text: Just as I slid the door open, I immediately knew that I was not alone. A lady with streaks of pale light blue and startling green in her turquoise hair sat on the ledge of the largest window, unfazed by the fact that she could drop from an alarming height in minutes. As her cold gaze narrowed on me, her eyes metallic hard orbs of judgement, she held up a hand.
  
  "It's rude to interrupt a phone conversation - don't you know?" Her voice was laden with sarcasm and had a sickly sweet quality, reminding me of a rebellious teen. Pointing a bubbler to me, she went on speaking into her phone as casually as if she was ordering her lunch. Which reminded me - I did not manage to eat lunch earlier.
  
  "Of course I enjoy putting my little brother in harm's way! Of course I approved of their plans to kill the inspector! Of course I planted a poisonous gas in the school.... no, no, no, I'm not even bothered to be surprised by now. Typical you, don't you think? Yeah, like I'll actually kill an entire school. What now, can't tell if I'm being sarcastic or not? Well, that's your problem. Why don't you get one of those teachers you complain about to be the first to walk out of those doors? We'll see if you all die, and you'll get the answer to your question."
  
  There was a pause before she continued. As she was continuously flipping her air and rolling her eyes at the phone, I doubt she was even listening to what was being said. "Right, you really insist on being stupid, don't you? Your eyes are always closed, aren't they? I've already told you, you're just not listening. Need me to spell it out for you like I did in kindergarden, little brother? Very well - my get away vehicle's delayed and I needed all the distractions I can get. Ever since my last... party crashing, I'm wanted by far more than you'll ever be."
  
  I heard an irritated yell from the other side of the phone. "IT WAS AN OFFICIAL'S MEETING!"
  
  "Same difference. You know, I'll looovve to talk some other time, but my hostage is getting a little impatient." Without waiting a second longer, she ended the call.
  
  "So, hostage, little brothers can be a mess, huh? Oh, you look so scared, I feel so much pity for you that I'll let you go. Has that ever worked, hostage?"
  
  She shot the wall behind me, and I ducked. Laughing, she said, "Oh, you think I'll kill you so quickly? When I mean to kill you, you'll know it."
  
  As she reloaded her weapon, I decided to make a move.
  
  > ask if she's part of the breakers
  "What do you think, hostage?" came the reply,
  
  "It's obvious when you hear your conversation. You really ought to talk louder, there were lots of people on the other side of the world that would love to hear your."
  
  "Sarcastic - I like that. Pity you forget I'm the one with the gun here, darling."
  
  "Yeah, but you won't kill me. Especially since, y'know, my grandma entrusted Keybreak to me."
  
  Within seconds, the entire act was dropped. She no longer acted aloof and arrogant, but looked at me with a renewed sense of awe. "How could I not have known? The similarities, the way your hair curls around your ear...your grandma's such a rebel. She inspired me."
  
  "And yet here we are, with you keeping me captive."
  
  "No hard feelings, kid, but... how much do you know? It's not like you have the key... do you?"
  
  Was this one of those test questions that my brother enjoyed asking to catch me off guard? I assumed that if I said that I had Keybreak, she would judge me for bringing it to school when it could be so much safer elsewhere. Yet if I said that I did not have it, she might end up not believing me or accusing me of making things up. Fortunately, Mr. Johnson entered the room.
  
  "He stole my key. I'm not sure if he's a breaker, but he has Keybreak in his pocket."
  
  Shock was apparent in his features for a second before he burst into laughter. The other lady laughed too, and I stared at them in surprise.
  
  "Smart enough to crack the code and solve the riddle, but she did not recognise familial similarities," Mr. Johnson said, as if assessing me from a teacher's point of view.
  
  "I don't blame her - you're incapable of much other than causing me to get frustrated at your lack of abilities, little brother." the murderer who was a breaker said. "I, on the other hand, managed to eliminate one of the greatest threats in breaker history."
  
  "You needed my contacts to pull this off."
  
  "I just went along with the plan. You're practically an anchor."
  
  "You're just bitter that you did not recognise Emeza Mer."
  
  The pair stopped bickering for a moment and turned to look at me. I decided to speak up. "Thanks for finally recognising me, but if you're done here, I would like Keybreak back so I can get on with the rest of my lessons. This mystery has been solved and there's nothing more to it."
  
  "Really? What about the motive? The rest of the story... Emeza, we apologise for the inconvenience but I doubt you can just return to the hall now. Why don't we have a quick chat as to plan our cover story?" Mr. Johnson was quick to try to soothe the situation, but I did not know what to think. It was surely more than an inconvenience, and I did want to know about more about the entire murder. After all my trouble, I deserved a little more adventure - once I stepped out of that door, life was going to be normal... or as normal as it could be before I made the escape. So, I waited for one of them to speak.
  
  > listen to their explanation
  "So, where do we start? For formal introductions, my name is Sam Johnson, and my annoying sister is Sara. Ever since your grandma placed the key within the Safe World, she left several cryptic codes with puzzling riddles for a worthy person to find Keybreak. She assumed that if you or your brother - although her top choice had always been you - escaped to the breaker base, these rumours would eventually reach your ears and you would find out how to get Keybreak. If a smart breaker managed to find out where it was hidden, then they deserved to know where the key is."
  
  "Okay, and... that's it?" After I came all the way here, snuck out of the hall and was held hostage by a murderer, I expected more momentous information... or a better end to the mystery.
  
  "Ms. Sara Johnson, tell me about your motive to kill Madame... I'm sure her name's not Deadly."
  
  The lady smirked. "Getting to the deep stuff, huh? Your grandma was always like that. Guess we could kill time while waiting for my vehicle... This tale started years ago. My dear brother here escaped the Safe World few weeks before me. Escaping has always been an important part of the whole breaker thing - if you are unable to escape, that means that you're not likely to survive being a breaker anyway. He managed to get a letter to me about... well, pretty much everything. This doofus here had plans for me to escape, and was planning on meeting me outside the borders. Then we planned it all, I was with two of my best friends at that time. We met a lady, one of the higher positioned resistance member, and took off.
  
