CrimZon

Season 1 – Encounter

Episode 1 – Pilot

 

 

Unknown…

 

Upon opening his eyes to a blinding white landscape, he reaches his hand out to the colorless void, grasping for any hold of familiarity. As his hazed view clears, his arm, covered by a white long sleeve ending by his wrist, became visible, but the scenery remains unchanged, a pure pale scene stretching endlessly in all directions.

 

No sign of life other than his own. No further adjustments in his vision. And no sound, other than a ring tune filling his ears and his heart pulsating in a steady melody.

 

He looks at his person, noting his plain attire consisting of a white unwrinkled shirt, accompanied by pants in similar condition, with the exception of any footwear. He stands and looks to his sides once more, finding nothing again; but this time, looking over his shoulder, a plain old door appears out of thin air. He cautiously walks towards it. When close enough to touch it, he perceives the surface to be wooden - decorative in design with interact patterns painted parallel its borders.

 

He wraps his hands around the cold handle and was about to turn it until a sensation in the pit of his stomach made him veer about-face. The once clear horizon he last saw, gradually grew darker at the far edge. The cause of it can be heard as pieces of glass breaking apart with great force, and it continues to rise louder. As it did, the black setting drew closer.

 

Eventually, he can see the floor and the ceiling shattering into tiny shards, and his foothold in jeopardy of meeting the same fate. The sight itself was unsettling enough for his fear to consume his soul. But with it, a newfound sense for survival spurs forth.

 

He reaches for the knob, and immediately pulls the door wide open, hoping to escape his fate.

 

On the other side, his emotions and the noise cease to exist, and he meets a girl standing before him. Long pale green hair, pale white skin, and golden-brown eyes, and wearing a white robe around herself, resembling more of a toga, covering her slender features - her arms and right shoulder remain exposed.

 

He didn’t expect to meet someone so beautiful in such a dreary and frightening place. But what shocked him more, was innocently watching her lift her hand out, and push him back out with tremendous effort - yet done ever so effortlessly - thrusting him into the now black canvas.

 

The sudden betrayal left him dumbstruck and screaming at the top of his lungs.

 

The light of the doorway leaves his view and a sudden intense heat envelope him whole. He twirls himself around with ease, but beneath him and on a single point, a whirlpool of black, red and yellow mix together, to then abruptly rip itself, and the surrounding, apart, revealing an ocean of lava to be his next destination.

 

He continues to scream as death felt imminent, and before he could catch a breath, a giant shadow forms underneath the molten sea, only to be disrupted by a monstrous figure leaping out from under.

 

It was far too large to be any creature belonging to his world, and its demonic form made him think twice whether or not he was still imaging all of this. But the clarity in which he is observing the creature felt far too real to dismiss; completely covered with red scales, with a pair of blazing gold eyes above its grotesque mouth, filled with skyscraper-size teeth.

 

As he enters the mouth of the creature, it’s scorching breathe and deafening roar finally gave him one more cause to let out a lasting holler, believing his short life was about to come to an end.

 

 

Bedroom…

 

Sleeping restlessly in a room surrounded by bookshelves, a desk, and posters relating to the latest pop culture trends, laid a young man, nearly at the age of 17, tossing and turning and rambling in an incoherent manner, until he wakes up, opening his eyes wide and gasping in fright.

 

Erb Kinomoto, covered with cold sweat on his face, recovers from what he could only describe simply as a terrible nightmare – his worst by his own recollection - and couldn’t help but survey his bedroom nervously to discern if he is actually, fully awake.

 

Finding everything inside the way he last saw it – the mess over his table, the clothes he wore yesterday piled on top of his chair (a navy-blue school uniform with gold outlines and a gold shield over the left chest), his laptop closed, and the clock nailed onto the wall reading close to 7 AM – he then walks up to a full body mirror nailed on a wall, and proceeds to give himself a physical checkup.

 

Lightly red skin, dark red large scales on his cheek, the nape of his neck, and running down his slender lizard tail, and his red wild hair still spiky but soft and smooth to the touch. He is whole and safe. A normal healthy male demi-human, through and through.

 

“What a dream.”

 

Sitting on his bed now with a sigh of relief slipping out his lips, he laid back down and ponders on his short other-worldly escapade.

 

“Was it something I ate last night?” He muttered, recalling his own little trip down to the kitchen, snatching himself some snacks before going to bed.

 

But no matter how long he spent staring up at the dim-lit ceiling, illuminated by the faint sunshine passing through his window, he drew blanks as to what hidden meaning it held.

 

Still, his desire to stay in bed and catch more snoozes was too much of a burden for him to stave off. Thus, having some time to prepare before heading out to school later, he goes to sleep, shutting his eyes once more, perhaps thinking of something nice - pleasant. That was until the hollering roar of his younger step-sibling rang his ears like a fire alarm being set off.

 

“ERB! ERB, WAKE UP!”

 

He quickly snaps back up, no longer drowsy, but rather annoyed by the inconvenience.

 

“I’M AWAKE!”

 

Marching to the door, ready to pick a fight, he opens it up and encounters his sister, Samantha – a 15-year-old normal human and his personal foghorn. He meets her indigo-colored eyes peering straight at him like a cat ready to pounce, framed by her short straight flowing brown hair.

 

She is dressed in a sailor-like ensemble in navy blue and with white outlines.

