"There are some ahead. They look to be in the rooms on the side, not in the center hallway," he whispered to his companions.

They didn't reply. Heyvl's mouth became instantly dry as he knew there were soldiers ahead. He gave Jet a nod. He decided to concentrate harder on making his steps extra quiet. He didn't want to be the one to get them caught. Heyvl knew it meant too much to Jet to get caught.

The three moved carefully down the hallway. They kept their eyes out for any windows or doors.

"I'm going to head downstairs for a drink. You wanna come?" Jet heard a voice say in one of the rooms. He gave a quick glance at the other two. They were already beginning to hide. Jet didn't have time to move anywhere but behind the door that he hoped opened outwards toward the hallway.

"Nah, I need to head back up to the top for duty," another voice replied.

"Suit yourself."

"Well we can't be lucky...hell, brave enough to skip our shifts up top."

"The Emperor isn't going to pay us a visit any time soon."

"Don't let the Elementalists hear you say that," the second man said in a whispered tone. Jet could tell that it was even superstition around the Empire's men that the Emperor could tell what every Soul Elementalist was doing. It also let Jet feel relieved that not all the soldiers were going to be Elementalists.

Jet pressed himself against the wall behind the door as it opened with a quick swing. He winced as it came out almost enough to touch him.

"I'd never let those weirdos know. Anyways, I'll be back later."

"Good luck," the second voice said with little hope.

The wooden door creaked slowly as it began to shut on its own. Jet almost wanted to grab it to stop it from doing so when he saw another figure coming from the other direction.

"Where do you think you're going?" the newcomer spoke loudly to the other soldier.

"Grabbing a drink downstairs," he replied without even turning around.

"Shouldn't you be on duty?"

Jet let out a silent sigh of relief as the door opened and blocked him the view of the newcomer. The second soldier from the room exited and looked at his friend.

"I should be drinking."

"Do I need remind you that I am your superior? I report directly to the Emperor himself! You will return to your post."

"Why do I care? The Emperor going to come here himself?"

"No, but you've let intruders inside."

Jet's heart sank immediately. His hand gripped the sword tightly. He knew he was going to need it in a few seconds. The superior's boots clanked as they walked to the door Jet was behind. The door swung over and Jet reacted by thrusting his sword. The Soul Elementalist's eyes drained of the purple aura immediately. Jet knew now that they could see where people were just as he could with his own.

"What the-?" the other two soldiers exclaimed as they watched their superior's body fall to the floor. Jet's hand shook as he held the now bloody sword. He had never killed anyone before, and didn't think he would anytime soon. Did the soldier deserve it, he thought to himself. Were all of the Emperor's men just as blind with power?

"How'd you get in here?!" the first soldier spoke, reaching to his side for a weapon. Jet snapped out of his shock. He was glad to see the soldier had misplaced his weapon. The second one, however, pulled out a saber.

Jet scrambled away from the wall, moving over the fallen Elementalist. He readied his blade.

"Wait, didn't he say intruders? Where are the others?" the first soldier asked out loud as he looked around frantically.

Irina appeared from a room on the opposite end of the hall. She raised her hand, causing a wall of crystals to come between the soldiers and them. Heyvl followed behind her.

"Let's run!" she exclaimed to them as she had already started to take off.

Jet didn't take a second to hesitate. He began sprinting in the opposite direction of the soldiers. He could see other soldiers stirring in other rooms as they ran. The soldiers behind them were shouting. The sound of wooden chairs scrapping across the stone began to echo as the soldiers all came to attention.

The doors slammed open. Some opened too quickly for there to be much more than a squeak of sound. There were dozens of soldiers rushing out of the rooms. Jet held his sword tightly, trying to resist the urge to look back. They had to keep going. They had to keep going up if it came to it. In fact, Jet knew they were going to have to. They had no choice now. The wall had no paths that turned the other way.

The next stairway up came upon them quickly. Jet didn't have to tell the others that it was their only way to escape the soldiers. They all knew it would become a dead end before long. 'Where's the desert entrance?' Jet had thought to himself angrily. There could have been stairs that led down eventually, but he didn't want to risk it.

The 3rd floor was the same sight. Gloomy lit hallway with dusty rooms full of soldiers. At least the ones on that floor hadn't heard the shouting yet. It wouldn't take long for the soldiers behind them to notify the 3rd floor.