  It was smooth sailing until she came. Inspector Deadly. There's another reason for that name I gave her - she was always known to me as deadly."
  
  "Why? Did she stop you from escaping?"
  
  "I guess you could say that. You have to understand, I was naive. Stupid. Ignorant." Then as if that word filled her with more disgust than anything in the world, she said, "Loving."
  
  "So... what happened?"
  
  "I was almost at the end of the border. Just two more steps, and freedom would have been mine. Then a bullet grazed my shoulder. I looked back."
  
  "And? You killed the person and kept on going."
  
  She laughed humorlessly. "I wish. The Inspector, she had a girl in her grasp. It was one of the kindergarten children I often played with at school. And the bubbler - it was pointed at her. "
  
  Secretly, I could not imagine the killer in front of me playing with tiny toddlers, but did not interrupt. She went on with the story.
  
  "I... I went back. I had to. My friends followed suit. That day, dozens of police officers were killed. The whole group that was about to escape - there were only two of us left alive. So I tackled Deadly, got the child, and let her escape with my friend. But I had to sacrifice myself. I went to the MindChange, and I was there for years before I broke out. Your grandma taught me different skills like gunfight and boxing. But more importantly, I learnt never to become emotionally involved. Sometimes, I wish that my brother was dead just so I would have no weaknesses."
  
  "That... I had no idea."
  
  "Never expected you to. If you want to quote me on something, it is this: Your perception of humanity is often based on the combination of people that you are closest to. Your grandma said that to me." With that, she did a back flip out of the window and landed on a strange looking machine which whisked her far away.
  
  "My sister, always with the dramatic exits," Mr. Johnson said. "Let's re-enter the hall through the window. It'll take a while before they notice that the phones work once again. Also, I think you've earned the right to keep the key."
  
  As we walked back to the hall, I thought about what Sara Johnson said. How did I view humanity? Thinking out loud, I answered the question.
  
  > No matter who they are, anyone can be influenced by anyone else if done correctly
  Just as Mr. Johnson said, everyone soon found out that phones could work and the whole school was dismissed early. I spent the day at Lindy's house, writing letters to my parents and brother. We even made little origami items with each of the letters, as if trying to assure ourselves that things would be okay. That life still could be normal.
  
  It's crazy how we longed for normal just as we said goodbye to it.
  
  After messing around in Lindy's house, playing one last game of hide and seek, we took a tour. Lindy said goodbye to every wall, pillar and piece of furniture while I tried to imagine what the Ones Above would think of this place when we told them about it. Not when, if. Uncertainty drove me insane when reading books, but I had somehow thought that it'll be 'exciting' in life. It was exciting, but the type that filled my butterflies with stomach... or was it the other way around? Butterflies in stomach? I made a mental note to ask the Ones Above if we ever got there.
  
  As the day turned into night, I stayed home, going through my supplies. I just needed to grab a few last things from upstairs, including my night vision goggles and a bubbler from my father's war room display. Before I could carry out my plans, my mum called.
  
  "Darling Emeza, how are you? I got released from work early after hearing what happened in your school... I'm worried about you, my little girl. I'm on my way home - I am planning on picking you up and we'll go to dinner with the special guest in my car - an inspector! He wants to talk to you about what happened in your school, if it's not too traumatic."
  
  "Actually, I'm going to stay at Lindy's," I started, but she did not let me finish.
  
  "Then cancel. I'm going to be back in 12 shakes of a fish's tail."
  
  "12. Okay." I hung up on the phone, realising that I was now on a time limit. If I was caught outside with a large bag, I was sure that the inspector would realize what was up. I did not have time to pack less suspicious items - instead, I just had to hurry.
  
  Time: 12
  
  > go upstairs
  Time -1
  
  The flight of stairs between the ground floor and the floor with my room was ridiculous - I had certainly used up quite a lot of time climbing up the newly waxed staircase. I did not bother looking around when time was short. There were two main rooms which I could enter: my bedroom, to get the night vision goggled; and my father's war room, for getting the bubbler. Whatever I needed to get, I ought to get quickly.
  
  > go downstairs
  Time -1
  
  I looked around, wondering what I ought to do before I ran short of time. There was not much - use the phone, escape... did thinking take up time? Of course it did, what was I thinking? I tried to calm my panicked mind before agitated thoughts started to roam free, then decided to make a move. Doing something - anything - was better than just standing around planning my next move.
  
  > go out the front door
  I rushed out the door, having done all I needed to do at home. Initially, I planned to walk away from the house slowly, examining every inch of the majestic building. No time for that now. I rushed out of the house and out the door....
  
  "Hello? Yes, you, girl. What are you doing out with such as large bag in the middle of the night?"
  
  I tried my best not to show my annoyance, and instead just nodded at the police. "I'm visiting my friend's house."
  
  "I'm going to need proof. You go to that school, don't you? The Scholar Ship?"
  
  "Sir, I've just been through a murder. I'm not going to want to sleep alone in this large house tonight. Could I please get to my friend's house-"
  
  "Call your friend."
  
  I dialed Lindy's number, and hoped that she would pick up. Within a few seconds, the call got through."
  
  "Hey, Lindy. I'm on the way to your house and I ran in to this policeman who does not believe that I'm going to your sleepover."
  
  The police took my phone, and to the both of us, asked, "What time does it start?"
  
  "11.30." Both of us replied simultaneously, and I added, "But since I'm her best friend, I'm going there early."
  
  "Anyone else going?"
  
  "No one."
  
