text: "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 Breaker and Enterer
  "Rumour. You spread them all around the Safe World - about the breakers, about who the bad guy is, about yourself. Everything you do revolves around rumours and changing the mind of the public. But you're a genius, and intelligence always boasts to an audience. Just could not resist it, could you? To gloat into my face when I found out that you told me the password. Yet, I'm a breaker. Not just your ordinary citizen. By paying attention to detail, I can break into almost any place. Including... the Fs-83."
  
  That talk sounded amazing, but it would have been all for nothing without the actual code. I entered it anyway, feeling more sure by the minute. Leader kept a blank face, but as I entered, his look was one of disbelief.
  
  "They don't call us the breakers and enterers for no reason. I broke the code, I entered the ship... and ah, this is cool. I get to access the door in front of me, and sail off to freedom!"
  
  It was not as cool and heroic as I made it sound - I bashed down a few displays (making those accidents seem like intentional moves to show my hatred for the leader), and I turned the ship the wrong way around several times. The thing was very sensitive, and I had hardly any driving experience. When I finally made it out, I noticed the police after me... and I sped away. It was certainly an advantage to be in the fastest ship the entire world under the sea has ever seen.
  
  I made it out of the Safe World as night came swiftly, and it took me some time to realize that I did not really know how to return to the breakers' base. Staying still, I waited for Keybreak to be energized so it could lead me home. But as I was about to doze off, a distorted voice came from the speakers.
  
  "Meet me at the holographic simulator room, or your family will die."
  
  I entered the room, but no one was there. "Hello?" I called. "Is this some sort of joke?"
  
  No reply.
  
  "Hey! If you called me here, you can't force me to wait."
  
  In case this was some sort of trick, I jammed a stick between the door opening so I could not be trapped inside. "Hello! Where ae you? Fine, I'm leaving. Lousy sort of trick anyway."
  
  Just as I turned to go, I heard someone clear their throat behind me.
  
  > Chapter 5: The Final Breakthrough
  I turned around to see leader. Even without the shady long coat he wore in most announcements, I could recognise the mask. No one ever saw him without it. A man of darkish blue skin... he was quite old. And the way in which he sat on the chair betrayed a bad back.
  
  "Emeza Mer. A pleasure. As you should be able to see, I have invited your family here for a chat." The door closed behind me, and the scene transformed. In a luxurious room where every light in the chandelier was surrounded by pearls, I was a hologram. I barely made a 360 turn around the room before I saw them. My family. They were on the ground, gagged, hands tied to their back.
  
  "What did you do to them?"
  
  "They'll be released shortly, after I have a chat with you."
  
  "What sort of chat?" I sounded firmer than I was, and my voice did not betray the nervousness that I felt. Being in that room made everything seem so real, even though I knew that a swipe of my hand was enough to make the whole illusion crumble to nothing more than holograms.
  
  "You need not concern yourself with that - I'm just going to tell you all you need to know to make an informed decision."
  
  "Like you did with those disabled people, and the innocents that were in the breaker camps?"
  
  "A few bad decisions make one seem like the villain, doesn't it?" He seemed nonchalant, but I noticed a note of pity creeped into his voice. Real or manufactured?
  
  "So you made bad decisions. I'm guessing you're just going to excuse those as being 'uninformed' and be done with it, huh?"
  
  "I regret those, Emeza Mer. Every day of my life-"
  
  "If you truly regret it, you'll be haunted for all your nights. It'll make you lose sleep thinking about everything you could have done. The screams, the agony, the hurt. It'll come to you over and over again, relentless, unforgiving. Just like you. You'll never be our leader so as long as you mantain that evil soul."
  
  He nodded, with irritated me to no end. "Your tendency to recreate stories in real life has not escaped my notice. What am I - your worst villain? The boss fight?"
  
  "Don't flatter yourself. You're not my first adversary, nor my last. Now are we done with this useless conversation?"
  
  Slowly, he turned a sandglass on its head. "Time's going to be up soon, and your family would be free to go. Before we begin, is there anything else you would like to tell me, Emeza?"
  
  "I find it pathetic that you have to kidnap my parents just to get someone to talk to you. Do you considering getting any friends? Taking off that mask, perhaps?"
  
  "If you're just biding your time, I suggest we get on with what I had hoped we'll talk about."
  
  > chat with the leader
  "Let me tell you this - it's amazing how perceptive can change the entire picture. You started off by believing that the breakers were bad and me, the leader, good. Which I didn't particularly mind. But when you found out what I did to all those disabled people, the killings of the breakers fell on deaf ears. After all, they seemed better than what you initially thought, and I was worse than you originally thought. So a role reversal, good becomes bad... but now you're not sure, aren't you? No. Now that you're about to become more than a breaker, you feel unsure. So here you are, turning to me. Me, the very essence of confidence. Funny how things work."
  
  I was frustrated, yet I knew that talking to him was the only way to save my family. I might as well just leave, but I was worried that he would kill them. "Stop beating around the bush. Tell me everything you know, or I'll break you this very instant!"
  
