AN:
You've no idea how hard it's getting to right for PoE. -_-;; I altered the title to First Lesson: Protectors of Earth, because it's just more logical, considering that this is the first in a trilogy… though at this rate it'll take ages to complete. *shrugs* Oh well! ^^; Moving on…

Grand Britain is the name for Britain in this alternate universe of mine, just as Caribe Kingdom or Kingdom of Caribe (or just Caribe) is the union of the Caribbean nations into one sole kingdom. ^^

Celia almost collapsed onto the floor of her room. Her tired yet wide-open eyed gaze was fixed straight ahead of her, and her mouth hung open from both shock and exhaustion. To hell with the fact that this was her first day here. That didn't bother her as much anymore. It was just the impact of reality on her that nearly fried her nervous system.

Was she really going to spend the rest of her life here? The question bore into her mind and refused to stop repeating itself. Celia's mint colored hair was short, curling a bit upward and out just before making contact with her shoulders. From the parting of her bangs sprouted two thin yet rather long strands of hair that went just about wherever they wanted. She usually looked stunning, but now her hair was drooping low, matching the way she felt inside: drained.

“I curse the day I was hauled over here by that freak and her men,” muttered the amber eyed girl as she walked to her bed. She let herself drop on the plain piece of furniture, twirling on the way so that it was her back that made contact with the immaculate white sheets. ‘Damned be these damned guarder things, damn it!’

If only one good thing had come of being brought here was that she met up with some people she'd thought about but hadn't seen in a long time. Like Elias, for example.

‘I wonder if Karen's here too. Hmph. I wouldn't doubt it. If that bitch doesn't give a damn about people's family situations and if they only take young kids and teenagers then she sure as hell has Karen. The poor kid. She's far too sweet for such a vile place.’

The mint haired girl sighed loudly as she rolled over to her side and faced the wall. ‘Elias…’ Elias, Zechary, Harmony, Karen, and Vyctor, and maybe Evan. That was probably good, that she wasn't alone. These were people who knew who she was. People who knew the way she looked at things and why. Knew a lot about her. Elias more than anyone.

She thought about the Divisions and remembered the four Division Leaders. She'd met all of them today. Aqua of Azul, Nube of Verde, Harmony, or rather, Ongaku of Roja, and Lilly of Violeta. Lilly, her Division Leader. ‘That lady's more messed up than the other three put together, I'll bet.’ She smiled, she called duels "fun", and she spoke a bit too much about the confidential things. Celia wondered how long the redhead had been with POE. Maybe the organization eventually drove people to insanity.

"Wouldn't surprise me," she muttered. She looked at the bare wall before her and sighed loudly again. "You'd think they'd bring in some decorations or something, but no. That must be wrong too." She rolled her eyes. After awhile, Celia’s thoughts wandered again. Back to her.

"She was nicer than Harmony and she doesn't even know me." Having said that, she grimly looked around the room. Then she uttered a low chuckle. "Listening in, I'll bet," she whispered.

'I guess that means I have to think about everything.' She sighed. "Y'know, I hate all of you up there in the high ranks. I especially hate you, the one in charge, and you, the one who dragged me here. And y'know what? I'm not about to succumb to your desires. My name is not Fox. It's Celia Irizarry, and you'd better get that through your systems, since I doubt you have brains."

She smirked and continued her ranting, not caring if they killed her the next day.

"You don't care because you don't have to train. You don't stop to consider our families. I'll bet you're androids. Just someone's puppets, if real humans. I'm not an idiot."

'Elias, I should say I hate you, too, for not talking to me. But I… My God. Karen. She's here, too. Damn you, Elias, why don't you just write things to me!? Or do they deny that to us…?'

She jumped up from her bed and went into her small bathroom. After showering, she got in bed and tried to fall asleep. It was hard, so hard to sleep. The environment was tense and unfamiliar. She was starting to feel lost, like she had once as a child.

And that's when she heard her mother's voice murmuring prayers. She slurred what she could remember of them and soon drifted off.

***

Karen shivered. She hated being alone in her room at night.

‘Mom, Dad, I'm here. I'm still alive. I love you…’

Her thoughts before going to sleep were always directed to her parents in a childhood fantasy that they would hear— a fantasy she refused to let go of.

‘Elias is taking care of me, even though we're not in the same Division. He's far from me right now, in his own room, in the Verde wing, but… but he's here with me. And next door is Evan. You don't know Evan. He's not from our city. He's not even from Caribe. He's from Grand Britain. But I've told you that already…’

She curled up into a ball to keep herself as warm as possible. Being alone seemed to make the one called Bunny feel cold.

‘He's so nice to me.’ She couldn't help but smile. It was short lived, though, because she suddenly remembered she would have to do battle against Zechary the next day. She sighed.