When the 3rd floor was beginning to become alarmed, Jet and the other two had reached a large open section in the middle of the hallway path. The ceiling had risen into almost complete darkness to allow room for the large doors that were on both sides of the hallway. Jet thought it was strange that it had large entrances on either sides of the border, because he didn't recall seeing the doors on the Empire side.

"You three have been stirring up a lot of trouble here," a familiar voice said.

Jet looked to the desert doors. They were slightly ajar. A man stepped through the small gap. It was a general of the Empire. Jet recognized him as the general that had picked him and Dustan out from Calbar. His hand began to clench tightly around grip of his sword.

"Who are you?" Irina demanded of the general.

"I'm the one who is annoyed by your presence here. My men have a strict job to do, and you're causing them panic, as if we had been invaded by someone." The general waved his hand with his Element. Jet stopped hearing the commotion behind him. It was like the general pacified the others soldiers.

"To think, it was just three kids that got everyone spooked. You know, you cost me one of my finest men," the general said to Jet. Jet didn't reply. He was too angry at the sight of someone who cost his brother his life. The general obviously didn't recognize him. He thought it was strange because he thought the Empire was looking for him.

"Not a talker huh? Oh well. I never like when they scream and shout before I kill them anyways."

"You can certainly try," Irina replied quickly. The general smirked.

"I don't know what brought you this far from home, little girl, but you've stumbled into the wrong place. You see, in a few minutes, these doors will open. No one outside of the Empire's army has seen the desert. I can't have little kids running around the lands telling how they got through the Emperor's wall and witnessed what lays beyond. I simply can't have that."

"You won't stop us," Heyvl chimed in, his voice cracking a bit. He was feeling fear standing in front of the general. He could see Jet's reaction and feared the worst.

"Wow," the general laughed, "you've been all over, haven't you?" He was looking at Jet while he asked the question. The general was recognizing the slight differences in their accents. Jet guess the sword in his hand made him a leader figure. The others didn't have weapons.

Jet wasn't sure how the general planned to attempt to kill them, but he knew he didn't want what happened to Dustan to happen to Heyvl and Irina. He had to stop him here and now.

Spirit Element began to rise around Jet. His arms lit up with the aura. The general was taken aback by the sight.

"Strange. Did you slip through the...no, of course not. No matter, Spirit Elementalists are no trouble to handle."

Irina began to distract the general by throwing a wall of crystals towards him. The general blocked it with a mass of purple aura.

Jet took the chance to switch places with some of his Element to get behind the general. He raised his sword quickly. As he was about to strike, the doors opened behind him and across the hallway. Bright light shone in and lit the entire area up. Jet glanced back to the desert behind him.

It was like nothing Jet had ever seen before. Heat radiated into the wall from the bright yellow sands that cover the land before him. Dunes rolled over the horizon. A single path cut through them as it came back to the wall. It was occupied by several caravans with cages on them. Hundreds, if not thousands, of soldiers escorts these caravans. The cages were filled with people. Their skin was darken but still remained a light tan. They were Jet's people.

"I've had enough of your games," the general said, his voice coming from behind Jet. Jet turned away from his homeland and looked at the looming Soul Elementalist. One quick swing of his hand, the general knocked the sword out of Jet's grasp. "However, you're coming with me Spirit Elementalist."

He picked up Jet and began to carry him over his shoulder. Jet struggled as the general began to walk to the desert. Jet gazed at his two helpless friends.

"Run!" he shouted to Heyvl and Irina.

Heyvl began to run to the general that carried his friend, but Irina stopped him. "There's too many of them coming now. We aren't any use to him if we're dead."

"But-"

"No buts, come on!"

Heyvl hesitated. His eyes glanced to the floor and spotted Jet's Spirit imbued Crystal sword. He had to try something. He grabbed it and dashed at the general. It didn't take long before the general looked back and flicked some Soul Element at him. The thick purple aura slammed into Heyvl. It caused him to fly a few feet back towards Irina.

Irina started to pull Heyvl towards the other doors. Heyvl managed to shout, "We'll get you back! I swear it!"

Jet watched his friend take his sword and turn to shout something too him. The chanting and chattering of the soldiers on the desert side already filled the air. It was too loud for Jet to understand what Heyvl was saying, but Jet hoped it was something good. He hoped they would go back and get Rujar or anyone to get him. He had no idea why the Empire were capturing Spirit Elementalists, but he knew he was about to find out.