Storms of sand ravaged his mindscape, a golden typhoon combatting the void's blackness. He reached forward and hoped someone, anyone could save him from this nightmare. It soon became difficult to breathe, his lungs filling with sand. Suddenly, there was the terrifying commotion of the sky bursting. It sounded like the heavens themselves were exploding.

The ocean of gold spiraled in circles, taking on the form an enormous funnel. It swallowed Rex whole, dragging the screaming boy into its depths. Then it became dark. Completely dark. Had he perished? Would he spend eternity like this? Existing in a plane alone and by himself? Just as he was on the verge of accepting the cruel fate a voice called for him, screaming loudly in repeated desperation. 

Reaching through the darkness was a bandaged covered hand. Without thinking, Rex tried to grab it though he soon came to realize he didn't seem to be tangible. It was like he was some kind of apparition. A ghost almost. But he had to try. Otherwise, he'd be doomed to spend the rest of his 'life' adrift in this abyss. 

Despite not having any hands or legs he did everything in his power to move closer to the hand. Miraculously, it was working. As he neared the hand a blinding light manifested in front of him. His destination beaconed for him, shining rays of luminescence as radiant as the sun. He smiled as he felt the hand wrap around his.

All at once, the abyss disappeared in its entirety. Surrounding him were mountains of sand, some even taller than the towers in Cordra District. The powerful winds of the storm shrieked like banshees. His skin was cracked and bruised whilst the inside of his mouth was almost as barren and dry as the desert itself. 

The one who'd grabbed him refused to let go. In fact, the individual had tightened his grip. He led him aimlessly through the sandy sea, a cloak concealing his face. But who was this stranger? Rex allowed the man to lead, not having the strength to resist.

"Don't worry . . . We'll be fine . . . That's a promise," the stranger muttered. Rex grew even more confused. What exactly was happening? Why were they in the middle of a desert? Perhaps it was too bold of him to dispute what the stranger said but it didn't seem like everything was going to be okay. Quite the opposite. "We'll be fine . . . You'll see. We'll find sanctuary soon enough."

Sanctuary? Rex finally mustered the courage to speak. "Excuse me, sir? Who are you and where are we? What do you mean by 'sanctuary' and how exactly did we get here? If you could answer any of those questions it surely would be a great help-" Rex stopped speaking after acquiring a better look at the stranger.

Buried inside of the torn cloak was that of pure white bone. No skin whatsoever. His eyes were hollow, red gleaming lights emanating out the empty sockets. Some of the teeth inside his decaying mouth were missing, one even dropping as the stranger opened and closed his jaw. Rex released a terrified scream and jumped back. 

He landed on his behind, his hands being swallowed in the sand. Rex laid there in horror as the walking skeleton limped closer. The bandaged covered roaming fossil stretched a lengthy arm towards the petrified boy. A skeletal hand reached for Rex's face, the foul-smelling order invading his nostrils. Tears filled Rex's eyes before he released one last scream of horror. 

When he opened his eyes again, he stared at a white ceiling. Rex laid in a bed in a brightly lit room. His head throbbed as he quietly absorbed his surroundings. To his shock, he found Chase sitting on a chair beside the bed, eyes closed and his arms crossed.

"Chase?"

Chase unlocked his sleepy eyelids. Upon meeting his brother's stare Chase pounced to the bedside. "You're awake! What a relief."

"My head hurts . . .What happened?"

"Basically you got knocked out. Some seekers brought you here so you could rest."

Rex froze. ". . . I got knocked out? Wait, did I fail the aptitude test?!!"

Before Chase could answer the door ahead of them opened. In walked Commander Keith, the large man entering with his arms tied behind his back. When he saw Rex awake he smiled. "I'm glad to see you've recovered," said the commander standing next to Chase. "I believe I owe you an apology. Because of my incognizance, a pair of my subordinates interfered with the examination." Rex aimed a confused glance. "When you took your test the conditions weren't entirely fair. For a completely idiotic reason, two of my soldiers schemed to make your test, in particular, more difficult than the others in hopes you'd fail. Luckily, because of your brother's sharp intuition and quick thinking, we managed to stop them before something serious happened."

"Someone tried to . . . Sabotage me? Why?"

