Juliana soared through the cold, dark sky, somewhat comforted by the sound of the wind rushing across her wings and through her hair. The landscape that stretched out below her was intimately familiar- she'd taken many flights like this one on sleepless nights and knew how every street curved and how exactly each building fit with its neighbors to create Arcana City's uniquely breathtaking skyline. The image of what it was all supposed to look like was so deeply imprinted in her mind that she had a hard time reconciling it with what the city currently looked like. 

At this height, the chaos was distant, muted. She saw fists and bottles swinging, people running, and furious faces with mouths wide open, but it all sounded like it was coming from underwater or through a radio in another room. It certainly didn't feel like it was happening just fifty meters below her in the perfect capital city of her perfect country. An unsettling numbness came over her as she surveyed the scene. She knew this feeling- it was the feeling you got right after you fired a bullet, the surreal moment before your mind made the connection between the bloody body in front of you and the irreplaceable human life that had just been lost forever. Soon, all of this would hit her. It wouldn't just hit her, it would crush her. All she could do was take advantage of the fact that it hadn't happened yet. 

"Arcana is perhaps the only country in the world that has never known war, famine, or plague. I believe that makes us highly qualified mediators in this situation," she remembered proudly announcing after a recent squabble over who would profit from groundbreaking research conducted by an American corporation within China's borders. The leaders of both of those countries and more were probably laughing now. She was turning out to be everything they said she was and more- an incompetent little girl who had done nothing to earn her place at the table. 

These thoughts momentarily left Juliana's head as she looked down at a small fleet of armored cars that was beginning to make its way down the street. This did wonders to disperse the crowds that were beginning to gather in front of the Order of Chance museum. Many rioters scampered into the shadows at the sight of the imposing-looking cars. Were they police or military? Juliana wondered. She was too high up to discern the markings on the cars in this darkness and didn't remember authorizing any such intervention. Bless Lord Hewkin, she thought to herself when she realized who must've done it. The Prime Minister was probably transporting the rest of Project PROB and any remaining members of Parliament to a safe location at this very moment. 

Slightly reassured by the idea that at least someone seemed to have a game plan, she circled around her target before tucking in her wings and diving to the roof of the building that used to be the world headquarters of Nader V. Hesche Financial. The drop was quick enough to make her stomach lurch, but also quick enough to allow her to escape the notice of those below her. She landed squarely on one knee and wasted no time leaping to her feet. Thankfully, Project PROB's final battle with the Jackers on Juliana's 19th birthday had shown the Order the necessity of providing a roof entrance to their base. Juliana and Chase still laughed about the time he had thrown an entire AC unit into the roof in order to get in.

Approaching the trapdoor-like entrance, Juliana placed her palm on its surface, allowing it to read her fingerprints. She stowed her wings in the back of her suit as the door popped open, wrapping her arms around her body in order to fit through the narrow entrance. Feeling for the handholds in the dark, Juliana climbed quickly down the chute, reminded of the urgency of her task. 

The extent of any individual's control over the Alpha Box was finite, meaning that a Jacking job could either be far-reaching or thorough, but never both. It took the Jackers years to manipulate every probability pertaining to their victims, effectively destroying their free will and permanently transforming them into puppets. Ravenna and her collaborators couldn't have had more than a few hours with the Box and their manipulation involved thousands of people. This meant that either the Jacking was very superficial or they intended to stay with the Box until the last possible second. Both of these were favorable outcomes- either things would soon go back to normal or Juliana could easily catch the perpetrators red-handed. But of course, the second option required that she hurry. 

Filled with a new sense of purpose, Juliana ran down an empty hallway toward the Alpha Box containment room. It would take her a while to get through the multiple layers of security that surrounded the vault, but this would also make it difficult for anyone already inside to escape. 

Just as she was about to type in a passcode, she was stopped by two security guards approaching from a back hallway. 

"Your Majesty," the first guard bobbed his head in respect before continuing. "I'm very sorry, but  the Box Room is on total lockdown until further notice." 

"The order came from your office," the second guard added, looking mildly confused. 

"I'm the Queen!" Juliana wanted to snap, but the last thing she needed right now was for this story to end up on one of those "Celebrities Who Are Jerks In Real Life" pages. It wasn't the guards' fault... maybe they were telling the truth. It wasn't unlikely that some stuffy Order bureaucrat had activated a blanket 'emergency protocol' that included cutting off all access to the Alpha Box. 

"There might be- there might be someone inside!" Juliana explained, trying not to sound too flustered. "I can find whoever did this. I can stop them." 

"I can assure Your Majesty that there is no one in the Box Room. I just looked at the surveillance cameras." A wave of relief washed over Juliana's face at the sight of Ambassador Nelson's confident yet avuncular frame. 

"Thank you, Ambassador. How long have you been down here? Did you notice anything unusual?" Juliana questioned. 

"Oh, I only just got here," Nelson chuckled. "My job doesn't require me to spend much time in this building. I only came when I heard about the riots- I wanted to make sure that Arcana's most precious asset was safe." 

"Thank you once again for your help. Could-" 

Nelson cut her off with a raised hand before she could finish asking her question, putting a hand on her shoulder and steering her toward the door. "Your Majesty's life is in danger here. I've got a car and a police escort outside. Let's get you out of the city and to Prime Minister Hewkin before we regret it." 

His tone was friendly and his advice was rational, but some small part of Juliana grew suspicious of how determined he seemed to be to keep her away from the Box. And who had given the Order to put it on lockdown in the first place? Something about the whole situation didn't sit right with her, but either way, her safest option was to go with the Ambassador. At best, he was genuinely trying to protect her, and at worst... if Commander Chu had taught her anything it was to never let the enemy know you were onto them. 

...............

I hope everyone is healthy and safe- please stay inside guys, and be careful! <3