 

“You’re not dressed yet!?”

 

“Um, I guess I ain’t?” He sarcastically replied, thinking her question was rhetorical. “What’s the hurry?”

 

“What’s the hurry?” She repeated back strongly. “We’re going to be late for school!”

 

Knowing full well their usual departure time is 8 – an hour from now – he set aside her worries. “It’s only seven. We’ve got bags of time of sleep.”

 

But her smirk caught his full attention – she was not joking. “I beg to differ!”

 

She thrust her cell phone at his face. He reads the digital fonts on the display to clearly portray ' 7:56 AM ', prompting him to turn around, stare at his own clock, and learn the second hand remained still.

 

“…huh, I see…” he groaned, reactionless. He calmly shuts his door, but raggedly shoves himself into his proper attire, and grabs his bag on his way back out in full haste.

 

“WAIT FOR ME!” Samantha follows, and together they rush down the staircase in unison.

 

Upon reaching the front door they slip their shoes – poorly - but are stopped by their mother’s voice, hollering from the kitchen.

 

“Erb, what about your breakfast!?”

 

Kana Kinomoto – a human of age 40; Erb’s adoptive mother, and Samantha’s stepmother - stand by the kitchen sink, holding a landline phone on one hand and covering the speaker with the other, being mindful to whoever was on the other line.

 

“CAN’T!" He shot back. "WE’RE LATE!”

 

“At least get your lunch from the kitchen!” His dutiful mother suggested loudly, but was too late, he had already gone outside, along with his sister.

 

“Sigh, all that work for nothing…” She lifts her hand off the speaker and finishes her conversation on it. “…yeah, my kids left for school just now…ok, let your daughter know to call me tomorrow before her plane lands so I can pick her up…ok, thanks. Bye!... Oh! I forgot to give Erb his lunch!”

 

Outside, the kids run through the front yard, and in view of their open wooden front gate encased by stone, stands a dark grey scooter, big enough to fit 2 people. Erb promptly sits in the front whereas Samantha sits behind him. After hastily putting on their safety gear – required by law - he turns on the engine and lets the engine roar. But before they could drive off, another voice stops them, this time coming from above their heads.

 

Sitting on top the stone wall is an elderly old man, their grandfather, and Kana’s father, Aber, a demi-human with similar features to his grandson, with the exception of his outward look being more beast-like – long reptile face, covered from head to toe in pinkish red scales, and having 4 fingers -  has white hair, tufted and unruly as his grandson, wearing a black Chinese outfit in the sun, and holding a telescope in one hand.

 

“Good morning, Sammy, Erby!” Aber waved at him with his item on hand, smiling down.

 

“Morning Grandpa,” Samantha replied.

 

“Hey, gramps.” Erb did the same but ends with a retort, “And stop calling me Erby!”

 

The old man isn't someone whom Erb would describe as a respectable elderly man, but rather a perverted old geezer who passes what little time he had remaining by spying on any voluptuous lady from afar. Still, for several odd reasons his actions have been tolerable, harmless – though, he was given one warning from a police officer who came by over a complaint. To this day, however, he still didn’t know how old his grandfather actually was and could never get a clear answer from him either.

 

“Looks like you're running a little late again!” Aber pointed out, casually, adjusting his lens at his grandchildren, and sends his grandson his own snappy answer. “And no, I will not stop calling you that.”

 

“Of course not…sigh, we’re leaving.”

 

“Yes yes, you best be off!” He turned back to the boy, just to grin smugly. “Drive safely.”

 

“I’m always careful.”

 

The young boy drives off to the streets and hurries on to school, yet faintly hears their mother yelling out at their grandfather; scolding him for spying on the neighbors yet again, when he shouldn’t be.

 

As they cruise through the vacant streets of the suburban district with little to no traffic, they enter a ramp leading them into an expressway mainly used by small vehicles. The express route is contained between a wide-open view of the Atlantic Ocean on one side, and a national park on the other elevated on top of stone walls.

 

For 3 years now, he had driven through the same route 5 days a week, to and back – the first year spent with his mother taking him to school via a minivan before he received his scooter license - and the ocean view combined with the sea crisp air never gets old for him. His sister, on the other hand, didn’t share the same sentiment; using him to shield her face and hair from the harsh winds. Still, the tranquility of the road wasn’t enough to purge him of the mental strains he’s been enduring since waking up.

 

The current time is 8:21 am, and after passing one last curve, their final destination is in plain view.

 

Built on top of an artificially made island, spanning over 216 acres, with full-size sports fields and state of the art facilities to accommodate more than 12000 students, with the full view of the seaside on one side, connected by one bridge on the other, stretching over 2438 meter. The school is named the Multinational High school – MN High – a highly distinguished public institution, with a positive reputation in atmosphere, academics, and performance, but in addition to an entrance exam that is legendarily difficult to pass.

 

Erb was lucky enough to attend, in spite of his barely satisfactory grade. His sister though fared far better, which she never let’s go of; hanging her success over her older brother’s success.

 

As the skies beyond the treetops become visible, just beyond the region east of his location, the young boy’s eyes are drawn to the technological marvel piercing through the heaven, one of four superstructures classified as Orbital Elevators, spanning across the equator of the world, capable of transporting large bulks of goods to nearly anywhere, one of which being the delivery of engine parts for space vessels, and providing clean, pure, solar energy to the entire modern world through rows of solar panels installed far past Earth’s orbit.