  "Sernolia Pro- Oh, I forgot to tell you that I invited her, Lindy." I inwardly yelled at myself for putting Lindy in such a position. She could barely lie.
  
  But she did. "That's...um, okay, Emeza. I also invited... Yefnor Rune. The mermaid. I hope you don't mind?"
  
  The police shrugged and said, "I doubt she minds - she also invited someone without your permission. You'd better leave, young lady - I don't want to be around when two girls fight; my daughters can be menances despite seeming like sweet little flowers."
  
  With that, I managed to leave. But time was short and I had already wasted a lot of it talking with the police.
  
  Time -3
  
  There were two main paths I could take. The dimly lit path was longer and would take more time (around 5 shakes of a fish's tail), but I would only be able to take the dark path (which took 3) if I had something to light the way.
  
  > take the longer path
  Time -5
  
  The dim lights overhead made for a pretty backdrop for an evening stroll. I tasted the water on the tip of my tongue, sweet and refreshing. All those nights I spent curled up in bed with a book, I should have spent out here, where the stunning, serene solitude held the promise of a great time. I knew I did not have time to stop and smell the flowers, not when my life could be in danger any second. But it was just one path and I would arrive at the station, ready to begin life as a breaker.
  
  I know, I mentioned it many times. But there it was, stuck to my mind. It made me unable to pretend that this lighted path was made of fireflies... or even better, stars. Stars, jewels in the sky that so many of the Ones Above owned. Was the sky like a ceiling and the stars like little lights? For once, I did not care - I could call the sea my sky, and call the lights my stars. And I could enjoy myself like the Ones Above must have done every night... at least, until the nagging voice returned. Until it started to drag me back to plain old reality.
  
  But reality was no longer so old or so plain now that I changed what was real.
  
  The path soon diverted into several others, and the lampposts were not as bright. The lack of light made me feel uneasy, but I knew that was why the station was chosen. When I finally arrived, I felt highly relieved. I rushed to fin Lindy amidst the various people crowding around with bags of their belongings. The pieces of their old lives that they were going to bring to their new one. There were less than a dozen, most of which were young. A familiar mermaid led the way, bringing the breakers to the border between the Safe World and beyond. Lindy was staring at everything, stupefied, and looked at me as if she did not believe I was real.
  
  Never had it all felt so real as that moment. Everything before could have easily been a dream, a life lived without living. But here, even the water felt different. It had a certain quality to it that felt dreamlike, yet real. My senses were heightened and I took in the wonders of the night. Untainted by artificial lights, alone in its mysterious beauty. A sort of mystique with a tinge of what I could only identify as adventure.
  
  If there was any moment that I had to label as the turning point of my life, it was this. I could tell that Lindy felt it too. She grabbed my wrist a little tighter, lugging her bag behind her. In the distance, a few vehicles came into the distance.
  
  "Escape pods," the mermaid was saying. "We'll escape in these. Now come on, let's not keep the breakers waiting."
  
  We did not want to, but it appeared that the leader had other plans.
  
  > Attack at the platform
  From every angle, police officers, inspectors, and trained fighters emerged. "Don't move or we'll shoot!"
  
  No one obeyed. Charging themselves into the fight, dodging bullets and disarming the police, yet-to-be-breakers were everywhere, their plans for escape left aside. While a few breakers did enter the Safe World and join the battle, most stayed outside where it was safe.
  
  "It's the rookies' fight," One of them said. "To escape is the first test."
  
  So we fought. I did not keep track of how many people I pushed down (the answer is not many) but I used all I had. My large bag was the perfect weapon for delivering heavy blows, and I revisited all the martial arts my grandma taught me. Upper punch, side kick, let those two men collide with one another... it was exhilarating.
  
  Injured but unfazed, I let the blood pool off me. Clumpy patches of purple tinted the water, but I went on. It was some time before I realized that Keybreak was the only thing that kept me surviving - by controlling water currents, many bullets fell short of my skin. Close up fights were harder, but if I could get Keybreak in contact with an enemy's skin, the key told them stories that beckoned to them to surrender. Stories that never ended well, no matter what the protagonist did.
  
  I was glad those stories were not told to me.
  
  It was great fun and I actually felt like a hero. For once, I was part of a team that both needed and depended on me. We worked well together, getting rid of the leader's team one by one. We picked up our fallen members, continued fighting, and led the way to a glorious future. But I knew that our success would not last long - we were few, and more back up teams were on the way. The crowd began to thin as most people rushed to the border of the Safe World, trying to get into the escape pod before it was too late. I followed, shooting at a few other soldiers and missing. Ugh, I hated how they had bullet proof vests.
  
  I could almost taste the saltiness of the outside sea, the waters that marked the start of my freedom. So close, within my grasp. I reached out, running, painfully aware that of all the people before, only five of us was going to make it. Hearing Lindy pant behind me, I kept running, glad that she made it.
  
  Until I heard her cry out, and in a moment of weakness, I turned.
  
  A strong officer had her hands behind her back, twisting them so the pain rendered her incapable of movement. Another held a gun at a distance, prepared to shoot. They did not notice me yet, but they had the most evil of grins.
  
  All my moments of heroism would be nothing if I turned to cowardice now.
  
  But freedom. It outstretched its hands to me, beckoning me towards the life I had always wanted. I heard a breaker call to me, telling me to hurry. How could I choose? I took a breath, and ran.
  
  > Ran towards the escape pod, leaving sentiment and weakness behind
  Like the ending of a movie, I sailed off in the distance. I ought to be happy, didn't I? I ought to smile, or celebrate, or feel some sense of accomplishment. But I simply felt emptiness, a hollow numbness like my heart had been viciously ripped out.
  
  "Don't worry, kid. You'll soon get the hang of it; you're already doing better than I did. No emotions, remember. Oh, and gum's delicious."
  
