Spaced Out

Chapter One: A New Day

Pops and I hastily gathered our equipment. Our sleeping bags, flasks, pots and pans, his rolled up blueprints and documents, and then our thick, furry jackets. Our duffle bags were not going to fit all of our stuff, and so we stuffed everything else into our makeshift, hydro powered sled which makes a loud rackety clank every time it starts. We slipped on our dark metallic boots, which felt very uncomfortable, but it would’ve protected our feet better than any leather or cotton. I soon felt the rumble of the ground and the shaking of our rigid silver dome. We rushed out the door and quickly jumped onto the sled. Outside, the sun was just starting to go down but there was no golden horizon shining through the sky at all. I could feel the wind getting stronger and the atmosphere growing colder. We needed to leave immediately. Pops started the engine and accelerated towards the East as fast as the thing could drive. I had noticed that I left my silver watch given to me by mom before she died, just right when Pops drove past the colony’s surveillance mark.

I murmured to myself, “I forgot to bring it…”

“Leave it behind, leave everything behind Mint,” replied Pops.

I held onto Pops even tighter as he sped into the vast wild of the snowfields, where nothing was alive. Looking back, all I saw were the domes and towers of the colony we had just abandoned. All my friends; Jake, Lee, Jordan and our colony’s doctor, Dr. Killop. I remembered playing metal petals with the three of them when we were younger. Every time, Jake or Lee would scrape their ankles from the spiky petals when it was their turn to jump and so they would regularly limp to see Dr. Killop for a band aid. They were the first ones I ran to, to deliver the news when Pops discovered the storm that would be the end of the colony. And they laughed. So did our neighbors and so did our colony’s chief. We tried to warn them of the storm, but none of them cared to listen. They even taunted us so as to call us crazy, hallucinating and hysterical. Now when I look back, all I see is a white, gigantic wall of sound scraping shrapnels of snow. It had already engulfed the colony along with every last soul in it. I regret trying to persuade them more and I did wish that I could’ve stayed, but I wanted to live. And Pops was right, we would not have survived that monstrosity of a storm. And so we fled.

The sled rode through the bumpy hills of the frozen wasteland and that had been the most uncomfortable ride yet because my buttocks were frozen and numbed. For miles and miles around us, all I saw were the white emptiness of snow and fog. The sky was dark purple and with no sights of any distant stars, due to the atmosphere being heavily polluted back in the year 2245. That’s when we all realized that there was no chance of saving the earth. I hesitantly asked Pops if we could stop for a break or even to slow down. He simply answered back, “If we stop now, we won’t make it to the 3rd colony by sunrise and by then, we would be long dead.” I knew how serious the situation was and I wished I hadn't eaten my last ration disk. Slowly but surely, I started to lose grip of Pop’s waist. My strength and my hands gradually started to slip away. I knew I was going to tremble off the sled, but right when Pops noticed, he rapidly reached around and grabbed me by the waist. With his long arms, he held me against his back until I regained my strength. I tried to force back my consciousness by biting my tongue and in doing so I was slightly able to hold back on and shake my head awake.

“Just a little bit longer, son. I promise we’ll be there soon,” huffed Pops.

“I-I’m sorry Pops,” I stuttered. “I’m just so hungry and I ate all my disks already.”

“Here, have one of mine. I’m not too hungry,” Pops calmly replied.

I munched away on the cold disk he handed me and for just a couple of seconds, it felt like heaven. These ration disks that Pops invented were just bits of pork and beef mashed together with rice and spinach, but yet it tasted so good and ever since meat was such a rarity these days, the size of the disk was meant to control our portions. Pops managed to sneak in a chuckle when he heard the tiny sounds of me crunching his food away. And with that laugh, considering the grimness of everything going on, it gave me a sense of hope that everything would eventually be okay.

I suddenly woke up to the sound of screeching wind as it blew harsher than before. Every piece of snow that smacked upon my face felt like bullets and the cold had become dangerously unbearable. I realized that I had drifted asleep with the only thing that was keeping me from letting go of Pop's waist was that my gloves were frozen tight around him. I was scared. It was pitch black and the sled’s light was drastically dimming to the point where we could barely see anything ahead of us. I couldn’t tell if we were even going in the right direction or not anymore. I yelled to Pops, ‘What’s going on?! Why is it this bad?!”

“The storms caught up!” He yelled. “We miscalculated, but we are only a couple miles away so just hold o-”

And just before Pops finished his sentence, we crashed. We couldn’t see that huge rock in front of us. The sled shattered to drift sized pieces and our equipment along with our duffle bags flew everywhere, scattered into the storm. Pops and I flew meters away from each other and landed harshly on the ground. My head was in pain and my vision began to blur in this storm. I layed helpless on the hard frozen snow, knowing that I couldn’t move a muscle to get up or think about what happened. It was all so quick. I struggled and struggled to move any muscle, to shake the snow off my body and face, until I was able to lean over to my side. And there Pops was. I squinted and was able to get a glimpse of him slowly crawling his way towards me. Although in agonizing pain, I was relieved when I saw him making his way. Until I saw that his torso was cut in half and was only holding itself to his body with his intestines. The sight made me sick, but I needed him. I wasn’t able to yell or say a word but I was mouthing it out anyways, Help me dad. All I could do was blink as the storm grew colder and nastier, but with every blink, Pops got closer. And on the fourth blink, he was able to lay something on my chest. It was the size of a small plate except it was metal and it had a glowing green button in the middle. He pressed it gently against my chest and with his other, he swiftly over handedly hammered down on the green button. Suddenly, out from the object came a white cloak that lathered around me, slowly encasing my frozen injured body. It was warm inside it. Warmer than it had ever been in this place and my time on earth. Just as my sight began to clear up, I saw Pops trying to say something to me, but I wasn't able to word it out at first. I focused harder and was able to roughly make out some of his first words, “You mom and sister…”

I was confused. I wasn’t able to say anything since my body was intensely aching from the crash. Sleepy. As if my eyes were being clamped shut. My mind dropping deep into a coma. I’m slowly breathing. With my last speck of energy, I held open my eyes just long enough to see Pops being swallowed by the storm, along with me. And then I let go.

“Releasing from xypod. Healing and decontamination complete.”

It was hard to open my eyes. There was so much eye wax crusted onto my lids keeping them shut. I raised my hands to my face to wipe them off, but something was different. My hands were much bigger and my arms were much longer, and hairier too. I felt my face and the top of my head and to my surprise, my hair had grown increasingly long. I looked down at my torso and legs to find out that everything was much more adult-like. The ground was very soft like a batch of hay and my body was in no pain at all. Finally, I looked up to the sky and something flew right across me. Some type of small bird-like animal in which I haven't seen my whole life, not that I've seen much animals my whole life. The sky was bright blue with white clouds, and not a single dust of snow around. I heard the white cloak depressurizing and it began slowly opening and just when it made a small crack, immediately a soft and soothing wind rushed across my face. It smelled like how spring would smell like from the pictures in the books pop showed me. The sun shined on my face so much that I squinted and had to block it with my hands. I leaned up and tried to get a grasp on what my eyes were seeing, but I couldn't because what I was seeing was unreal. It was amazing. The frozen and snowy wilderness that I knew of was gone and in replacement was this beautiful, grassy eden filled with trees that bore strangely colored fruits of sorts. The flowers on the ground were mysteriously but beautifully shaped and painted with all the colors of the rainbow. There was so much more than what I was able to understand at the moment since the snow was all I’ve known of. I tried to stand up and was struggling to maintain my balance. My clothes were tightly wrapped around me as if I had outgrown them by a couple of years. I looked down on the thing Pop’s had placed on me, and the button was no longer green, but instead bright red. Just as I bent down to grab it, it began shriveling up until it crumbled to dust and then sank into the dirt. It then reminded me of Pops and what happened before I went out cold. “The storm and the crash, what happened to it all after I went to sleep,” I pondered to myself. I knew I had to find some answers or at least what to do now that I am stranded in the middle of a completely new scenery. With all my strength, I began walking the same direction that me and Pops were headed originally to reach the 3rd colony. Gradually it became easier to move. My bones and muscles soon ached back into normal functions. Knowing that we were just a mile or two away, I started sprinting out of joy that maybe Pops was already at the colony waiting for my return. As I was running across the now grassy field, I was astounded by the new changes that this land had undergone; the grass has never been so green, the trees were colossal and shifting with every wind blown, and the herds of animals away in the distant in which I have never seen before. My feet running and my head turning towards every direction, feeding my vision with the beauty of this place.

For about two hours now I’ve been running and I thought I would’ve come across the colony by now, but for the two hour, everything just seems to be fields and fields of grass and trees with no domes or landmarks. Tired from all the sprinting, I spotted this strange little rock in the distance and jogged towards it and sat on it. As I was sitting, I grew very thirsty and was horrendously starving. The fruits up on the trees looked so appetizing but were not fruits in which I have seen before, and so I hesitated. But, I knew I had to eat something or I would most likely pass out again like before. I stood up with a grunt and turned around to grab the rock I was just sitting on, which was lighter than I thought. I carried the rock up to my chest and stomped over to one of the medium sized trees which held some of these mysterious fruits. I stepped on top of it and got on my tippy toes. Reaching out, I plucked one of the fruits off the skinny brown branches. The fruit was the size of a strawberry, but had these zigzag stripes running across the whole thing. I rotated and turned the small fruit in all directions, inspecting it thoroughly. I did not know if it was safe to eat, but one thing was for sure, it did look juicy and appetizing.

“Here goes nothing,” I said to myself. I placed the whole fruit inside my mouth then slowly started to chew on it. Immediately it exploded with juices and seeds. The taste somehow resembled that of a kiwi with just a tint of sourness, like a lemon, but it was delicious and refreshing. Probably one of the best things I have ever eaten since last thanksgiving with Pops, mom, and sis. Rapidly and desperately, I started plucking as many as my hands could hold and shoving them down my mouth, chewing loudly and joyously with juices bursting out my mouth. The juices dripped down my mouth and onto my jacket staining it light pink in streaks. I went on for minutes and when I had my fill, I plucked a couple more and gently placed them inside my jacket pockets and my pant pockets. I stepped off the rock swiftly and continued walking back on my path. I probably had enough food to last me a while until I reached the colony.

After an hour or more of walking, a feeling of doubt began to muster up inside me. With the miles I’ve ventured, the 3rd colony was still nowhere to be seen. I began to worry if something terrible happened while I was in the pod. My legs grew weary and my ration of the fruits collected had run out. I soon found myself thirsty and hungry once again traveling across these lands. Who knew that I would down those fruits so quickly and that maybe they actually made me hungrier and thirstier. I continued dragging my tired body onwards with hope of civilization even though my hope was growing dim, but then I saw something in the distance. A dome shaped building. For a second I was filled with happiness at the relief that I found the 3rd colony, but something seemed off. The building had a different design and instead of being laid flat on the ground, it was upheld on four long golden metal legs. Regardless, I sprinted towards the structure. With each meter I got closer, I started noticing the distinct differences of this structure. It was all covered in hexagonal plates, the door was engraved into the side instead of a regular hinged door, and there was a flight of stairs leading straight to the door. When I was in proximity of the structure, I stopped myself from getting closer when I realized that this was not the colony. It was the only building for miles. Then the door opened and it did not open like any regular door. From the bottom up, the door slowly rose and slid into the top like a sliding door. Then from inside came out three tall people who wore some metallic like fiber clothes that I have never seen before. I stood still staring at these people as they walked down the stairs towards me. I could’ve ran, but my body froze. As they got closer, I began to notice their faces and the structure of their bodies. They looked human, but they didn’t at the same time. Slightly smaller noses, slightly smaller mouths, and they had a very different skin tone than any other people I’ve seen before. Almost like a reddish peach color. Their bodies were very muscular now that they were much closer. I mustered up enough courage to take a step back, but before I knew it, they were standing less than 5 feet away from me. They looked at me with intense focus like I was an art piece. One of them reached into their pockets and pulled out a pad-like computer and began to type something. He proceeded to show the others while glancing back and forth at me and pointing to certain parts of my body. Then he placed it away and they all went back to staring at me again. One of them spoke.

“Are you alone?” He asked me.

“I think so. Where is the 3rd colony?”

“3rd colony?” He answered in a confused tone.

“Yeah, the 3rd colony. Me and my dad were supposed to be at the 3rd colony but then the storm hit us and now he's missing and I’m alone,” I faintly replied . He gave me a muddled look and then turned around to murmur something to the others. The other person took out the device again and started typing on it like he was searching something up. After a minute, he turned back around and now looked more concerned than confused.

“Are you fully human?”

“Yeah...what kind of question is that?” I confusedly replied.

“I’m sorry. It seems you happen to be the first fully human one we’ve seen in a very, very long time. We have data that tells us the last of the earth dwellers were eradicated from the storm, about 500 years ago. Back then there were settlements, which you people referred to as ‘colonies’, which were all wiped out by a single terrestrial storm, The Helix.”

I stepped back in disbelief. My eyes shot wide open as I shook my head. My whole body was still and the hair on my forearm shot straight up.

“No no no. It has only been a couple hours. Not even a whole day has passed. There is no way that it has been 500 years already. I just woke up a couple of hours ago!” I exclaimed in anger.

“You must’ve been in a xypod. It’s the only thing that can explain your current condition. From where I come from, we have many of them used to elongate my specie’s lifespan. Which makes me wonder how you had one 500 years ago.” He replied.

“My dad had placed one of them on me before I went to sleep. When I woke up, it disintegrated and disappeared. And now he’s gone too.”

“I am sorry to hear that, but what I just said is the truth. You were asleep for 500 years and I know you’ve seen how the planet flourished with the exclusion of humans.”

“That would explain everything,” I sadly replied. I sat down. Everything was too much to take in at once and I needed a break from traveling anyways. He then then bent down and asked me,

“What was your father’s name anyways, human?”

“His name? Dralin. Why?”

Immediately his eyes widened and he quickly rose up. He turned to the others and started having a discussion with them. Their conversation got louder and louder with every minute passing by. I tried to make out a couple of their sentences; Are you sure?, He can’t be, How would the President take this? But I couldn’t grasp the situation after what they told me about Pops. I was so filled with grief knowing that Pops probably did die in the storm. He was all I had left of a family. Mom, sis, and now Pops. “Where else could I go?” I depressingly said to myself. I stood up onto my feet just right about when those people were done having their discussion. They all stared at me more intensely than before.

“Do you want to come with us? We may have some more questions for you and in return, you will be treated with the utmost care in our city.” I look behind him to see the other three quickly pacing back to the structure. They raced up the stairs, got into the building, and with an immense shockwave that blew the grass right where it stood, the “structure” started to glow a blue light from the top. It definitely wasn’t a dome anymore. It appears to be a flying craft of some sort now that I was able to visually digest it.

“Where exactly?” I cautiously asked. “And I’m not too sure I want to trust some random strangers I just met a couple of minutes ago,” I answered defensively. He leaned in slightly closer to my face.

“We know of your father,” He simply said.

Chapter Two: Station City Kepla 1

The aircraft looked amazing on the inside. Buttons with indecipherable letters and numbers labeled on them, oddly shaped chairs which were very comfortable, and the tiles on the floor were trapezoid shaped. These people offered me a seat in their main room of operations. After they placed me in here, they went out into the other room and discussed more about something. They sure do love talking about stuff. One of them came back in and asked me, “Are you ready to go?”

“You still haven’t told me exactly where we are going.”

“I am taking you to my home place, Station City Kepla 6,” he dramatically answered.

I grew agitated. He did not give me a known location at all as to where we were going.

“And where is this city?” I answered impatiently. He looked me in the eyes and gave me an uncomfortable grin. I soon felt the aircraft beginning to take off. The whole place shook and I tightly grabbed onto the chair arms. We kept ascending and ascending and soon we were at the top of the clouds. I became worried. It seems like we were going higher than usual. I heard the guy counting out loud counting down from five. Four. Three. Two. One. And the aircraft took off out of the atmosphere at the highest speed I have ever seen. Outside was a blur of white and yellow streaks. My body was pulled so far back into the chair that my lungs could start to feel my ribcage. I was too shocked to scream and even if I did scream, my own sound would have been pushed back into my mouth. I looked over and saw those four casually standing and pushing on those buttons. And for a moment, I was terrified. Then everything became silent other than the sounds of the buttons being pressed and the rackety metal. I sat diligently for a minute trying to take in what just happened. I stood up and ran out the door which just slid open once I was a foot in front of it. I walked over to them and angrily yelled, “What in the hell just happened?! What was all of that about and where are we?!”

