~Talia's POV~

Marco and Izo had been gone for nearly two weeks and I'd not been able to sleep through a single night. Thatch had even attempted to slip me sedatives but the night terrors were too strong. I stayed up all night every night pouring over maps and newspapers obtaining whatever knowledge I could to keep myself busy and to keep from worrying about Marco.

"Hey Bookworm." Ace's warm voice startled me as he appeared behind me. His hand lightly gripped my shoulder and spun me about so I was forced to meet his gaze. "You don't look too good."

I offered him a meek smile, "That's just what a girl likes to hear."

Ace opened his mouth to say something more but cut off as a loud thundering roar of a voice boomed across the entire ship.

"TALIA!" Oyaji's voice was like a thunderclap and shook the entire library.

"Something's happened." I gasped and sprinted for the main deck. The rest of the crew was milling about with curiosity. Oyaji's voice had an odd sense of urgency about it, which meant whatever it was, was important.

"Oyaji, what's wrong?" I gasped breathlessly as I managed to make my way to where he and some of the commanders had congregated in front of his massive throne like chair where his breathing machines were. "Is it Marco?" My heart fell as I realized Marco was not present. "Is he okay?!"

Oyaji's eyes softened as he spotted me standing before him, "He's alright, little one."

My body relaxed at this news and I let out a soft sigh of relief, "What's wrong?"

"I need your help decoding some messages we intercepted." Oyaji motioned to a table where Jozu and Thatch were standing.

I nodded and made my way to the table. A strange wind whipped past the table and tore through my hair in a violent nature causing me to stumble back a few paces as an ominous feeling washed over me. Something wasn't right.

"Talia?" Thatch's voice sounded concerned.

I took a step closer to the table and stared down at the messages that were all carefully laid out.

"We couldn't figure out what language it was in." Jozu noted somewhat hesitantly before exchanging looks of concern with Thatch. "Talia?"

My hands were trembling as I stared down at the messages, all the symbols had jumped off the page and were floating in the air around me molding to form new letters. It wasn't in any language it was in a code. The symbols molded into words and I was able to make out different dispatches and orders. Names were slowly beginning to form in the symbols, names of officers who the dispatches were for or about. I froze as the last few symbols began to mold to form the last name, the name of an admiral from what the rest of the message was entailing, being dispatched to settle some unrest on an island near the orphanage I was raised.

I felt a scream well in my throat and a skull splitting pain starting at the back of my head as the name appeared before me. My knees gave out beneath me and I slipped to the deck with a shriek as I was suddenly thrown into darkness.

Everything around me was cold and black, endless darkness. There were voices in the darkness all around me, soft voices uttering in unison as if in prayer. I felt a small amount of warmth from a strong loving embrace as I was cradled between two familiar bodies. The scent of fresh ink, parchment and fresh baked bread wafted around me as I was enveloped in their familiar scent. Why was this familiar? Who were they? What was happening?

"It's going to be alright, Talia. Mommy and Daddy are here." A soft female voice sounded from one of the bodies cradling me in the darkness.

I had parents?

Cannon fire boomed overhead of us and shook the ground around us. We must be underground somewhere.

"We have to get Talia to safety." The woman's voice sounded softly in the darkness and I felt a gentle hand smooth through my hair, "She has the gift of my people. She must be protected."

"If we can make it off this island I can send her to a buddy of mine. His name is Dragon; he'll see that she stays safe." A deep voice sounded from the other side of me from the man that had me cradled in his arms.

"Her sight is stronger than mine, we cannot allow her to be taken."

Screams echoed in the darkness and the name that had sent me reeling into the darkness reverberated in my head, "KIZARU!"

"Take Talia and run!" The woman screamed as brilliant flashes of gold light began to erupt all around us in the darkness followed by the pained screams and the sound of lifeless bodies falling to the cold hard ground.

The man snatched me up into his arms and in the glow of the fire of light beams I saw a man with blonde hair and strong chiseled features kiss a beautiful woman with frosty pink hair and bright green eyes. Once they broke apart she turned to smile at me.

"You must live, Talia." She reached for something at her waist and retrieved, instead of a weapon, a book.

The symbols on the front cover burned to life and flew off the pages before me and I heard the woman recite some kind of incantation. Fire roared to life all around us shooting forth from the book in the woman's hands. I was tucked under the man's strong arm as he sprinted further into the underground cavern to escape.

Tears welled in my eyes as I heard more anguished cries as people fell victim to the deadly light beams. I managed a glance back at the beautiful woman as we tried to escape in time to see a laser beam pierce through her chest.

"MOMMY!" The voice that escaped me was that of a child's.

Another beam shot right toward us and I was sent hurling to the ground.

"Talia run!" The man who'd been carrying me ordered and I saw the glint of a blade being drawn in the glow of the light beams raining down upon us.

I ran as fast as I could as tears streamed down my cheeks trying not to listen to the sounds of the battle behind me. The man fell and I was encased in darkness once more. I turned to look behind me in the darkness in time to see a beam of light hurtling straight for me and I desperately struggled to get away. Agony shot through my entire body as I felt the beam pierce through my skull.

"Talia!" The panicked voices of the crew were all around me, I could feel worried hands trying to soothe and comfort me as I lay curled in a ball on the deck with my head in my hands screaming as I was consumed in pure agony. My skull felt like it was splitting.

"Talia!" Ace's voice screamed above the rest and the next thing I knew I was swept off the deck and into his arms.

The pain began to ebb away leaving me trembling, panting and dripping in cold sweat as I desperately clung to Ace fearing I'd be dragged back into the darkness. "h-help." My voice was feeble and broken.

"I got you." Ace cooed softly as he cradled me against him.

"It was dark." I cried.

Ace's fire flared to life around us, "You'll never be in the dark again."

My head fell against his shoulder as my body slumped against him no longer having the strength to sit upright in his arms, "I can still hear them screaming." I choked as my eyes drifted closed only to gasp and open them again as I saw all of the people in the darkness being shot down by light beams. "I can see them all dying."

Ace held on to me desperately as if he could shield me from all of the haunting things that loomed in the darkness.

"Ace." Oyaji's voice was much softer than usual, "Take her to the infirmary." He ordered before turning to someone else, "Summon Marco and Izo."