Keith broadcasted a frustrated scowl. I can't believe I let those numbskulls oversee the control room. What was I thinking? He'd have to perform more security drills in the future to ensure something like this wouldn't happen again. "To put it bluntly, they believed you've yet to reveal everything you know regarding your time spent outside Sanctuary." The boy's eyes widened. "When you were discovered Sanctuary went into a state of panic. Many wanted you killed as a demonstration of what happens to someone when they break the king's rules."

"It's ridiculous," Chase grunted. "Why should a helpless and injured child receive such harsh punishments? It's unfair, especially in Rex's case. He has no clue where he came from. Hell, he doesn't even remember his original name."

"Right you are," responded Keith. "I too found it despicable when word came to me of a child possibly ending up with the death sentence. Luckily, it never came to pass. You were allowed to live in Sanctuary as one of us. However, do you remember what happened prior to your release?"

Rex thought long and hard. The first thing to cross his mind was seeing Alice's face for the first time. Oh, what a sight to behold- Idiot! Now's not the time!! Afterward, he'd been escorted to the royal castle by an entire squad of enforcers. 

He remembered the shocked and horrified faces of the crowd watching him. They acted as if he'd committed some heinous crime. When he arrived at the castle a trial was conducted discussing the matter of whether he should be killed or kept alive. 

To this day, Rex remembered when he'd first seen the king. His judgemental gaze still plagued Rex's nightmares. Ultimately, after Lucas suggested to the king he could remain alive if someone agreed to look after him, the trial was concluded. His sentence, to live his days in Sanctuary under the care of Matt Hunt.

Before he was sent to stay with his adoptive family, however, he'd been taken to a small room where a pair of enforcers questioned him. Sitting on the table separating the young child and the two men in black was a square-shaped device supposedly capable of deducing if one was lying or telling the truth. 

Every question they'd asked Rex would answer with a definitive "I don't know". Eventually, they concluded he really was clueless, the lie detector not going off even once. And that was that. He was adopted by the professor and his new life inside of Sanctuary officially began. There wasn't anything else to it.

"They bombarded me with a series of questions with respects to everything I knew. Questions like uh . . . Where did I come from and what relation did I have to the man who'd died. You know, stuff like that. Obviously I had no clue as to what they were talking about so they deemed me to be useless."

"While that may be true, there are those who think otherwise."

"What?"

"They predict there is a chance you might retain some of your lost memories later in life. The human mind is a mysterious thing. It isn't too far-fetched to conclude you might able to recall what happened prior to your discovery."

Rex was reminded of his constant nightmares. Sometimes he thought they were too vivid, too real to be just nightmares. What if they were something more? No, that's ridiculous. He shook his head, slumping deeper into the bed. All of this talk about sabotage and memories made his brain throb . . . Or maybe the neuronic waves were to blame? Speaking of which, there was still the matter of whether or not he passed.

"If I may, Commander Keith, I'd like to know my results."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Your results?"

"Yeah . . . Regarding my aptitude test, I mean. I want to know if you'd consider making me a seeker." He stared blankly at the sheet covering the lower portion of his body and grabbed it tightly. "I realize you can't give me a fair assessment due to the interference. It wouldn't be right for you to accept me based on what happened. Even so, I want to hear an answer straight from you."

"I thought it'd be obvious." Rex blinked several times in utter bewilderment. His reaction caused the commander to smirk. "Those waves you endured were at a higher intensity than the others. This technically means you withstood more than what was required. It's rare to meet someone with such a great level of perseverance. You must've had quite the fire in you, huh kid?"

"So, you're saying . . ."

"Both you and your brother passed. From this day forward you're now an official seeker cadet," he announced proudly. "Rex Hunt, it is my honor to welcome you to the Seeker Corps."

Am I still dreaming? Rex punched himself in the face, the force knocking his head to the pillow. The surprising action caught the commander and Chase completely off guard. Perhaps it was too extreme . . . Okay, it was too extreme, yet Rex needed to confirm he was indeed awake. Unfortunately, the punch knocked him unconscious, a line of blood escaping his left nostril.

His brother sighed. "What an idiot."

"Come, let's leave him be. He needs his rest," Keith said as he made his way for the door. "Besides, you've yet to prepare for your surgery."

"Oh boy, I can hardly wait."

