Her worries hadn't subsided since she heard the "great" news from Lucas. Her friends had indeed passed the aptitude test and today they'd be leaving Sanctuary for an indefinite amount of time. She could very well never see them again. Walking through the royal castle's halls she clutched a hand to her chest.

Lucas tried to comfort her, telling the princess the boys were strong. His attempts only made the vexatious princess more worried. Her friends were risking their lives but she remained safe in a castle surrounded by an impenetrable glass dome. She'd never be able to honor Rex's promise at this rate. At the end of the hall was an eleshaft, a machine capable of taking a person to any part of the royal castle. However, in order to reach the throne room or the king and princess quarters one needed a special access key. Waiting at the front of the red eleshaft doors a man tapped his foot impatiently. Alice rolled her eyes. So much for having a good morning. He was the royal advisor. A man with slick back dark hair and wearing a lavishing purple attire. His strong perfume made Alice's nose coil.

"Princess Alice, what an honor it is to see you this morning! How was your night? No problems to report, I trust." he greeted in an overly joyous tone.

"I'm fine, Edmon."

"Fine news, princess! Fine news, indeed!" Alice reluctantly stood next to him. The less time she'd to spend with the annoying brown noser the better "So, princess, we've received word from Sir Beckom regarding his son. Apparently, he'd be more than happy for you and Ralph to arrange some sort of meet-up. You know, so you could get better acquainted with one another."

Alice's face fixed into a scowl. "And why would that be necessary?"

"Well he might not be royal but Ralph Beckom will take over for his father once the time comes. Out of all the noble families, the Beckoms are one of the wealthiest and popular. It'd be nice for you to become accommodated with them."

"I hardly even know Ralph. The most I think I've seen of him was at a party two years ago."

"Then this should serve as a nice opportunity to fill the void."

"I don't know. He doesn't really strike me as someone I'd like to spend time with if our past interactions are anything to go by."

"People change over time, your majesty. Based on what I've heard, Ralph has grown into a fine young man. I'm certain the two of you will hit it off."

The eleshaft chimed, the door opening slowly. Despite this, Edmon chose to wait for another, much to her relief. "Until we meet again, Princess Alice. I wish you the best of days!" he exclaimed before the doors shut. This didn't sit right with Alice. Not one bit. The princess knew exactly what the king's intentions were. She attempted to erase the thought, Instead, she centered her concerns on the more integral matter: Helping her kingdom. With a frustrated sigh, she continued her ascension of the castle in silence.

* * *

The hurricane of sand furthered its blistering fury. Powerful winds collided against the outer surface of the stallions. They were indeed outside of Sanctuary yet Rex could hardly see a thing through his window. He felt the innards of the vehicle vibrate and shriek. A male sitting across from his seat looked like he'd had enough, covering his mouth to prevent himself from puking. Rex was uncertain as to how much further they'd to travel although he knew they'd been heading in a southern direction. Considering the stallions left through the wall of the Ensett District and assuming they'd not immediately changed course they should still be driving southward. The anticipation killed him.

Seth seemed to be unphased by it all. He sat in his spot whistling a tune quietly to himself. He'd shown a lot of interest in wanting to leave Sanctuary earlier. Now he acted as if everything was normal, not saying a single word since their departure. Perhaps the boy was just better at dealing with new experiences than himself. Another gust of sandy wind collided with the stallion's ceiling yet Rex hardly noticed. Despite the golden monsoon's wrath he stayed invigorated. What he desired most was to start his seeker training as soon as possible. Although, his thoughts naturally drifted to his brother. I wonder what Chase is doing?

The dark-haired boy tried to remain calm. He'd overheard a conversation of a supposed incident occurring the year prior. What kind of incident are the seeker officers referring to, he pondered. The person next to him didn't appear to be concerned. A gargoyle refusing to waver. The dark-skinned teenager maintained an impressive build. Chase wouldn't call him excessively buff but rather well put together.

"Something the matter?" he asked, his brown eyes aimed at the seat ahead.

"N- Nothing, I'm just nervous."

"Don't worry, we'll be there soon." His concentrated gaze now fixed onto Chase. "By the way, are you related to Professor Hunt?" Chase gave a simple nod. "Ah, you seemed familiar. I heard what happened to him. You have my condolences." He held out his hand, Chase warily accepting his gesture. "My name is Aaron Bronze. I look forward to training together."

". . Same here."

