd whispers that neither Justin nor Cera could make out.

The rooms roughly cylindrical shape extended up so that the ceiling disappeared in darkness. The tiles were broken up on this floor, making it rough and crunchy beneath Justins sneakers. Set into the wall opposite of the entrance to the room, dominating it like a black iron sun, stood an enormous circle of metal with the glowing symbols of the Triple Threat carved into it.

The lights scattered once again, and when their rays shot together this time, the tall figure before them was a female blue hedgehog. She stood on the cracked mirrored disk that formed the center of the floor, and she was dressed in a form-fitting jumpsuit that incorporated the colors of the Triple Threat Crimson, Gold and most prominently, Cobalt. Her quills reached down nearly to the floor, and she had emerald eyes that sparkled as she looked at Justin and Cera. The first two messengers had carried themselves with an air of resignment, but this of the three looked genuinely sad, though determined to do her duty.

I am Fayla, leader of the Cobalt and of the Segan race at large, she said, introducing herself. As the one responsible for the whole of my people, I have made an important decision regarding our future. This choice was made after the greatest tragedy that could ever have befallen us. I will tell you what happened so that you may better understand this, you who have entered this structure.

She paused, tears building at the corners of her sharp eyes, but she continued, her voice reflecting the emotion that she felt. Our people had risen to the point where we felt we had perfection. We were looking for ways to continue progression, to ensure that our people did not fall into laxity and back into the dark ages our people had struggled through, during the wars with the Eggmanites, the Nintendonese, and the Atarians. Some of our scholars began research into the properties that separate the physical plane from the spiritual. The idea that we could transcend our bodies became popular, and our scientists dabbled in transdimensional physics. We soon grew so talented at this science that we could literally transfer ourselves to new bodies, but we had not yet transferred the spirit of a Segan into another universe to be finally free of the constraints of our physical bodies. My

Faylas voice choked out as emotion played across her face, and it took her a few moments to recover. Justin felt a deep sadness here, more personal than the devastation of an entire people.

Gerald, my lover, she continued, was the one in charge of the Transmigrator Project. He was so involved with it that we had arguments. On the day the transmigrator was to be tested, we had such a fight that he felt he could never recover my good favor, and recklessly began the test of the transmigrator on himself.

She paused to collect herself again, wiping away the tears in her eyes before standing up straight. What happened exactly, we do not know. But it has been postulated from evidence gathered afterward, that the transmigrator removed Geralds spirit from his body, and that his vacant body and disembodied soul created a conduit that brought in afor lack of a better word, a demon, a devil, into our universe. Taking physical form, it became a giant creature with two monstrous heads, one of them She stopped again here, swallowing hard. One of them was Geralds head. The transmigrator was empty when we discovered it, so we presume that the devil absorbed Gerald into itself to create its physical form in our dimension.

There arent words to describe the blood and carnage that followed. This creature ravaged our cities and devastated our population. And between each city, it annihilated trees, animals, mountainsthe face of the planet is changed forever from the scars left on it by the Griefbringer. Many of the finest minds and strongest hands of our people, along with their contributions to our society, vanished in the blink of an eye. Many gave in to hopelessness, and there was an epidemic of suicide. Only a few were left who tried to find a way to stop this violence and destruction.

Desperate, we reclaimed the transmigrator, which had miraculously survived. Using it, we stole the creatures soul from its body and released it into space. But by doing so, Gerald was killed when he separated from the whole body of the Griefbringer. We couldnt even save his life. We isolated and sealed up the body of the Griefbringer here, and went about tending to the wounded. The transmigrator allowed us to restore the population by transferring the injured and disabled into new coldform bodies.