“Why don’t you take a look outside yourself, your Majesty”, one of them calmly responded. I sped walk to the closest window on the side and it slid open. Darkness and shining dots. A silent void of nothingness, but not completely empty either. I didn't want to believe it, but we were in outer space. The aircraft I thought we were in was actually a spacecraft which took us into outer space. I gazed at the stars and right below us, was earth. It was humongous and blue and green. The continents were completely visible and the oceans were vast and were not black and gray anymore. It looked almost healthy. These people were right, with all of us gone, it’s like the earth began to heal itself. Only if pops was here to see this too.

“H-How is this possible? How are we in space? How is the earth so green and blue?” I asked stutteringly.

“All of your questions will be answered once we get back to the city but for now, why don’t you tell us what is the difference between the earth you are seeing now and 500 years ago, your Majesty?” He asked politely,

“Well,” I said while staring at the earth. “The oceans were not that blue. Where my colony was, there was snow everywhere, but that’s not where all the colonies were located. Every colony had their own terrain and weather. Each was placed at a different location, on a different side of the earth. The atmosphere was really polluted and that’s why society fell. We ran out of resources and materials. Economies crashed, governments disbanded, and we were left to care for ourselves. That’s why we developed colonies. To try and survive. That’s all there was to it after everything fell.”

“I see,” he answered. “And what were you and your father doing before you went to sleep, your Majesty?”

“Well, Pops discovered that a storm was going to come. It would destroy the whole colony he said. And no one believed us when we tried to warn them. Pops and I then tried to get away as fast as we could and seek shelter at the nearest neighboring colony, the 3rd colony, but it caught up. We crashed and then he placed the thing on my chest. After that, I went to sleep,” I explained carefully. He turned away and walked to another room. A couple seconds later he came back out with something in his hands. He reached out and presented it to me in front of my face.

“Is this what your father placed on your chest?” he asked. I looked at it intensely. It was definitely similar. The confusion kicked in quickly.

“How do you have one? Pops only made a total of three. He used his last one on me and the other two went missing, or at least he said they did.”

“Your question will be answered once we get back,” he replied. The spacecraft began to move again. We were going even farther away from the earth and in just a couple of seconds, I wasn’t able to see it anymore. “Goodbye Pops, goodbye earth,” I whispered inside my head.

About an hour has passed. I had fallen asleep on one of the chairs probably yesterday because of all the running back on Earth. I dreamt about last thanksgiving with Pops, mom, and sis. We were all happy sitting at the crusty wooden table my dad had hand built. We devoured the best pork porridges that mom was known famously for making. Sis was laughing so hard from one of my jokes about Jordan that some of the porridge started dripping down from her nostrils. As much of a happy dream this was, all of this dreaming about food had made me grow hungrier. I woke up from the pain my stomach was giving me. The growls from it was so loud that the others turned to look at me in concern.

“I’m sorry, I haven’t eaten in a while. Do you have anything I can munch on maybe?” I asked.

“Yes, I will fetch you something right away, your Majesty,” one of them replied while hastily walking to another room. He came back out with a cart full of exotic looking dishes. I was not able to make out any of the food on the cart, but it smelled so good and I wasn’t able to stop drooling. He handed me one of them. On top of the plate was a slab of meat shaped into a cylinder with strings wrapped tightly around it. It was filled with juices as I could see it leaking out from the bottom. Steaming with a smell that reminded me of pulled barbeque pork, but it didn’t look like pork. I began eating it immediately. The taste was almost as scrumptious as mom’s cooking itself. Every one of my taste buds was coated in the juices and the meat melted in my mouth like buttercream. I couldn't stop myself from eating. After this plate was empty, I proceeded to try the other plates as well. All four of them looked pleased at the sight of me eating away, which I thought was very weird.

I had finished every dish on the cart and he just simply gathered the plates and placed them back on the cart and brought them back into the other room. I laid back on the chair with my belly rising up, burping from the delicious meal I was served.

“Thank you guys so much. I hadn’t had a good meal in a very long while,” I said.

“No problem at all, your Majesty. It is our duty,” one of them said politely.

“Why are you guys talking like that and by the way, why do you guys keep calling me ‘Majesty’?” I asked in confusion. They all remained silent. I shrugged it off and continued to lay down with my eyes closed, but then suddenly I felt the ship come to a stop. I rose up from the seat. All four of them stood up and proceeded walking to the door. I slowly tagged along behind them nervously. When they reached the door, it slid open and for a second, a powerful ray of light shined through the other side right at my face. I squinted and tried to focus and see what was on what it was. It slowly began to fade away and I could see a hundred silhouettes of heads and bodies turned my way. The four of them turned sideways to look at me and began to bow slightly. One of them then said, “Welcome home, your Majesty.” and then I could see.

Hundreds of different kinds of people, or aliens I should say. All with different physical features and clothes. Some had long faces with three eyes, some had short faces with long noses, and some had no eyes or noses or ears at all. Everyone was unique in their own interesting way. Large and small varieties of space crafts soared hundreds of feet right above us in the dark but starry atmosphere. The entire city was lit brightly with bulbs that were pink, blue, and green in neon. The ground was built in tiles of bronze and iron, the buildings and skyscrapers were gigantic and constructed diligently in silver and gold. This was a sight that was only seen in movies or read in books, but here I am, seeing it with my own two eyes.

“This is amazing!” I said in awe. “I can’t believe something like this actually exists!”

“We will take you to go see President Loi,” one of them said. They let me walk down the stairs first and they followed behind me. As I walked down, everyone gazed, following my every movement walking down. There in front of me is a vehicle I have never seen before, but the doors slid right open for me when I got closer. Inside the vehicle were seats covered in red and green leather that screamed luxurious. It was spacious and I realized that there was no driver but instead a device that seemed to look like a microphone. I cautiously entered the vehicle and gently sat down. Then there was a beep and a voice.

“Welcome home your Majesty, I will now take you to see President Loi as he has been expecting you. Please remain seated and enjoy the ride,” the device spoke. I did so as instructed and the vehicle began to take off deeper into the city. The scenery as we drove by reminded me of what Pops had hoped the earth to become eventually, but sadly we’ve never gotten to see that future for us on Earth. The citizens of the city were all scattered everywhere and it even seemed like they were going to or returning home from their jobs. I saw a little establishment right beside one of the taller buildings that looked like a bar where one alien was serving a purple drink in a small tinted cup. Two others seemed like they were communicating with each other but not with their mouths. Their hair coming from their 3 fingertips connected with each other and through that, it almost seems as if they were talking. They both then bursted into a laugh from their mouths. Everything in sight was extremely staggering. I scooted closer towards the right side window and saw a statue of somebody who looked human. I whispered to myself, “Who is that?”

“That statue was made in honor of our founder who helped create this city and gave us the knowledge and tools that aided in the development of our technology you see today,” the device replied abruptly.

“O-Oh okay. Thanks,” I replied back. “What was his name?”

“He was an earthling by the name of Dralin,” the device answered. My face froze as I turned away slowly from the window from the shocking answer given. I couldn’t believe it.

“How do you know my fath-”

“We have arrived. Please exit the vehicle in a safely manner and thank you for choosing Flux Transportation,” the device said before opening the doors. I peeked outside and here we were right in front of an enormous, if not the biggest, building in the city. I slowly stepped out of the vehicle and immediately an alien dressed almost like a concierge or butler came to me and raised out his hands. He was probably asking for my luggage, but I didn’t have any. I gently unzipped my jacket and pulled it off roughly as it was tightly worn around me. I placed it into the arms of the butler. He bowed then walked into the building speedily. My shirt was drenched in the fruit juices from back on Earth mixed with my own sweat and dirt from the running. I smelled horrendous. I continued walking towards the building and the bystanders surrounding the building all turned to look at me. Their eyes locked onto me which made me feel insecure, almost like I was an exhibition. The doors were the first thing that caught my eyes. There were two doors. Each was about fifteen feet tall and 10 feet wide with silver and gold lining around the corners. The center of each door stuck a purple orb that glistened as the neon lights around the city shined on it. They were monolithic. Intimidating. I walked up to the doors and laid my hands on one of them. Suddenly, the orbs began to glow a bright purple and the monolithic doors began to open inwards. I stood in place as the process was happening, too afraid of what was inside, and after a couple of seconds, they were fully opened. The first thing I noticed was the smell. Flowers and nectar, just like the auroma back on Earth. The floor was painted in gold and the walls were encrusted with the same orbs as on the front doors. There were paintings on the walls that I cannot describe or comprehend. And right in front of me, were a long flight of stairs that came to a split, leading to the left and right. And in the middle stood a throne, but it was empty. I proceeded to walk towards the stairs. From the side, a door opened and somebody came out. A woman with long silver hair in a beautiful purple dress covered in gems and jewels. She was the most human-like person I have seen so far and just staring at her features made me feel infatuated. She walked up to me swiftly.

“W-Welcome home, your majesty! It’s nice to finally meet you!” she said hesitantly. She bowed her head right after, not even looking at me or my face at all.

“You may call me Flora. I will be your personal maid from here on out,” she said with a high pitched voice.

“Oh, um, thank you for having me, but why do you call me ‘majesty’?” I asked.

“Because you are the king, your Majesty,” she replied quickly.

“Yeah, no, I am not your king. I am Mint. I’m just here to get some answers,” I replied back in confusion.

“I will now take you to meet President Loi, he has been expecting you, your Majesty,” she replied, neglecting all I just said to her. She turned around and walked up the stairs waiting for me at the top to follow her. I cautiously followed behind her, being very meticulous about the whole place. She continued leading me up the building, then into a long hallway with many doors on each side. And at the end of the hallway lays a door that looks dramatically different from the others. She continued walking towards it and I followed behind her.

When we got to the door, she stood at the side and said, “President Loi will see you now.” I grabbed on the cold silver door knob and opened it. In the room was a magnificently large round table and at the end of the table was a man. He stood up and I could see that he was wearing a suit that looked very futuristic. Shiny and luxurious. He walked around the table and then up to me. He stood at my front, face to face, toe to toe. He stared down, right at my eyes and then, a smile.

“Aha come here nephew!” He yelled out as he wrapped his arms around me for a hug. “How have you been Mint? It’s been way too long, but I wouldn’t expect you to remember. Anyways, come sit down! Let’s talk!” he said excitedly. He pressed his hands on my back and gently pushed me to the table where I then took a seat. He went to the opposite side and sat down immediately. He made a genuine grin while staring, like he was waiting for me to ask or say something.

“I don’t remember having an uncle,” I said to him.

“Well of course you won’t remember because it was years ago. Your dad and I were very close, until I had to go and he wanted to stay on earth. And I’m sorry about what happened...He didn’t deserve that, but you’re here now and that’s all that matters, Mint. You can call me Uncle Loi,” he explained.

“Then Uncle, please explain to me everything that is going on because I am lost and confused about everything,” I desperately pleaded.

“Well okay,” he sighed then continued. “Back in the year 2298, your father and I were working on a project that we called XY. The project was the last attempt at saving mankind before everything was headed towards an irreversible condition. XY was a type of subatomic nanite particle that, if created correctly, would have the ability to cure and create almost virtually anything. The science was complex, and the trials and tests were dangerously violent and long. Many volunteers had died intaking the particle into their bloodstream and until a certain point, I had given up, but not your father. Oh no, he was persistent and desperate. Because at the time, he had someone else that he loved that he needed to save, your mother.

I tried to convince him that it’s impossible and that we cannot save mankind. He didn’t listen. And so I focused on another project in which I was able to get funding from many organizations and even governments from around the world. I wanted to create a shuttle that would carry humans amongst the stars. So that we could have a fresh start on another planet. And so, for the next couple of years, I developed exactly that. A shuttle by the name of Aris. It was revolutionary. Containing technological advancements of machinery, this shuttle would be humanity’s gateway to the stars. The only issue was that it needed fuel, but not just any fuel. It required a much more efficient and potent type in which earth did not have at the time. Until one day, your father appeared out of nowhere, after many years of not seeing each other, with the XY particle.

He had completed it. I don't know how or when, but he completed it! He came to me when he knew that I needed help with fuel for my shuttle. He explained to me that the XY particle was more useful than we anticipated and that it would be a great fuel source for the shuttle. He handed me the blueprints and formula for it and from there, together, we were able to get the shuttle to fully function in a day's work. The news was told throughout the earth. All people of all nationalities raced and competed for a spot on the shuttle, but it was not meant to carry the whole population. And so the government decided that the shuttle would only accept healthy and physically fit individuals. And so, over the last few years until 2330, we collected as many prestige individuals that we could find and placed them onboard the shuttle. A little over 2 million individuals I would say.

And then in 2332, it was the day that we had to leave Earth and venture out in search of a new home, but your father wanted to stay. I was confused, until he explained why he did. Your father loved the Earth too much to abandon it. He said that he would make it his life’s goal to do everything he can to save mother Earth. I was angry and annoyed at him, but I loved him, and I will not drive him away from his dream and so I had to let him go. But before we departed, your father had perfected and even upgraded the XY particle beyond its limits and offered me a life changing gift. The particle we initially planned to develop was to only cure and create, but now with his modifications, they would prolong life itself. To an estimate of one thousand years worth of life.

He himself had already taken the particle along with your mother, but I hesitated. To me, it felt unnatural and wrong. To live a century sounded like torture, but your father was persistent. He wanted to meet again someday, he claimed. And so I took it. A needle to the arm was all it took and suddenly my body grew stronger and my prime years quickly grew back onto my body. I may be a few hundred years old, but as you can see, I look twenty-five. The particle was magical, but it also means it was dangerous. Your father entrusted me with the modification details in case anything was to happen to him when we left. He wanted me to keep it safe and away from the people filled with greed and who lust for power. And I did. In fact, he gave me all of his technology and inventions that use the XY particle, but only he and I have the details of the modifications.”

“Are you saying that Pops was over a hundred years old? And so was mom?” I asked shockingly.

“Yes, that’s right. He was an old geezer,” Uncle Loi replied with a chuckle.

“Your father spent the rest of his years back on earth, coming up with a formula for many years, desperately trying to save Earth. While in my case, I was able to spend my time developing this city station in space. Thanks to your father’s technology combined with the particle, we had the tools of the future which built the very place you are seeing today. And over the years, we’ve had ‘visitors’ of all races, coming from different systems and planets. The news on this place went galactic and soon we were getting really busy. I then thought that I would need to create diplomacy with every single race I’ve encountered to ensure a healthy partnership with their kind and ours. Mutual benefits came raining in as the city thrived and grew and as it grew, I was beginning to worry about your father back on earth. I sent a message to him saying if he ever wanted to come join me, that all he had to do was say when. But he never did. The old geezer gave up, apparently. He knew that there was no magical serum or science that could save Earth and that Earth just needed to heal itself in due time. He lived out his life in those colonies in which he gave birth to you, and your sister.

But as the years went by and the conditions of earth grew worse, your father became afraid. And so he did the unthinkable.”

Uncle Loi’s face frowned like he was angry and disappointed. The room was filled with complete silence. His mouth was open, but not a single word was coming out, like he couldn’t push himself to explain it to me.

“What did he do?!” I shouted angrily.

“Your father had placed you mother and sister into a pod one night, while you all were asleep. The pod had put them into a hypersleep and while everyone in the colony was sleeping, he brought them down into his sub-leveled basement meters and meters below the earth where he then stored them. He told me of what he did, and I was angry. That he was crazy and that it was all unnecessary. Your father had gone mad, Mint.”

After hearing everything Uncle Loi had said to me, it was as if my whole life flashed before my eyes. Everything I knew, to mom and sis dying in an avalanche, to the fact that I had an uncle all this time. Everything was a lie. I grew furious as my fist clenched tightly and my teeth gritted against each other. I thought back to when pops had placed the last xypod on me. “Was he planning to use that on me too eventually?!” I angrily thought to myself.

“Look I-I know it must be hard learning all of this at once, but don't blame your father for what he did. He was just scared, Mint,” Uncle Loi said. I flashed up to look at him.