 

The one in front of his eyes was named words, The Valor;

 

His view of the sky is then quickly disrupted by the appearance of three large flying machines, humanoid in design, belonging to the nearby military base further up north.

 

Mobile Suits; biped machines piloted by one individual within its cockpit – an all-purpose fighting machine. Soaring overhead at an astonishing speed, breaking the sound barrier at one point, their sonic booms shook the tree lines and redirects the boy’s gaze back at the road.

 

Within the next few minutes, they arrive at the school bridge’s toll booth, and greet the morning shift security guards; a human woman with brown hair tied in a bun, and beside her is a male demi-human with traits similar to a rhinoceros.

 

After they swipe their ID’s over a small terminal by the booth, they were permitted to pass, and shortly later, over the bridge, they enter the school’s plaza; circular in design, with 8 evenly cut grass lawns scattered across its interior, bordered off by yellow brick roads. The school building crescent around it on one side, leaving the other assessable for bus and smaller automobiles to come and out.

 

Mingling in the plaza are their fellow classmates, a mixed bag of different races - humans, elves, orcs, sirens, lamias, centaurs, and many more; another quality MN High is best known for – diversity.

 

Erb drives up to the curb of the school and lets his sister off first. Samantha, spotting her friends nearby, departs her brother’s side.

 

“See you at lunch,” she said, immediately dashing away, unknowingly reminding him of one large mistake. “…Shit…I forgot to bring my lunch!... Oh well.”

 

In a rather large rectangle shape parking lot, he left his vehicle in a small box shape space marked on the ground in hand, only to be startled by the sound of a car horn from behind. He turns about face just in time to see a cyan color 4 door sedan rolling up behind him.

 

Inside, two familiar faces caught his attention. One of them calls him out.

 

“Morning!”

 

Sitting in the shotgun seat is his best friend, Sai Fugitaka - a human of Japanese descent, with short, spiky yet tamed brown hair and dark brown eyes. His uniform is much the same as his own - navy blue and gold; identifying them as Junior year, or 3rd year, students.

 

On the driver’s seat is his sister, Aiko, 25 years old, dawning a faint green blouse over a grass green shirt, and white short. Her hair – shoulder length - and eye colors are much the same.

 

With his small scare gone, the demi-human walks over and greets the two siblings. “Heya.”

 

He watches Sai step out of the car and waves his sister farewell.

 

“Thanks, sis. Don’t overwork yourself, okay!?”

 

“I'll be fine.”

 

"Bye Aiko!" Erb shouted as she drove off.

 

“You just got here, or have you been waiting for me?” Sai questioned.

 

The demi boy answers him sarcastically, “course I just got here. Why would I be waiting for you?”

 

“Because we’re friends?”

 

“Maybe on a good day. A really good day.”

 

“Well aren’t you cold,” his friend pointed out, most likely noticing his own fatigue still lingering on his face in the form of dark bags under his eyes. “Haven’t been sleeping much?”

 

“Bad dreams.”

 

“Of what?”

 

“Not sure…I mean, I’m not sure what to make of it…them. It’s just, bizarre.”

 

“Huh…maybe you're just too worked up.”

 

“Maybe. I haven’t had much time doing my own thing as of lately.”

 

“Like writing that book of yours?”

 

“Yup. Just too much homework, and…other stuff.”

 

“Club stuff?”

 

“Ahuh. I’m getting stressed…Now that I think about, I’ve been stress eating for the past few days!”

 

“Like what? Twinkies?”

 

“That, and Flan.” Erb can still remember the sweet, cool, and soft texture of the desert as though it was still in his mouth.

 

“Ooh, that’s too much. You should exercise sometimes to get rid of that junk – it might be therapeutic.”

 

“Thanks mister black belt.”

 

“Black belt 2nd dan!”

 

“Sorry!” Erb jested.

 

Their ears are soon met with a shout from down behind.

 

“OH---H, SAI!”

 

They spun around, and the red boy observes a blonde girl leaping onto Sai, wrapping her arms around his chest. He immediately knew her to be Lyla Berkins, another one of his friends – or rather an acquaintance - he met during his first year as high schoolers.

 

Cute, smart, but a bit spoiled, Lyla is Sai's ever-loving girlfriend and a rich girl.

 

This chick…

 

Although the Asian teenager adored her personality, Erb finds her actions and behavior to be rather cringy – having no shame in pressing her chest against a boy in board daylight. Though, secretly, he was rather jealous of the treatment.

 

“Lyla…” Sai muttered, “You’re making a scene…”

 

But she ignores his small request and continues squeezing him. “Never!”

 

“In what language is a 'bear hug' equivalent to 'hello'?” He asked tut-ting, but she gleefully continues. “My own, silly!”

 

Finally, she looks to the demi-humans. “Hi, Erb!... You look…not so great.”

 

The red teen, disgruntled about becoming their third wheel, tries to hide his annoyance behind his weary grin.

 

“Hi, Lyla.” He managed, faintly. “And thanks for mentioning it.”

 

The sound of an engine settling further back from where they came diverts their focus, along with some of the other students. The source resounds from a black 4 door car, classic yet elegant. Parked on the side of the road, an elderly elven chauffeur gracefully exits out and moves to the back to then open the passenger door. Exiting out is a young lady with sun shining long pink hair, and deep blue eyes matching perfectly with her black pupil and her fair peach skin.