Fayla stopped to take a deep breath, looking stronger now that she had gotten past such a dark time in the history of the Segans. But the sadness remained in her eyes. You who have come here, you may have found the ruins of our cities, and recovered many wondrous things. You may have wondered, where did these people go? I will tell you where we are. She pointed up toward the ceiling, where the dots of light looked like shimmering stars. All you need to do is look at the sky, and you will see where we are. We have charted a course across all of creation, away from this planet. And I believe that is for the best. This world is beautiful and I cannot imagine finding another like it, but

She shook her head. The Griefbringer still frightens us. We dont understand how we defeated it, and it may return somehow, the spirit to the body. You must do all in your power to ensure that such a thing does not happen. If it gets loose again, the Griefbringer will destroy this planet and all life on it, and it will not stop there. So please, do not attempt to open this grave! Some might be tempted to control this power, but it is only the power of destruction that no one can ever handle. This last request of my people is to never allow this monstrosity, this abomination, to ever see the light of day againor if you should have the power, destroy it. Please destroy it!

The desperation on her face slowly turned into a look of resignation. Goodbye, strangers. May the Triple Threat watch over you.

She bowed, and vanished.

Justin let go of Ceras hand and walked forward, then stopped and turned around. So thats it. We finally have the story of what happened to the Segans. And itssad.

Cera sniffled, but she tried to play it off by shrugging and crossing her arms, looking away from Justin with a grumpy expression. Yeah, sad that there aint any treasure.

Justin put on a smile as he approached Cera not because he felt particularly joyous, but because he wanted to help cheer her up. He knew she must be feeling down, and he needed a bit of a pickup himself. Since there isnt any treasure, looks like Ill have to pay you back out of my pocket.

Cera looked up at Justin, her eyes meeting his as he came closer, standing right in front of her. There was the slightest suspicion glimmering in her eyes. But you threw your money out too. Howll you pay me back?

Justin had missed looking into those soft, deep brown eyes. He leaned forward and said, Ever heard of putting your money where your mouth is? Then, without giving her time to respond, he put his arms around her and pressed his lips to hers.

He felt a tingle through his body as static electricity popped and sparked around them she resisted ever so slightly at first, but then gave herself to the kiss, her warm lips matching his in an intense kiss as she hugged him tightly. Even in the unnatural dark of this grim remnant of an ancient race, Justin felt filled with a love that made him forget everything but Cera, if just for those few moments. She was all he wanted.

The kiss ended, and Cera and Justin looked into each others eyes as they caught their breath. You know, panted Cera, thats a pretty good down payment. But I think you still owe me another fifteen rings.

And this time she reached up with one hand to the back of his head and brought him down into the kiss, passionately reminding Justin of a few of the wonderful reasons he had fallen for her. He was the one caught off-guard this time, but he melted quickly into the embrace. If it were only possible to stay like this forever, here in the arms of the woman he loved

BZZAP!

Justins eyes were filled with sparkling stars as a genuine electric shock passed through him, singeing hair and jangling his nerves with waves of pain that made his muscles spasm. Cera broke the kiss somewhat ferociously as she pulled away from him, watching him with anger storming in her eyes as he dazedly wavered on his feet. Youve got a lot o nerve, pulling a fast one like that. Youre the one who left me, remember?

She turned on her heels and walked swiftly toward the way out. Justin fell to one knee to recover, but he forced himself to his feet again and stumbled after her. At the corridor mouth, he stopped and turned to look back at the seal on the wall, its looming presence dark and foreboding. Something about it felt strangely familiar, almost as if he had seen it before, in a dream

Justin turned and left. Cera, wait up!
* * *
Justin wiped his mouth with the handkerchief after teleporting back down to the surface he didnt have enough in his stomach this time to make a mess, but it didnt feel any better just the same. He stuffed it back into his pocket, and looked up to see that the door to the darkened room was open, letting in the bright sunlight from outside. It outlined Cera in the frame of the door as she stood there, the wind playing at her hair.

Look, Cera, Im so- he started, but then he noticed that she was standing there looking around, not paying attention to him. He dashed to her side, and joined her as his jaw dropped.

Outside, the sun shone brightly from the horizon, creating a gorgeous sunset. Deep pinks and soft golds resonated with the red and purples forming half-circles across the sky. But Justin realized with a shock that the reason they could see it at all was because something was missing

The storm! he blurted out as he ran toward the truck. The storm is gone! It mustve turned off automatically once it realized we managed to get through! Ive got to call Vec!