“He was scared?! He lied about mom and sis dying! He would've done the same thing to me too if it wasn’t for the storm! For the longest part of my life, I had to grow up without them and now I’m learning that they’re alive somewhere down on earth?!” I exclaimed loudly.

“And that’s why I sent a Flux team down there. To find that bunker and retrieve your mother and sister but even then, we were never able to locate it. Your father had kept the bunker hidden secretly for many years without a single detail or clue as to where it is.”

“So that’s who those guys were that picked me up? They were down there searching for mom and sis?” I asked agitatedly.

“Yes, but then they contacted me and said they found someone else, you. For the longest time, we thought you had died in that storm, Mint,” Uncle Loi said as he rose up from his chair and slowly walked around the table, towards me.

“But now that you’re here and alive, you can finally reclaim your throne, Mint,” Uncle whispered loudly at me.

“My throne? What is with all of these names? ‘Majesty’?” I questioned.

“ You see, these people, these species, they worship us as immortals. We both have the XY particle inside us! We can live for hundreds of years and maybe even longer! They made me president, but it's your father who they wanted to deem king, and sadly now that he’s gone, you are next in line. You carry his blood and you carry the XY gene, Mint,” Uncle Loi claims expressively.

“How can I carry the XY gene? I never took the shot,” I asked.

“You are his kin. You simply carry his blood and so you carry the gene as well. It is why you’ve only aged a few years in the pod even after 500 years had passed,” answered Uncle Loi. “You are immortal, Mint.”

I had my doubts, but everything made too much sense to reject. If I carry Pop’s blood then, maybe I do carry the XY gene. But, still, the thought of being king and governing these people was way above my pay grade.

“Me? King? How can I be king? I’m still just a child…” I questioned myself. Uncle Loi sighed calmly while looking at my faceless expression.

“These people need a king, Mint. They need a leader, a role model, and a sign of hope. They come from all over the galaxy, escaping their war torn or dying planets, for a place of security and freedom. I can’t hold this place up without you, Mint.”

I had found myself spacing out from all that Uncle Loi had said to me. If this was what I have to do and if I truly carried Pop’s blood and the XY gene, then this is his legacy. Maybe it is my destiny. I regained my focus and looked at Uncle Loi. Then with a single nod, I saw his face lit up with a smile so big, it almost looked creepy. I had become a king.

Chapter Three: The Mission On Earth

Flora led me up to my quarters. After walking for 15 minutes just to get to my room, I was able to get an understanding of how big this place really was. My legs were killing me. The ceilings were about three times my height and with each turn on the corners, was another long hallway leading somewhere else. I was able to finally get to my room and Flora mentioned that she would be coming back to bring me dinner. I was starving too so it was a coincidence. I opened the door and went inside. The first thing that caught my eye was the size of the bed. If I could compare it to back home on earth, it would've been half the size of the dome layout itself. There was an enormous circle shaped window right beside the bed that had a view of the entire city. An entire city in which I am king to. I walked over to the window and peeked out through it. Looking down below I saw the races of aliens all walking together and conversing just like how people normally were back then on earth. I stepped away and went into a room which looked like the bathroom. I showered and started to put on the clothes that Flora had given me. The material felt very comfortable, almost like cotton and fur, but yet still very sturdy as I tried to pull on it and it would stretch, but then harden as it gets thinner. It was something I have never seen before. Just as I was playing around with the clothes, Flora bursted into the room with my palate of dinner in her hands.

“Your majesty, your dinn-” Flora announced just before dropping the palate at the sight of seeing me completely naked. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry your majesty! I should’ve knocked! Please forgive me!”

“N-No, It’s okay! I’m sorry I should've gotten dressed quicker!” I replied back scrambling to cover my private area as I ran into the bathroom. I got inside and slammed the door shut. I could hear Flora outside trying to clean the food off the floor. I quickly stretched myself into the clothes and then slowly creaked the door open to take a peek at how she was doing. She was using her own bare hands to scrape up as much of the food that she could back onto the palate. Filled with a little guilt, I rushed over and began helping her clean up the mess as well.

“Your majesty, please allow me to clean it up! It was my fault!”

“No no, it’s fine. Let me help you clean it up.”

“I can handle it your majesty I-”

Uncle Loi then bursted into the room. He looked around until he saw me on the ground cleaning and yelled, “Mint, we have a situation!”

I looked up at him and saw his worried face and struggling to catch his breath. He motioned his hands saying to come and I got up and trailed behind him into the downstairs front lobby where I first entered the building. We stood at the top of the stairs looking down. There were soldiers of aliens in black and blue combat like-suits. All were carrying weapons of all kinds in which I have never seen before. They all lined up in a formation with one soldier standing out in front of the rest which I assume is the Lieutenant or general. They all saluted.

“Your majesty, Mr. President, we have received news that marauders are heading down to Earth in search of something.”

“And what exactly might that be Lieutenant?” asked Uncle Loi.

“We don’t know exactly, but there appears to be a sizable amount heading there as we speak. We await your orders for our next course of action,” said the Lieutenant. I turned to look at Uncle confused as to why marauders would be going to Earth. Uncle Loi paused to think.

“Send down a fleet. Capture these marauders and question them of their reason for going to our planet.”

“Yes Mr. President!” Replied the Lieutenant. They all marched out the door hastily in formation. Uncle looked distressed and I could even feel like something terrible was happening. I ran back upstairs into my room and grabbed my dirty jacket and slipped it on. I ran as fast as I could downstairs into the lobby in an attempt to catch up to the soldiers, but then Uncle caught me and held me back. I continued to struggle to try and break free but couldn’t.

“I have to go with them! If my mom and sis are still alive down on earth, I have to go and get them back!”

“It’s too dangerous! I have been dealing with these marauders for years and they are not the kindest people,” he yelled back trying to speak some sense into me. I tried to calm down and slow my panting. I watched as the last soldier marched out the door. I knew I had to be there if these marauders were to try and do anything to my family.

“If I am king, then you must obey me!” I yelled at Uncle. He slowly released his grip from me and stood back. He gave a big sigh and gave me a stern look as I did back.

“I order you to take me to Earth right now,” I said assertively without hesitating.

“Yes, your Majesty,” Uncle said back quietly. We both ran down the stairs and followed after the guards.

Uncle and I sat in a spacecraft flying down to earth along with a few soldiers. Uncle’s fast travel technology had helped us travel to earth in just a couple of minutes, different from the one I’ve been on before. He gave me my own set of XY infused armor, one of the technologies that he had invented himself and the same ones that each soldier was wearing. He said that these armor would protect us even against a grenade blast and that it also has the ability to heal wounds once worn. I was truly living in the future of technology. The craft had reached the surface and started to slowly dock. The doors opened and we all stepped out. Earth looked different. On one side was the same from what I’ve seen before, on the other, the grass were shades of brown and black, the trees were withered, and there was no sound of wildlife at all. It looked like a plague had cursed half of the land as it was headed in it’s direction. Uncle came behind me and tapped my shoulders. I turned around and in his hands was a gun. He handed it to me.

“If you see or hear anything that is not me or one of us, you shoot then ask later,” He said intensely. I placed the gun into one of the armor’s weapon slots and we began following the trail of the rotted vegetation.

One of my hands was placed steadily on my gun as we marched through the deadlands, or so I named it. We marched in a formation in which Uncle and I were in the middle while the soldiers created a circle around us, ready to protect and defend us from anything. I focused on one of the soldiers and how the armor operates.

“Hey Uncle, if the armor is as you say it is, why are we still on such high alert if we know nothing can hurt us?”

“ I never said we were invincible, Mint. I made this armor to protect us from physical damage. Like bullets, blades, fire, and cold. These marauders, they don’t use any of that. They developed their own weapon.”

“And what weapon is that?” I asked.

“Biological weapons. Weapons that kill internally, with or without a wound. Wherever they march, death follows as you can see what they caused just traveling through here. They are dangerous, Mint. They are extremely foul and wicked. They kill, rape, steal, and devour anyone. Several planets have been destroyed by these marauders. We are here today to stop them from destroying the Earth,” Uncle said grimly.

“Pops definitely wouldn’t like that,” I said with a chuckle. Uncle looked down at me with an angry stare. He told the soldiers to halt and then bent down and grabbed me by both shoulders.

“Mint, these creatures WILL kill you if they get the chance. They are ruthless savages who do not understand the concept of mercy or prisoners. Over the years, they have killed many, many of our men. YOU were not supposed to be here, but now that you are, I ask respectfully that you take this matter seriously, your Majesty. This mission could turn out as a suicide mission in an instant,” he achingly urged. I instantly regretted that chuckle. My facial expression changed into a scared, nervous frown. Uncle got up and we continued marching.

We traveled for about an hour and still caught no sign of these marauders. I was about to ask Uncle about when we will get there, but I knew that we will get there once we find the end of the trail. Suddenly, the front soldier held up his fist, signaling the rest of the soldiers and us to stop and right ahead was a huge crater sized hole in the earth. It is almost the size of a dome if the dome was five times its regular size. All the soldiers aimed up their guns and slowly marched towards the crater. I pulled out my gun and did the same. We all slowly approached the hole and I could feel the intensity of the atmosphere. The front soldier took a glance down the hole and then turned back around towards us.

“There appears to be a cellar down there your Maj-” Suddenly out of nowhere a flash of energy came from behind and hit the soldier’s back. He flew forward and onto the ground. Shocked from the attack, the rest of us scrambled to find cover. Uncle and I ran and hid behind a rock while the soldiers hid behind trees and tall grass. I turned to the side and peaked at the soldier who was shot down. His body began to bubble as his blood started leaking out into a huge puddle. His head expanded until it suddenly exploded along with his body. His blood and guts flew everywhere painting the area in black and red. My eyes shot open as my legs began to shake. My mouth stuttered as my whole body froze into a statue. The soldiers began shooting off into the distance where the bullet came from without a specific aim. It was loud and terrifying. Uncle lightly punched my back in an attempt to make me snap out of my trance.

“You have to focus! Hold your gun tight and always have it in front of you!” he shouted amidst the shooting. I did as he did and held my gun straight out from my chest. Then the soldiers stopped shooting. It went dead silent. I could hear the wind blowing through the dead grass and my own heart beating louder than a drum. I took another peak and in the distance, I saw a purple figure. I rubbed my eyes and was able to see it more clearly. Three arms, one on each side like ours, and then one on the top of its head, four legs, one on each side of their body. It had a huge eye on the center of it’s torso and then its mouth. With those large and razor sharp teeth, there must’ve been a million in their mouths. I stared with a face full of fear, but then I held out my gun, aimed at it and fired. Out from the gun came a bullet that glowed with light. A plasma bullet. It hit the creature directly in the eye and it fell to the ground, screaming a blood curdling pitch, then it stopped moving. It spewed blood of dark green and yellow from the bullet wound. Then from above came a disfigured but horrifying aircraft that did not look like one of ours. All of a sudden, out from that side of the field came scrambling the other dark purple creatures which raced to the aircraft and jumped into it. In a fast motion, they flew away into space. We all came out of our cover. I stood still with the gun shaking in my hand in complete trauma of what just happened. Uncle came from behind and gently grabbed my gun.

“It’s okay, Mint. We’re safe now,, thanks to you,” he said comfortingly. I glanced up to look at him and he smiled down. “I killed an alien,” I thought to myself. We walked over to the soldier who died from the aliens.

“Make sure his family is added into the kingdom’s support program,” announced Uncle.

“Yes Sire!,” all the soldiers said at once.

“What was that Uncle? What just happened?”

“Those were the marauders and that’s what they do to you when they see you.”

“And why did they run away?”

“Mint, the marauders only have one weakness throughout the times that we’ve dealt with them; they’re cowards. Once one of them falls, they all retreat. That was the only way we've been able to survive. No matter what kind of technology we have, it wasn’t enough to top their weapons,” explained Uncle. We continued towards the crater and examined it. There appeared to be a cellar at the bottom just like the soldier had said before he was shot. We all slowly climbed down at an angle, making sure we didn’t lose our grip. The cellar was old, it was made of the same material that we used to construct the domes back then, so this must be the cellar that Pop’s kept mom and sis. On the door of the cellar was a lock. A 6 number combination lock. One of the soldiers suggested that we shoot the lock open, but uncle was afraid we would trigger an alarm or worse, a trap. I assumed that since there were six numbers, the passcode must be a date. And so Uncle and I brainstormed some possible dates that we tried on the lock but none of them worked. The date of when he created XY, his birthday, Uncle’s birthday, mom and sis’s birthday, my birthday, but none of them worked. We went on for an hour coming up with random events in history; The war for global freedom, the day the governments fell, The day the first colony was built, and etc. Nothing

“We’ve tried all the dates that we both can think of, Uncle. Nothing is going through at all.”

“Maybe we were looking at this all wrong, Mint,” Uncle suggested.

“Your father loved the Earth so much that he feared the day it would die. Doomsday. The day that humans go extinct and the Earth becomes a dead planet.”

“And what’s the date for Doomsday then, Uncle?”

“ But that’s just it. There isn’t a date for doomsday. It was never determined, officially. But there was a passcode, six numbers, that was associated with doomsday.”

“And what’s that?”

“000001, the amount of days it takes for all humans to become extinct after the Doomsday clock has been activated. And the code that activates the Doomsday clock,” Uncle said solemnly. He proceeded to put in that code, and it clicked. A loud horn noise came from the ground. The horn that symbolizes Doomsday. The cellar doors began to open slowly and behind the doors were a long flight of stairs that led down steeply. Beyond the stairs was dark, an abyss. We all entered starting with Uncle and I. We cautiously stepped down the flight of stairs and with each step, the light bulbs connected to the walls turned on. Then we were at the bottom. Complete darkness. One of the soldiers used their hands to feel the walls for a switch and sure enough he found one. He flipped it on and the whole room lit up in white. It was a lab. A shelter. A food silo. It had everything you would need to survive for years. Supplies and equipment, food and water. Years worth of each. Uncle and I stood in amazement at what we were witnessing. If this was really Pop’s, then he really was terrified of the last day. We all began searching around, examining everything. There were old documents with unfinished details of technologies, laptops and computers filled with cobwebs, and more. I continued deeper into the lab section of the cellar where I hoped mom and sis would be located, but surely enough of investigating this lab and cellar, they were not here. This was not the correct cellar. Regardless, I continue to investigate more. I saw something oddly shaped behind a fallen chair in the corner. I walked over and moved the chair aside. Laid there was a skeleton. A human-like skeleton. And next to it was something else. It was a syringe filled with a mysterious red liquid. I closely inspected the syringe, but found no labels or name as to what it could be, until on the floor I saw a note. A handwritten note. I picked it up and read it.

I have created it! Everyone doubted me but I proved it to them didn’t I? With this serum, we can change the world. The ultimate soldier, the ultimate being on the planet! With this, I can finally take back our world. Maybe, I can even take over the antire yuniverce! Thae wil kno longer luk at us as week and puthetic. Wee will stand our ground. I shell rid this world of all empuritees that I see not fit for this universe. Sirum C-12 will cure this reality! Dr. Drafernaught.

“Serum C-12? What is this?” I thought to myself. The letter had so many grammatical errors that it was barely legible. I heard a loud bang come from the top of the cellar. Uncle came running towards me, freaked out. I hid the serum in my pocket away from him. He looked worried.

“We are trapped! They came back! We’re outnumbered, Mint! This was a bad idea! I should have never brought you along!” he panicked.

“W-What do we do then Uncle?!”

“You have to hide. We will do everything we can to try and stop them, but you must not come for us no matter what, Okay?!”

“No, no no let me fight too! We can stop them together!” I cried out.

“They are too powerful for all of us to handle. This is the only way to protect you, your Majesty.” Uncle ran out to join the others while I stood still in the lab. I can see from the distance, the shadows of the creatures coming down the stairs. Our soldiers were standing at the side of the stairs waiting for a surprise attack along with Uncle. I stood and stared. A flashback appeared in my head. It was mom, sis, and Pops. They all died and I couldn’t protect any of them. As the marauders got closer, I could hear more of their gurgling snarls and the stomp of their heavy feets. I took out the serum and looked at it.

“The ultimate soldier, the ultimate being” kept running around in my mind. I looked back at Uncle and saw him cock his gun back, ready to fight, even though I brought him here. I knew what I had to do. I injected the needle into my arm and the red serum ran through my veins instantly. For the moment, I couldn’t feel a difference, but regardless I ran to them.