‘Riley said we would go home again… but I don't know about that anymore…’

***

tap, tap, tap

Her hand moved the pen up and down quickly, creating a light tapping sound every time the pen made contact with the desk. The tapping was quick and rhythmic. She was also moving her foot. She lifted her foot with her toes almost in synchronization with the pen tapping.

And then she stopped, suddenly.

Her cheek still held up by her fist, she sighed. Her violet eyes were half open. It most certainly was not the first time it took her so long to fall asleep. She just wasn't sleepy.

‘Maybe it's the stress.’

But it couldn't be that. Then again, she'd been stressed ever since—

‘Yay. More wonderful thoughts to help me fall asleep,’ she thought sarcastically. Maybe it was some sort of sign. Those thoughts always came to her when she was restless, and she always pushed them away. Maybe she was supposed to think about them to help her get to sleep, instead of the other way around.

‘I guess it couldn't hurt to try…’

She let her thoughts slip back. Back to when she first met Naomi. Back to when she arrived at POE. Back, further back, to when she was in Caribe…

Her eyes shot open and her head snapped up. No. Thinking back wouldn't help. It'd just make things worse. Reliving all those horrible experiences would only be worse on her.

‘I should say I hate you! I should tell you that I hate you! I should… but… but I can't tell you that, damn it!’

For what had to be the billionth time during her long years with the organization, sadness was the emotion that accompanied her in her trip to the plane of dreams. She fell asleep on her desk, her head resting on her arms, her cherry red curls draping down her back and arms.

***

“Har.”

Harmony drowzily looked up from her pillow and gazed at the boy at the door.

“Vyctor,” she mumbled sleepily, “go the hell away. I'm tired…”

They white haired teen disobeyed and stepped closer to her. The teal eyed girl looked up at him, giving him half a glare. He met the look with half-open apple green eyes and a soft smile. The lavendar haired girl gave up. She sat on the bed, and he sat beside her.

“What are you doing here at this ungodly hour?” Harmony whispered.

“I know it's a crime to do so, but I wanted to come by. I sensed your loneliness,” was his reply.

She frowned.

“I wasn't feeling lonely.”

“Har, loneliness is the ghost that follows everyone around. Not one single person here has gone by without feeling its presence. And I know for a fact that you can feel it more at night.”

She sighed and sat up straighter, then leaned on Vyctor’s chest. He loosely put his arms around her.

"I wasn't lying. I really am sleepy. I don't appreciate your coming in here and waking me up, y'know."

"I know. I woke myself up, too."

"But why? Why bother? Sleep is our only means of escape from here."

"That's not what Elias said."

Harmony's eyes widened a bit.

"Do you think… she'll go through with it? With the plan?"

"I'm pretty sure she will. Riley is…" He let the sentence trail while he thought up the right words. That took a little while. "She is where she is because of who she is."

"No one else could put that more clearly without saying more than they need to," Harmony said, nodding. She closed her eyes and leaned into him. "Vyc?"

"Yeah?"

She continued talking sleepily, and with her eyes closed.

"Either you leave and let me sleep, or you stay and let me sleep."

He chuckled, kissed her on her forehead, and stood up to leave. He watched her settle in under the covers before he left.

"Good night, Vyctor…and thank you."

"Good night, Harmony."

***

They hadn't noticed the guarder upgrade. No one did. Only those who upgraded them and those who ordered the upgrade knew about it. And those were the CEO and the High Directive.

The High Directive. Composed of four members and headed by the CEO herself, these five people oversee all the occurences within the organization. Out of the five, only the CEO and one other person know what the true purpose of POE is.

The most dedicated member of the High Directive is Frenchwoman Naomi Gustier, who goes by the Rank Name of Kai Rei, which means ocean spirit. She is a competent worker who proceeds with her duties faithfully, mostly because she simply doesn't know.

The CEO, Astrid Alicea, who has taken the Rank Name of Reina, holds Kai Rei in great esteem. The other High Directive members know this; however, the one who knows and feels this the most is Reina's son, Jakob Alicea, of the Rank Name Taiyou.

Reina and Taiyou both know the real purpose of the existence of Protectors of Earth, neither one admitting it to the other. Taiyou knows Reina knows. Reina either does not know that her son has found out, or she acts like she doesn't. Either way, no one is sure.

Other than Taiyou, every member of the High Directive strives for the approval of Reina. They are zealous and determined to be in the position that Kai Rei is in. They don't necessarily hate Kai Rei, but they are very competitive, and can thus come off as selfish and proud.

Taiyou is the only one who does not seek approval. He doesn't seek it because he doesn't need or want it. Through him, one person found out the truth.

And through that person, a small chain of trustworthy people who await the day their plan is put to action…

***

AN: I wrote most of this in one day. ^^ I'm so glad I'm back into POE! I really do love this fic so much. ^_^ Thanks bu~nches for reading.

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