October 10th, 2123. Uncharted Island, 12:59am

The two guards had just rounded the corner. Perfect. The intruder smiled beneath his mask. He stood on the roof of an old clock tower. Dressed in all black, no one would have ever suspected he was up there. The thunderous sound of the clock's bell rang out in the night. Right on schedule. The black figure stepped forward, the tips of his boots sticking out in empty air. Operation, start.

The big, surly policeman patrolled the perimeter of the harbour. Tonight, they were shipping a priceless artifact to someplace. That's all he knew. That's all the information he was offered. The happenings of tonight were to be kept in utter secrecy; his boss had made that perfectly clear. He had been hired to keep it safe, and that's what he intended to do.

His partner, a skinny stick of a man, clutched the leash of a bloodhound. They turned the corner. The big man checked his watch. 1am. As if on cue, the toll of the old clock tower rang once, the deep sound faded into the night. He looked back at the clock tower. Was it just him, or did he see a figure up there? Blinking a few times to clear his vision, the policeman checked again. Nothing. He shook his head, regretting that he hadn't thought to bring along some coffee, and turned back to join his partner—

—who was lying unconscious on the ground. The bloodhound had somehow disappeared. Before the scene could sink into his brain, he felt a sharp jab at the back of his neck. The earth came crashing towards him, and the world faded into an abyss of black.

The trespasser smirked. This was all too easy. He had already dealt with all the patrolling guards. They had all been FBI agents, highly trained military officers, and black ops to some secret service. No surprise there. Strangely, there were a handful of ordinary policemen mixed in with the pros. Anywho, he had taken all their identity cards, plus any key cards they carried. Slipping in without setting off any alarms would have been the easiest option. But what fun was that? So he went out of his way to spread unease throughout the whole site.

He sat on top a large crate, hidden from the view of anyone on the bottom. The thief was halfheartedly rifling through an envelope he had found on one of the officers. A sudden flash of movement in his peripheral vision brought his attention to a safe the size of two houses, being lifted by a crane. His target. His objective. It was in that safe, and had been sealed in there for more than a few hundred years. Now that the seal was growing old and its power fading, they had to move it to another specially prepared compartment, where they would seal it away for another hundred years. His eyes hardened, and his playful fun-seeking attitude faded away. He jumped off the crate. It was now, or never.

People lay unconscious, scattered amongst the rubble, splintered wood, and glass shards. In the midst of it all, stood the safe, looming over a figure clad in black. Its door was hanging on its hinges, exposing what lay inside. To the ordinary eye, it looked like a floating orb about the size of a beach ball. If you had the right gear, you would have noted that the inside was armed with invisible lasers that would shoot if anyone so much as stepped inside.

The black figure leaned forward, his eyes gleaming underneath the mask. At last! How he had been waiting for this day. How long they have all been waiting for this day. After centuries of hard work, they've finally located the key. They could finally go home. He took a shaky step, and then another.

The lasers proved to be no match for a being such as him; they were obliterated in seconds. Raising his hand, his fingers came within millimeters of the orb. One second it was there, the next it was gone. A cold claw tore through his heart. What happened? He whipped around. A woman stood behind him. She wore a black trench coat, with knee length leather boots, and a black mask over her eyes. Dirty blonde curls tumbled down to her shoulders. In her gloved hands was the orb. Teasingly, she tossed it up and down.

"Lilith," the black figure spat.

"Ace," she replied, smirking at his hostility.

"What are you doing here?" Pure resentment danced through his eyes.

"Do you even have to ask?" the woman, Lilith, responded. "I'm here for the same reason you are. To get the key." She motioned to the orb in her hands.

"You know full well how much my people need that," Ace hissed.

"Oh, and you know of my ambitions as well," she shot back, stroking the glimmering ball with her long skinny fingers. Her smirk grew wider as the hatred intensified in the eyes of the young man before her.

"I could care less about your little desires."

"Well then," Lilith smiled with feigned sweetness. "I could care less about the needs of your people."

"Give it back!" Ace growled, his fury driving him forwards. He drew out his sword. Lilith merely chuckled, and took out her own weapon; a five meter long trident. The two clashed together, creating an unearthly, metallic echo that vibrated throughout the whole island.

Two figures were outlined against the dawn sky. One on the edge of the cliff, and the other not far behind the first.

Lilith stood at a dead end, bleeding heavily from a long gash on her back. Her legs, covered in slashes, stung whenever she attempted to move. Below her, jagged rocks pointed towards the sky, as a furious torrent of waves churned. Ace wearily limped towards her. He wasn't free of injuries either, and was tightly gripping his left arm, attempting to minimize the blood loss. A red-stained sword hung loosely on his belt. Lilith clutched the orb protectively to her chest, inching back as much as she dared. The heel of her foot slid into emptiness. Move back anymore, and it was a guaranteed plummet to death.

Triumph shimmered in Ace's eyes, as a small grin crept to his lips. Lilith squinted at her pursuer, eyesight blurry from blood. She couldn't allow Ace to kill her, and she certainly couldn't allow him to get his hands on the key. As Ace moved closer, her chances of escaping decreased drastically. Lilith snarled weakly. Her choices were limited.

She watched in horror as Ace let go of his bloodied arm, and reached for his sword. She was very weak, and he would overpower her if they were to continue in combat. Lilith's childish instinct urged her not to lose. Slowly, she swiveled her head, and her eyes traveled along the large stretch of water before her. A plan formulated in her head, but she had to time it perfectly.

Approaching her, Ace raised his sword. Before he could decapitate her, Lilith took a ragged breath for air, and collapsed onto the ground. Puzzled, he bent down to pry the orb out of her hands. Faster than lightening, she sprung up and jabbed two bony fingers into his right eye. With three quarters of her fingers buried within his head, she bent it into the shape of a hook and yanked back. Blood splashed out as a small circular sphere no bigger than a golf ball sailed through the air, crimson droplets trailing after it. Ace howled in pain, his hand covered his now empty eye socket, as he crumpled to the ground in front of her. Lilith too, sank to the ground, body wracking with pain. She closed her eyes, basking in glory as she stroked the orb.

A wet hand grabbed her face and pushed back. Shocked, she opened her eyes to see the brightening dawn sky through the cracks of blood stained fingers. The sensation of falling enveloped her, but the hand remained on her face. Turning her head, she saw Ace next to her, and behind him, the rocky wall of the cliff went by at an amazing speed. Fear gripped her as she realized what was happening. No! No! NO! She thrashed about uselessly, and the orb slipped out of her hands.

As the sun peeked out from the sea, it painted the sky a brilliant ruby red. The same red splattered on the rocks below a cliff, as two lifeless, distorted figures could been seen impaled on this unique natural formation. Frothy waves lapped at the sharp rocks, and within the vast expanse of the underwater world, the orb, like a needle among a haystack, or a star on an overcast night, was washed away, lost in its depths.