 

“Thank you, Maxwell.” She said sweetly to her chauffeur, “Have a safe trip back home.”

 

“Certainly mistress.” The elf humbly nodded; his accent sharp and British. “Should I retrieve you at the same hour as yesterday?”

 

“Not today. I have club activities to attend to. Pick me up around 4:30. ”

 

“Very well then. Do take care.”

 

As the elf man enters his car and drives off, the girl was left by herself and enters a crowd of now flustered students.

 

Erb, standing beside Sai and Lyla, observes his classmates who were within close proximity to the pink hair girl, passing their greetings to her, treating her like a celebrity.

 

Sylvia Von Argones - the sole daughter of a highly prestigious family, even by MN high standards. Her father is the mayor of Velium city - the biggest multicultural hotspot and the most economically flourishing city in the entire world, located at the very bottom of the continent known as Erban in the form of a peninsula and is south of the national park and MN high - whereas her mother is the acting governor of the state which the city inhabits – both influential members of society.

 

He can recount the hundreds of times he had seen this very scene before, starting from his freshman years, where everyone used to be terribly cautious and nervous towards her due to her social status.

 

Much like her parents, she also takes up a leadership position within the school’s government – a student council - acting as a Public Relations officer for 2 years in a row - but also participates in the school’s archery club – she is considered to be one of their best members.

 

That was all Erb knew about her, no thanks to being with Lyla, who is friends with Sylvia – spouting out all sorts of information on a whim. He and Sai eat lunch with Sylvia from time to time, though the red boy hardly ever sparks a subject discussion with her, simply because there was nothing he has in mind to talk about. And it didn’t help that he wasn’t the most sociable person to talk to unless a topic sparks his interest.

 

Out of the blue, Lyla broke off from Sai and Erb and bounds over to her friend. “Hey, Sylvia!”

 

She in return, replies much the same, revealing her pearly white smiles. “Hello, Lyla!”

 

Sylvia makes eye contact with Lyla’s friends and relays to them the same. “Good morning!”

 

“Hi!” Sai properly return her gesture whereas Erb nonchalantly waves back.

 

The two girls break away from the plaza, joining another, larger, group, whereas the boys were left behind.

 

“How come we’re not friends with those people?”

 

“Don’t know.” Erb has no inkling in joining and starts to walk. “Class is about to start soon.”

 

“But we still got 7 minutes.”

 

“Well, I want to get in early.”

 

“What’s the rush?”

 

“Well, for one, I don’t want to be marked late today, and - ”

 

He suddenly gets cut off by someone calling for him from a distance. “Erb!”

 

“Who is it now?"

 

Running painfully towards him is a human, slightly shorter than the 2 teens with brown fluffy hair and thick glasses, and wears their school uniform, only his outline colors are green, signifying him to be a year ahead of them.

 

“It’s Johnny.”

 

Johnny Leann - their senior, and president of the school’s newspaper (Erb’s club) - stops in front of them, while panting heavily as though he had gone through a marathon.

 

“Sup,” Sai greeted him.

 

“Hey,” Johnny weakly replied.

 

“You ok there, buddy?” Erb halfheartedly asked, feeling guilty over his rash attitude earlier. But he sees his senior not having noticed his outburst by his question.”

 

“Yeah….no…no, I am not fine! One stupid thing after another.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“Three things. First! Did you finish your report?”

 

“Um-“

 

He takes a moment to remember what exactly he meant, but in no time, he recalls having spent last night writing out his article regarding the upcoming karate tournament being held at their school the following weekend. His task was simply to ask the club members on their thoughts of the upcoming event, and even asked Sai on his opinion since he is a member of the team participating. He wrote all he heard and typed it in his DOS Pad (A microcomputer device in the form of a tablet; 15 inches high, 10 inches wide, and as thin as a gossip magazine) and even sent the document to his president via email.

 

“- Yeah, I finished it, and sent a copy to your email.”

 

“Ah dammit,” he cursed in a low voice.

 

“What? What’s wrong?”

 

“Second! I can’t access my email right now. Do you have it on you?”

 

“Not really, but I can pull it up it on my phone?”

 

“Oh good! Phew. Ok, download that document and meet me after school in our club room so I get it.”

 

“Sure. But is that all? You could’ve just texted me that. Heck, you could have just gotten it from your own phone.”

 

“Third! I lost my phone somewhere, hence, panicking!”

 

“Oh ok…this all makes sense now.”

 

“Definitely,” Sai chimed in.

 

“Now, I’m going back to look! Hopefully, its somewhere in the parking lot.”

 

“Drink some water first,” Sai suggested. “Or rest some more. You look worse than Erb.”

 

“I’m fine. I’m fine.”

 

“You sure?”

 

“Oh totally!” They next see him rebound back up with a face filled with a new sense of vigor and resumes jogging off elsewhere. “Remember Erb! Club room! After school!”

 

Once they lose sight of him, they head inside, and with no more interruptions, they finally arrive in homeroom, just before the first bell rang.