  "Ms. Johnson?" She had that distinct sarcastic voice that made me question whether or not gum was really delicious.
  
  "Just say Sara - I guess you're sort of a friend now. Oh, you're surprised. Again. What's with people? All breakers have to consider each other as friends. Ah, and if you want to widen your eyes and gasp even more, a stunning view awaits us."
  
  I looked out of the window of the escape pod, but there was just inky blackness. Was this what I had led Lindy to? A land where she may never be happy again? It was not right, but I could not have sacrificed myself for her either. We were all given one life, but it was not ours to give away... or was it?
  
  I could not bare to look out anymore, but Sara rolled her eyes. "Impatient as ever. Let me guess - you're going to say something about not being sure if I'm joking, and I'll ask you to decide-"
  
  I cut her off. "I'm not your brother."
  
  She laughed, and I was surprised again. It sounded so genuine for someone who had been through so much that I just had to ask. "Did you mean what you said about wanting your brother to die so you have no weaknesses?"
  
  "I feel like you're talking about something, but referring to something else."
  
  "Yeah. Lindy. I can't believe I just left her there... she had always looked out for me. The one person that was my one tie to the Safe World... just gone."
  
  "Hey, kid, something about this job is that people die. More often than you'll like. And when that happens, you remember that they did it because of a greater purpose - getting to the Ones Above. That, and toppling the tyrant on the throne. I know you're suffering and my brother's probably better for motivational speeches and heartwarming stuff, but we're here. You've made it. And the past is over, decisions made... but if you want Lindy's death to be for a purpose, put a smile on your face. See the rest of the sea for her, and remember her as the source of inspiration that got you thus far. Think of what Lindy would say if she were here at this moment, and know that she would not approve of you mourning her death just after you've escaped."
  
  I did not care that Sara read most of that out from a website from her phone, but it felt so... right. Lindy would be smiling, joking about how we would finally get our happily ever afters. She deserved so much more, but if the legends were right, she was now with the Ones Above, sipping afternoon tea in a large, fancy palace. Her prince and one true love must be seated besides her, showering her in compliments and praises.
  
  "I'll get there someday soon, Lindy," I promised. "I'll see you in the upper world as soon as we break out of here."
  
  Sara smiled, and said, "Now that you've gotten that out of the way, it's time to look outside the window. And this is not a prank - trust me. It's just the best part."
  
  > The breakers' secret base
  From the darkness, they emerged. Carriers of light, a multitude of sparkles in the darkest depths of the ocean. It felt magical, an illusion woven within the solid feel of the pod. It lasted for less than a second, but left a lasting memory - a memory as I stared open mouthed at the wonders of the sea, the little wave of lights, a sign of how much many more things I had yet to see. It reminded me that even though the sea may be wild, dark and lonely, it was only at times like these that bright lights would come and lead me to a new part of life. As they came closer, I realized that the creatures were stingrays. About a million of them, with little torches stuck to their tails, leading the way. The escape pods were powered down, and blinds covered the windows.
  
  "Security feature," Sara said. "It might be a bumpy ride, but if you like rollercoasters, you're going to be fine. And rumour has it that the entire breakers base is underground, beneath the seabed."
  
  "Seabed Stingray," I wondered aloud. If Keybreak was not exhausted from the earlier fight, it could probably stop the strange look Sara was sending my way.
  
  The we fell.
  
  The entire pod plummeted down for a few seconds, achieving a sense of weightlessness, like an elevator that traveled a little too quickly. Stopping suddenly, I had the impression that we were suspended in air, where water could barely have much control over the pod. Then we fell again, this time to the right. Back and forth, we we thrown around until we managed to get our seatbelts on. A slight tilt to the left and right was often followed by a vigorous rising or dropping. At one point, it certainly felt as if we were completely upside down, with the blood rushing directly to my head.
  
  It was over far too quickly, just as I began to enjoy the dizzying sensation. Even my favourite rollercoasters had never been so wild. But with the breakers, I supposed that everything came with an extra dose of danger.
  
  We arrived at a large building, with several buildings coming out of it. That's the best way I could describe it without sounding too strange. Like a tree grows, the building separated into many different buildings, each with a different label. I found 'residential areas', 'planning place' and 'eateries'.
  
  "Welcome to the Breakers," Sam Johnson said. "Everyone else's just getting freshened up - briefing with the... um, bosses... start soon. We used to call them leaders, but after the S.W's- which is the Safe World's - leader did not give a name and was simply called 'leader', we had to change the term to prevent association with him."
  
  "Right, let's just let the little girl meet the people she wants to before her fans get to her," a random passing lady said. "I'll introduce myself later in the meeting," she told me, waving as she left.
  
  "If you were expecting more, the celebration happens after the briefing," Sara said. "But from what I heard, I don't think you're going to be attending."
  
  "Why not?"
  
  "Enough has been said." Sam Johnson escorted his sister away. "Go up to that counter there and ask for directions. They know where every breaker in the base is... except for the anonymous ones and lea- bosses who decide to go incognito."
  
  > attend the briefing (you would not be able to visit the other options after this)
  The room was a filled with peculiar looking chairs that were shaped like shells. Some people were already in these chairs, or at least, that must have been the reason why it's interior it was fully covered. Slipping into one of the many vacant spots, I let the front part slide down.
  
  The chair and the room of chairs disappeared, leaving only a stage in front of me. Three people stood behind three tall panels - I recognised Ben from before, and the new beard did not suit him well; there was another man with red hair (it looked completely unnatural as people rarely dyed their hair in the Safe World) and metallic chains around his neck in the shape of eels, with the name on the panel saying 'Octi, leader of the Lawbreakers; there was also the lady that I saw earlier when I first entered the breakers' base. She was now adorned with seashells and according to the panel, she was called Estra, the leader of the Breaker of People.
  