  "Little wittle Emeza Mer. You know, I have always been great friends of your parents. Knew what an inquisitive child you were. And now, you didn't even stop to question what a bush is, but I'll tell you regardless. It's a plant that only exists in the world of the Ones Above."
  
  Barely able to hold back my rapidly rising temper, I growled, "What does that have to do with anything?"
  
  "Oh, it has to do with everything, you fiery little bug. And yes, I know exactly what a bug is. Hmm....... how should I say this?" The leader drew out his words without any indication of urgency of the situation; deliberately, slowly, unaffectedly. Unable to bear it any longer, I snapped.
  
  "Just say it. Or I would not waste a second longer dealing with you, you dirt dwelling tube worm!" I readied myself, about to break the man who broke many others before me.
  
  "At least allow me to tell you one last story, Emeza Mer," he said, his voice free from any note of worry or fear. "A story called 'The Truth'. A story that will prove to you that attempting to breach the boundaries is a waste of time. Because I know the Ones Above. And I know that they're not worth going to. They don't need our help; they never did. Not when you know what I know. Because you ought to remember this: the story is far from over. All this time, you have barely made it to the end of the first chapter. There is a plot twist, and it's up to you to figure it out. Now, why don't I give you a moral to help you? Riddles had always been your expertise, after all. "
  
  He leaned in, and I recoiled. Heaving a deep breath, he said, "No one ever said the heroes had to be right. No one ever said that the villains had to be wrong."
  
  "What?" My hand rolled itself up into a fist. "Enough with these riddles!"
  
  "Oh, figure it out. Nothing comes easy when you're dealing with the leader. Figure out the plot twist of your story - hint, it has to do with who I really am - and I'll tell you all you need to know."
  
  I glared at the leader, and my hard eyes melted into my triumphant grin. Never challenge a bookish girl on books. Piecing together all the facts, the leader's vast knowledge when it came world of the Ones Above, I finally understood.
  
  > just leave - it's not worth falling for his mind games
  I turned off the holographic simulator and left the little room. After everything, did leader really believe he could get me to abandon my entire mission just because he told me to? He was not the main objective here - there was only one thing that I had been working for up to this moment to defeat: the border between the worlds. Once that was over, everything would change. Allies would be gained, common enemies would be fought... it all relied on this one thing.
  
  Making a U-turn, I went back for the rest of the breakers. They almost did not believe it, but I got congratulated by most of them. It took a few hours to load up the Fs-83, but we managed to get it done in good time.
  
  "You'll be heading off soon, kiddo," Sara said. "Here's a letter from your grandma and grandpa; they are sorry for being unable to make it... but they're proud. Very."
  
  I took the little letter from their hands, and remembered that it was a letter which led up to all this. I opened it, and read the tiny, cursive font.
  
  'Dear Emeza,
  
  Well done. You passed the challenges, got the ship... and are ready to make it to the top. The both of us cannot believe what an amazing grandaughter you are! We're sorry for not being there on your special day, but you deserve all the happiness in the world. The most spectacular adventures await you as you cross into the lands unknown, but we know that whatever happens, you will be fine. No matter where you go, we'll be there with you. If not in person, then in the depths of your warm, caring heart.
  
  Lots of love, grandma and grandpa'
  
  I put down the letter, forcing the tears back into my eyes. It was not too much of an issue since the tears flowed away and my eyes did not look puffy. As Sara and Sam entered the ship, they started a whole speech about how I made this all possible. Was it possible for a heart to be filled with so much joy that it exploded? At this moment, I had almost everything that I could want - friends, an amazing adventure... it slightly saddened me that my grandparents could not be with me on this incredible journey. But they were in my heart, weren't they?
  
  The ship moved slowly, but soon, we were off. Everything went well. Before long, the moments of anxiety and well founded fear turned into laughter and stories around the wine table.
  
  I picked up a little book from a shelf and began to read. It had been so long since I last read a proper book, and I devoured up the story.
  
  I became so entranced that I hardly noticed that the chatter dying out, the muffled gasps and screams. In a world of my own, I had forgotten the luring, captivating power of a book, and I was now in the world of another writer's imagination.
  
  It was only when the book was finished did I realize the startling lack of oxygen... was the ship breaking apart? I looked up, only for my eyes to be filled with horror. A stowaway. I reached out immediately, but it was too late. Bits of metal from the Fs-83 were clumping around, bashing the sharks that came after us. I barely managed to hide in an undestroyed part of the original ship before I felt the angry tug of gravity against the force of the ship that pulled me upwards.
  
  I only had one thought in my mind, a silent whisper to the stowaway I saw.
  
  > Grandma?
  I guess I should have known all along that happy endings never came. Not in my life, at least. Whenever I said that I had wanted an adventure, I had meant that I wanted to feel accomplished. That I wanted to save the world, or some equally lunatic thing. Perhaps it stemmed from a deeper need, the need to feel... useful. To feel valued by society. But where had that led me? My grandpa dead. I failed to save my grandma. The entire ship, and all its passengers... all except me. They were... dead. I wished I could say that the word was a foreign concept, but now, I knew it so well.
  
