“Dammit!” Maya groaned while waving a hand incredulously, “Where’d they take Paul? He was literally just out here in the hangar.”

	Slightly panicky, Maya wandered around the hangar, ducking behind beaten-up tanks and battle-scarred aircraft, in attempt to spot the missing Time Archon. While scanning the area, she noted that Fuma’s personnel seemed disgruntled but not in a state of alarm. Paul, however, was still nowhere to be seen. Upon hearing the solid thuds of approaching footsteps and rustling weapons, Maya quickly rolled underneath a vehicle as a trio of men came towards her position. She held her breath and hoped they would not hear her pounding heartbeat. As they passed, she caught pieces of their conversation which included statements such as “the noncompliant has been taken to lockup” and “that son of a bitch stabbed me.”

[i]Idiot. I’ve worked so hard to soothe things over with Rai and Fuma. He really needs to work on his diplomatic relations. Well, at least I know where he is now.[/i]   

[color=00aeef][i]Better hurry. I’m afraid that the effects of the time warp are really beginning to take their toll on him. A man can only go off of adrenaline for so long before crashing. [/i][/color]

[i]Ugh, the fool should have stayed in the sick bay.[/i] 

	Maya crawled out from her hiding place and dusted off her clothes as she stood up. A conveniently placed directory indicated that the lockup, as well as the lavatories and gym, were located down a nearby hallway. After carefully navigating the halls, she finally rounded a corner to find a door guarded by two armed soldiers. Assuming there weren’t any other captives being held at the moment, Paul was more than likely the one on the other side of the barred door. Maya ducked back behind the corner before the men spotted her. 

	She did not want to mortally hurt the men nor did she want to draw a lot of attention. She decided that she needed to separate the men. Closing her eyes, Maya channeled her thoughts and energy on one of them. She could feel every molecule of water resonating within his body. The vital element filled every cell which comprised his corporeal existence. A five percent decrease in the body’s hydration can cause dizziness and fatigue. A ten percent decrease can cause mental and physical deterioration. A twenty-five percent decrease can cause death.  A one hundred percent decrease can cause a big pile of dust to accumulate on the floor.  Maya, being in a pretty decent mood, opted for a nicer tactic as she carefully and calculatedly redirected 16 ounces of fluid within the man. 

“Dave, I really got to take a leak,” Maya heard one of the men say. 

“Really? Can’t you hold it? Our shift ends in thirty minutes,” Dave snapped. 

“No, I really have to go,” the man said with urgency. Maya could hear him shifting back and forth uncomfortably. At this time, Maya snuck into the men’s bathroom which she had passed earlier and hid in a stall. 

“Fine, whatever. Be quick and don’t let anyone see you,” Dave groaned.

	The tortured man hurdled towards the bathroom. Bursting through the door, he beelined for a urinal, quickly unzipped his pants, and soon after sighed with relief. While the man was still preoccupied, Maya sneaked up behind him and placed him in a chokehold. Despite thrashing and clawing, the man was unable to pry away from Maya’s squeezing grasp. For the Archon, it felt effortless. As minutes passed, the man’s face changed from bright red to a deep purple hue as his lungs burned for oxygen. His eyes bulged, and his capillaries burst. Just as he lapsed into unconsciousness, Maya released her hold, allowing the blood to flow back to his brain. 
	“M’kay, one down. One to go,” she remarked as she stuffed the man into a bathroom stall. Before she exited the bathroom, Maya swiped the jail cell’s key. 
	
	The Water Archon stumbled down the hallway towards the guard, faking a worried expression. “Excuse me sir, I am so terribly sorry to bother you,” Maya apologized with a damsel-in-distress tone, “But I am completely and utterly lost, and I was wondering if you…”

	“Hey, aren’t you the woman that was captured earlier?” the man barked defensively. His eyebrows, which resembled angry wooly caterpillars, scrunched together as he pinned his skeptical eyes on her.

	“Well, you see…” Maya started before slamming the bottom of her palm up into the man’s nose. She could feel the nasal bone crunching as his head slammed back into the door behind him. He slumped to the floor as blood poured out of his nose. Before he could shake off the initial wave of confusion, Maya pressed a foot firmly down on his throat. Choking in his own blood, he desperately tried to shake her off, but Archons are OP. Sucks to suck, buddy. 

	While maintaining pressure on the guard's jugular, Maya peered through the bars. The room was dim, but she was able to make out Paul strapped to a chair. 

	“Sweetie,” Maya called through the bars as she unlocked the door, “You doing alright in there? I found the Archon –well, two Archons. As soon as we find the second Archon’s weapon, we can head back to the…”

	A familiar voice interrupted, "You... You're involved with this intruder, and you've done something to our leader. I can't believe I trusted you this long..."

	Maya groaned and obediently placed her hands on her head like Rai commanded. 

	“Easy there,” Maya called out calmly, “So, uh, funny story, Rai. Remember everything I was telling you earlier about being an Archon? Well, you and I aren’t the only Archons here. Fuma’s also one! And this sorry chap behind the bars is also an Archon. Now, the reason that Fuma is incapacitated is because he got a hold of his Archon weapon, thus causing him to activate his transition into Archonhood. Basically, his body is undergoing some serious genetic modifications…think of it as like a software update. In a few days he will reboot and be better than ever. With that being said, we all really should get off of this planet. The activation process unleashes an astronomical amount of psychic energy which makes Fuma a glowing beacon for all the baddies out there that want us dead. If you have any more questions, I would be more than ecstatic to answer them, but we need to do so while we search for your own Archon relic. So please, lower your weapon.”