  She smiled at the room, saying, "Welcome. This simulator is designed to make it feel like we're talking to each one of you individually, and it would be useful when we need to say a few things to some of you in private. Turnout was considerably higher than last time - the last meeting was filled with a lot more deaths and double spies... it was horrible, really. But not to fear - you've all made it! Congrats, you've earned your title of breaker, everyone! I just want you to take one second to think about what you went through, to examine your choices along the way."
  
  After a moment of silence, Octi spoke up. "I can't lie to you - it's not gonna be easy from this moment on. You might have been spoiled with comfortable lives and the lack of need for hard work, but that's all going to change. We will work you around the clock, train you the first thing every morning... and for the rest of the day. And if you want to quit, it's too bad. You're already here. So just sit tight and try not to burn yourself out on day one."
  
  There was an awkward silence before Ben chimed in. "Octi, you shouldn't scare them all immediately. Hey, newlings, things wouldn't be too bad - the first half of your training's just gonna be simple stuff like locating your way around the compound, basic fighting and combat lessons, getting used to the conditions outside in the event you need to walk back from the Safe World or you get stranded... don't worry about your specialist assignments yet - it'll be years before you will get those and your quests. One more thing - enjoy yourself! It's been said often, but not oftenly enough in the right scenarios. So now that we've introduced ourselves... we didn't quite get to the introductions, did we?"
  
  They shrugged, and Estra said, "My name's here, my specialty's here on this panel... and I can be nice, but cross me, and I'll break you."
  
  "There's nothing any of them needs to know about me," Octi said.
  
  "So... Octi's the kind of guy that acts tough, but give him a compliment and he'll turn into mush."
  
  "Shut up, Ben. You're the kind of guy that enjoys making jokes at people's expense to the point where a mission gets sabotaged."
  
  The silence had never felt more heavy than that moment. Averting his eyes, Octi muttered something and looked down at his papers. Ben's eyes hardened and his muscles clenched. As for Estra, she tried to smile at us. Knowing that the problem was not going to solve itself, she stood up and said, "That pretty much sums it up. You'll be making enemies and friends at the breaker base, your new home. Work hard, but don't forget to relax. Soon, you would be assigned to your classes and join the new batch of students from two weeks ago and a month before. They're pretty new here too. Bye!"
  
  Everything faded to black, except that it did not end quite there. After a while, I was still back at that place, watching Ben throw Octi an angry glare.
  
  "Boys, behave yourself. Our special guest is here. Emeza!"
  
  "Oh... hi." Ben sheepishly looked up and said, "I guess we're going to play a video now. Just wait for a few seconds..."
  
  The whole place transformed again, and it was all black. This time, however, my grandma stood in the middle. She looked younger than a 70 year old ought to be.
  
  "It's pre-recorded." I heard Octi's voice from somewhere in the darkness just as grandma came up to me."
  
  "My darling Emeza. If you're hearing this, you must have came all the way to our little base with the special key. How's this for an adventure? I have to say, I was worried as you were so young, but I knew it from the last time I visited home - you were meant to be a breaker. And not just any normal breaker, a specialist. I may sound hasty, but we've been waiting for a long time. Ever since you were nothing more than a crying infant, Keybreak had always taken a shine to you. In the event that I'm not around to do this, the leaders- sorry, bosses - will assign you to one of the specialties. I have my suspicions based on my last visit, but by this time you're hearing this, Ben has made it to the top wanted list like me. So a guy named Sam Johnson would be observing you... sort of like a stalker and bodyguard in one. All the best, my darling, and I'm extremely proud of you."
  
  It faded away, and I was back in the chair. The top was raised, and three people stood in front of me.
  
  "Based on the information we have collected, we have decided on the speciality for you."
  
  > Undetermined
  "That... interesting. We actually do not have an exact assignment for you, Emeza," Ben said. "But I guess we could let you choose."
  
  "Or give her a few tests to see how she reacts," Octi said. "That works too."
  
  "Hmm... or we could always get her to think about the end mission - the one where she breaks out to the world of the Ones Above. Let's see... Emeza, would you prefer to steal the Fs-83, convince the inventor who just refuses to co-operate to give us the password for unlocking it, or have to study some complex motions and break all the Physics laws to free the Fs-83 from gravity and let it move upwards?"
  
  "See, when you put it like that, Estra, joining the breaker of people sounds like the easiest option."
  
  She shrugged. "It is. But I guess that if you like creeping around in the shadows, infiltrating highly protected areas and reading Robin Hood, you can go over there with Ben."
  
  "Or you could join me and break the laws. That's the most fun and daring option."
  
  "In your opinion."
  
  "Which is the opinion of a lot of people."
  
  "So, Emeza, what would it be?" Ben asked. "It should not be too big of a choice - you'll just have to go on one quest to earn the title of a specialized breaker, and it'll most likely involve saving your grandpa. After that, just complete your final quest, and you'll be good to go... to the land of the Ones Above."
  
  > want to be a Lawbreaker
  From what I heard, the lawbreakers had it easy - no heavy classes, no intense training. Just rebelling. A few students made remarks about how Octi would try to intimidate me, and if I obeyed, he could even make me his personal slave. If I were to challenge him, however, he would commend my 'ruthless streak' and send me on my first mission.
  
  Most new students were simply getting used to the lower oxygen levels, finding their way around the campus, and familiarizing themselves with breaker life. Other lawbreakers were off challenging and breaking the law in the Safe World, causing distractions so that stealthier missions could be carried out. But there were two lawbreakers - the lawbreakers and the lawbreakers. I never really found out what the emphasis was for, and no one wanted to tell me without Octi's permission.
  
  He had invited me to his office several times, and when I went there, no one was around. It was infuriating, really. I would receive a letter or a note with the place I ought to go, and every time, without fail, Octi was not around. My grandpa's condition was getting worse, and as I told Octi in my last note, if he did not meet me, assign me a class to attend, or send me on my first mission, I would break out with Keybreak.
  