They left Rex in his slumbering state. The commander guided Chase down flight of metal stairs to where the other applicants waited. Only a select few actually met the standards of a seeker. Chase counted eleven in total meaning less than fifty percent in his group made the cut. Of them, a few garnered his attention. 

One was a boy with sandy-colored hair. He'd green eyes, a decent physique, and was around Rex's height. He yawned into his hand as he boredly awaited their instructions. Next, there was a girl with shortly cut light-brown hair who distanced herself from everyone else. She didn't look to be the most social of the bunch. Her hazel blue eyes concentrated on the floor, determined not to meet anyone's gaze. 

Lastly, there was the person who'd come to his aid when he was on the verge of death although he couldn't spot her anywhere. His entire body shook as a finger tapped him on the shoulder, Chase spinning on his heels in an instant. Her distinctive red-colored hair reminded him of crimson flames. Chase hardly had a chance to recompose himself before she engaged the conversation.

"How's your brother?"

"He- He's fine. All he needs now is some rest."

"Good to hear," the girl said walking passed him.

"Wait! I never got your name," Chase said louder than he would've liked.

". . . Alex Mori," she introduced, facing him once more. "A pleasure to meet you." For some reason, her surname sounded familiar. Had he heard it before in a passing conversation? He ceased his inner ponderings when he noticed her curious stare. "And you would be . . ."

"Chase, Chase Hunt." Alex's eyes sharpened. Scratching his head, Chase uttered, "I have another question for you if you're willing to answer it." Alex ushered him to proceed with a plain shrug of her shoulders. "When I went to go save Rex, why did you follow me? Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for your help but why did you willingly choose to put yourself in harms way?"

Smirking, she replied, "Truth be told, I've had my eye on you and your brother ever since you arrived at the seekers' headquarters. I was a great admirer of Matt Hunt and was most saddened when I learned that he . . . Passed on. When I heard he'd children I longed to meet them. The reason I knew what you looked like was from the pictures in the local tabloids. How fortunate we both decided to become seekers."

"That still doesn't explain why you followed me."

"I saw you suspiciously take off so, naturally, I pursued. I thought you'd attempt to help your struggling brother by cheating in some manner. It's a good thing I did otherwise you would've been killed."

". . . I guess so,"

"Our surgeries should be starting soon so I'll catch you later." Before Alex departed, she shot him a final stare. "One more thing. Since I saved you, you're now in my debt."

"Come again?"

"It means when I ask for a favor I expect you to lend me a hand. Think of it as a means of compensation for me saving your life."

Chase frowned. "You're not serious, are you?"

She looked him up and down, analyzing him like some kind of human-shaped holopad. "I'm always serious."

* * *

"There you are!" Lucas grimaced, placing a hand to his forehead. The drunken commander pranced passed the headquarters' entrance gates and towards Lucas who leaned against a concrete wall across the street. Zeke spread a cocky grin as the smell of alcohol stalked him. Annoying though he may be, the drunkard was useful . . . Sometimes. "Catch the show? Those guys are some real idiots."

"What happened?"

"The bastards tried to sabotage an applicant by raising the neuronic waves to a higher level. Coincidentally, the person they targeted was one of the two you had me keeping tabs on. Rex, I believe was his name?" he hiccuped.

"What?! Is he okay?!"

"Quiet down, I've got a headache!" Zeke whined. "If you must know, he and his brother passed. They just need to have their exos surgeries and they'll be good to go."

Lucas exhaled a breath of relief, this was the first bit of good news he'd heard for the day. At least now he didn't have to worry about lowering the princess' spirits. "Thank you, Zeke. Your services are much appreciated."

"Whatever, you're just lucky I respect you! I could be drowning myself in ale right now!"

"If so, I'm very glad I asked you to do this. We wouldn't want you to get sick on the job, would we?" Lucas chuckled.

As he was about to leave Zeke grabbed his shoulder and whispered, "Look, since nobody seems obliged to ask I figured I'd do it myself. How's your plan coming along? If it's working then I might just barge into headquarters and hand over my letter of resignation."

Lucas shot a glare. "To be frank, it's none of your concern."

"Talk about being secretive!!"

"All you need to know is I'm doing everything I can in here," Lucas muttered. "You make sure you do everything you can out there."