The soldiers had begun firing up the stairs and so did the marauders back towards us, but each shot missed. As I was running towards the fight, there was a rush to my brain. Unsettling, but for that moment, I felt invincible. It was indescribable. I made it to the entrance. Uncle was surprised to see me.

“What are you doing?! You have to hide now!” he shouted out to me. I looked over at the stairs and knew I had to save them. I had to save my new family. Something then clicked in my brain and I immediately knew what to do. I ran towards the opening of the entrance. The marauders saw me, and shot their weapons. I was hit. Again. And again. And again. And again. But I wasn’t thrown back and instead I stood still. Uncle looked at me in shock and dropped his gun. The other soldiers tried to save me by grabbing me out of the way, but I turned and I stared at them, and they stood down instantly. I looked back up to the marauders, and I felt fear in them as well. Scared, they all dropped their weapons and scrambled to run up to the surface, pushing and shoving each other to be first. I raised up my hand towards them and slowly clenched my fists. All of them began to tense up where they stood. Their bodies frozen and strangled, struggling to break free. A surge of mysterious power ran through me again and then with another swift clench, they all burst. Their blood dripped from the ceiling like rain and ran down the steps like a river. Their organs flew around bouncing off the walls. My hand slowly descended and as it did, I felt my body hit the hard ground. And it went dark.

Chapter Four: To Fear

I opened my eyes and stood straight up. I was back in my bed. Back in the city. I anxiously looked around for Uncle, wondering if he was alright. There was a knock at my door.

“Come in,” I said wearily. It was Flora. She had brought up breakfast in her hand. Some eggs and a strange slab of meat. She walked hurriedly over to my side and placed the food right on my lap and went straight to the door without saying a single word.

“That was weird,” I thought to myself. Right when she opened the door, Uncle stood right behind it and entered. He came and sat on my bedside.

“How are you feeling, Mint?”

“I have a huge headache. How long was I out, Uncle?”

“About a week I‘d say.”

“A week?!” I exclaimed.

“Yeah. You were asleep for a very long time,” replied Uncle. I went in to rub my eyes but just before I could, Uncle grabbed my wrist.

“Let’s not touch your eye just yet,” he said concerningly. Regardless, I slowly went to feel around my eye and I didn’t realize it but I was wearing an eye patch on my left eye.

“Why do I have an eye patch?” I asked worriedly.

“Have you ever heard of Serum C-12, Mint?” Uncle asked with a raised eyebrow. I knew I had to come clean about what I found eventually. I couldn’t remember too much about what happened on earth, but it wasn’t normal.

“I found a syringe along with a note from a doctor named, Dr. Drakenote? Dralenite?”

“Dr. Drafernaught,” Uncle corrected me.

“Yeah that. It mentioned serum C-12 and how it can make a person turn into an ‘ultimate soldier’. At the time, I wanted to help fight off those marauders and so I just didn’t think I had a choice. I injected myself with it thinking it would turn me into some super soldier, but it didn’t. It did something instead, but I can’t remember too much. Anyways, how do you know about it?” I asked Uncle.

The room went silent as Uncle readjusted his sitting position.

“Dr. Drafernaught was a scientist who your father and I worked for as students, long before we had the idea of the XY particle. He was our inspiration. He taught us the ethics and morals of science which motivated us to try and save humanity. But he had a secret. He wasn’t human.”

“What was he then?”

“Dr. Drafernaught was an alien. He and his species were known as the Kiwons. They were known across the whole universe as the most intelligent race for their technology and inventions in many fields of science. The marauders wanted their technology and so they came and slaughtered many of them. The Kiwons were pacifist and couldn’t properly fight back against the marauders. Eventually, they were all killed. Luckily, Dr. Drafernaught was able to escape the planet in a pod and that very pod landed on earth right before your father and I were born. Using his technology, he disguised himself as a human and lived among us for many years. Your father and I had a natural gift in science and so when we met him one day at our school, he made us his apprentices and entrusted us with his secret. He taught us his people’s ways and beliefs. Their lifestyle and perspective on life. Eventually, he also gave us his people’s knowledge which expanded our intellect beyond humanly possible. We both studied hard and over time, we both designed and created many groundbreaking inventions of our own.

But one day, we discovered his true plans and deviation. He was working on a project that would give a person the ability to control fear and manipulate it into a physical force. He called it Serum C-12. He planned to use this serum to make every living creature fall under his control and order. I guess he was filled with vengeance at the time which expanded into his lust for power. Your father and I would not allow it. It broke the codes and ethics of his own people and we knew we had to stop him. And so your father and I developed a poison that would slowly kill his brain cells over time so that he would not be able to create it. We slipped it into his drinks and food whenever we could. And eventually, became more and more incapable, disabled. But then one day, he disappeared. Your father and I looked everywhere for him, but we knew his death was past due and that he would not have the amount of time left to complete it.

Last week what we found wasn’t your father’s cellar. It was his secret lab. And that corpse that you may have found, was him, along with his developed serum. You’ve injected your body with the serum which should’ve made you uncontrollable and power hungry, but you were able to hold it out back there at the bunker. Like you were protecting us. So when you passed out, we took you to our doctors and scientists here and we found out that your blood, fused with the serum, gave you the ability to maintain and control the serum’s effects. You essentially own it now as it is a part of your blood. Your eye, it is the doorway to your new ability and so unless it needs to be used, you must keep it covered at all times, Mint. ”

I felt like puking. I grew light headed after what Uncle had said and ran to the bathroom. I stood right in front of the mirror panting and nauseated. I slowly took off the eye patch and opened my eyes. My pupil was slightly dilated and blood red with a single line going right down the middle. It was the strangest thing I have seen yet. I approached it with my fingers to try and touch it, but then Uncle opened the door to check in on me. I turned around and accidentally glanced at him with the eye and he froze. His knees began to shake as his eyes began to shed tears. He just continued gazing at me until I realized what I was doing to him. I stumbly tried to put back on the eye patch, but then Uncle had already sprinted out of my room without a word. I finally got the patch on and ran after him. I had easily lost him as this place was a maze which I have yet to map out. I screamed for help and immediately to my right came running Flora.

“Yes, how can I help your majesty?”

“Uncle ran somewhere because he saw my eye! I didn’t mean to, but it affected him! We gotta find him before anything happens!” I exclaimed.

Immediately we both began searching the whole place top to bottom. Over fourty rooms and he was nowhere to be found. Flora came back to me and said that he was most likely not in the building and that he must’ve ran out into the city. She had ordered some soldiers to search for him throughout the city as well. I ran back upstairs and placed on my jacket then ran out into the city.

I continued walking down the streets of this enormous city. I was able to see each species closer and face to face. It has really opened my mind to just how big and amazing the universe really is. With every person I come across and pass, they bow down. Some store owners and workers come running up to me with gifts like fruits and drinks. I couldn’t reject any of them because they were all very kind, but it just felt so off. I haven't even done much yet to please these people and yet they trust me as their kings. I felt a rush of adrenaline run through me with every bow. Walking turned into jogging and jogging turned into sprinting as my worry grew more for Uncle. I ran past an alley that looked very interesting. It was cleared and not as dirty as the others from top to bottom. I saw faint trails of footsteps inside the alley leading all the way to the back in which I wasn’t able to see what was at the end. I continued down the dark path for a while and took the right and left turns it has. Eventually, I saw a small grassy-like field at the end, and at the end was a person kneeling on the ground. I sped walk towards it and as I got closer, I realized that it was Uncle. He was in front of a monument and as I got closer, it was a gravestone in the shape of a cross with two names on them; Poly and Hanko. It looked like a small graveyard and it must’ve been a secret one since it was somewhere so secluded. I touched Uncle on the shoulder and he didn’t flinch or move at all like he knew I would find him.

“I had lost them back on Earth before your father met your mother,” Uncle said faintly. I went to his right and knelt down with him, looking at the grave stone.

“Your Auntie, Polly, she was the most beautiful and funny person I know, other than your grandpa. She would make me laugh every single day with her jokes about your father. And your cousin, Hanko, he was an athlete. He was going to be an astronaut one day, he always told me.”

“What happened to them, Uncle?”

“It was a stormy night and we were driving home after the remembrance event of the war. She and I were arguing about something stupid. Little Hanko was sitting in the back, scared from all the yelling. Until one slip of a tire and immediately I lost everything,” Uncle said melancholy. I could see tears streaming down his face as he mourned his wife and child. I couldn’t find the words to say and so I sat quietly beside him. After a while, I could hear the soldiers and Flora running down the alley towards us. When they saw Uncle and I, they aided him up and back home. I stood behind a while longer after they left. Flora stood behind as well to watch over me. I wanted to pay my respect to Auntie and Hanko before I left the area. It was peaceful.

When we got back, they had placed Uncle under a deep sleep with the help of an anti-fear serum to help get rid of the effects and it seems that it worked considering that Uncle was sleeping so hard that he was snoring so loud. I returned to my room as well and sat on the bed, thinking of how I should deal with this “thing” that I have.

“I need to keep it under control.” I repeatedly said to myself. Flora knocked on my door.

“May I come in, your Majesty?” she asked politely.

“Yes you can come in,” I replied. Flora entered the room with dinner in her hands. She gently brought it over to me and placed it on the bedside table then she sat down next to me and placed her hands together like she was fidgeting. It seemed she had something on her mind.

“Y-Your Majesty, I was wondering if I can also look at your eyes? I’d want to know what I am afraid of and my own fears,” she asked stutteringly. I turned to her and gave a confused look. “Why would you want to do that?” I thought to myself.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Flora. You saw what happened to Uncle. This is not something to be messed around with. It’s too dangerous.”

“I understand, your Majesty, but all my life, I was never able to figure out who I am and where I came from. At least I don’t remember. If I were to remember the things I feared, then maybe I can remember something more about myself,” she explained. I stayed quiet. I was not sure whether to help or not. It could go severely wrong and she could also potentially have a mental breakdown like Uncle. I didn’t want to risk it, but this was the one thing that Flora had asked me so far since I got here.

“It’s okay, your Majesty. I will leave you to your dinner,” said Flora as she stood up and went for the door.

“Wait!” I shouted as I got up as well. I walked over to her and then grabbed her firmly so that she wouldn’t run away like Uncle did. She slowly removed my eye patch. Then when it was off, I opened my eyes, but she just stared into my eyes confused. She leaned in closer into my face to really look into it, but it seemed like it wasn’t working.

“Does it usually take this long, your Majesty?”

“No, it usually happens right away when I look at someone. Are you staring into the red one?” I asked.

“What red one?” she replied confused. I released my hands from her shoulder and rushed into the bathroom to look in the mirror. It was gone. The red eye was gone and my normal eye returned. I began rubbing it, but nothing changed. Flora walked over to me and leaned to the side of the door observing me. I walked out of the bathroom scratching my head. “Why is it not working? It worked on Uncle. Why not Flora?” I pondered.

“It’s because you’re afraid,” said a voice from outside the door. The person entered and walked towards me. He wore a white coat and had pitch dark glasses on.

“What do you mean? Who are you?” I asked.

“Forgive me, your Majesty. My name is Dr. Jolis. I am the head scientist in this city and am also your personal doctor.”

“Okay, I see. What did you mean by what you said?”

“We had a difficult time dissecting it from your body due to your advanced healing properties, but we were able to draw some of your blood which does contain the serum. We’ve done tests and trials to try and understand it, but all we were able to get from it was how it activates and how it becomes dormant. Your amygdala is the center part of your brain which is key to helping us develop fear and releasing adrenaline into our body. It seems that once we inject your blood with adrenaline, the serum cells become dormant and non active. As long as your body does not produce an excessive amount of adrenaline, your ability becomes passively active. If your body circulates enough adrenaline, the cells become docile,” He explained. I looked over to Flora which she then quickly looked down to the floor out of shyness.

“I was afraid I would cause harm to Flora and maybe that’s why it went away. So, if I was to calm myself down and relax, would it return and stay active as long as no adrenaline runs through my body?”

“Precisely,” answers Dr. Jolis. I went back to Flora, grabbed her by her shoulders again, and then inhaled and exhaled in a calm manner. I could begin to feel my heart rate slowing down and my mind more at ease. I closed my eyes and I began to feel a sensation. My eyes felt like they were morphing and they were heating up. I opened my them and I saw Flora staring right into them. Her eyes widened and I could see that they were starting to get red as well. Her whole body began shaking and her hands slowly ascended up to mines in an attempt to take them off, but I couldn’t let her freak out. I closed my eyes immediately and tried to hold her still. She struggled with all her might to try and break free, yet she was not making a single sound. Maybe it was because she was so full of fear that she could not force out a single breath. The doctor rushed over to help hold her down, as I attempted to calm her down.

Almost thirty minutes went by and Flora was slowly regaining herself again. She sat down and was drinking some water. The doctor and I watched over her, carefully observing her actions. I pulled the doctor to the side.

“Is there a way to get rid of this? From my body?”

“As of currently, no. The serum is now permanently infused with your blood. It has attached itself to every single blood cell in your body and now it is also what’s keeping you alive. Removing the cells would be to drain you of all your blood, but even then your body regenerates blood at an accelerated pace, making the process endlessly long and painful. Like it or not, you must learn to live with it from now on, your Majesty,” Dr. Jolis explained. Flora stood up from her chair and came over to join in on our conversation. She looked completely normal again.

“I’m sorry if I caused you any trouble, your Majesty.”

“No, no it’s fine really. And I should’ve told you this a long time ago, but you don’t have to call me ‘Majesty’.”

“Then what would you like me to address you as?”

“Just call me Mint. It’s my name.”

I could see Flora putting on a big smile when she heard my name. She smiled as if she was happy to finally call me my name. Dr. Jolis walked to the door and left the room, having explained everything to me. Flora thanked me for the experience and left as well, but I never asked her what she saw or what she feared. It was probably for the best and that whenever she is ready, she will tell me.

A couple days have passed and Uncle and I are still searching for Pop’s cellar. We’ve sent many soldiers and surveyors to earth in search of it, but to no success. There has also been no sights of any marauders either. It’s as if they were no longer interested in Earth, but that day we went, they must’ve been after the serum. Maybe they needed it to study it and help them with their weakness of cowardice. But, now it’s in me and maybe that means I could be their next target. Either way, these past few days I have been training myself to use the serum correctly. The hardest part of the training is to stay calm and not raise my adrenaline while in a dangerous setting and so far, there’s no progress. I couldn't understand too much of why I was able to control it so well back at that bunker, but maybe it really all depends on the moment. Regardless, it is always passive and activated. I asked the techs and scientists here to develop a more efficient eye patch that can open up and close when needed to so it can be used properly for combat situations. After receiving the modified eye patch, it will always stay shut to prevent it from affecting anyone else.

I have been waiting patiently for the next mission. I did not enjoy the fact that I am just back here, waiting, while my people are out there risking their lives either protecting this place or helping other planets. I’ve tried asking Uncle, but ever since that day, they decided it was not my time to be going out just yet. Apparently my life is very important for the wellbeing of Station City Kepla 1, but all I do is nothing. Not even paperwork or approving laws, etc. But today is different. A unit of soldiers came into our palace and had a mission request. Uncle called me down to the lobby to hear in on the mission. I quickly ran down and stood right beside him. The unit lieutenant saluted then stood completely still. He was a reptilian species from his physical looks Long snout, green scaly skin, and a meter long tail.

“Your Majesty, I would like to request a mission to my home world and help save my people from the corrupted ruler. For years now, after my departing, my clan along with my family, have been under the rule of an evil leader who has exceptional military power. I believe ours can offer more than capable soldiers and fleets to help save my people and gain their freedom. I humbly request this and I beg you for your generosity to help save my people,” the lieutenant asked. Uncle listened carefully to every word the man had to say, but still remained silent in his thoughts. The lieutenant looked at both of us with intensity, and then dropped down on his knees with his head bowed to the ground.

“I beg of you, your Majesty,” he pleaded desperately. Uncle gave a smirk and then nodded his head.

“Just take what you need, alright?” Uncle replied. I swore I saw the soldier shed a tear of joy when Uncle said that. He continued to bow down his head again and again, and then stood up. He saluted and then marched out with his unit.