  Keybreak, the uncooperative key. It indirectly told me that I had to get a mission before it would reveal what I had to do... with a spy story, of course. Yet there was still no note from Octi.
  
  Then he told me to meet him in his classroom just as I started reading a book to grandpa. He clutched my hand, saying, "Finish it. Suspense... too great...Em."
  
  I wanted to leave to save his life, but then I realized - what would I think if I returned, only to find him gone? The thought was too much to bear. Knowing firsthand how agitated books could make me, I had to be by him the whole time. I sent a note back to Octi to wait, and soon, minutes turned to hours before the book was done.
  
  A head of spiky red peeked into the room, and Octi bounded onto one of the spare beds. "Thought you wanted to meet."
  
  "Well, here you are," I said. "Where have you been all week?"
  
  "Avoiding you."
  
  "What? Why?"
  
  "To see if you had the courage to break a few rules. And you are, which means... come on, drumrolls please!" No drumrolls sounds entered, and Octi seemed genuinely annoyed. "Fine, I'm just going to say it uneventfully - You, Emeza Mer, are going on your first mission to prove yourself as a lawbreaker."
  
  "Because... I did not attend the meeting today?"
  
  "Yes! Exactly! I've set a stage for you in the Safe World, and you're going to be the one and only lawbreaker to breaker almost all of the Physics laws."
  
  "But I thought-"
  
  "Yes, they all do. But being the second, more exclusive kind of lawbreaker is sort of like having magic - you would soon be able to fly. Don't look so shocked - we would break the laws from bottom to top. Least important to most important. When that's done, we'll leave the last two to the special day. The rest would be performed on the stage in front of the unveiling of Physics laws in the new park. It's being moved there, and if the laws are not broken in front of that paper, you might not be able to defy gravity."
  
  "Gravity? You want me to defy gravity?"
  
  "Like I said - start from the bottom. Now, let's get to work."
  
  > You're ready to break the laws... Of physics
  "It's going to be simple," Octi said. "You have the laws, you break them. But if you want to know how, you'll find out by yourself."
  
  "Aren't you supposed to be my teacher?" I asked. "Other breakers have someone who teaches them and someone who-"
  
  "You're not other breakers. In fact, you're not even other lawbreakers. Being part of this group mean that you get full freedom to do as you like."
  
  "So I need to break laws despite not knowing how? Okay, working my way up from the bottom... I have to create or destroy energy?"
  
  "Both. Create and destroy."
  
  "How?"
  
  "Think."
  
  I thought hard, but there seemed to be no direct way of attempting it. I opted for a creative yet unconventional solution. "I'll make a cake, and call the cake 'Energy'. Since I've created the cake, I have created energy. And I'll smash it, destroying 'Energy'."
  
  I expected Octi to laugh, or jeer in my face. He didn't. instead, he looked more thoughtful than I had ever seen him look, and he said, "That's new. You've got a real knack for this - you solved that a lot quicker than any other person had ever done before. Now try the next one."
  
  "Something about thermodynamics, research later... I have to just not research thermodynamics and I'll be fine?"
  
  "Yeah, that's surprisingly simple. Third one on the list?"
  
  "Blah blah blah, the speed of light has to be consistent. I can grab a torch and run at different speeds."
  
  "You're on a roll - once you've cracked the first part, the rest just get easier... except the last two. But ignore those for now, focus on the next one."
  
  "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."
  
  "Oh, that one's sorted for you. If you get enough of those laws broken, the audience will be shocked by your ruthless streak. Shock's opposite reaction is boredom, so if you get too many wrong, you'll fail this one too."
  
  "How many do I have to get correct to be a lawbreaker?"
  
  "There are 5, so at least 3. There's one more - net force = mass x velocity."
  
  "Can I just draw a line across the equals sign so it does not equal?"
  
  He blinked, surprised. Evaluating my answer, he sat still for a while. My heart hurried - did he regret his decision to let me get my first mission? Instead, he grinned widely. "That's what I call genius. Don't need to go about trying to create a force and measure all those factors like mass and velocity. Just keep it simple. Get up early tomorrow - we're breaking back into the Safe World!"
  
  > Return
  I had been studying for hours, going through the laws one by one. In the end, I spent way too long reading through cake recipes and ending up going to bed late, so I made up for my lost sleep in the escape pod. Bad mistake. It was bumpy and noisy, and Octi would not stop listening to his loud, loud music. I arrived at the performance half asleep, with bags under my eyes and very tiny pupils.
  
  These were not bags that porters would carry up to your hotel room, but bags that held the weight of all the mistakes you made - not sleeping enough, spending too long getting caught up in a book...
  
  And letting Keybreak suck me into a new story. It was an amazing story about how a vial of medicine that could cure starfish poison would belong to an eccentric man who ran multiple circus shows. Everyone had to do something strange, whether it was walking on their noses (it was found out to be a breaker who broke the law of gravity and was promptly arrested), eating up a cake made entirely of seabed (icky) and singing horribly... with your teeth. The last one meant clashing and gnashing your teeth over and over again to make enough noises that it became a song.
  
  That man was likely to attend my performance.
  
  All through the night, I had held grandpa's hand, telling him he would be alright. His breathing had drastically stilled, he did not open his eyes, but I found a single tear fall from his eye. I did not leave him until morning.
  
  "Florencia Menera! Vanquisher of the Physics Laws! In these outrageous acts, she would attempt to break 5 laws and would not be bound to the rules of the higher beings!"
  
  I came onto the stage, and people clapped. Applause was scattered, but it was better than silence. When fans reached out, they seemed to expect me to throw something over to them. It was bound to help pleasing the crowd and adding to the surprise factor later on.
  
