The Betrayal of the Guardians

~ Awakenings: Sagittarius ~

"Huh?" Thelma dropped her wrench.

The metallic item didn't make any noise as it disappeared into the darkness. Thelma examined her surroundings, her forehead wrinkling in confusion. All she could see was endless darkness filling her eyes.

She glanced at her arm which was covered with her yellow and red fighting suit. Somehow her body was glowing with weak light.

"Hello?" she called, her voice echoing in the background.

She kept examining her surroundings, confused. A moment ago she was talking to Caris and fixing Forty-seven to distract herself from the heavy day. Her team had gone through a lot in the last several hours, losing yet two other members in a short time. 

She remembered her team losing Nina on their first day and losing Bastian a few days later. The loss of Nala and Train only confirmed that no one would leave this land alive.

Is this perhaps a trick by a Guardian?

With nervousness flowing in her blood, Thelma tried to keep calm. She moved her fingers on her mini-robot's metallic surface, in search of the button to reboot it.

Forty-seven's green radar-like eyes glowed through the darkness as she pressed the hidden button. Mechanical noises could be heard as the mini-robot gazed at her.

"I'm counting on you to watch my back, Forty-seven," said Thelma, dropping her hands from the robot's invisible surface. "Seems like it will be my turn to face my fate."

As Thelma glanced at her surroundings again, Forty-seven took flight, floating by her side.

"What is this place?" she whispered.

A sudden realization brightened her mind. She touched her belt, in search of her device. Despite these lands being a mystery even for her gadget, it could at least confirm if she was still in the Forbidden Lands.

The device's bright light blinded her eyes for a second as she switched it on. She blinked continuously in order to adjust her vision.

"Good evening, My Lady," said a male voice. "How can I help you?"

Thelma gazed at the blue screen. In the middle of it, a small circle was echoing thin circular waves. On the right side of the panel, a menu box could be seen displaying available functions.

"Hi, Elimu," said Thelma. "Can you tell me where I am?"

"Of course, My Lady," replied the device. "Please point the camera on a surface so that I can scan the area."

Thelma examined her surroundings yet again, with no idea where to point her camera. A few seconds later, she pointed her device at the dark ground.

A blue light reflected the darkness, still not showing what the ground looked like. As her device made scanning noises, Thelma could see the circle on the screen bouncing left and right as the words 'scanning' glowed under it.

As she kept her gaze locked on the screen, Thelma moved away a few dark braids that had escaped her ponytail.

"Scanning complete." Elimu's soothing voice echoed in the background.

Thelma didn't drop her gaze from the screen as the words 'searching' flashed on it. Several seconds later, the words disappeared, leaving a lone circle, echoing in the background.

"No result found," said Elimu. "I'm sorry, My Lady, but this place hasn't been seen by the satellite. There are no records. I keep receiving errors when I try to research the area."

"What?" asked Thelma in disbelief. "But you were able to tell that I was in the Forbidden Lands when I last accessed you."

"Yes. I could tell that you were in the Forbidden Lands thanks to the satellite," said Elimu. "You are in a different place right now. A place where the satellites can't see."