Corinth: A Battle for the Homeland

X : Dalikamata

Cretil 24, 2095

The man smiled from ear to ear as he kept on shuffling his hands. The usual worked up ambiance of the central chamber instantly switched to something more hostile. Fiona felt her grip hardened, causing her nails to bury on her hand.

The man opened his mouth, but stopped himself and raised his finger. He pointed it at the camera and this time said, "we just need a tiny request from you. Hand us the journal of captain Mitsuka, and we'd be on our way. Oh, and this guy, we'll return him as well. Resist, well. Let's just hope that won't happen."

Everyone threw confused glances at each other. Murmurs started flooding around. The journal sounded nonnative to everyone but Danny knew what the stranger was talking about.

"We're giving you an hour."

Danny knelt on the floor before standing up. Fiona looked down on him and grabbed his elbows. Worry fueled Fiona's spine, Danny sensed it as that what made her, her. Danny wheezed before looking back on to Fiona.

"I know. I know what he's talking about."

Once after finishing his sentence, a woman entered. Her hair fell gracefully down until her shoulder and she kept on scratching it. She and Matilda looked almost alike, except younger and she had the world's straightest hair.

But this straight hair was covered in blood, and her face was bruised, making her seem like an inflated person. And tears ran down on both her eyes endlessly.

"Tim?" Then her knee buckled, and knelt. Fiona and Danny locked gazes before running to her rescue. Matilda was the most concerned one. She placed both of her knees on the floor and grabbed the wrapped her arms around the girl's body. She kept on kissing her daughter's forehead before asking, "what happened to you, my darrling!?"

She puffed out before answering in complicated stutters. "Th-THIM. He-he. He's a mole! H-he. Agh, oh. I was a fool to trust him."

"What?" Matilda replied back.

"I-I told him. I know I should've kept it from him. He was acting suspicious ever since I told him I was working on studying the retrieved items! He acted all persistent and weird."

"There, there, Chastisa my darrling. Calm down. Can you tell us what happened?"

The girl sobbed out loud before coughing. Once she had stopped, she looked at her mother in the eye. "I saw Tim. Talking someone through some weird pod thingy. Th-then, he said he already located some Sky Sphere! Like the one in T'lasha's legend! Just when I thought that was pure hocus. And he told someone about the exact coordinates of Alexander's tree. Oh ho, it did not make sense at first, then it all adds up. He works for the Aluction!" She sneezed, before continuing.

"When he looked at me, I kept the diary I was working with and I feigned working at something. That's when he kept on insisting me to finish it in an instant because he'll cook me some type of dish. I told him, 'no,' but he was persistent. So my panic took over and I told him he was the enemy, I tried beating him up with the nearest pipe I could find, but he was stronger! And smarter.

"I couldn't take it that the friend I've trusted my life with in most expeditions outside here was an enemy! I-I." She sighed. The face of panic that was plastered on her face suddenly switched into pure sorrow. "I feel betrayed."

She chuckled and sighed. "I woke up with that suitcase containing a large gem gone. I was lucky to save that diary. Way to go for the only people working in the search and retrieval team."

Then another series of booming sounds. This time, rattling and rapid. Dust started falling from the ceiling. The girl stopped sobbing. She looked around with a face of confusion just like everyone else.