 

The demi-human seats himself in the middle of the class, and spies Sai and Lyla sitting near the windows, together, as always. Several more students begin to pile in, one after the other, and the last to enter was a snake woman with orange scales complimenting her silky-smooth coral human feature, and orange long hair tied as a ponytail, acting as their homeroom teacher. Placing herself behind a podium, she looks up to make a quick observation of the room, spotting most of the seats to be occupied by someone.

 

“Good Morning everyone,” she greeted warmly, and the entire classroom responds in unison, “Good Morning Miss Himeu.”

 

“I see almost everyone is here today. But just in case let’s do a quick roll call.”

 

As the snake woman calls out everyone’s name in alphabetical order, the red boy's eyes wander towards what lies beyond the windows - an endless scene much like in his phantom world, but full of color and vibrancy. With the morning he had, he needed to take a breather, and just observing the clouds move in their own rhythm was bringing him peace of mind. However, he’d rather do that at home, where his bed is.

 

I can’t wait to get home.

 

 

Faraway, in another galaxy……

 

In a faraway place, beyond the boundaries of the Milky Way galaxy lies its closest neighbor, the Canis Major Dwarf galaxy, and located on its outer rim is a heated battle between two colliding space faring armies, waging fiercely for the past few hours for the possession of the very system they fight upon.

 

Several astronomical units away from the local star, a fleet of ships that are the size of the Earth’s largest naval destroyer, covered in gold but shimmering in white light, defend themselves against another armada, comprising of large carriers, composed of both inorganic and organic materials.

 

The race who command the golden chariots, call themselves the Lux Aurea’s, or Aureaians - a galactic confederation composed of technologically advanced civilization, governed by powerful leaders ranging from extraordinary strength to phenomenal abilities.

 

On the other side of the fray, are a plaguing menace they have encountered nearly a century ago. They are known as the Kaoticons - armored beasts with reptilian characteristics, an insatiable appetite for dominance, and are said to have the abilities beyond comprehension.

 

In the ensuing battle, on a local asteroid belt, a small band of confederation soldiers, wearing bronze metallic suits – reminiscent to medieval knights – found themselves surrounded from all angles and outnumbered. Like their chariots, they are also coated with a white glow, caused by a spell they cast upon themselves, allowing them to fight in the vacuum of space.

 

One of the soldiers, an aged veteran - 98 years old, human, yet appearing to be in his late 40’s - leads the group who were once a part of the vanguard force, tasked to repel the assault. His company consisted of terrified recruits fresh off the military academy, with little to no real combat experience.

 

He had survived several hundred engagements throughout his career in the army, from starting out just like his fellow younger companions to commanding a battalion of his own and earning himself several distinctions for his bravery and valor. However, the white titans had made all conventional means of warfare he and many of his seasoned allies had been accustomed to, rendered meaningless and useless, due to their sheer abnormal strength and numbers.

 

Tails larger than their limbs and as long as their body. Topping well over nine feet with bodies that put a world-class bodybuilder to shame. Completely plated with a natural defense thicker than most discovered metals, their eyes lie beneath their facial mask – making them blind - and have neither ears nor a nose. But they make up their disabilities by developing their own ways to detect an individual’s presence – sensing the life force of an individual and adjusting their eyes to perceive electromagnetic waves emitted of any living and non-living being. They are also equipped with razor-sharp claws, needle-sharp teeth, both which can tear through the strongest of metals on Earth and can channel their own life force into destructive use.

 

The old man’s own silver armor classifies him to be a higher rank than his bronze subordinates, and his battle prowess was also another indicator – he himself could handle a dozen or so of the creatures by himself. But the enemy numbers in the hundreds to thousands, far too many for him to handle alone, and extremely too difficult for his men to overcome in their disorganized state.

 

“Stand tall men! Defense Form! Up!”

 

Under pressure, all of the soldiers shamble themselves into a circular formation with shields in front and their weapons by their side.

 

The reptilian behemoths took note of their action and chose now to begin the slaughter. The hardened section over their faces begin to crack open, and underneath their pale exterior are sets of enormous sharp teeth made to grind flesh into mincemeat and large quantities of drool oozing out of their jaws. They lunge at the braced soldiers, eager to eat their flesh and bones for the chance to gain even greater strength.

 

But then a large blue stream of intense heat halved the horde, causing disarray in their charge. They eventually made a swift retreat following in the time of a large presence looming behind their preys.

 

The soldiers, temporarily blinded by the luster of the attack, staring towards the direction from which it originated.

 

Standing on top of a scorched-to-glass asteroid, they spot a young lady; sky blue short hair, clad in a sky-blue platinum armor.

 

The old veteran caught a glimpse of her and by the time he realized who she was, all of the soldiers under him roar out in bliss.

 

“THE PRINCESS IS HERE!”

 

“WE’RE SAVED!”

 

“PRINCESS AURORA HAS COME TO SAVE US!”

 

With a single finger, she taps a blue color ring hovering over her right ear and relays a message to every soldier still alive and fighting.

 

“To every soldier currently fighting, evacuate this area immediately and return back to the main fleet at once. I repeat, evacuate this area immediately!”

 

Anyone who heard her was hesitant at first, seeing as how it was their duty to hold the line for their plan to succeed. But the fact that it came from their princess, who is hailed to be one of the strongest warriors in their entire army – a Platinum Class capable of busting planets on a whim – was enough of a reason to heed. And so, they all did as they were told, bringing their injured with them as quickly as they could.