“This is my time Uncle! This is something I want to fight for! I want to, no, I need to go with him. This is a great opportunity for me to explore and test out my thing!” I asked. This has probably been the one hundredth time I had begged Uncle to let me go on a mission, even though I was king and could’ve probably left a long time ago. Uncle sighed.

“Fine, fine. But, you must send a report once every single day back to me. Do you understand?”

“Yes, of course!” I screamed with excitement.

I placed on my armor and took a Flux transport to the military base in preparation for the mission. The military base was located near the center of the city and it has its own protective shield around the whole area to prevent civilians from entering. When my transport vehicle was closing in, we were stopped by two soldiers right before entering the gates.

“You don’t have any authorization to enter this faci-” and just before the soldier could finish his line, he saw me and stopped.

“Oh, your Majesty, I’m terribly sorry. Please proceed,” he apologized. He signaled the other soldier to open the gates and we rolled through. I stepped out of the vehicle and entered into the command building where the generals and lieutenants were planning their mission. I opened the door and everyone turned to look. They all immediately stood up straight and saluted.

“Excuse us, your Majesty, but what are you doing here?”

“I came to join you guys on your mission. If that’s okay?”

Well, of course, your Majesty, but it will be dangerous. Are you sure you are ready to go into battle?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. We are going to find out,” I concluded. They continued their planning, and I continued walking around the base exploring. I saw all sorts of buildings and establishments. Different guns and weapons, different types of armor, and different races of aliens. It was beautiful, despite it being a military base. The leading lieutenant, the same one at the palace, came and grabbed me when it was time to go. We boarded one of the speed crafts that uncle designed, and we ascended off. The lieutenant said he would explain the plan once we arrived at his home planet, Lorkiano.

We slowly descended down onto the planet. It has been a little over 5 hours of travel since this system was located hundreds of light years away from the city. As we descended, I saw that the atmosphere was bright pink with thick clouds. The planet as described on the info pad, was said to contain breathable air and a weaker gravity than earth. We landed roughly on the ground of the desert-like planet with only a few vegetation for miles and about a mile ahead from us, we can see a city. Again in the info pad, this place is supposedly the city that was under the rule of an evil and corrupted dictator. It was also his home city. The door opened and we all stepped out. Immediately I could smell the different aroma of this planet’s air and the lightness of my own body’s weight. Tempted, I jumped to see how high and far I was able to. I hopped with all my strength and I was probably twenty feet in the air. I fell back down with no injuries or damage at all. I began to have way too much fun until the lieutenant gave me a serious look. Immediately, I stopped and proceeded to focus on the mission. We were not able to speak or understand his native language so our scientists and tech specialist were able to develop a language translator mic that we all attached into our ear lobes. We all gathered around to discuss our plan of action. The lieutenant began explaining.

“That is the city Chorloke. It is the capital city of this planet and it controls everything. From every law, to every decision made is made in that very city. Our mission today is to try and assess peace with the dictator and obtain freedom for my people. If it is not given, we will assassinate him. If it is given, he shall lose all power over the city and the people will elect a new leader through democracy. I will have the alpha team focused on the probability of assassination while the beta team while be responsible for civilian defense if retaliation from the government arises. The rest of us will be responsible for potential combat and convincing the dictator to give up power through pressure and force,” the lieutenant explained thoroughly. I realized I was not given any position.

“Lieutenant, what will I do?”

“Your Majesty, you will be responsible for using your new abilities to ‘persuade’ the dictator if you can. We will keep our eyes on you if anything is to pop up.”

“Sounds alright to me,” I replied. I knew I wasn’t ready to control the power. Although I wanted to come here and assist, I can’t help but feel a little doubt inside me. I could feel the serum slowly dimming as my heart rate rose. We all marched towards the city, leaving two soldiers behind to maintain the ship’s functionality.

It was an hour-long trip. We had reached the outskirts of the city and the alpha team just made their move inspecting where to sneak into the city. The beta team began their contact with the civilians through their communication devices to inform them of our interference. The lieutenant and I walked up to the front gates to begin our mission. I could see the guards standing at the top of the walls glaring down at us as they contacted the others. The lieutenant began announcing something in his native tongue.

“We are here to see Pjom and discuss some business. Open the gates and let us through,” he announced. The guards walked down to the front of the gates as they began to open. Carrying long and sharp spears, they walked over to greet us. I then felt a ringing in my interpreting device. I tapped on it repeatedly to make it stop until it went completely silent. I took it off and noticed it was burnt out completely with marks of black. I asked the Lieutenant, “My ear thing broke. Do you have a spare?”

“Not with me at least. It’s okay, I will handle it from here. I’ll interpret everything for you, your Majesty,” he replied. I placed the device in my pocket. The guards stood in front of us and began talking to him. I wasn’t able to understand anything due to having no device. They gave us a hand motion signaling us to enter through and so we did. As we were walking through the city, I could see children and adults of his kind happily playing around with each other and operating just like how back home in the city was. The buildings seemed primitive but at the same time, looked very sturdy and well made. We followed the guards all the way towards the center of their city and at the center lies the biggest building here. They turned around to speak again and then continued to walk inside the building.

“What did they say?”

“They said that they will go and notify the king, but that only you were allowed to discuss anything with him. King to king. We might have to change a few things, your Majesty. When they come and get you, tag along with them and I will scope out a way to reach you at the top. The alpha team is already at their position with a strike if anything was to occur that would endanger you,” he explained. The guards returned outside and waited for me. Into the building I went.

The inside was very technologically advanced with computers and electronics attached everywhere. Completely different from the exterior designs. I wondered if this was the same for all buildings and homes here. We walked all the way up the tall building into a room filled with chairs and tables and at the front was the throne, covered in red fabric with a sun-like symbol imprinted in the center. Then from behind the throne, walked out the king. He wore a yellow tunic on his torso and a shiny silver crown on the top of his reptilian head. He sat down. The two guards closed the doors behind me as they stood guard. The king looked at me with his head resting on his scaly hands.

“What brings the king of Kepla to see me today,” he asked with a very deep and raspy voice. I was surprised to hear English coming from his mouth as I thought their people were not educated on our language.

“I’ve heard that you have an unfavorable way of ruling over your people. Today I am here today to try and discuss peace with you. You must give these people their freedom because they are suffering under you.”

“You dare question my rule on my people? We are a race of peace! Of loyalty and freedom! My people are happy just the way things are! Why are you truly here, King!?”

“To free these people as I mentioned!” I yelled back. He stood up in a flash and growled. The two guards behind me stomped their spears into the ground three times which startled me. Then silence.

“I am no tyrant!” he yelled out. “I love my people. I care for them, I nurture them as my own flesh and blood. If there were ever any signs of discomfort or suffering coming from them, I address it and solve the issue. Why would you think I am the person you are talking about, King?” he asked sternly.

“Because we received word from our lieutenant, which used to live here, that you were a person of corruption and greed. That you are not fit to be king. You enslave and murder your own kind. And that is why, you must come down the throne!”

“Well he is a liar! He tells tales of myths! I have done no such thing in the decades I’ve ruled! My people are fed, sheltered, and joyous! I strongly advise that you return home king. This place has no stay for you,” he concluded. I looked around and then up the windows. I could see one of the alpha team soldiers aiming their weapon on the king, waiting for my signal. I nodded my head slightly to stop them from taking the shot. They stood down. I opened my eye patch as my last attempt to convince him.

“As I said before, step down as king, or you’re going to force my hands,” I said.

“Never. I will continue leading and fighting for my people!” He replied back.

I opened my eyes and stared right at his. He froze. Just like the ones before, he succumbed to the effects.

“Stop! Don’t kill my people! Please! No!” he yelled out. He fell to the floor and began shrieking in terror, refusing to open his eyes. The guards quickly ran over to help him. I slid the cover back over my eyes, but something did not feel right. The king did not sound like how I thought he would, sinister and all. All he could speak about was what he did for his people and from the feel of his tone and emotion, it seemed genuine. Like he truly cared for them. I immediately thought back to when we entered the city and I saw those kids and adults happily playing with each other and how the city did not look to be suffering. Was this all a mistake? Why isn’t he acting like a tyrant or evil king at all? I quickly rushed out of the room, all the way down, out of the palace. The lieutenant was waiting for me at the front in the exact same position he was before I left. I walked towards him angrily.

“Why are we really here?! Why is it that when I used my ability on him, he yelled out about protecting his people?! He was clearly not evil!” I shouted to the lieutenant. He gave me a smirk. There was a presence behind me. I turned around and it was a soldier from the alpha team. I could feel a sharp needle going into my neck the minute I realized. I collapsed.

It was cold. The floor was hard and smelled like copper and iron. A headache was all I felt at the moment, inside a cell, shaking in the freezing wind as my armor was missing from my body. I was able to stand up and walked over to the front and realized I was back at the spacecraft. Outside, I could see the soldiers discussing something, a couple of meters out from me.

“What in the hell is going on here!?” I shouted at them. They ignored me. The cage wouldn’t budge no matter how hard I tugged on it.

“Release me right now, lieutenant!” I shouted again. One of them walked over, glared, and then chuckled.

“What’s so funny huh?” I asked. The rest of them followed, with smirks running across all their faces.

“You did all that we needed you to do, your Majesty.”

“Then release me right now! Why am I locked up?!”

“Well, obviously so you wouldn’t escape. All we needed was your ability to attack the king so we could take over.”

“What do you mean? I thought we were trying to establish a truce first? And I thought that these people were suffering?”

It had come to my mind, that maybe all of this was a set up. Everything felt wrong. It all seemed too easy.

“The king was no tyrant was he? He spoke differently. It seemed like he cared about the kingdom. Why are we really here?” I asked angrily. The lieutenant budged to the front of the cage and stared down at me.

“I was outcasted from this city because I knew I could do better than that man who sits on the throne today. I knew I could help lead the people to a more luxurious and better lifestyle, but the people said otherwise. I wanted to build a stronger military, to have it become the heart of the city and of this planet. A strong military would shine power on our enemies and with it, we could conquer whoever stands in our way. All we needed was a sacrifice of population and money, miniscule to the bigger picture. But no one understood my vision! Then I found Kepla 1. I joined the military there and rose up the ranks for this very day. Once I take over this planet, then I shall expand there. And if they refuse my demands, then I shall conquer them too!” He exclaimed proudly. I couldn’t let him do this. I needed to escape and warn Uncle of his sinister plan, but I needed to get out of this cage first. I opened my eye patch and stared into the Lieutenant, but it wasn’t working.

“We’ve injected your body with so much adrenaline that you’ll never awaken your abilities now. You should really try to conserve your energy. Today was a success since you were able to weaken that lesser king. Tomorrow, we take the throne,” the Lieutenant said.

The sky was dark and the clouds had cleared up. This cage was beginning to freeze along with the wind and my own body had begun to numb. They were all asleep inside the spacecraft while I was outside. I needed to find a way to get out of here and warn Uncle. I thought back to when Dr. Jolis had explained to me about my own powers, and how adrenaline was the blockage of my abilities. How were they able to get that information? Did they talk with Jolis? There was way too much adrenaline in me and I soon I found myself panting from overthinking the situation. There had to be a way to drain myself from the adrenaline, and then it hit me.

“ ‘Removing the cells would be to drain you of all your blood, but even then your body regenerates blood at an accelerated pace…’ That’s it. If I could drain most of my blood out, the injected adrenaline would run out with it and I should be able to regenerate it all back quickly!”

It was a bad idea, but it was the only one that made sense at the moment. There had to be a sharp object somewhere. Anything. I could see a sharp rock just a foot away from my cage. I used my hand and reached outside the cage for it. I pulled it back and then I stretched out my neck long enough to the side, preparing to slit my jugular vein. I grabbed the rock, held it up to my neck, and with one swift hand motion, I sliced.

It was warm.

All over me.

Getting darker.

Chapter Five: The Lake with Golden Lanterns

Pitch black. Emptiness. My hands to my toes were covered in lightning bugs and I glowed like a lantern. In the distance was a woman, a very beautiful woman. I called out,

“Hello?! Can you tell me where I am?!” I yelled out. No response. I ran towards her, but she just kept moving farther away. I sprinted with all my leg power and reached out with my hand. I blinked. I was in front of a big blue body of water. Lanterns flying in the air with a weird looking tree in the center. On the shore was the lady. It was much clearer now and I was able to see what she was wearing. A blue spotted dress. Almost like the one I had given my mother two Christmases ago. I heard a quiet whisper coming from her. I leaned in closer, trying to make out what she was saying,

“Your sister. She’s out there. She’s alive.”

I woke up suddenly. My head was dizzy and my stomach weak. I touched the cut on my neck, and it was gone. Healed completely. I no longer felt the excessive amount of adrenaline in my body and it was calming. It was still night and the soldiers were still asleep. My pants were drenched in my puddle of blood, which in a way disturbed me a lot. Now I could get out of here. I grabbed the same rock and started banging on the metal bars, making a lot of noise. One of the soldiers ran out towards me. I looked him dead in the eye.

“You all betrayed me, betrayed the city! Now you’ll get what’s coming!” I whispered loudly making sure not to wake up the others.

It took less than ten seconds for him to completely explode.

I had outdone myself.

But I didn’t care.

The keys coincidently landed right in front of the cage. I quickly used the keys to unlock the door, and stepped out. I was filled with anger. Quietly, I snuck into the aircraft and then into each of their rooms. I woke them up and with one look into my eye, they all shared the same fate as the first, saving the lieutenant for last. As I entered his room, I saw my armor lying on the floor next to his bed. I quickly snatched them and wore them immediately without a sound. The lieutenant tossed and turned in his sleep, he snored louder than the rest. I gently tapped on his chest to wake him up. As his eyes started to slowly open, I leaned in closer with mine. When he caught onto my eyes, he tried to run, but I held him down.

“We are going to return back to Kepla, and you are going to confess everything, you hear me? If you don’t do as I say, I can end it right now and then.”

“Y-Y-Yes, y-your Majesty. Right away,” He stutteringly said. I dimmed my ability’s effect a bit just to make sure he was still sane enough to take us back home. He started up the ship and then we zipped back to the city.

Uncle was furious. He angrily paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, staring down on Lieutenant Gornul, or so his name was, as Uncle decides his punishment. Five guards held down Gornul on his knees with his hands locked behind his back.

“You! You tricked me! You caged your king! And you lied about your home planet!” Uncle shouted at him. Got up just looked up at me and smirked.

“My men and I were tired. We wanted our own rule of land. We were so close to taking Chorloke, until your Majesty intervened. I didn’t know he was capable of doing that.”

“What is he talking about, Mint?”

“I uh, I had to drain my blood to get rid of the adrenaline, so…I slit my throat…”

Uncle quickly grabbed me and checked my neck.

“Okay, good. You healed completely,” He said in a relief.

“You, on the other hand, are going to be locked up! Take him soldiers!”

“One day! One day I promise you, Mint!” he said laughing as he was being dragged out. Uncle stormed up to his quarters while I stayed sitting down on the throne in the lobby. I laid my head back in relief that Gornul was arrested and can no longer hurt anyone, especially since I took care of his crew. Flora popped up around the corner.

“Welcome back, Mint. Would you like some breakfast or dinner? It seems like you haven’t eaten in days,” she asked with a soft voice.

“I’m okay, Flora. Thanks. Actually, can you do one thing for me?”

“Of course, Mint. What is it?”

“First, go put on something nicer,” I answered back. She hurriedly went up to her quarter as did I.

I decided to take a day from craziness and go on a shopping trip with Flora. Exploring the city would be a good idea if I am the king. From all the species of aliens here, I wanted to see what each of them does and how they play their role here in this city. Uncle gave me a card that carries the currency this city uses. I’d never thought that Uncle would develop his own economy. Maybe the guy is pretty smart after all. He gave me about a one million spending limit, which I don’t know if it’s a lot or not. Flora and I walked side by side through the crowded streets and with every head turn, I saw something that catches my eye. A building was floating off the ground with some technology I have never seen before. There were trees planted all around the corners that did not belong on earth. As we were walking, I saw Flora eyeballing a dress that was on display inside of one of the stores. Her walking slowed down as she admired it intensely.

“What’s that you’re looking at, Flora?”

“O-Oh it’s nothing. We should keep exploring.”

“Well, let's explore the inside of that store then. It looks interesting.”

“Okay,” she said excitedly. I was happy to see a smile on her face. She was the only normal person I have met so far in this city and she made me feel at ease. We entered the store and everybody in sight immediately bowed down. The owner of the shop rushed over quickly to greet me.

