Blue light, not unlike the barrier surrounding the city, fell from the heavens. It flashed like lightning, coming and going in a single heartbeat. The pavement cracked and cratered, leaving a black mark, far too similar to those which Lyssa had seen across the entirety of the city.

The beam shattered the pavement less than a pace away from Sarah, who screamed and fell to the ground, staring wide-eyed at the hole in the ground.

Zero looked up at Lyssa, still wearing the same smile.

“Check,” Lyssa said in a breath.

Zero. Zero. Zero.

This is impossible. She just used a Command. How can she break the rules like this?

The girl ignored her, turning to Abel again. “What does Champion of the Arena do? I’ve never seen another special Command.”

He used the Command, the golden sword appearing in his hand.

She clapped her hands. “It’s pretty. But is that all? Is it just a sword?”

“It responds to your will,” Abel answered quietly. His face was pale, the color drained away.

The girl nodded as though she had expected as much. Her voice was low, but Lyssa could read her lips: “Mimic. Champion of the Arena.”

Another golden sword appeared, this time in Zero’s hands. It was just as long and appeared awkward in her grasp, but she had no difficulty in lifting it. Lyssa thought back to her own Command, Little Secret, and how weightless the weapon had felt.

“Responds to your will, huh?” Zero said. In the next heartbeat, the sword began to convulse and glitter. A golden warmth filled the air around her and in a matter of moments, the sword had become a dagger half the size. The girl inspected it, seeming pleased.

She swung it through the air, letting out a quiet laugh of amusement. She looked over at Abel. “Does it do anything else?”

He opened his mouth twice before finally speaking. He looked as terrified as Lyssa felt. “It can apparently cut through anything.”

“Really?” She turned to the building nearest them.

Abel lifted a hand, remembering his prior embarrassment. “Supposedly. I haven’t gotten it to work. It’s not...” he let his words trail off as she continued towards the building. She lifted the dagger. She swung it. The golden blade cut through the thick steel, leaving behind a smoking red gash.

“Cool,” she said, letting the weapon drop to the ground and vanish. Above, a missile struck, sending a blast of wind across them. Zero turned her gaze upward. “That’s annoying. Do they think they can get through?”

Lyssa watched as the girl walked towards the blue barrier. She bent her neck forward, trying to see through the light, understand what was happening, just as they had.

“There are three more missiles in their truck.” She said over her shoulder. “But one is in the air right now. So there will be four more explosions.”

“You can see them?” Abel asked, fear seemingly shattered. He dropped his sword and walked to kneel beside her. “Where is the truck?”

“You can’t see them,” the girl said flatly. After a short silence, she added; “Luke Menza and Pete Briary. Pete has a level in Bara.”

Lyssa slowly began to realize the implications of what had just happened. She used a Command on someone outside the city. The people outside the city have Karma levels too.

She turned to Sarah and they both shared a frightened gaze.

Just what was happening outside the city?

“I bet I can hit the next rocket before it hits the barrier,” the girl said to Abel with a look of confidence. “Want to see?”

He said nothing, but gave a half-hearted shrug of one of his shoulders. Zero stared at him for a moment, then turned to Lyssa. She froze, remembering the lightning which had crashed down from above. There was no way she could escape something like that.

“If I hit it, I’ll switch your Karma levels.”

“What?” Lyssa asked, clearing her throat. “Really? You’ll really switch them?”

“Only if you three cheer me on.”

Lyssa and Sarah slowly walked forward, until they stood beside Abel, close to the barrier, looking out at the small dot which sailed through the air towards them.

“Queen’s Light,” Zero said.

Lightning cracked outside the city, just behind the missile. Lyssa felt her hands beginning to shake. Something isn’t right. Our Commands shouldn’t work outside the city walls. No one outside the city should have Karma. This isn’t right.

“That was so close,” the young girl said with frustration. “Queen’s Light!”

Another beam came down, this time in front of the rocket.

“You’re running out of time,” Sarah said hesitantly, testing out an excited voice. “You can do it.”

“Queen’s Light! Queen’s Light! Queen’s Light!”

Beams rained down from above.

Lyssa watched as, between the flashes, dirt surged as craters were formed, dust rising up in clouds. She was getting close.

“Aim just before the nose of the rocket,” Abel said.

“I’m trying.” Zero said with frustration. “Queen’s Light!”

The girl’s focus was entirely taken up by the act of shooting down the rocket. And the three of them stood so close to the barrier. It would only take a split second for her to push the girl into the blue aura.