 

Aurora watches the droves of her people flying past her but is disheartened by how few of them there were – less than a quarter of what they started with.

 

“Princess!”

 

Approaching her from behind are two of her personal royal guards. One of them is a tall white-haired man with long pointed ears, dawning purple, black and gold color sets. Next to him is a young girl with long dark blue hair fashioned as a ponytail and wore a similar outfit as the princess with a different color scheme – dark blue, black and gold. Both of them are classified as Black Gold Class – second below her own.

 

“Strider. Extella.” She respectively named.

 

Her subordinates land and kneel before her.

 

“Princess, you shouldn’t rush in like that!” Strider spoke out. “Master Eraq had not ordered us to move in yet. It is too soon for you to enter the field.”

 

Extella chipped in, albeit resignedly. “Please your majesty, we need to return back and fortify our front line again!”

 

“I am the front line!” She clarified in a deeper tone. “I will hold them off by myself and buy time for Eraq’s forces to finish their preparations. They should be finishing up the global portal soon.”

 

Aurora sees a few of the soldiers struggling to get back and orders her close aids, “I want you two to help any stragglers back to the fleet, is that understood!?”

 

“But, your majesty-”

 

Aurora beats her to the punch and raises her voice, “That's enough! I need the battlefield cleared or else I won’t be able to fight effectively. You know that.”

 

Her words made sense to Strider the most and Extella notices his compliance with his nod.

 

“As you command, princess,” Strider obeyed.

 

Accepting her orders, he stands up, lifts his hand and produces a purple spark which swiftly expands around him in the form of thick threads. The threads then spread out and attach to all of the soldiers too wounded to make it back by their own strength.

 

“We will be praying for your success and safe return princess.”

 

Her comrades then begin to fly back where they came from with the soldiers in tow.

 

Further away, Extella creates a new communication line with Strider and questions his quick decision. “We should have stayed with her.”

 

“And do what exactly? Help her?”

 

“That is our job!”

 

“You know better than anyone we’d be a liability to her. We’d be caught in her field.”

 

“If we were careful, we wouldn’t be!” She barked back.

 

“Is that right? Then go right ahead and fight by her side. Hold her back again like the last time.”

 

“That wasn’t my…”

 

Strider heard no more from her but can see her anxiety and frustration from her exposed hand violently quivering on her side. “I understand you feel more obligated to help because you're related by blood. But the truth is, neither you or I can do anything to assist her. We’re just not strong enough. Not yet anyway. All we can do now is help her not relive that again.”

 

“I know that,” she whispered, and managed to calm herself, but only by a small margin.

 

Back at the vacated battlefield, Aurora, the sole guardian, spots the opposition returning back with several dozen ships in two, along with their inhabitants pouring out in massive swarms.

 

“Raida!”

 

Saying the word triggers her armor to shine, and out from her chest plate came a large metallic mobile platform fitted with a bow-like cannon, now in her hands. She takes up her weapon, points it at the fleet, and pulls the string back as far as she could, using her entire arm’s span to do so. Her body starts to ooze out a shallow white mist, then gushes upward into a geyser, only to then reside into her weapon, engulfing it with the same luminous. Much like the creatures, Aureaian soldiers, including herself, are capable of harnessing their own inner strength. They call it Aura. 

 

She molds her strength into a white long spear, perfect in design, and elegant as glass, but far too big for any normal yield.

 

She let the string loose, taking with it her spear arrow. It soars through the empty void, facing no resistance whatsoever. Within a second it reached halfway to the horde, and it burst into thousands of pieces, each a copy of the original in both size and appearance, and scatters everywhere.

 

Many tried to dodge them but were caught unaware by their unforeseen movements, aggressively homing on their position with pinpoint accuracy, inevitably piercing through their hide, and detonated into series of white and blue explosions, mixed with red and purple caused by the volatile fuel of the ships.

 

Half of them were gone by the time the last explosion erupted, yet in place of them, large tears in space open up to reveal several more Hives exiting out of slip space.

 

She performs 4 more volleys at them, and her attacks hit their mark. However, 9 of the carriers survived; bigger in size with thicker hulls. Many of the beasts used them as cover, becoming wise to her tactics.

 

The princess ceases her assault, reserving her stamina for later. For now, she managed to thin them out, leaving the rest for her to handle up close.

 

She makes her Raida vanish and with a simple wave of her hand, she materializes 2 dark blue longswords out of her suit – sharp enough to cut their hull and durable to the point of near indestructible. With a bend of the knee, she then propels off of the asteroid with tremendous speed, utilizing her aura as a means for acceleration and propulsion. She heads straight towards the nearest hive, encountering rows of foot soldiers, all eager to taste the strength emanating off of her presence for themselves.

 

But not a single one of them could even scratch her, and those who were within arm’s reach only tasted the metal of her blades.

 

As one attacks her head on, she cleaved it in 2 without fail, and follows her first swing into several more, essentially killing several enemies with just one motion. She soon rushes to one, stabbing it through its midsection and pushes on, using her meat shield to plow through the rest. Eventually, she tosses the corpse aside and dives down to a floating metal debris once belonging to her own armada. Before she touches down, she chants out a single word.

 

“Magnas.”

 

Her spell helped magnetize her boots onto the platform, allowing her to stay on it, rather than bounce off.