“Your Majesty, welcome to my shop. Please do look around and anything you want is yours of course.”

“Thanks, but if I want something, I’ll buy it like everyone else.”

“Thank you, your Majesty. Just let me know if you need help finding anything,” he said and then stepped away. Flora was taking an interest in everything she saw. It was like we were on a date and she was my beautiful girlfriend, wanting to shop for clothes. She picked up a purple dress and went to the mirror to see how she would look with it on, but then she placed it away right after. For about thirty minutes she did this and didn’t purchase a single one. She came to me all out of excitement and very relaxed.

“We should maybe explore other stores now, Mint.”

“Hold up,” I said as I swiftly walked over to the owner.

“Yes, your Majesty. How can I help you?”

“I’d like to purchase everything in the store and all delivered to the palace. How much would the total be?

“Of course, your Majesty! There will be no price for you! Please, I will wrap everything up and it will be delivered as soon as possible!”

“No, I insist. I am just a customer today.”

“Well, everything in total will be about three hundred thousand orms.”

“Great. How does five hundred thousand sound?”

“No no, your Majesty! That is way too much! I don’t deserve your generosity!”

“Oh it’s no issue. This is for my friend over there. She deserves this much for treating me so well. Please take it.”

“Thank you, your Majesty. These will all be delivered immediately! You have my word!” he replied soundly.

I paid and then rushed back to Flora.

“Hey, I think I got it from here. Why don’t you go back to the palace and see if Uncle needs anything, Flora.”

“Are you sure, Mint?”

“Yeah, I’m just going to walk and then do a little shopping of my own,” I replied. Flora walked her way back towards the palace and I decided to walk towards the inner part of the city to see what it’s like compared to the other parts.

It was dark, cold, and dirty. Like the slums of the cities back on earth. I saw a couple of homeless people sleeping on the sidewalk and under some bridges. It didn’t feel right that we, as the rulers and protectors of this city, are not addressing this issue. The roads were cracked and chiseled by what what seems like years of neglected care, the street lights were flickering and dirty, like they were unattended ever since they were installed. I wondered if Uncle ever got to see this part of the city, or if he just chose to ignore it. Either way, I’ll probably handle it as soon as I get back to the palace. All of a sudden, it was quiet. My feet have kept walking without me noticing where I was going and now it seems I have ended up in a dark alleyway of some kind. I heard footsteps in the distance. I could see three kids. All white hair with ragged clothes. They were skinny and they had bruises all around their legs and arms. From behind their backs, they revealed a metal pipe and raised it towards me while walking closer. This was a robbery.

“Hey! I’m gonna need you to give me everything you got sir!” the middle person shouted. It was weird. It was as if he sounded scared and hesitant. Even his eyes were wide open and he was hyperventilating.

“We don’t want to hurt you so just listen to us, okay!?” the left one shouted. I knew they wouldn’t hurt me and even if they did, I would heal right away.

“You guys don’t want to do this. It seems you guys need help. I can help you. Just lower your weapon, okay?” I said back calmly. They all stopped and looked at each other wearily.

“Maybe he can help us, Toln. We just need to bring food back to papa so he won’t get angry. If we can just ask nicely maybe-”

“No, Jamiel! No one is going to just help us because we asked nicely. We are Raichers. And we are outcasts. I don’t want to risk it because papa will get really angry and hurt us again.”

“Okay okay,” Jamiel replied. As they got closer, I knew I had to stop them and so I did what I had to do. I opened my eye patch and they all got a good stare at it. The pipe slipped from their palms and all three of them dropped into a curling position, crying.

“Papa, I'm sorry! I’m sorry! I’ll do better!”

“Don’t hurt us! I was just hungry, papa, please!”

“I didn’t mean it, papa! I didn’t mean it!” they all screamed in terror.

I can see clearly now that they are not the villains, but victims it seems. They all mentioned their “papa”. Maybe this was a case of domestic abuse and if it is so, I can’t let it continue. I walked over to them and somehow using my eye again, I took away their fear, making them calm down. I didn’t even realize that was something I could do. This ability was getting easier and easier to control, I could feel it.

“Can I see your guys' papa? I will talk to him and buy you guys food, how does that sound?” I asked them calmly.

They looked up to me with tears, and nodded lightly.

“What are your guys' names?”

“I’m Toln, to my left is Jamiel, and to my right is Raln,” Toln replied. They all looked incredibly alike. Same height, same face, same hair color. It hit me that they were triplets.

They stood up and followed me to the closest grocery store I could find. After we shopped for bags full of food, I could see their smiles, even in their eyes. They looked completely innocent and chatted and teased each other like little kids. It was so hard seeing them as how they were before, but this was nice. I followed them as they quickly rushed back to their home.

When we arrived, I saw the conditions they were living in. A dirty, brown, rusted cubed house. No windows and only one door. They all took a breath before entering, and I followed behind them in.

“Papa, we’re back!” Toln said

“It’s about damn time! I am starving you little worthless pieces of garbage!” someone replied. Out came “Papa”. He was a monster. Smelly and huge, fat and sweaty, rotting teeth and a balding head. He was five times my size if I had a measuring tape.

“I’m sorry, we found a man to help us get food. We bought a lot and that’s why it took a while, but this should get us through the week, Papa,”

“This will get ME through the week! You three go get your own food!” Their dad shouted. The triplets stayed quiet and proceeded to hand the bags of food to him. He took a stare at me,

“Get out of my house, now.”

“No,” I replied calmly.

“If you don’t get out, I am going to beat that face of yours! Get out now!”

“Do you know who I am?” I said, raising an eyebrow. He leaned in towards my face, and inspected it, turning his head side to side.

“I don’t know who you are, and I don’t give a shit! Get out now.”

“Fine,” I replied. “But, I’m taking these three with me.” He turned around and started marching towards me.

“You will not be taking anyone with you! These are my kids and I own them!”

“You don’t treat them like our own, so they're coming with me. Try to stop me and you’ll regret it,” I threatened. He bursted out laughing loudly. He reached into the bags of food and took out a fruit and ate the whole thing with one bite.

“And what are you going to do, you puny shit?” he said cocky tone. I knew he probably deserved to feel my serum, but I don’t think he’s even worth the time. He was just an abusive, worthless, scum. I reached in for my pocket, and grabbed my ear piece and placed it into my ear.

“Hey Uncle, you want to send some people to my location?” I spoke softly into the mic.

“Oh calling back up aye, let’s see what they come finding once I’m done with you!” He shouted angrily. He dropped the bags of food and the kids ran to hide under a table. He curled up his big stinky hands into a fist, and plunged it at me with all his might. Right to the front of my face, hitting my nose. It pushed me back a couple of feet, but I was still on my legs. My nose bled from the punch and was broken, curving to the side. But, immediately, it stopped. My broken nose cracked itself back into place and ceased bleeding. I raised my hand to touch it and wiggle it around. I laughed. For a second, it tickled. I could see the confused look on his face. He proceeded to charge at me and punched me repeatedly on my whole body, but I stayed stationary. He stopped and slowly stepped backwards as he saw my body slowly healing from the his hits.

“No, no, no. You can’t be. I must be imagining it! Who are you!?”

“You’ll find out in just a second,” I replied. And right then, the door bursted open, my soldiers came flooding in with their weapons pointed all on him. There must've been fifteen to twenty soldiers that Uncle sent. Their papa stood motionless, glancing around with the red dots pointed at his body.

“Your Majesty, at your order,” one of the soldiers said.

“You’re the king!? Oh dear, your Majesty, I am sorry for what I did! Please have mercy on me! I will change my ways and become a better man!” he cried out. He dropped to his knees and began bowing his head down to the ground. The kids slowly came out from under the table and held each other. I again looked at their bruises and scars and their papa glanced at them as well.

“T-They got those from playing around with each other! You know how kids are, am I right!? He said hesitantly. I walked over to the kids and asked them, “Did your Papa do this to you?” They all froze, but then Toln nodded his head slightly.

“He hurts us when he’s hungry and drinks too much,” Toln said.

“Why You little brat!” their papa yelled. He charged towards them, but just before he could put his hands on them, I turned around in a flash and did it. Angry, I looked at him with the eye. He cowarded on the floor, screaming at the top of his lungs in a blood wrenching sound. He covered his face with his hands as his eyes began to bleed and his teeth began to fall out. I kept pushing in with the serum. It was infuriating. For how long had these children suffered. For how long have they starved while he stayed full. I wanted to kill him, until I felt a tug on my shirt. It was Toln.

I snapped back. I looked away and closed my patch.

“Take him away and lock him up. I will deal with him later,” I told the guards.

“Yes, your Majesty!” they all shouted together. They grabbed him by the arms and dragged his weeping body out the door and onto the transport vehicle. The kids all stared at the food on the ground.

“Come back with me. I’ll get you guys some better food,” I offered them. They swiftly nodded their heads and together, we all went outside into the vehicle as well.

The palace doors opened in my presence and we entered. The triplets stood close gother as always, shakened, but not scared anymore. Flora came rushing to me when she heard me come in.

“Mint, there is a whole room filled with new dresses and clothes from the store we visited! I think they must’ve made a mistake! I didn’t buy anything!”

It was me, don't worry. It’s all yours. I thought I’d do something nice for you because you’ve treated me so well, ya know.”

“Oh no no no! I can’t! It’s too much for what I deserve!”

“No no it’s fine, really. Plus, I already bought it, so please accept it,” I replied back. I could see she was visually getting happier and more excited. With a smile and without a word, she rushed up heading to the closet room, but just before she did, I interrupted.

“Flora? Do you think you can get the chefs and cook these three a meal?” I asked. Flora just nodded and proceeded to run upstairs. I told the triplets to follow her and that they would be taken care of. They hurriedly tagged along after Flora up the stairs. I went into my room and jumped onto my bed. F rom a long day of walking and getting punched, I needed to rest. But, just before I was about to shut my eyes, Uncle came walking in through the door.

“Hey, uh, you gotta explain to me why there are triplets in our dining room,” he asked me. I rose up from my bed with a grunt.

“They’re just hungry kids. We took in their abusive dad so we gotta give him his sentencing later too.”

“Well, you're the king and you brought him in, so it’s your responsibility. Handle this quickly, alright?” Uncle said and then left in a flash. I woke up from the bed and proceeded to head downstairs, and there the dad was, being held down right in the middle of the lobby, still crying and shaking.

“Your Majesty, your decision on what to do to the prisoner,” one of the soldiers asked. The triplets came running down the stairs and then hid right behind me, holding onto my shirt.

“Imprisonment for domestic abuse is standard fifteen Earth years. And on top of that will be every year for the years of abuse on the kids,” I stated to the soldiers. I turned around and asked the kids, “How long has he been hurting you three?”

“Since we were five.”

“And how old are you now?”

“Eleven, '' answered Toln. I turned back to their dad and with a straight face, adding up all the years for three of them, I said, “ Thirty three years. Lock him up.” The soldiers dragged him away but he was so frozen with fear to plead his case or even make a noise. Uncle came down to check on me.

“Is everything dealt with?”

“Yeah, He’s gonna be in our prison for a while. What do you think I should do with these kids?”

“Well where did you find them?”

“Near the center of the city. It was terrible. We need to do something about that area. It was in a very bad condition, Uncle. Why have you never did anything for that area?”

“I was always busy and I guess it was just never brought to my attention, but now that you mentioned it, I’ll take a look at it soon.”

“Also, the kids were just hungry so I let them eat here.”

“They sure look young for eleven year olds. Don’t they?”

“Yeah…” I said in confusion. Uncle scooted me aside and inspected the kids intensely without overlooking a single detail. His eyes grew wide. He pulled me away to the side.

“Mint, listen carefully, you need to calmly take these kids back to where you found them,” Uncle said whispering.

“Why? They’re kids. They don’t have anywhere to go and they’re no harm.”

“You don’t understand, Mint. Those are Raichers.”

“And what’s a Raicher?”

“They’re not humans. They are Robots. Artificial intelligence. They’re very dangerous and can destroy this city if they wanted to. We need to just let them be.”

“They don’t look like robots to me. They look like scared kids. We need to help them, Uncle.”

“You don’t get it, Mint. They were created by the very scientist who invented your serum. Those things destroy planets, Mint.”

Chapter Six: Three Little Soldiers

We stared at the kids as they played around with some dough material that Flora whipped up in the kitchen. Toln, Jamiel, and Raln, three kids, capable of destroying this city.

“Why the hell do you have planet destroying robots in this city?” I angrily murmured to Uncle.

“I don’t know either. They must’ve somehow snuck on when we first left Earth. They were supposed to be on Earth, and they should’ve been destroyed on earth when that storm hit.”

“Well clearly not. They are right there in front of our eyes.”

“Yeah, I see that very well, Mint. What should we do?”

“I don’t know. This is your city.”

“But, you’re king,” Uncle concluded. We continued staring at them as they played. Then the best idea came into my mind.

“Okay, okay. What if we train them as soldiers? Teach them to use their abilities, or whatever they have, for good? Maybe we can make them become heroes.”

“That is a stupid idea. I say we kill them now while they are still playing with the dough. Why don’t you use your eyes and pop their heads like all those times, Mint?”

“I am not going to kill kids, man,” I replied in a serious tone. Toln came running up to me with his dough in his hand in the shape of a person with a cape.

“Look, Mint! I made you! Because you're like a hero! So here is your cape and here is your red eyeball!” he said with excitement as he held out the figure. It was a sloppy handmade figure of me. For my serum eye, he had used a red bead and for my cape, he had used aluminum foil.

“That looks great, Toln. Go on, go play with the others, okay?”

“Okay, it’s so fun!” Toln exclaimed excitedly. He ran back to play with the others. I turned towards Uncle and gave him a smirk. Uncle sighed loudly.

“Okay, I guess they’re not so evil. But, we must keep them supervised at all times, understood? They’re like time bombs. They can explode and destroy us all at any time.”

“Understood, Uncle,” I replied back with a smile.

The kids took a shower. I asked Flora to be in charge of taking care of their personal needs, such as food or clothes. And I would be in charge of teaching them how to act and behave, as my own. I asked if Uncle could teach them basic combat, but he said he would have someone else teach them instead. I did not know basic combat either. I didn’t think I would need it anymore because of the serum and the XY gene, but uncle mentioned that it would be a good time for me to learn as well. He instructed lieutenant Golt, the combat trainer for our military, to train us four together. The three of them and I had to wake up everyday at four in the morning and train until eight.

Ten days have passed since our training. It was intense. All the miles we ran, all the push ups and sit ups, it allowed me to become stronger and faster myself. The fighting techniques we learned were a mixture of all self defense styles back on Earth, combined into one. Out of all of us, it was Toln who had excelled the most. Mastering every technique and physical test in the first six days and since they were all robots, they all advanced farther than me in general. The only thing making me strong and invulnerable was the serum and XY gene. Uncle had appraised me many times these past days. Saying I grew more muscle and that I looked more mature. I thought so too. My physique was more muscular and I felt more like an adult, especially with Lieutenant’s mental discipline training. Toln, Jamiel, Raln had gotten their own rooms inside the palace. They had been very polite and kind towards everyone they met. Sometimes, they would even go out into the city and help out citizens with their daily chores and work. I’d like to say that part was on me, for teaching them to help the helpless and to be kind to everyone, and fight hard against enemies. To be true heroes. Flora had also grown a liking to the triplets. She treats them as if they were her own kids. She would be angry at me sometimes when I am harsh on them, and not cook my meals for me. She no longer saw me as a statue to worship, and for that, I am glad. Sometimes, I would feel bad for how much she does. I am happy to see that she is beginning to become her own person with her own personality. Uncle on the other hand, has been working with the scientists and techs to develop a new set of armor, specifically made for me and the triplets. This armor that he was creating, was supposed to be made of nanotechnology. Something that is easily carried around and minuscule that comes out when pressed or signalled. I couldn’t ask too much about it since Uncle was incredibly busy, but he also mentioned a device on my armor set that would help me control the serum even more than my eye patch. I was excited. The sets made for the triplets were going to be almost the exact same except he had placed an emergency lockdown program in theirs in case they ever went rogue, but I doubt it.

