Aeon (Chimera 2.5)

If There's A Key, There Must Be A Lock

December 1, 2057: Sukori, Kirunda, 243

"Oh, man. Cheese and I really should've gotten around to this sooner," Kita said. It took Shawna a moment to remember that "Cheese" was a nickname she used for Chizu. "How did we even end up shoving so much stuff down here?"

"That's what I've been wondering," Shawna said. "Well, let's get to work. The sooner we get all this done, the better."

Kita was Chizu's younger sister, and she was fifteen years old. She had light skin, gray eyes, and long white hair. She and Chizu always wore matching white lace chokers. Kita was a bit reckless sometimes, but friendly and she liked helping out.

The two of them were the only ones working in the basement that day. Chizu was at work, Tonja wasn't feeling well, and Arias... well, Shawna had hardly seen him at all since that small incident a few days ago. It seemed like he was actively trying to avoid the rest of them. That was a tactic Shawna recognized. He felt like he'd somehow done something wrong, so he was trying to avoid the consequences at all costs.

I hope we didn't upset him too much. He's just a kid. What does Tonja think could be going on with him? I mean he is strange, but...

Shawna was busy cleaning in one corner of the basement when she stepped on a loose floor tile, almost tripping on it in the process. Curious, she crouched down next to it and lifted it up. There was a small hole underneath the tile, and in the hole was a tiny box.

"Hey, Kita?" she said. "Do you know anything about, uh... this?"

Kita walked over and knelt next to Shawna. "I've... never seen this before," she said. "I had no idea this was here." She reached into the hole and pulled out the box. It was a perfect cube, made of wood with no visible lock. Kita shook the box, and the sound it made was enough to tell them something was in there.

"Let me see it," Shawna said, holding out her hand. Kita shrugged and gave her the box. She looked at it, but there were no special markings on the outside of the box. When she opened the box, she found several--no, close to a dozen keys inside. They all looked ancient, like they'd been made many decades ago and never used since.

"What the... I've never seen these," Kita said, taking two keys out of the box. They were connected by a metal ring. "I don't think Cheese has, either. How long have these been here?"

"Kita, do you know who lived in this house before you and Chizu?" Shawna asked. "Maybe one of the previous owners left these here."

"Um.. before us, it was Mom and Dad," Kita said. "And before them, Grandma and Grandpa. I think all the previous owners have been our family."

Shawna thought about that for a moment. "Your first family member that helped people was your great great grandmother, right?" she asked, and Kita nodded. "Then she must've left these here. They look really old. She probably stole them from her Legion Admiral husband before she left."

She quickly counted the keys. There were eleven of them total. The fact that they'd come from the Legion only made sense, and Shawna couldn't come up with another explanation. But why would the Legion have keys like this? What did they need them for?

Well, logically, these keys must unlock or lock something. But what?

"Let's put these aside for now," Shawna said, returning all the keys to the box and closing it. "We should keep cleaning up. When Chizu gets home, we can ask her about these."

Kita nodded. "I'll put this on the table. So we don't lose track of it."

"Good idea."

December 3, 2057: Fort 712, 827

"Just so you two know, this place is a bit of a death trap," Meadow said as she pushed open the door to the Fort. "Maisy, Keith, and I probably nearly got killed when we checked this place out."

"That's unfortunate," Nuan said. She didn't look or sound all that concerned, but Meadow figured she couldn't be surprised by that. "What happened?"

"Something attacked us," Meadow said. "We were looking at the lab, and I was about to move to the cell block, but something jumped out and attacked us. Why didn't you tell me there was something here?"

"We didn't know," Toby said. "We figured it would be safe because it had been abandoned for so long and the Legion didn't seem interested in it anymore. I'm sorry. We didn't mean to put you in danger."

He didn't sound completely sincere, but he was at least more sympathetic than Nuan. Meadow sighed. "Just make sure it doesn't happen again, all right?"

"We'll try," Nuan said. "Now, where are we heading off too? Ah, right."

Meadow really hadn't wanted to come back here after what had happened the first time. But there was another room she, Maisy, and Keith hadn't gotten the chance to search. It was one of the offices in the Fort, on the opposite side of the building from the entrance. According to Nuan and Toby, there was something there worth finding. Even though Meadow hated this place, she figured she'd be safe as long as she was with Nuan and Toby. They'd done things like this plenty of times.

Nuan used a flashlight to help them see while they walked around, while Toby handled the map. Meadow kept an eye out for any sign of danger. She hadn't actually seen the thing that attacked her, Maisy, and Keith, but for some reason she was still sure she'd know it if she saw it.

It took them a shorter time than Meadow thought it would to reach the opposite end of the building. Toby put away the map, but Nuan kept her flashlight out. She opened the door so they could all step inside. It was a large office, with enough room for all three of them to spread out. The bookshelves were empty, and there was no chair behind the desk. There were still things on the desk, though, and papers were scattered all over the floor. Meadow looked for a nametag or something on the desk, just to see if she could figure out whose office this was. But she couldn't find anything of the sort.

It doesn't really matter. It's been so long that they're probably dead by now, anyway.

Meadow wasn't too sure what they were even looking for, since Nuan was being very vague about it. She just figured she'd know if she saw it. If it was really as important Nuan and Toby were making it out to be, it had to be obvious, right? It couldn't be something she would easily miss.

Nuan searched the empty bookshelves, Toby looked at the file cabinets, and Meadow decided she might well take a look at the desk. There was nothing worth paying attention to on the surface, so she started searching the drawers. At first she didn't find much, but when she opened one drawer, she found a small box inside. She was going to just leave it alone, but decided to take a closer look at it.

Meadow took the box out of the drawer and examined it. It was a cube, made of wood, and very small. There were no significant markings on its surface--just scratches from times it had probably been dropped or moved around. She opened the lid, and inside she found four old keys, separated into two pairs that were each connected by a metal ring.

"Either of you have any idea what these are for?" Meadow asked, lifting one of the pairs out of the box to get a closer look at the keys.

"Oh, you found it!" Nuan said, hurrying over to her. Toby glanced at them, but stayed where he was. "Nice job."

"Wait, you mean... these old things are what we were looking for?" Meadow asked, and Nuan nodded. "But why? What makes them so important?"

"Those things may just be the key--no pun intended--to seriously weakening the Legion," Tobias said. He closed the drawer he was looking at, but didn't join them. "We haven't quite figured out their significance yet."

"Why would the Legion leave them here if they're so important?"

"Must've been an accident," Nuan said with a shrug. "They probably forgot to grab them when they left this place. Well, finders keepers. You should hold onto them until me and Toby figure out what they're for."

Meadow sighed. "If you say so. Can we get out of here now? I don't like this place."

"I don't, either," Toby said. "Let's go before something kills us."