 

Alongside her ability to manipulate Aura, she also holds a second source of power within her arsenal; the skill to conjure magic and control Mana.

 

From there, she spreads her legs apart, leans forward, right foot in front, and left foot far back. As she watches the white beasts move in, huddling up in a more concentrated area, she pours her aura into her left leg, charges it up, and then let’s loose a sundering kick, hurdling the stored energy out as a giant blue current, clearing her path of the white beasts. She dashes past the remainder, only to be flanked from a group below. Four combatants reach her, only to be cut down right after. However, amidst the diced bodies, 2 more burst out, firing mouth blast her, knocking her weapons off her hands. She remains relativity unscathed thanks to the white emissions covering her but had nothing to defend against their claws and teeth. Or so she leads them to believe.

 

“Gladius Vitae!”

 

Suddenly, her weapons move with vigor, and impale their attackers before they even knew. Another monster creeps up behind, jaw wide open, intent on chomping her head off. She counters by flipping backward, using her own momentum to wind up another kick, using her plated foreleg to smash its head into its body, sending it flying to another pack.

 

She then summons forth 2 more swords, then spins around, firing off crescent shape beams to all direction with each stroke, clearing the area once more. Her first 2 weapons return and float by her side as she continues on to another nearby horde, creating a trail of bodies and floating pools of their blood, staining her own once pristine clothing and pearl skin.

 

In her peripheral view, she spots the front portions of another hive ship attempting to ram at her, intent on crushing her.

 

But their actions were wasted.

 

The blue hair girl simply maneuvers above and lands on top, chanting Magnas once more, allowing her to stay bound on the exterior. From there she plunges her 2 sabers, and then musters her aura once more, letting it go wild inside. Any combatant unfortunate enough to be beneath her were vaporized by the outpour of her own spirit until it punctures right out the other side. Aurora then stands up, grabs hold of them, and while the blue rays persisted, she frees them with an outward swipe, essentially ripping the entire ship in two.

 

The resulting explosion hurdles her off – unharmed – and lands on top of another, to then run across its entirety at great speed, stomping out energy columns through the soles of her feet after varying interval of steps.

 

From a distance, it would have seemed as though the ship was being stapled by pillars each as devastating as the last.

 

Instantly, something burst out far ahead of her, a different specimen of the killing machines, far larger than the ones she fought by several times and had 4 long arms. It stands its ground, opens its mouth and fires off a red blast. But the warrior presses on, pushing it back without losing any speed, and cuts through, decapitating the giant in the process. Reaching over the edge where the engines are, she finishes it off with one last attack, throwing a dual crescent beam taking the shape of a large “X”, shredding her target, causing a chain reaction throughout the entire vessel, ending in a burst of red and purple flames.

 

The last of the enemy combatants bear down on her from above, pitting their full effort into destroying the lone warrior in their relentless red hail storm of long-distance strikes. She made use of her flying blades to block some of them, but in the end, none of their strikes could hit her, much less deter her conviction and courage.

 

Like a comet soaring through the darkness of space, Aurora resumes her advance into their territory, leaving a faint wisp of her life force in the star-infested beyond, and obliterating any who dare stand up to her.

 

But far away, stationed closer to the system’s local star is the bulk of the Kaoticon’s fleet, numbering over 80 in total, most of them bigger than the ones currently engaging against the lone Platinum.

 

Aboard the largest of them - their mothership – sits one of the armored monstrosity, but painted with a dreadful shade of dark purple, drenched in authority and fear. Like the rest, he was covered in his natural guard from head to toe but other than his outward color palate, on his forehead is a large blade horn, and his shoulders covered with large curvature plates. Excluding his horn, his overall height exceeds 13 feet from head to toe – 21 feet from head to tail - towering over his lesser 9 feet tall brethren’s, and his overall weight a little over 2 tons due to his large yet dense muscle mass and natural armor.

 

Though absent of any eyes, his entire demeanor is fully focused on the holographic projection hovering in the middle of his control room – the bridge – and had been watching the entire battle unfold from start to present.

 

One of his minions then rushes by his feet with the short summary of their confrontation thus far.

 

“Master Argon, we have already lost more than a dozen of our ships and we believe the Aureaian fleet have started conducting their planet-wide teleportation of our intended target; what are your orders!?”

 

Argon, the acting shipmaster of the fleet, tilts his head down with his arm supporting him, taps his fingers in a boorish manner, but responds in a cold tone that left the others to feel a brief chill down their spines.

 

“Order them to continue fighting.” Argon sat upright, and in response to his small movement, the messenger staggers back in fright. “We will use the ones currently engaging with the girl as decoys as we retreat to another system. Fighting here any longer would only be a waste of time.”

 

“But, my master, some of our vessels are too heavily damaged from our initial engagement to make the journey, and many of them are beyond repair. They would be stranded!”

 

Without warning, Argon quickly opens his palm and in a blink of an eye, produced an intense purple flash, smoldering his subordinate into ash in a mere instant. The rest shrieked in horror as they could hear their fallen comrade’s last scream echo throughout the ship.

 

“I have no use for garbage.” He gestured to the ones left standing for a response. “Any more objections?”

 

Without another word they all went to work, doing his bidding.

 

His initial goal in this engagement was to take over the planet for the purpose of feeding and growing his troops. He had managed to conquer every single one he had come across, but the girl’s presence on the battlefield was an unexpected obstacle.