Of course, Chase didn't mean it. He only cared for securing his brother's safety. That was it. End of story. If he allowed himself to get attached to anyone it'd prove to hinder a dire situation in the future. He couldn't put the safety of complete strangers over his own brother. The only reason he even took the aptitude test was to stay with Rex and prevent him from getting killed. Nevertheless, he could still make use of others. Skilled individuals were amongst him. Skilled persons whom he could learn from. Otherwise, his sights lied on the prize: To safeguard Rex's life and, in time, persuade him to abandon his unachievable goal before it was too late.

"Attention! We've arrived!" shouted the seeker driving the stallion.

Rex jumped in his seat whilst Seth stretched his arms, a yawn escaping him. Chatter erupted in the stallion before the seeker sitting at the front smacked a hand on his seat, issuing the cadets to be quiet. Rex then realized the stallions had stopped moving. Lifting from underneath the earth a huge metal hatch door rose. It revealed an open way, a passage to the desert's underbelly. The stallions drove through the door in a single file line. They parked side by side to each other, their heads facing a cement wall. As the applicants were allowed to finally step out after nearly four hours of sitting Rex took in his new surroundings.

The hatch door closed loudly, a sheet of darkness covering the enlarged room. It wasn't until lights placed on the walls lit up did he and everyone else properly see the world around them. Commander Keith, as usual, took authority, waving his hand back and forth to draw everyone's attention. Once all eyes rested on him the commander announced, "Welcome, cadets of Seeker Brigade 71. It is here you'll be spending the next four years learning how to be an effective seeker. The training will be intense, so much so you might wish you'd stayed in Sanctuary. Know that this place isn't for quitters. It's a den for warriors! Remember this as you enter your new lives. Now if you'd please follow me."

The commander led them to an eleshaft. It wasn't large enough for everyone to fit, however, Seth wasn't keen on the idea of waiting. He forced his way inside of the square-shaped space whilst tugging Rex by the arm. They just barely hopped in before the metal doors closed, the lift descending further below the earth's surface. Their cramped and shaky ride lasted for two minutes, amber lights slipping through the split in the metal doors. When it reached the bottom, the group was allowed to escape its confines.

Swarming out the back end of the eleshaft they were greeted by a boulder-strewn plateau overlooking what Rex could only assume to be their new home. An enormously sized underground cavern filled to the brim with numerous different sectors spanned out in front of them. Rex's eyes sparkled as he gaped at the subterranean marvel. Directly below them was a collection of buildings. Wooden structures rested on the western side while on the eastern sector there stood multi-storied metal buildings along with an extended stone-crafted dining hall. At the rear of the cavern, another plateau elevated off the base floor. It carried a training ground comprising of multiple racing tracks, rock pillars, a climbing wall, and an obstacle course. The base was illuminated by the lights tied around the collection of titanic stalactites hanging above them.

"This is Base Cedarian," Commander Keith announced proudly. "A breeding ground for new seekers."

Commander Zeke snickered beside him. "We discovered it thirty or so years ago. Due to its convenient location and size, we decided to transform the concealed wonder into a training site."

"This way we can expose new recruits to the Outside World while also having a safe place for them to live," Maria added. "We tried creating another underground base in a cavern closer to Sanctuary . . . But it's been compromised by diamond-clawed moles." she sighed.

The flabbergasted cadets gawked as the eleshaft brought the rest of the group. Chase spotted Rex at the edge of the plateau, his worries lifting. "Hey, brother."

"Chase, look at this place!"

Chase then observed the area, his eyes analyzing everything they saw. "It sure is something."

Seth chuckled. "Are you always this void of things to say?"

Chase raised an eyebrow. "Who are you? A friend of Rex's"

"I'm-"

"This is Seth! We met a week ago!" Rex interjected, wrapping an arm over Seth's shoulders. "You guys can get better acquainted later! For now, I want to see more of Cedarian! It's so cool!!"

Seth glanced at Chase. "Does he always get like this?"

"Pretty much. You should see him at breakfast."

They descended on a path carved along the sides of the cavern's walls. It took them to the area populated with multiple wooden buildings. To Rex' surprise, this wasn't where they'd be staying. Instead, the barracks were located further west. The four arched wooden cabins were fixed into rows, their rears built within the cavern itself. "Maria will inform you of which cabins you're assigned to. Spend the remainder of your day settling in." their commander stated, leaving with Zeke. "The real training begins tomorrow. I suggest you turn in early tonight."

