"You really can't keep out of trouble, can you, Ari?"

Ari made a non-committal noise, sitting cross-legged on one of Rale's cushions on the floor. After getting changed at breakneck speed, she'd teleported to Area Eight and then leapt to Rale's from there. Stingy Rale hadn't even let her recharge her necklace at his place as it used up his valuable credits. Ari couldn't imagine even rationing electricity.

"But if the Peacekeepers are taking a step this rapidly and to that excess, something's up. Something's bothering them."

"I don't know, maybe it's all the explosions that's been happening in March city, perhaps?"

"Don't snark me, Transformer. I'm your last hope."

"And I you, idiot," said Ari, irked. She was too tired and stressed to deal with all the mess. Night fell hours ago and the Peacekeepers wasted her whole day. "They won't prosecute me. They only have my blood. There's no CCTV evidence, no evidence of my assault on the bodies, no witnesses. They'll keep an eye on me, though. I can't do too many dodgy things in daylight."

"Must be nice, having a friend in the justice system to clear you of all your offences."

"Shon doesn't pervert justice for my sake," said Ari, heated.

"You've yet to receive any repercussions for your illegal ability uses across the city. You skip more classes than you're actually allowed to. You do as you please, waltzing through the city during post-curfew hours. You're telling me you don't receive special treatment?" Rale snorted.

Ari flushed. "Shon turns a blind eye when I leap, but that's it. Everything else is either because there are bigger fish to fry or I'm too good to be caught."

"Ah, ever the humble one, Transformer."

"I'm good, reporter, and I know it."

Rale scowled at her from his spot at the computer. He'd been doing work on his own when Ari didn't show up. All of Noan's abysmal school records and Kena's research piled atop his desk. A map of March City took up the main screen. Little red dots flashed, predominantly over Area nine and a sector of city outside the populated parts, further than Areas Two and Four.

"What's that?" She pointed to the dots out with the boundary. "That can't still be March City?"

"Yeah. That's Area Six, the old research labs. It's abandoned."

"You think...?"

"The whole area's heavily cordoned off by Peacekeepers. It's near impenetrable – they patrol outside on a regular basis and there are security cameras all around the area."

"But does anyone go in it, though?"

Rale shrugged. "Who knows."

"Nobody went inside that roped-off basement lot until they heard me. I don't think security is as tight as they think it is."

"Area Six was expunged and sealed after the scientists' experiments were exposed two and a half years ago. Kena's last registered base was there, too. Most of the other research there was dying already, so it wasn't much trouble shutting everything down." Rale skimmed his notes again, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

Ari eyed the flashing red pinpoints in that outlying area. The Peacekeepers told her to keep away from city business and particularly abandoned areas. She grinned as a surge of triumph relit her positivity. They didn't realise how valuable that confirmation was.

The terrorists were hiding out in Area Six. They must be.

Peacekeepers and Investigators have scoured everywhere but they'd never found anything. They'd missed out where they thought it was safest – the terrorists must have been hiding there all this time.

"Why is the security so heavy in a place that's been abandoned for years? Nobody defies Peacekeepers."

"Well, nobody except for you."

Ari gritted her teeth, ignoring yet another snide remark. Think of Mina. Think of Mina.

"Well, according to the land records," said Rale, tapping through yet another database, "the land is restricted access because of unstable land and dangerous gases."

"Dangerous—" Ari stared. "What?"

"Yeah. My reaction too." Rale pulled a face. "Dangerous gases? In March City? Our ventilation system is constantly being updated and even noxious gases from electricity and chemical production can almost be fully filtered into normal air. There is no way there can be any dangerous gases there."

"I think it's the same lie they used for the basement flats. They say it's unstable, uninhabitable – when, in fact, it's the monsters and they can't get rid of them. Maybe there are clues in the old labs too, like in the shafts back in the basement."

"I was just thinking, those monsters..." Rale brought up the record of Noan, Kena's brother, again. "Noan was a shifter. From what you described about them, they sound more like humans than animals, particularly the facial features. There's nothing recorded about the details of the scientists' experiments aside from what you've read and snippets from the news, but I do wonder if they're what resulted. They tried to force power-ups on Users – those that survived it later overloaded and caused explosions. Those that didn't probably became those things."

Ari shuddered. Those creatures' empty stares flashed across her mind again. The gaunt faces, the pallid appearances, the limp hair... they were so human, and yet at the same time so unnatural.

"It seems after Noan died, Kena threw herself into research. She'd always been quite gifted in the biomechanics aspect of ability manifestation, but all of the subsequent scientific papers she'd submitted revolved solely around ability manipulation. Or more specifically, enhancing abilities. That last piece of research she was on before the scientists were captured never came to light. I suspect the government destroyed them."