It has been a couple weeks since the incident with the triplets now. They had become mature little soldiers, and my best friends. Jamiel loved to tell jokes, Toln loved to create gadgets with materials he would find, and Raln loved to read and do research on anything he finds interesting. Then there is me, the now fatherlike figure to them, and in which they look up too heavily. I wouldn’t want to do anything wrong and become a bad influence on them, but they were ready to set out and help defend the city.

I sat in my room holding and looking at the jacket that I first had when me and Pops left the colony. It was definitely a good reminder of how far I’ve came. Suddenly, Uncle rushed into my room, interrupting me folding the jacket.

“We got a situation down on Earth. It’s time to put those weeks of training to the test,” he said. I went to wake up the triplets and then we all rushed downstairs, dressed in our undersuits. Uncle was waiting in the lobby, with four silver cases laid out on the table.

“Come here guys. They are all ready and made.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“These are what I have been developing the past few weeks. Your new personal armor,” he said proudly. He opened the case, and in each one, anti-climactically, was a ring. Completely gold, lined with a hinge of purple. The triplet’s rings had a blue orb attached to theirs, while mine had a red orb.

“These are the new nanotechnology armor that I developed. Four times stronger than our old armor and five times more resistant to any weather condition or temperatures. Please, put them on!” Uncle said insistently. We each picked up our rings and placed them on our desired finger. Toln, on his left hand middle finger. Jamiel, on his right hand, pinky. And Raln, on his left hand pointer finger. I decided to place mine on my thumb on the right hand. Uncle gave me a smirk reacting to my decision.

“Now, to activate the armor, just press your orb for three seconds and prepare,” Uncle said as he took a step back. We all pressed our orbs and held on. One, two, three. The orbs glowed, and from the gold, a black substance slowly started to encase our body. Wrapping around our fingers, then proceeded to cover our whole hand, then arms, torso, legs. Then lastly, it went onto our neck and stopped. The substance began to form itself into a hard material. From the material, it developed the breastplate, gauntlets, greaves, and other armor parts. The black color went away and instead became the color of our orbs. I had completely turned red while the triplets turned blue.

“Your helmet will automatically put itself on when it senses danger, or when you click your orb again,” Uncle explained. We all clicked our orbs again, and the black substance around our neck began heading towards our face, soon encasing our whole head. It formed itself into the shape of, what almost looked like, a motorbike helmet. A gold line developed straight across where my eyes would be and then I was able to see through it, but it was different. My vision was enhanced tremendously. There were many settings labeled on the display; phase, defensive, and offensive.

“Uncle, what are these settings?”

“Those are combat settings for when it is necessary. You will figure them out on the mission. For now, click on your orbs and hold for five seconds,” He asked. We did as he said and held on to it for five seconds. In a flash, the armor retrieved right back into the ring, and the glowing dimmed down back to how it was before. I was truly amazed and stunned by Uncle’s creation. This was revolutionary, even in the field of nanotechnology. Uncle continued on and handed us each a tablet containing the mission details.

“Our troops had discovered a location on Earth through their telescopes. This place seemed unreal and from how they explained it, ‘A lake with golden lanterns’.”

“Lake with golden lanterns?” I asked Uncle, surprised.

“Yeah. Why does it sound like you know the place?” Uncle asked me. I shook my head.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“Well anyways, this location is very similar to the landscapes on a planet called Ghojika. Ghojika is known for the mysterious phenomenons that occur there. People who have been to that planet, came back knowing knowledge and information that couldn’t possibly exist during their time. Unfortunately, before I was able to also reach that planet, the marauders had destroyed it. On that planet, there were many areas, just like this lake on earth, on it. They were covered around the whole sphere like patches. Maybe if we can reach that lake, we can determine if it is like the ones on Ghojika. If it is, then we can probably ask where your mother and sister are.”

That was his plan. He was still trying to find ways to find mom and sis, who would’ve thought. The triplets looked worried. Like they were afraid of going on their first mission, and I couldn’t blame them. They were never of the violent type. Although scared, Toln was the one who looked the least. He stood with a positive posture, trying to be a role model for the other two. Uncle gave us time to prepare and gather our equipment before leaving. This time, we were taking a different spacecraft. The first spacecraft that Uncle had designed and flew here. Aris.

The triplets gripped tightly onto their belts as we descended down to earth. This time we were landing somewhere in Old China. We stepped outside cautiously. It used to be so beautiful before the war, but now it is just all dried grass and dead trees. Creatures that are similar to vultures soar in the air and little critters and insects scour the ground. This land had been bombed and infected with so much radiation that even after five hundred years, it still looked like this.

I didn’t expect the lake to be here where it’s dry, but what do I know about anything lately. Lieutenant Kolp was selected as the mission leader for this expedition, being a marine-like orc, he looked heavily intimidating, but while going over the mission objectives again back at the shuttle, he actually sounded very decent and weirdly kind. The triplets tightly gripped their guns as they creeped out slowly.

“We gotta get a move on guys. We have to find this lake before anything or anyone else does,” I said to them. They stood up straight and tall and we began marching towards the designated location. About ten soldiers were accompanying us on the trip, which seemed a lot at first, until I remembered our last trip on earth.

Night had come earlier than expected. We had been walking for only a couple hours and yet it got really dark. Lieutenant Kolp decided that we should take camp because the night was more dangerous to travel in, especially on this new Earth which could contain unknown predators. The triplets and I were responsible for setting up the shelter. Uncle had packed us a capsule box that once it’s pressed and tossed, will create a miniature home that has beds, showers, and a fridge of food. Two soldiers decided to stand guard outside since they were nocturnal and did not need sleep at night, while the rest of us stayed indoors. Jamiel and Raln had fallen asleep first and now that I am thinking about it, I did not know that robots needed sleep too. The rest of the soldiers slept in their combat armor and so did I. Toln, on the other hand, stayed awake, sitting on the floor next to his brother’s beds. I thought that something was on his mind and went to join him.

“Hey what’s up, Toln?”

“I worry about my brothers. I hope nothing bad happens on this mission. I am still just a kid and I am very thankful for you taking us in, but I am still scared.”

“I know, and I wouldn’t have never taken you and your brothers if I didn’t think you all were capable. You three are the strongest kids I know of, I don’t think we will come across anything that the three of you can’t handle together.”

“Do you really mean that?”

“Of course, cross my heart,” I replied with a smile. Toln sighed with relief and then jumped on his bed, almost immediately going to sleep. I decided to go outside to get some fresh air. I placed on my boots and walked outside. The night sky was beautiful. I had wished Pops was here to witness the starry nights once more. I heard a sound in the distance. I pressed my ring and my suit came on encasing my whole body. The two soldiers outside stood guard.

“Your Majesty, would you like us to check that out?’

“No, it’s okay. Stay here and protect the shelter. I’ll be right back,” I told them. I followed the noise. For some reason, I was leading myself so far away from the rest of the guys. It wasn’t the suit that was helping me sense the sound. “Could it be the serum? Is this fear I am sensing?” I thought to myself. There in the distance, a camp. There was a campfire next to an all black hut made of scraps of metal, it seems. There was a bush that I hid behind while focusing on the camp. The door of the hut opened, and out came a marauder. I stood still. “Why are they here? What could they possibly need from earth?” I pondered. Out came five more. They were talking to each other in their weird sounding language. I placed on my translator to try and make out what they were saying, but the translator wasn’t working. Or maybe we just don’t know their language, but either way, they were discussing something intensively. They were scared of something, I could feel it. The amount of fear emitting from their bodies was enough to explode all of them in an instant, but I shouldn’t. I needed to know their motive here and why they are so interested in Earth. I took a step backward

But, I stepped on a stick.

The marauders all turned towards my direction, just after I ducked down. They marched towards the bush I hid behind, with their weapons. I set my armor to offensive mode and suddenly it begins morphing. Spikes grew from my shoulder pads and my fist. The helmet’s vision changed into target mode. I felt incredibly powerful as the armor started surging my body with its technology. A marauder threw his spear at the bush and just before it was going to hit me, I dodged it by rolling into the open, where all of them spotted me. My helmet went down and my eyes opened, glancing at all of them. Their weapons dropped to the floor as they screamed out. I heard it so clearly. They’re screeches and wailing. Their fear, it was translating itself in my mind. It was painful and unbearable to the point where I also fell to my knees, grabbing a hold of my head. It spoke so loudly into my head.

“Release us! You’ll all die! Jalorith will reign! Bathed in your blood!” This sentence repeated multiple times into my head, and then it stopped. I panted loudly as I tried to stand up, but it was difficult. I could hear people running towards me from behind. I turned around and stood in attack mode again, despite my current condition. They bursted into the opening, but it was just my soldiers and the triplets. They must’ve heard all the commotion and rushed over.

“I’m okay. I spotted some of those guys. Right behind me,” I said while pointing. The marauders were flat on the floor, not moving a single muscle. The triplets came and helped grab me up while the soldiers carefully approached the non-moving marauders. Their skin was no longer purple, but white. As if they were drained of all their life force. Their presence no longer rotted the ground or anything at all. Completely lifeless.

“What were you doing out here all by yourself, Mint?” asked Toln.

“Just checking out a noise, but then they caught me. I’m fine though, really.”

“Still, you should’ve said something,” Toln replied agitatedly. The soldiers came to me and confirmed that the marauders were dead, that they were drained to be specific. Their bodies laid on the ground, lifeless and soggy. We all walked back to the shelter, where I fell asleep from the exhaustion.

We left early in the morning. The sun was blazing hot this time of the year on Earth. There were a couple bodies of water that we came across in which we were able to clean some and use it for our hydration. We got our food from the shelter and from our ration capsules. Traveling over 20 miles without a break, my legs were starting to kill me, even though everyone else seemed fine. We reached a valley just right under a mountain and at the bottom center of that valley was a small lake. We picked up our pace and rushed towards it just enough to see a tree in the center. Surrounding the lake were flying shining golden orbs that took on the shape of lanterns. This was the place that Uncle was talking about, and the one in my dream. Maybe I will finally be able to get some answers as to where they are. When we all reached the lake, we saw how clear the water was and how bright green the leaves were on the top of the tree. An orb floated across my face and the aura I got from it made me feel safe and warm. Like I was back on my bed covered by the softest blanket ever.

The lieutenant began making contact with Uncle saying that the Lake was located and asked for further steps. After a while of talking, the lieutenant went silent and ended the call calmly saying, “As you wish.” I decided not to mind it too much and focused more on the lake. Just as I walked closer towards the shore, the lake started bubbling and fizzing. The tree began to blossom flowers that were bright yellow and pink. From beneath the water, came out a woman. A beautiful woman with long black hair and wearing the same dress I saw in my dream. All the soldiers immediately aimed their guns at her and the triplet’s and my armor were automatically activated and placed on into defensive mode. Something about this situation told us that we were in great danger in the presence of this woman. My vision lenses in my helmet repeated the same message over and over just like the triplet’s, “Evacuate.” Thinking that this woman was dangerous, I had no choice but to use my eyes. I opened them and stared right at her, but she stared right back, as if nothing was going to happen. She began walking towards me. Not breaking eye contact at all. I could tell my serum wasn’t working because my adrenaline was spiking incredibly high and my fight or flight mode had kicked in at overdrive. The soldiers all aimed their guns at her as she slowly walked. The lieutenant came running right behind her and yelled out, “Do not take one step closer towards the king!”. She proceeded walking. He warned her over and over, but it was as if she was completely ignoring him. Finally, he fired once at her, straight into her back. The loud to silence moment made everyone frozen and tensed up, but the woman wasn’t fazed or injured at all. She stopped right in front of me and gave a smile.

“It’s you. It’s really you,” she spoke softly. I kept eye contact as did she, except now that I was really looking into her pupils, I began to sense the same things that I did earlier with the lanterns.

“Stand down!” I shouted to the rest. They all gradually lowered their weapons and so did the lieutenant. The woman raised up her palm like she was expecting me to raise up mine as well. I carefully lifted my hands and when I did, she swiftly touched mine with hers. My vision went dark. I recognized this place. The fireflies surrounding me, the lake with the tree and the lady in the distance. I quickly rushed over to her.

“You finally found me. I have been waiting for a long time, son.”

“ You must have gotten the wrong person. I don’t know you, sorry.”

“I remember when you used to always metal petals with your friends. You guys always hurt yourself and you'd always come home crying.”

“How do you know-”

“And your dad would always get mad at you, but I would always calm him down and let you be because you’re still just a kid at that time,” She interrupted. I pieced everything she said together and from looking at her dress that was similar to the one I had given mom, I figured it out finally. She looked different, but maybe that’s just because it had been a long time. My eyes began to run down with streams of tears. It didn’t look like her, but I couldn’t help but just sense her presence. It was really mom. I ran up to hug her and she immediately wrapped her arms around me as well. I held on as tight as I could, almost like I was suffocating her.

“Where have you been? What is this place and why are you here?”

“Mint, we never died in an avalanche or placed into capsules by your father. Your sister and I just had to leave for a bit, but we never forgot about you and your father.”

“Leave for a bit? Ever since you guys ‘died’, you never came home! What is going on, mom?”

I could see the tears forming in here eyes when she looked at me.

“Your sister and I are not from Earth sweety. We are Kiwons. You might’ve heard of Drafernaught. He is my brother.”

Chapter Seven: Dark Descension

I snapped back into reality. Mom was still pressing her palms up against mine. I could see the streams of tears running down her cheeks as we maintained eye contact. The soldiers around us stared in confusion, but interest. The triplets as well. The lieutenant slowly lowered his gun when he realized that I wasn’t harmed. I could feel the warmness of her hand and the sense of joy and peace gazing from her eyes. For once, ever since emerging from the pod, I felt like I had won. Just me and my mom, in this moment.

“Your sister is alive and well. She is also in a desperate search for you, it’s just that you’re both looking in the wrong places. She’s not in our galaxy. She has been pushed far, far away by a cosmic wave and is now residing in an unknown, yet dangerous galaxy thousands of lightyears from this one. I can’t explain everything, but I’m sure you and her can catch up when you find each other,” Mother said calmly with a concerned look.

“How am I going to travel that far? It would take years, maybe decades with our current technology.”

“I know I cannot aid you in your trip, Mint. But, I can give you this vital knowledge that should ease some of your troubles,” Mother replied. She gently backed away her hand from mine, and then, with her pointer finger, she tapped my forehead. Immediately, I could feel a rush of images, words, and whispers flood my head. My eyes were fidgeting everywhere, trying to keep up with all the information that I was receiving. After a couple of seconds, I focused back, but mom was gone. I was too distracted with what happened to realize that she had just blipped right in front of me. I could see the look of awe on everyone’s face, especially the lieutenant’s. Just as we were distracted with my mom’s disappearance, a gunshot came out of nowhere and struck the ground right in front of me. We all looked up from the valley, and twenty, maybe thirty marauders were all lined up with their weapons aimed at all of us. We all aimed ours at them and began shooting.

Everyone ran for cover and I chose to stay with the triplets. For minutes, we traded bullets, but none of it was hitting anyone. I couldn’t get into the distance to use my serum on them due to the field being covered in loud sounds and flying lights from the weapon warfare. I looked over to the triplets, and they were whispering to each other. I heard them counting down from five. When they got to one, they all shouted and ran into the field. I tried to stop them, but they were too quick. All I could do was watch as they ran into the firing, but I was amazed. They were jumping and leaping and rolling past all the bullets like they were olympians. They were quick, as if they were slowing down time to dodge every single bullet. Up the hill they ran, towards the marauders and soon they began to muster up fear, I could sense it. The marauders were retreating, but the triplets caught up to them and with just their hands, they ripped into their chest and ribs, tearing them apart one by one. It was gory, it was gruesome, and I could sense that they were not afraid at all. Not a drop of fear coming from them. It was like they were made to kill and destroy. For a second, I began to feel a little fear coming out from myself watching their violent outburst. In just that moment, they had killed every last marauder standing up there. The triplets all jumped in joy, laughing and high-fiving each other with purple blood tainted across their armor and face. The soldiers and I slowly resurfaced from our spots and gathered in the middle. I called out to the triplets and they came rushing down, running like little kids. I could hear them calling out to me in the distance.

“Mint, Mint, Mint! Did you see that?! We were so cool and we saved everyone! We are heroes now, just like you!” Exclaimed Toln happily. I looked at them with a blank face, but I couldn’t help but acknowledge that they did save us, in an unorthodox way at least. I grinned slightly and proceeded to pat all three of them on the head. My armor retreated back into the ring, probably sensing that the danger was gone.

