Isiphelo

Within the Abyss. All was silent, all was dark.

Noiselessly, the intermittent arrival and departure of ships and other aircraft breathed life into the stillness, but even their lights were lost to the Abyss. Ever descending, these airships began to attain a thin layer of frost. At this depth, one would expect the heat of the planet's core to be in full effect, but the deeper down they went, the colder it became.

For the sake of the Hypogeal War Prison's construction, the core of the planet had been forcefully cooled. Artificially regulated temperature on a global scale was already implemented, and a simple energy field mimicked the planet's natural magnetic shield.

All the stops were pulled out for this prison; the New Regime resorted to every possible means, even going so far as to revolutionize technology for the second time in a period of 10 years.

Finally, after descending more than four million feet, the Abyss began to produce its own light. Built into the pit's walls were powerful beams, illuminating the entire area. Before long, the ships reached the bottom.

All that existed here was the flat surface of the floor, marked for denomination, and the most enormous door anyone had ever seen.

This was called the 'Gateway,' and it was the only way in or out of the Hypogeal War Prison's 12th and final branch.

Lined up before the door were hundreds upon hundreds of cargo items, all waiting for the time the door was scheduled to open. More and more things were delivered, and some of the items were taken by other aircraft. The ships that were not here for drop-off or pick-up landed to the rightmost demarcation of the landing.

The air suddenly picked up, and out of the darkness above came the largest of all the airships. This Cruiser was here on the most important and vital mission of all, and so its landing took all precedence.

Airships made way, allowing for it to land as close to the Gateway as possible.

Those of the people on the floor were all dressed in suit similar to Cenn's, but theirs were either white or blue- his was black. They stood by, not daring to move a muscle until this ship had accomplished its task. Any little thing they did could greatly affect this process.

A Lister was no joke, even with their ability suppressed.

The cruiser was a massive craft, yet it still looked small in the face of the Gateway. As soon as it landed, the gaping maw of the prison opened up to swallow up the Cruiser's cargo.

When the Cruiser's door opened, two rows of uniformed personnel ran out, forming a line from the ship to the Gateway. Once they were in place, two people came walking out of the Cruiser, at a steady pace.

One of them was a tall and slender woman, wearing an army green pantsuit, with a coat to match. Her hands were folded under the coat, but it was still evident that she was impressively muscular.

Her lips were pressed together as she walked, looking down at the person in front of her. There was a shade to her eyes that seemed to glitter in the light, making it hard to discern just what color they were. At times they appeared brown, but at other times they also looked golden.

Her hair was short and platinum, neat and straight like the rest of her. Her eyes were shadowed dark, with black lipstick to match.

As for the person in front of her, well... When the people present saw this person, they were dumbstruck.

Wide eyes looked on in shock as the woman walked a young boy to the Gateway. The boy was dressed in tattered clothes with a mechanical collar around his neck. He had long, jagged fingernails and was barefooted on the cold floor. Exposed due to the torn-up sleeves of his shirt, the scars that covered his arms were laid bare for all to see.

For such a young boy, these scars were an astounding sight to behold.

"Who do you think that is?"

Simmons stepped out of the hoverplane with Cenn following behind her. When he saw what was going on, he grabbed Simmons by the shoulder and halted her movement.

"Be completely still. See that woman walking with the prisoner?"

"You mean that kid?" Simmons was still confused, but she knew better than to blatantly ignore someone- especially someone with more experience in this setting.

"That 'kid' is the only prisoner that came out of the new-model Cruiser, plus the Warden herself is seeing to his transfer. That means he's not only a Lister, he's one of the very worst ones."

Simmons looked closely at the Warden and the child, and she felt the back of her head throb. The feeling of dread returned, and unease slowly set in. However, the further they both got, the less she felt that she was in danger.

All eyes followed the two figures that walked across the floor toward the Gateway. It almost never happened that a single prisoner would be escorted by the Warden herself, and even rarer for a Lister to be only a child. No one present here had even seen all three of those things happen at once; this had likely never happened before.

Yet, something even more monumental took place in the very next second.

Behind the Warden, walking to the edge of the Cruiser's doorway, were eleven other individuals, all dressed similarly to the Warden. Once all eyes saw those eleven faces, it was almost impossible for them to stay silent.

Simmons had been the first to notice them, which was thanks to her sense of danger returning with a vengeance.

As everyone looked between the child prisoner, the Warden of the 12th Branch, and the eleven Wardens still onboard the Cruiser, realization dawned on even the slowest of minds.

All 12 Wardens had come together for the transfer of a single prisoner. This had never, ever happened in the history of the Hypogeal War Prison- not even of the New Regime. All 12 Wardens would apprehend Listers together sometimes, and they would even come together to transfer large groups of high-tier Listers.

For all of them to come together for the transfer of a single Lister, who was also a child, was far too exaggerated. Whatever the explanation was, no one could guess.