Each of the cabins contained four sets of duo bunk beds corresponding to the eight candidates assigned to them. Unfortunately for the cadets, the arduous beds were as hard as rocks. Rex took the upper bunk closest to the door, throwing his bag on top of it. Seth resided across from him while Chase chose the bed below his brother's. The rest of the day Rex spent familiarizing himself with his other roommates whereas Chase, as antisocial as ever, remained in bed. The first few persons Rex met seemed nice enough. Barry Hoffman, a boy with puffy blonde hair and turquoise eyes, was quite the chatterbox . . . In addition to being a little airheaded. There was also Aaron Bronze, a brawn yet polite gentleman. Given his size and collection of fierce-looking muscles, Rex thought he'd behave in a similar way to Caiden. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

Speaking of Caiden, the bully was sent to the cabin next to them, Rex hearing his cursing directed at someone who supposedly stepped on his foot accidentally. There weren't any girls, however. It wasn't until later Rex discovered the cadets were organized by gender. This would surely prevent certain complications from arising. Concerning their meals, the mess hall provided them with food. Long wooden tables housing ten persons at most littered the cafeteria. Said food served by two female chefs consisted of one piece of bread, a potato, five strips of some kind of meat, and a glass of water. It wasn't the best yet Rex chowed down on everything presented on his plate, a plethora of unusual flavors invading his tastebuds.

"Man! This hits the spot!" Rex said in between gulps.

Chase picked his fork at the steaming potato. "It's mildly acceptable, to say the least."

Across from them sat Seth, Barry, and Aaron. Barry, much like Rex, didn't complain about the 'food' they were given. "Mildy acceptable?! This has to be some of the best grub I've had in years! Sure beats eating stale pieces of bread!"

"That's right," Rex had to pry his attention off the dinner in order to stare at the blonde who sat facing his brother. "You're from Inglis, aren't you?"

"Sure am! Despite its quote-unquote "luxury" I only eat get to scraps!" he answered with a wide grin. "So you guys come from Haren but moved to Cordra, right? Man, you must be used to eating better food than this slop, huh?"

"You'd think so. However, having a taste of what Rex cooks should give you a sense of what "quality" food is like." Chase said dryly.

"Not funny!"

"From what I hear, Cordra has fallen off quite a bit." Aaron spoke softly. "More people are being kicked out due to a lack of work. And to think, just a few years ago Cordra was perceived as a home for nobles."

"It's not just Cordra," Seth added. "Districts all over Sanctuary are beginning to run low on available jobs. It's why there are so many people living in poverty. Why do you think all those mooks showed up to take the aptitude test? Their motive was to gain a higher position and escape a life of sleeping in their own filth. Look around, gentlemen." The five stared at the people sitting at other tables. All of them were laughing and busy socializing. They looked as carefree as a noble. "I'm willing to bet not everyone present came to help the seekers. They couldn't care less if they never find Eden. They're only after jen. Not that it matters to me. In a way, I'm no different." he chuckled, chewing on a meat strip. "I'm here for the thrill. If the Seeker Corps can't give me enough of a reason to stay then I might just quit."

"I can't say I'm any better." Barry chimed in. "I enlisted for jen and jen alone. I have a lot of friends and family waiting for me in Inglis. Some of them barely have enough jen to pay for a decent place to live. I became a seeker so I can provide for them, you know. Being a soldier is just another job to me."

"What about you, Aaron?" Rex asked.

He released an exasperated sigh and muttered, "I joined because I have nothing left to lose."

Rex didn't want to ask him to elaborate. His past was his own.

"You and Chase sure are lucky. I mean, you're brothers for starters. It makes coming here a little easier due to you already knowing someone amongst the sea of strangers." Barry whined.

Rex frowned. "Actually, there is someone else I know."

Seth raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, who?"

He pointed a thumb to the table three spaces behind them. Caiden bit his potato as if it was composed of thin paper. The persons accompanying him on the same table noticeably distanced themselves from him. Rex couldn't blame them. His unpleasant scowl wasn't exactly inviting.

A mischievous grin worked its way onto Seth's face. "He looks like a swell dude."

"Trust me, unless you're looking for trouble I wouldn't bother him. He's not really a people person."

"Then he's exactly who I want to get involved with. A guy like him desiring to beat the ever-loving shit out of ya is just what I need to spice things up around here!" he exclaimed.

"You're not entirely sane, are you?" whispered a concerned Barry, shooting Seth a disturbed look.

After dinner, everybody headed inside the barracks for a good night's sleep. The lights started turning off, the darkness beginning to consume the cavern. Even so, Rex sat at the barracks' steps gazing at the caliginous ceiling.

"Not coming?" Chase inquired, taking a seat next to his brother.

"Can you believe it?" he answered.

"If I'm being honest, not really. It still kinda feels like a dream to me." Chase yawned.

"We can make a real difference here, Chase. We can save humanity, I can feel it!"

"I'd slow down if I were you. Training doesn't begin until tomorrow. We can't drop our guard yet."

"Right," Rex grinned. "I just can't wait to get started!"