  When your hope has been crushed this many times, you start to feel that maybe, happily ever afters are only found within the pages of a storybook. Maybe, it's something that only the very fortunate could gain possession of. So I gave up. I no longer wanted a happy ending that was worthy of the most epic novel, the novel which I used to think represented my life.
  
  I just wanted them to be alive.
  
  I just wanted to make it through the day without endangering another person.
  
  I just wanted to smile one last time. To enjoy the feeling happiness, to be sure that everything would be alright. Even if it was only a second, I wanted the dead to be alive and the sad to be happy. I needed that emotion more than ever.
  
  The currents carried me higher, and I no longer had to rely on my ship. While I still felt dizzy from the lack of oxygen in the water, I welcomed the lightheadedness with open arms. Would I find happiness as the water seeped into the ship and covered me with its suffocating, oxygenless blanket? My thoughts, jumbled as they would be, would be better than the torment that now left scars all over my heart. Dead, dead, dead. Death was cruel to take those with promising futures, but more cruel to leave others behind. Others like me.
  
  Slowly, my breathing escalated before slowing down. Where were the oxygen particles within the water? A sharp pain in my chest made me wonder how long it would be before my lungs collapsed... or had they already? I gasped, but the water in my throat was not the same as it used to be at the bottom of the ocean. It was saltier, more polluted, more poisonous. Every moment I spent wrestling with death was pure agony made worse by the fact that I was conscious. The memory of their deaths... while hope kept reassuring me that they would be alright, I didn't trust hope anymore. It was better to deal with their deaths now than later. Disoriented, I felt my cold fingers go numb. I could no longer tell if I was going up or down. As my vision began to fade, I let it all happen without fighting.
  
  Perhaps death had came to apologise.
  
  Perhaps he had come to take me too.
  
  Perhaps this suffering would come to an end...
  
  > To break out, you have to first break a part of yourself
  When I woke, everything was filled with an unnatural brightness. Heaven? The land of the Ones Above? Were those the same place? Groaning, I shut my eyes and turned away - the light was unbearable. I hoped this was not where I had to stay for all eternity.
  
  I heard a loud swishing sound, and the room became a whole lot better. While it was still quite bright, I managed to open my eyes for a fraction of a second. Improvement.
  
  "Hey, you alright? Here, have my sunglasses. You're probably not used to light after being at sea all day... which makes no sense when I say it.."
  
  Without questioning it, I took the sunglasses. I knew what glasses were, but I had a whole eternity to find out what a sun was. And find my grandparents, the breakers...
  
  "No! Don't sit up - your injuries are quite bad. But I just only rescued you from drowning - you made it to my boat and I got you away from the sea as soon as possible. A collapsed lung, your ribs are probably bad... and why are you blue?" The last part was said in a quiet, uncertain voice.
  
  So... not dead. I was not sure whether to be relieved or mad with death. I finally looked up, and promptly fell back into my bed in surprise. He had skin the colour of a seashells that were lightish hues of yellow, orange, brown and white... if those colours were to be blended in a smooth creamy mix. His hair was sandy brown with parts that seemed almost yellow in the light. Or gold, like Keybreak. While I could not tell from his skin, he seemed to be about about the same age as Sam Johnson, just a bit older.
  
  He also looked rather uncertain, not at all as regal or royal as I had pictured the Ones Above to be. Instead, he looked confused and lost.
  
  "Am I going crazy?" he mumbled, and I hoped he was not asking me for an answer. I didn't know if he was crazy. "You're blue, and on my bed, wearing my sunglasses... I must be dreaming. But why don't they work?"
  
  He kept checking his hands, as if a starfish would surface from it. Finally, he looked back at me. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's going on in my life. But if you're real, well... Hi. I'm Luke Dram- AH! YOU'RE DRYING UP! I probably should not scream, but you're skin's getting all crinkly..."
  
  He picked me up effortlessly and put me in something he called a 'tub'. Water - despite sucking all the oxygen away from me, it now felt so good. It ran back into my lungs, balancing out the over excessive amount of oxygen in the air. Closing the door behind me, Luke Dram-AH! went off, saying something about making a phone call. Having some time to sort things out in my mind, I tried to make sense of what had happened.
  
  I had made it to the land of the Ones Above.
  
  I barely escaped with my life.
  
  And I found out that my tale was a tragedy - I had to lose it all to realise that I had it all. There were days where I fantasised about adventures, and wondered what I needed to do to gain them. Sacrifice everything, it seemed, was the answer.
  
  You can't break out without first breaking a part of yourself.
  
  All along, it was the naive child in me that was the wisest. The one I condemned for not knowing how to write well, so long ago in the attic I'll never see again. But I could not stand this being the ending - where were the parties, the cheering, the celebrations? I felt no triumph, only emptiness. There was no joy in breaking out alone.
  
  The One Above left me in the strange thing called a 'tub' for quite a long time, but I did not mind the solitude. There was no way I would be prepared to talk to such an esteemed being after facing such a loss.
  
  I needed a way to know what truly happened to the ones I cared about.
  
  If only there was a way to find the end of my story...
  
  Not in any book, nor in any movie. In a very special magical item that could unlock the truth behind the tale.