  [Note: Shock factor depends on how much you please your audience, which could be correctly breaking the laws, but also shocking them]
  
  > just proceed without throwing anything
  The announcer returned to the stage, and called out, "For the first act, she would break the last law - that energy cannot be created or destroyed!"
  
  "Oooohhhh!" Someone in the crowd called out, and the voice was joined by several others. Looking down into the glare of the light, I noticed that it was Octi. He gave me the thumbs up sign, and I began making my cake.
  
  With layers of icing and a lot of sweeteners, it took a long time to build. The crowd grew restless and agitated, asking me to hurry. Several dancers, magicians, and comedians came up, trying to cheer the bored audience, but I hurried on. I was a mess, half exhausted to death. A melted, badly iced cake was in front of me, left too long in the oven that it began to burn. About to have a mental breakdown, I leaned into the cake.
  
  "She made a cake!" the announcer called. "What are you going to do with the cake?"
  
  "Ummm... break the law?"
  
  "And how are you going to manage that?"
  
  "I... I will call the cake."
  
  Everyone looked more than confused. "Call the cake?" the man echoed.
  
  "Call the cake... Energy." I clarified. Everyone nodded, relieved that the performance could go on.
  
  "You look like you certainly need energy, haha. Now, what do you plan to do with the cake?"
  
  > give it to the audience
  "Let them eat cake!"
  
  The ravenous crowd rushed to it, and everywhere was chaos. Not particularly enjoying the cake as much as they did a chance to feed their non nourished selves, they dug in. I smiled from the stage, at least, until i saw Octi. He had his head in his hands, and looked at me with frustration painted all over his countenance.
  
  "What!" he mouthed. "Are you insane?"
  
  I was too tired to care.
  
  The announcer came back onto the stage, and said, "After that... unexpected turn... I guess we'll continue to the next law, shall we? We have the law of thermodynamics and we have to research it."
  
  "Thermo...dynamics? Is it dynamic? Ah, it has something to do with a thermos, does it? I want to find out..."
  
  "No!" Octi rushed up and said "Is the curse taking hold? The rumours of a curse are just rumours, aren't they? Just keep going, Emmy, and don't fall prey to it."
  
  "To what?"
  
  "Remember what you're here for!"
  
  "I know... thermodynamics. Did I get it right, teacher?"
  
  "You did so well yesterday! Come on, Emmy, just break 'em all. Break past this."
  
  "Why are you calling me Emmy?"
  
  "It's a nickname. Just- Get on with it. Please."
  
  I sighed. There was more to do, wasn't there? I turned to the laptop.
  
  > Google thermodynamics
  thermodynamics
  
  [?θ??m?(?)d??'nam?ks]
  
  the branch of physical science that deals with the relations between heat and other forms of energy (such as mechanical, electrical, or chemical energy), and, by extension, of the relationships between all forms of energy.
  
  Several websites explained the definition to me, and I found myself understanding the term better. It was a part of science, and covered topics such as heat and energy. But why was it such a taboo term that we were not allowed to google it?
  
  Then I thought about it again, and realized that we were meant to google it. What did this mean - did the Ones Above want us to start up a thermodynamics class in every school? I wondered how happy the teachers at the Scholar Ship would be to significantly alter the program. Looking up, I saw the disappointment of the audience.
  
  "You were going to break the laws, not follow them. Or you could get any yes man to do it all if you were just going to play by the rules. Booorrring!"
  
  "I really wasted my time being here today."
  
  "Vanquisher of laws... yeah right. More like vanquisher of time and expectations."
  
  "Worry not, because the show's not over." He came back, hosting the event, announcing the title of my next act. I was glad - he could not have chosen a better time; one of the members of the vicious audience wanted to start throwing shoes at me. "I introduce the law of the speed of light. It has to be-"
  
  "I know this one," I muttered, hoping to get it right. Grabbing a torch, I got ready to run.
  
  > The speed of light has to be confident
  After that statement, I held up my torch. Marching was confident, wasn't it? One foot at a time. Like the common advice, take it one step at a time. I marched on with the light, confidently, head held high.
  
  "Is this a comedy?" A voice from the crowd pricked at my anger, so I clenched my jaw and my fists while trying my best to be confident. If I was confident, would my light be the same? Was it the light, or the speed of it? I was just so tired that I could barely move on, but I did. Striding across the stage, I scoffed at the crowd.
  
  "What are you doing?" The curtain seemed to ask me the question. Ignoring the curtain, I went on... until I remembered. Did I not have to break the law?
  
  "Everyone, that was a demonstration of what it means for light to be confident. Now, the speed of light would be timid!" I shuddered and shook and shivered, and curled into a little ball. I could sleep there, but sleeping meant I was confident that everything would go well, which I was not. Instead, I pretended to be shy and hid my face.
  
  "Where did the speed of light being confident even come from?" the curtain hissed in a pained voice.
  
  "Shut up," I mumbled. "I'm jumbled and tired enough as it is."
  
  "Emmy, what is happening to you? Light has to be consistent!"
  
  "That's what I said."
  
  "No, no, it's not. Do you know what consistent means? Oh no, it's too late now..."
  
  The announcing man took the stage. "Guess that's... it is what it is, and that's the only commentary I'll be giving. On to the next part, the audience reaction. Stand in a line, and tell us - how many of you are shocked? How many bored?"
  
  > Equal reaction
  "That's not good," Octi sighed. "You already had all the ideas, Emmy, what's so hard with putting them to work?"
  
  "In case you have not noticed, I did not get much rest last night."
  
  "Most breakers are used to having missions all through the night... the longest mission record was held by a lady who was on the same mission for a year. Gaining the trust of the people around her, breaking in and stealing only to play the detective the next day... and you say you're tired. What did I say when all you new ones first arrived?"
  
  "I just need three out of five," I said.
  