Cera came running after him, catching up to find that he was feverishly at work at the dashboard communication panel. Vector, do you read? he asked.

Clear as a bell, Justin. What happened? The signal started to clear up maybe about fifteen minutes ago. The storm, did it-

It stopped, Vec. Guess the Segans didnt see the point to maintaining the defense shield if someone got through it. But there isnt time to explain, just send out a security team right away to lock down this structure! I want it guarded around the clock with the best people we can spare from Sega City!

Understood, Ill send them immediately. But what is it? Some kind of weapon?

Ill tell you all the details after I get back, but the short version is that we found the Griefbringer or at least its body. And if Stahlmansche gets her hands on it, it could wipe out the entire planet!

There was silence on the other end for a brief moment, then a cough. There are certainly others who might try to use it as wellbut if this is connected at all with the transmigrator, then we should be careful of Terrornauts involvement. She was the one who stole it, after all.

Yeah Justin leaned back, trying to relax the tension that restricted his muscles. Vec, Ill be back as soon as I can. Thanks for locking this down. See you later.

See you when you get back. Vector out.

Justin felt heavy, despite having transferred the burden to Vector as he turned off the comm. The transmigrator, Stahlmansche, Terrornaut, OverkillGriefbringer. How are they connected, and how will this play out? Ive got to figure it out

Justin.

Justin blinked at Cera, and stepped out of the truck to stand in front of her. Guilt at his thoughtlessness earlier nipped at his conscience. Cera, Im really sorry about earlier. That was really-

Dont matter. Justin, you want to pay me back? Tell me why you left me.

She was determined, not overly emotional or demanding or angry. Cera just wanted to know, and her stance told him that he wasnt going to get out of it this time.

Cera, I He reached up to the back of his head to scratch it, but suddenly a spasm of tearing pain rippled through his stomach and chest, and he turned to the side and fell to his hands and knees. Hot liquid burst out of his throat and mouth, and he couldnt see it well through the tears in his eyes, but it looked red.

Justin! Cera knelt by his side, rubbing his back carefully. Justin, please just take it easy. Well get you to a hospital. Thats blood, youre coughing up blood!

Justin blinked the tears of pain out of his eyes, and the red stain in the sand made him feel sick in a hundred different ways. C-Cera, he croaked, pushing himself backward to sit up, though he was unsteady.

Cera picked his pocket for the handkerchief and wiped his mouth for him, then threw it aside and supported him with one arm while she ran her fingers through her hair with her other hand. It felt so good that Justin nearly cried, but she stopped suddenly with a gasp, her hand in front of her and Justin. Clumps of brown hair stuck to her hand, and Justin dully recognized the hair as his own. Justin, whatwhats happening to you?

He looked into her shocked eyes, and the fear and pain in them made him regret telling her the truth. But there was no denying it now. Cera, Ive got cancer. Vector says Ive got maybe a month left before

He left the sentence unfinished, and Ceras expression mellowed into one of quiet understanding that he had not expected. So thats why you left methats why you wanted to say goodbye earlier rather than later. You were trying to protect me.

Tears flooded Justins eyes as the pain of his folly came to light. Ceras acceptance was almost more painful than any rejection she could have made. Im such an idiot! he wailed. I didnt trust you, we could have spent the time better together if I h-hadnt been so

Cera reached out and pulled Justin to her, hugging him tenderly as she guided his head to her shoulder. He bawled into it, wishing he could take back those hurtful things he had said. F-forgive me! he cried pleadingly as he hugged her back, tightly. Forgive me!

Hush now, Justin, she whispered softly into his ear. I forgive you. Maybe we lost some time, but we still have another month, so lets make it count, okay? I love you Justin always have, always will.

Justin couldnt respond as he cried into her shoulder, only able to hug her more tightly. His hair was falling out on his own now, and he could feel the dry desert air against his bare scalp. But Cera stayed with him as the sun sank in the distance, and he knew that she would stay with him until the bitter end.

How bitter it would be.

Thats the endof THIS story.
Coming up next is the finale of the Griefbringer Saga
TERGONAUT MUST DIE!