Eventually, the child and the Warden disappeared into the Gateway, with the group of uniformed persons following closely behind. There was a flash of light from inside, and only once that light subsided did movement continue. The Cruiser's door was shut, and it swiftly departed.

All twelve wardens were gone now, lifting a heavy weight off the shoulders of everyone present. Instantly, the silence of the Abyss was viciously broken.

"Holy shit!"

"Well that was fucking intense, wasn't it?"

"Did you see that kid's arms? How does a kid get scars like those?"

"How do I get scars like those?"

The various crew members found something mind-blowing to discuss, so no longer did they work in silence. Simmons and Cenn were also discussing some things.

"I think that kid must have been in the top hundred of the List. There's no way they would all be here just to oversee a simple transfer otherwise. He might be one of the most dangerous criminals we have here in the 12th Branch."

Some people overheard Cenn's words, and so they struck up conversation.

"He's gotta be. I don't see any reason for them to have all been in the Cruiser together. Do you think he's in the top ten?"

"It's not far-fetched. Today's Wardens are some of the most powerful people on the planet, and they've consistently been bagging higher and higher-tiered Listers. Just a few months ago they apprehended #17, and all the Branches went batshit."

"I know. I heard the 12th Branch's Warden is super stressed these days, since all the other branches are oversaturated with Listers. The only Listers that come to the 12th Branch now are high-tier."

"She's got it rough."

Cenn engaged in a little more conversation, then he returned to Simmons. She had just stepped off of the ship, and was giving the place another look-around.

"You don't feel weak or nauseous? No headache?"

Simmons frowned and shook her head, not yet realizing why Cenn was asking her this.

"That's insane. The only other people I've seen tank 100% suppression like this was the Warden herself. Must be some ability you got."

Simmons nodded and half-smiled, but Cenn got her thinking about what Captain Callan had said too.

Cenn grabbed some stuff and they left the ship, entering the prison via the Gateway. Once they stepped through, the scenery instantly began to warp. The energy around their bodies built up, then exploded in a flash of light that sent them hurtling through space.

When Simmons opened her eyes again, she was standing in a hall that was even larger than the space inside the Abyss. Frosty mist filled the room, and dim lights lined the walls and ceilings.

"That was the intra-teleportation program. It's a local network of 'jump' points that take people to and from different areas within the prison, thanks to a series of nodes placed in a sequence. That way, you can only use one singular point to jump to another, and cannot travel in reverse."

"So if we need to get outside?"

Cenn smirked, "Then you have to walk. There's no jump point that leads to the outside. The only way out is to know the exact layout of the prison... and then walk to the exit."

Simmons gave a 'whoa' and then followed Cenn. He walked and walked until they finally reached the wall, which was also marked, and then stopped at a part of the wall that said, 'Main Office.'

"That seems counterproductive," Simmons said when she saw the name of the jump point.

"Is it," Cenn tilted his head. "Think about it. Even if I say we're going to the Main Office, you have no idea what side of the prison its on, or how close or far it is from the exit. So what good is knowing where you're going if you have no idea where you are once you get there."

Simmons stopped and thought about it, and realized that he was completely right. The more she thought about it, the more she felt her head spinning. "That's actually very disorienting."

Cenn chuckled, then placed his palm on the wall. Simmons saw a ring on his finger glow slightly, then the wall reacted by emitting a glow of its own.

"Get ready to jump."

Once again, with a flash of light, their bodies hurtled through space and arrived at the Main Office.

This time, they were in what seemed to be a waiting room. There were dozens of chairs lining the walls behind and in front of them, and a single door at the end. Cenn started walking toward that door and Simmons followed quietly, watching as Cenn's stride got slower and slower until he came to a halt.

"Now, before we go in there, I want you to remember that the Warden is one of the most powerful people in the world today. Her control over her ability is insane, and she's apprehended fifteen Listers on her own, all of them in the top hundred."

"No matter what happens in there- or what she says- keep that in mind."

Simmons gulped, and Cenn took a breath. He knocked.

"Come in, Cenn."

A rough female voice permeated the door from the other side, and Cenn took a final breather and then opened it.

The first thing Simmons noted was how bright the office was. There were lights on every single wall, lights lining the floor and even the ceiling. If not for the special type of bulb that filtered the light, it would hurt just to have your eyes open in this room.

Simmons saw that woman, the same platinum-haired Warden that had been escorting the boy, sitting at her desk. The desk itself was fully packed with piles of paper, files and documents, all of which were separated on either end. The middle was left clear, aside from a single pen stand, that housed only one black pen.

There was a single black chair at the front of the desk, facing the Warden.

"Ms. Vecdra, this is the one they enlisted. Her name's-"

"The details for you next assignment have been left with the Chief of Corrections. You may leave, Garland."

Just like that, Cenn was dismissed. He sheepishly nodded his head and left in a hurry, saying a silent prayer for Brooke in his heart.

"Sit, Simmons."