  "But if you want to get the seashell fever cure from an eccentric man who's here today, you might want to get four out of five."
  
  That came as a shock to me - Octi knew? He mistook my knowing that he knew for surprise that there was a cure.
  
  "Why else would I get you here today instead of just getting a breaker and enterer to steal the paper with the Physics laws?"
  
  I was more determined than ever, and decided to do well on the last challenge. The net force law was often seen as a net, holding all the other laws together. For now, it would be... broken!
  
  > Net force multiplied by mass does not equal velocity
  The crowd cheered and clapped, but a murmur of uncertainty passed through the back. It gained momentum, questioning, intrusive, and soon, only a few confused claps surfaced.
  
  "Interesting. You, you, you are Florencia, aren't you, you you?"
  
  "Yes, I am Florencia. I, I, I am Florencia?" A strange man came up, with a loud purple T-shirt and something like a handcuff around his neck. Did he have to repeat the word 'you' three times? And who was he? His metallic, bright coloured clothes style was similar to that of Octi.
  
  "He is the Repeater," Octi said, nodding to the peculiar man. "And not just because he repeats words, but because he made an entire career out of repeating acts that is audience enjoys."
  
  "Does this mean that other lawbreakers came here before?" I asked. "So he's repeating this breaking the laws act?"
  
  "Ah, yes. I, I, I have seen other breaking the laws performances, and they are very good, good, good. Then I allowed you, you, you to be here, here, here."
  
  I remembered the face of the man and the self given name of the 'Repeater'. "Mr. Repeater, if you don't mind, I will need to borrow a-"
  
  "A vial, vial, vial."
  
  "Yes, yes, yes."
  
  "Good, good, good. Now, why are you, you, you copying my style?"
  
  "Oh, I'm not-"
  
  "Net force is equal to mass multiplied by velocity, velocity, velocity. Remember that. Sorry that I had to interrupt before you said not, not, not. It's my repetition, not yours, yours, yours."
  
  "Right. I have to be frank - could I borrow the vial?"
  
  Looking genuinely confused, he said, "You said you were Florencia, Florencia, Florencia. Now why are you Frank, Frank, Frank?"
  
  "It's an expression... nevermind that. Can I get the vial?"
  
  "I give every performer one, one, one thing."
  
  "Even... if I did not break at least 4 laws?"
  
  "Who cares?"
  
  "You didn't repeat-"
  
  "Cares, cares? Take it and be gone, gone, gone. The police might be on the way, to kill, kill, kill the breakers... and yes, of course i know you are one of them, them, them. Better be fast. Don't wait, wait, wait. And make sure the Octopus does not leave you behind."
  
  "The Octo- Octi? You call him Octopus? But why-"
  
  "He has a lot of connections, like legs. Octi's not his real name, name, name, but he never tells anyone what it really is."
  
  "Never knew that. Thanks for the vial, Repeater."
  
  "Bye, bye, bye!
  
  I turned, and saw Octi in the distance.
  
  > Breaking news
  Police came for me, all poised to kill. No one in the crowd moved to defend me, but the cowards just ran. The Repeater was the largest coward, saying, "I don't know anything, anything, anything. She took me as a hostage. A hostage! A hostage!" Not that it mattered, I was the only one they were after.
  
  Out of the corner of myself, I saw a flash of red hair. Octi. Had he come to rescue me? Instead, he grabbed the loudspeaker and said, "You guys can have Emeza Mer. She failed as a lawbreaker, and we have no use for her anymore. Bye!"
  
  My plans for escaping the Safe World again was as dim as the truck I was placed in - it was pitch black. I could not make out the shape of my fingers every when they were placed directly in front of my eyes. I yelled, "Octi," and "Sara," until I had went through the names of all the breakers I knew. No one heard, no one cared. Worst of all, my grandpa's life was doomed.
  
  When I was out from the truck, a dozen reporters snapped pictures of me, and live recordings labeled 'Breaking news - most renowned Emeza Mer gets into the Scholar Ship but rejected by the breakers', 'Money can't buy this breaker teen's path to freedom', and the most hurtful, 'Her parents changes minds. She gets sent to the MindChange.' That last one felt like a stab to the gut, reminding me of how successful my parents were at all they did, when I failed to even become part of the breakers.
  
  I had let my family down, I had let my friends down, and I had let myself down. Nothing even seemed to matter anymore.
  
  "Hey, reporters, how about this for a caption: The only thing Emeza Mer will every break again is the news?"
  
  They hurriedly scribbled it down, their successes about to bloom from the soil of my failure.
  
  > MindChange
  "Hello. We've just been experimenting with a new product that was made some time ago by a man called Krane Zulone. Do you know him?"
  
  I blinked. "I... what's a man? What's a product? And... I've heard the word experimenting before..." My mind felt blank, empty. But with it came a tranquility that a cluttered mind could not offer-"
  
  "Woah, her brain's going off the chart."
  
  "That's probably the new personality being implanted in her. Okay, girl, your name is now Werna Livestone. Can you remember that?"
  
  I nodded. "Of course. But the poetic strings of the word brings such emotions-"
  
  "Was the personality that of a poet?"
  
  "...Yeah. That obvious, huh?"
  
  "We'll need to do a few more tests before we can release this product and claim Krane Zulone's invention as our own. As for that girl - her mind's broken."
  
  "No, not broken," a lady said from the background. "You're not the breakers, after all. Her mind's simply changed, 'cause we're the MindChange... except me. I'm a breaker. With this new recipe that I stole, I'll one day get the true Emeza Mer back. Come along, kiddo, I'm Sara Johnson, your new best friend. We're going to have to break out all over again, but this time, things would hopefully be better."
  
  I did not understand the complexities of the human mind, but I knew how to run when I had to. With my new best friend, perhaps the night would not be so dark after all.