What am I thinking? Lyssa blinked, looking at the little girl, the big smile on her face.

‘But Bara suits you better,’ Zero had said.

She stared at the side of the girl’s head. She was dangerous. She was an anomaly. She had the most destructive Command that Lyssa had ever seen, and then she had usedher Mimic Command to copy Abel’s Special Command

Not to mention that she had casually appeared before them, twinkling into sight just as Abel had earlier.

But she’s only a kid. There is no way she has more than one or two Commands.

“Queen’s Light!”

The rocket was closing in on the barrier now.

“Come on!” Sarah said, true desperation now in her voice. If the rocket hit, the shockwave would send them all to the pavement.

“That last one was so close! A little further away from the front and you have it!” Abel said quickly.

The two were cheering her on. Not because they wanted the missile down. In the current state of affairs, they all would have simply run away, but instead they cheered the girl on for Lyssa’s sake. And here she was, wondering if she could get away with pushing the girl into the barrier, to free them from whatever other mysterious powers she possessed.

She simply needed to take two steps and push her arms out.

Why am I even thinking about doing this? I need my Karma switched.

Is that the only thing stopping me?

Lyssa finally shook the thoughts from her head and joined in with the cheering. “You’ve got this,” she said, the words feeling wrong in her mouth. “You almost hit it!”

“Queen’s Light!”

The beam shot from the sky, slicing through the rocket. It exploded, flames radiating out in a sphere. A straight line of dirt craters now marked the missile’s trajectory.

“I got it!” the girl cheered, hugging Abel, who stood closest to her. She jumped up and down, dress fluttering. “I told you I could!” She met Lyssa’s eyes, a devious look coming over her face. “Complete Override.” She said in a dull, uninterested voice, then began to jump up and down once more. “The next should be coming soon. I’ll get that one too.”

“CheckSelf,” Lyssa whispered.

Lyssa Arnoe. Kara 1. Bara 0. Little Secret.

It worked. She stared at the panel before her with shock. She had finally rid herself of the Bara. She wouldn’t need to stay on the streets, or with Teddy. She could find safety in the apartments with Abel and Sarah. She could stay with them.

Lyssa felt her eyes beginning to water, but successfully warded off tears. A weight lifted from her shoulders. The girl was bragging about her good aim still, but Lyssa tuned out her words. Until she heard Sarah ask her, in a serious voice, to stop.

“Why?” Zero asked. “You don’t think I can?”

“No, I’m sure you can,” Sarah said, “I just don’t think you should kill them. We don’t know if they’ve done anything wrong.”

The girl looked up at her friend with confusion. “I don’t care. They’re shooting rockets and stuff, it’s like an action movie. Who cares what happens to them?”

“Me,” Sarah said, motioning to Abel and Lyssa. “Us. We care.”

Zero stared out into the darkness. She could somehow see things that they couldn’t. Could she see in the dark? Or perhaps she could see longer distances away? Was it another Command? Just how many did she have? “Queen’s Light.”

In the distance, a plume of smoke became visible as the truck exploded, the remaining missiles detonating. The girl laughed, veins popping out on her forehead as she slapped her knee. “I got it on my first try!”

Lyssa measured the distance between her and the girl once more. The distance between them and the barrier. She can kill people without a second thought, she told herself. This girl is a danger to everyone in the city.

Yet she stood motionless, unable to commit to the action. She had finally rid herself of Bara. She couldn’t chance getting a level in it now. And yet she felt she would regret standing still in the future. She felt she would come to regret her hesitance.

“Is anyone else coming?” Zero asked, scanning the exterior of the city. “I don’t see anyone.”

“I think that was everyone,” Abel said in a hushed tone.

“Okay. Thanks for the Command. Maybe we can compare again soon.” She smiled at Abel, then waved at Sarah and Lyssa. Lyssa watched her mouth carefully. “Divine Intervention,” the girl’s lips spoke, and then she was gone, out of sight once again.

The three stood in silence.

Then Sarah wrapped her arms around Lyssa, squeezing her tight. “I don’t know what the hell is going on right now. None of this makes any sense. But you don’t have Bara anymore. That’s all that I care about. We can try to figure this out soon. But for now, lets get away from here. Lets all head back to the apartment.”

Abel nodded his agreement. She could see he was too busy thinking to speak, just as he had been before the encounter.

They started down the pavement, leaving the hum of the barrier behind them. Between the three of them, not one noticed that, pressed against one of the many hitherto unbroken windows, sat a digital clock, red and blinking, showing the time: 8:29 P.M.

Seven minutes before the previously mentioned time.