“Yeah you guys definitely are now. I am proud of you guys,” I said back confidently. They all giggled to each other as I continued gently patting them. I had forgotten that even though under that flesh of theirs is pure titanium of advanced robotic technology, they are still just kids who need guidance and reassurance. I turned back towards the soldiers and the lieutenant, and caught a glimpse of all of them listening into their coms. Their heads nodded in unison, and proceeded marching towards the lake. They all aimed their guns at the tree and immediately I knew something was wrong. I ran towards them yelling at the top of my lungs.

“What are you guys doing?! Don’t shoot, don’t shoot!”

They ignored me and immediately began blasting at the tree. I could see the rumbles of each branch as the leaves began descending to the ground with every bullet hitting the trunk of the tree. I kept on yelling and yelling but they weren’t listening. Somehow the tree stood strong without changing too much, but I could tell that it won't stand for much longer. The triplets stood in the back with confusion and fear with what was happening. I knew I had to make a decision. I couldn’t let them destroy the only thing I had left of mom and because they wouldn’t stop, I grew angry.

Furious.

I ran in front of them where the bullets were piercing my flesh one by one, and opened my eyes. They noticed too late and they all tried to look away, but I was faster. They trembled and vibrated. I could feel it, the power from my anger, my lust of revenge, coursing through my veins into strength.

I’ll do it. You guys hurt my mom and now I am going to kill every last one of you. You’ll suffer, by ripping your limbs off one by one. And then peeling off your skin. And then your head.

I had lost myself.

I wanted them to suffer so bad I knew I would do anything to achieve it. I raised my hands and formed a fist. All of them were lifted up into the air, all their limbs slowly stretching apart. I knew with another clench of my fist, they would die…

But then something caught my eyes.

It was mom standing behind the triplets. And their faces, filled with absolute fear.

I could see tears running down their cheeks as they held onto each other. Mom placed her arms around them three and looked at me with a disappointed face as she shook her head no.

I keep on forgetting.

I’m their role model. I can no longer act like selfless and immature and do something without expecting any consequences. If they were to watch me kill all these soldiers, how would they have turned out? This was not the hero I wanted them to imitate. I needed to be better so that they could as well.Slowly, I let them all down. Their eyes were bleeding and they were panting. When they landed, they all immediately began to curl up and rock uncontrollably like a baby. It seemed the lieutenant was the only one to withstand most of it and was on his knees, just barely keeping himself together but shaking noticeably. I walked over towards him and he turned his neck up straight towards my eyes, but I wasn’t as angry as before. I had it under control.

“Who told you to destroy this place?”

The lieutenant was impressive enough to throw in a chuckle before answering me.

“Who else? It was your uncle of course!” he replied back while laughing. I didn’t want to believe it. Why would Uncle try to hurt mom? Why would he make such a decision?

“Why?! Why would he want to do this?!”

“I would never tell you!”

I grew more angry and knew that he wouldn’t talk, not without a little more convincing. I decided to push into him harder with the serum, pumping his veins with fear until it was visible to the eye. Throughout his body were lines of black and green, running up and down his neck and across his face. He was drenched with sweat and blood, dripping down from every pore on his face.

“Okay, okay! I’ll tell you!” he finally replied. I took away the serum, allowing him to relax a bit so he could talk. He took a deep breath all while keeping eye contact with me.

“Your uncle has tried looking for your mom and sister way before he tried looking for you or your father. Your father wasn’t crazy, it was your uncle who was the crazy one! The reason your father told your mom and sister to leave was so that your uncle wouldn’t get to them and drain them of their blood…but you don’t know do you?” He said with an ugly grin.

“Know what?” I asked.

“Your mom and sister are Kiwons. They weren’t human. When your father injected them with the XY particle, it mutated with their blood. The mutation took time, but surely it did what was thought to be scientifically impossible. It made them completely invincible and immortal.

You are not fully human either, your Majesty. You are half Kiwon. You carry the blood as well which makes you completely immortal and invincible as well. You may not have noticed, but your healing abilities have begun to advance over time. As you can see your bullet wounds from earlier have already healed in a matter of minutes, compared to back then when you went on that mission to that desert planet. You’ve bleed for quite a while until you healed.”

I quickly looked at my torso and noticed that not even a drop of blood was on my shirt but just holes and burnt marks. I was surprised myself that I hadn’t noticed. The lieutenant continued talking.

“In due time, your blood will mutate, and once you reach your prime, you are to become fully immortal. You will never age and you will never die. Sure, to some, that sounds depressing. But, no, no, no. Not to your uncle. He wanted it so badly. Ever since he had built the city, all he could think of was power and control. That desert planet, it was all his idea! He wanted to capture that city so he could take over their planet and harvest their resources for himself. But, you just happened to be there and ruin it.

When he found out from your father that the blood of Kiwons and the XY particle were the key to immortality, he tried asking to study your mom and sister. But, your father did not like his request, saying it was disrespectful and dishonorable. But he kept asking and it soon turned to desperation. He sent down may forces to try and kidnap them from your father, but your father was always the smarter one. Oh, he would create traps and defenses like no other that always trumped over your uncle’s plans of actions.

Until one day, your father has had enough. Your mom and sister both agreed to leave and go into hiding until he could solve the situation with your uncle. He lied about putting them into pods to trick him. Your uncle grew furious searching for them and insanity got the better of him. He himself developed a machine, a nasty and evil device, that would create planet killing storms. And that was what killed your father and entrapped you for 500 years.”

I backed away from him as he sat comfortably on the floor. I didn’t want to believe it. Lies after lies, was there anybody to trust now, but I knew this time, it was the truth. Everything came together like a puzzle. The incident back on planet Lorkiano , the sketchy scientists he has, the fact that he wanted to destroy mom’s tree, and that crazy big storm back on Earth. Everything screams out sinister. I had to save my sister and my mother before he does anything else to them. In the distance, I saw mom again. I ran towards her, leaving the lieutenant sitting on the ground.

Once I reached her, I couldn’t say a word.

“Don’t worry about me. I can handle whatever your uncle has to throw at me. Not like they can hurt me, son,” she said with a light chuckle. You already know what you should do from this point on, Mint. I love you, and be safe.”

I hugged her for one last time. And when I let go, she had vanished. Behind me, I could hear the lieutenant crawling on all fours, pathetically trying to reach for his gun, but just before he grabbed it, the triplets stepped on it. With a stomp, they destroyed it. They all angrily stared at him just right before they reached down and grabbed him by the throat. Three little kids, lifting an adult with ease. I rushed over as fast as I could before they could do anything.

“Hey, hey, hey! Guys let him down, come on,” I asked the three of them. They loosened their grips and he flopped to the ground, wheezing and choking. I saw the look on the kids’ faces. They were angry.

“He tried to kill you, Mint! Why are you still trying to save him?! He should die, just like the marauders!”

“That’s not what a hero does. Sure, a hero defeats bad guys, but they don’t just go around killing every bad guy. Some should live, and the very, very bad ones, if needed be, should be killed. But still, we don’t always kill, okay?” The kids all groaned and sighed.

“Understood?”

“Yes, Mint,” they replied in unison. I grinned from their reply. I was glad that I could set an example for them, even through out this crazy situation.

Now with the truth spilt out on the table, I don’t know what would be my next step. Do I return back to the city and confront Uncle, or do I go in search of my sister and hope that I can get to her before he does? But either way, I have to return back to the city. There is something that I need to retrieve before I can go in search of her. I looked around the shore of the lake, and all the soldiers were completely knocked out. I had juiced them up way too hard with the serum. They’ll be out for a while. I asked the triplets to destroy all their weapons laying on the ground. Stomp by stomp, the weapons splashed everywhere like legos. The lieutenant just blankly stared as we destroyed them and at his helpless squad. He was able to get himself up on his feet, but even then, he couldn’t move. He just kept on staring for a while and then turned towards me. He suddenly reached for his belt and pulled out his pocket knife.

“All hail Jalorith.”

And slit his throat wide open. The kids and I looked away. We couldn’t save him. He was only loyal to Uncle. But, what surprised me was that he said the same name as the marauders we killed yesterday. I had some many questions, but I knew right now was not the right time to figure it all out. We had to return to the city. I regretted leaving all those soldiers behind, but it was too risky bringing them along.

Finally, I was able to dock the ship correctly without damaging it too much. Who knows we might need it when we make our sneaky escape from this place. The triplets and I decided to walk all the way back to the palace instead of taking any transportation. It had way too much noise and could potentially alert Uncle of our return. After just twenty minutes of walking and covering up our faces to avoid attention, we made it. Now we needed a way in without opening the huge doors and making a scene. I stood still thinking and couldn’t come up with anything that could do it, but then the triplets tugged my shirt. They gave me a look that assured me that they had a plan. All three of them ran to the wall, and immediately began climbing. I had no idea how they were able to stick to the walls with just their hands, but I was too amazed to question it at all. They climbed all the way to this tiny vent just barely visible from the ground and entered it, one by one. I waited a couple of minutes, and then suddenly, the door slid open just a crack. I could see the triplets on the other side signaling me to slide through and so I did. I could tell that it was quiet enough to not draw much attention and to my surprise, there was no one inside the lobby as well. We left the doors open and quietly rushed upstairs to each of our rooms.

“Meet back down at the lobby in five minutes. Grab whatever you need, and we are out of this place. Understood?” I quietly asked of them. The triplets nodded their heads and we all rushed to our rooms. I opened the door slowly into mine and took a peek. No one was present. I entered and gently closed the doors behind me. I saw that everything was still and in the same position as I had left it before we left. I ran to the closet and grabbed my old jacket. It was washed up and clean, ready to be worn again. I placed it on and then rushed out the room. Just as I began running down the stairs to the lobby, I heard a large commotion coming from it. I stopped myself before I reached the final stairway and took a peek at what was going on. The triplets were in their armor and all lined up on their knees, although it didn’t seem like they were struggling to move. Behind them was Uncle and about twenty soldiers all aiming their guns at the triplet’s heads. They were in danger. I didn’t know what to do in order to save them. Uncle wandered back and forth.

“Where are you guys going, hm? I don’t see Mint with you kids, so where is he? I was suppose to be notified when he returned to the city, but it seems like he’s hiding. Does he not care about what I do to you three?”

“We don’t know where he is, okay? We returned on our own and he said that he would come after. We just came to get our clothes so that we could go out and play somewhere.”

“You really expect me to believe that made up story? I guess I’ll do this the hard way. Aim!”

All the soldiers cocked their weapons and were at ready to shoot them. I had to step out into the open and stop them. I slipped off my ring and then walked forward.

“Here I am, don’t shoot!” I pleaded. Uncle looked straight up at me and then gave me a smirk.

“Hey, you didn’t tell me you were back, Mint! How was it? I heard that you met your mom and that you guys ran into some trouble. Why don’t we all sit together at dinner and talk about what happened, yeah?”

“I’m going to find my sister, Uncle Loi. Just let us go. This doesn’t have to happen,” I demanded Uncle. The ring I held in my hand began to glow for some reason and then it began to heat up. I dropped it quickly, but not before it leaving a red burn mark on my palm. I turned to Uncle in confusion, and he then pulled out a controller from behind his back. Of course, he installed something inside the rings to trap us like how he is doing it now to the triplets.

“This could’ve been avoided, Mint. This should’ve never happened. If only you had let them take down that tree, I would have been like you and we could’ve ruled for eternity. But you just can’t let go of the past can you? You always think you’re doing the right thing…”

“I am! You tried to kill my whole family multiple times and you really thought that you could hide that from me!? Well I found out and I’m done! Just let us go and stay away!” I shouted at him. I picked up the ring and chucked it at him, but it just bounced off of his chest. The whole room went silent as he bent down to pick it up.

“I never wanted to hurt them, Mint. I just wanted to study them. Draw their blood and make my own serum so we could all be immortal together. We could’ve become rulers! We could’ve had anything we ever wanted! If anyone, it’s your father who was the greedy one for not sharing!”

Right after he said that, all the soldiers aimed their guns at me, like they were ready to kill. By now, I’ve had many guns pointed at me before, so this didn’t scare me at all, but yet I felt a tear drop from my eyes. Was I sad? Or was I disappointed at the fact that I thought Uncle was a good guy? Regardless, I had to accept the fact that, I can no longer trust him. And that we had to leave. While the guards were busy focusing on me as their target, they completely forgot about the triplets kneeling on the floor. If only I could destroy that remote in his hand, then the triplets could unleash their wrath on everybody there. But what could I do?

It was as if time itself slowed down, but a bullet came flying from the other side of the room and shot Uncle’s arm, making him drop the controller and breaking it in the process. I couldn’t believe it. It was Flora. With a gun in her shaking hand, and wearing one of the many dresses I had bought her, she had shot Uncle with a somewhat good accuracy. The soldiers immediately went into high alert. Yelling and aiming their guns everywhere in search of the culprit. I winked at Flora and she nodded back as she slowly backed up, hiding herself out of sight. Uncle held onto his arm as blood was dripping down from the wound, but I could see it slowly healing already. The situation was perfect. I took a look at the triplets. I nodded my head with a regretful look. And the horrible, yet necessary event began.

One by one. Limb by limb. Blood smeared the walls and ground. The shrieks of horror and the pleads of mercy. I turned my head away as the soldiers got torn into pieces. I no longer knew what was right and what was wrong, which villains deserved mercy and which didn’t. I just knew that I had to do whatever to get to my sister before he does. Just about a minute went by, and all I heard then was complete silence other than the dripping noises from the soldiers who were splattered on the ceiling. Everywhere I looked, it was painted red like a clumsy artist with a bucket of red paint. Uncle stood still in the middle of the slaughter as the three triplets, with blood drenched hands, slowly cornered him into the corner. I could feel the amount of terror coming from him as the triplets got closer. Flora slowly stepped out into the opening as well and together, she and I walked down towards Uncle.

“You left me no choice. Let this be a warning. You leave me and my family alone or next time, this will be your blood, Uncle. We will be leaving now,” I said calmly despite the event that took place. Flora, the triplets, and I all walked out of the palace together. As we walked through the crowd of the city, everyone stared and gasped at the triplets. They were drenched and unsightly, but we kept on walking. We just had to get back to the spaceship.

The door of the spaceship was left open, waiting for us to depart. Flora, surprisingly, knew how to fly the ship since she rushed to the command controls right away and began ascending us until we were hovering above the city in space. The triplets lead themselves towards the bathroom to what I assume, clean themselves up, while I went and sat down next to Flora.

“Why did you help us back there?” I asked her. She, still visibly shaking, just shrugged her shoulders. Her face was looking down and I could see her eyes were about to burst with tears, but somehow she was holding them in.

“I always had a feeling. That something wasn’t right. When I saw him aiming those guns at those kids, I needed to do something. and I don’t regret it, trust me, but I did not expect those kids to be capable of what they did.”

“Yeah, I didn’t either until just a couple of hours ago, back on Earth. I talked to them about it and made sure that they know when and when not to act like that. I guess I can’t blame them either for what just happened. They saved me, again. I’m glad you’re coming by the way. I wouldn’t want to leave you behind with him.”

“I wouldn’t want to stay with someone like him either. Although it does sadden me a bit. I’ve known him for the longest time and he’s always treated me so well. I guess people do really have a dark side to them, and I was just too naive to notice his.”

I grabbed her shaking hands and gently caressed them. Almost immediately, she calmed down. I stood up and went to go check in on the triplets. When I opened the door to the bathroom, they were all taking a bath together, scrubbing each other’s back inside the bath tub. The water and the bubbles were all diluted in red which made me feel sick to the stomach. I swiftly went over to the tub and unplugged the drain which washed down all of it.

“Get cleaned up quickly and meet me in the command room.” they just nodded with a smile on their faces.

Everybody was gathered. I stood right in front of them like I was the captain of the ship that was ready for a long journey ahead. After explaining what my mission was, I asked them if any of them still wanted to tag along and that if they wanted to remain in the city, I would let them go. None of them moved, but just simply gave me a smile. And I smiled back. Flora sat down and engaged the thrusters. When mother had tapped me on the forehead back on Earth, the gift she gave me was all I needed to help me down the line. The direction line. Galaxy to galaxy, to where my sister was.