"But her legacy lives on."

"So it seems."

Ari sat back with a sigh, wincing as the gash in her arm protested. Out of instinct, she rubbed it, the monsters' gleaming eyes shining in her mind again. She shivered.

"So I suppose it's Area Six we have to look into, now," said Rale, flicking through his notes. "There isn't any archived information there. I suppose when all the research moved to Area Two, they just eradicated all history about Area Six. It's not like it would have concerned other students anyway."

Ari couldn't help but feel unsettled about all the silencing by the Peacekeepers. It seemed none of the dark records of the past remained. It seemed as though the city never wished to acknowledge or shed light on the illegal activities two years ago.

She felt so powerless. Mina was relying on her to find and rescue her, and armed with very little information, it seemed dangerous to plunge headlong into a forbidden area when for all she knew there could be an army of those monsters waiting to kill her, not to mention the terrorists would also want her dead.

"We need first-hand information from Area Six," said Rale, finally moving away from the computer and sitting down opposite her at the small table. "I can't yield any more from my database. Every other portal is locked or eradicated. Someone really doesn't want us snooping there."

"I can get in." Finally, something Ari can do.

"You can?" Rale raised an irritating eyebrow. "You've just received a warning from the Peacekeepers and they'll probably be tailing you. How much do you want to bet they're watching the streets right now? You think you can still sneak into that fortress?"

She hesitated. The next time they caught her offending she'd be hoisted off to Lira, and it would all be over. Lira could get information out of her like she was a book. Ari might have guts, but she wasn't stupid.

"What do you propose, then?" she said, looking unimpressed. Rale tapped his chin.

"Lay low for a few days."

"Lay—!" Ari flushed. "You're kidding me! This is—"

"Your sister. I know, I know. But you're of no use to me arrested, Transformer." Rale ran a hand through his hair. "Trust me, this is frustrating for me, too. I can't do anything beyond collate information and you're my only source, so we're both buggered if they catch you."

"I can take them on—" Rale's eyebrows rose skywards at her words. "—but it'll have to be a last resort. I'll definitely be detained after that. If the worst comes to worst, I can get into Area Six that way, but..."

"Let's think of less extreme measures until then."

Ari knew she was being dismissed. She got up and dusted her knees.

"I'll drop by again tomorrow," she said.

"Well, be sure it's after two p.m. I have errands and jobs in the morning. Not everyone can afford the luxury of free time."

Ari scowled at him and let herself out. Rale's constant jibes about her wealth were infuriating, although much of the initial indignation had worn off. It seemed his bitterness of the socioeconomic differences wouldn't lessen even when they worked on the same case with the same goal. They were partners only in name. She wouldn't be surprised if he turned his back and left her to die once he got what he wanted, because she was probably nothing more than just an informant.

She paused when she stepped into the lift. Her fingers hovered above the ground floor button. Changing her mind, she pressed the rooftop one instead. Five seconds later, she stepped out. A gentle wind blew, teasing the blonde strands that had escaped her ponytail. Rubbish piled high beside the lifts. Loose rubble and balls of dust collected on the surface. A few cracked skylights lined the outside, with only two of them still lit. Most of the rooftop was bathed in darkness. Ari watched the last of the students hurry home after curfew.

Ari wanted to clear her head. A leap would probably do the trick. She touched her necklace. Hang in there, Mina. I'll get you out.

Just then, her phone bleeped. Ari slipped it out of her back pocket. Who would call her at this time of the night? The caller ID was hidden. There was no image on the front – this was only a voice call.

"Hello?"

"Ari?" her sister's sweet voice said tentatively.

"Mina!" Ari's heart skipped a beat. She clutched the phone with both hands, her heart speeding up. "Where are you? Are you okay?"

"Please come, quickly..."

"Where are you? Tell me quick!"

"Some sort of lab. Please... they're going to do terrible things to me. Please come quick!"

The last word ended in a half-cry. Ari's heart broke at the sound.

"Hang in there, Mina. I'm coming!"

"Not so fast, Transformer," said a chilling voice, replacing Mina's. Ari's blood ran cold. Her hands tightened over her phone.

"Who is this? If you've hurt Mina..." Ari's back prickled. She could strangle the speaker.

"You are in no position to threaten me with anything, my dear," said the woman. Ari had never heard that voice before. This must be one of the terrorists. "Come to the east side of Area Nine, thirty-fourth street tomorrow at sundown. Tell no-one. Come alone if you wish to see your little sister alive."

"If—" Ari was cut off. She stared at her phone, numb. She could picture Mina's crying face. She could see her being tied to an experiment table, toxic concoctions pumping into her thin limbs and an oxygen mask on her face. She could imagine the scientists watching her with glee, recording tablets at the ready.

Ari would kill them.

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