 

Was.

 

“Are you satisfied now?” Argon distastefully asked. “You have clearly seen her in…action.”

 

Walking up by his right side is a male being, human in stature, shrouded in a black cloak, wearing a black nontransparent mask with 2 pairs of spikes protruding behind. The man speaks with clarity, unhindered by his headgear.

 

“Not quite. This isn’t enough to verify my theory.”

 

“Yes; the so-called power which you described before…being able to destroy worlds and such,” he boorishly recalled. “I admit I once wanted to see this…’thing’ for myself. But now…I’m unimpressed.”

 

“You speak the truth; I was looking forward to witnessing the full might of this…fabled warrior I heard so much. A young lady; a deity among her people.”

 

“A deity!?” The shipmaster scoffed, treating it as an overblown exaggeration. “You talk as though you know what it is… In fact, I am suspecting you want it to be.”

 

“Let’s say I’ve seen its kind first hand, and it is a force of reckoning. If she is, in fact, the genuine article, she could bring us one step closer to our goal.”

 

“And that is?”

 

The man stayed quiet for some time, hinting his awareness of what he was doing – gathering information about him. “Classified, I’m afraid. The agreement in our alliance only goes so far. I’m sure your leader - your general - mentioned that to you.”

 

“…clearly.” The beast backed down.

 

“Still, I am... disappointed, to say the least. She has yet to show her true self throughout this ordeal; most likely due to how weak your troops are.”

 

“Then why don’t you fight her yourself. See if your…’theory’, is correct?”

 

His callous remark was easily detected by everyone in the room, but little man obliged him. “As fun as that may be… actually.”

 

He startles the purple giant by marching away as though he had a purpose.

 

The Kaoticon beckons him, “And where do you think you’re going?”

 

He stops shortly after, and indulges him, “Draw her in as close as possible, and when I blow up the sun, I’m going to need you to this ship and your fleet ready to jump. Quickly.”

 

The moment Argon heard him mention destroying the star their currently next to, he growls menacingly, “And why…would you do that?”

 

“I’m going to give her an ultimatum; she can either use her gift to stop the star from going supernova…or, she will notice your ships, ready to jump out of our system, realizing it would be her only path to survival, and try to tag along for the ride, to escape the blast…ideally, I’m hoping for the latter. Of course, there is the probability of her attempting to stop me, attempt to get back to her fleet as fast as possible, or just letting herself get killed in the process. But from what I have seen, she would seem easy to handle, she isn’t fast enough nor has a means of teleportation and is not the suicidal type. Is that a good enough reason for you, Ship Master.”

 

Argon, stoned face throughout their conversation, finally sheds a maniacal grin, accidentally letting out a dark purple blaze out from his shoulders, terrifying the lower echelons. Throughout the entire ship, his excitement can be felt as death’s hand creeping up from behind, slowly digging its knife-like finger into the nape of your neck; cold and sharp. The only person not affected by his malicious presence is the man who caused him to be this way.

 

And as crazy as it sounded, he made no objections to the idea; rather, he wholeheartedly wished he had thought of it earlier himself. Yet, he made an inquiry, mentioning one other possibility. “And what would happen if she is who you are looking for…but dies as the result of your…experiment…Director Kingsley?”

 

“Then nothing; if she’d die by a supernova, then she wouldn’t be able to fulfill our requirements. As you just said, we have no use…for garbage.”

 

 

 

This is the 1st episode of CrimZon. Hope You enjoyed it and leave a comment if you want.

 

OC:

1)    Erb Kinomoto

2)    Kana Kinomoto

3)    Sylvia Von Argones

4)    Maxwell

5)    Kinue Fujitaka

6)    Lyla Berkins

7)    Samantha Maxon

8)    O’Neill Maxon

9)    Daniel Maxon

10) Aber Kinomoto

11) Johnny Leann

12) Aurora Lux Aurea

13) Eraq

14) Extella

15) Strider

16) Miss Himeu

17) Argon

18) Kingsley

2: Episode 2 - Pilot Pt 2

 

MN High, Classroom…

 

“In the year 1950, after the end of World War 2, the United States and the Soviet Union were in a state of pre-nuclear warfare called the Cold War; yet, neither side once engaged one another directly and openly. Instead, underdeveloped and war-torn countries who have yet to recover from World War 2, were used to instigate and spread the ideologies of either democracy or communism.

 

In 1957, over the Atlantic Ocean, a naval conflict between the 2 superpowers nearly caused them to finally action but was stopped by the presence of the mysterious continent. Early assumptions on how it came to be included spatial distortions to extraterrestrial origin; initial eye witness reports from the sailors at the scene described it to have materialized out of thin air. Now, it takes up a third of the Atlantic. The United States and Soviet Union naval ships found themselves positioned near the bottom of the continent and were the first to explore it into what they thought to have only existed in fairy tales.

 

A large city was present further in the mainland, similar in infrastructure to modern metropolises, and residing in it were humans, elves, orcs, lamias, centaurs, birdmen, and many other mythical creatures, living in absence of segregation and discrimination, powered by science and magic. Later, the navy soldiers learned the continent’s name to be Erban, and the citizens identifying themselves as Erbanians – demi-humans. The erbanians were versed in the phantasmal art of magic, though only a fraction of the population was born with this innate gift. And although their current government system was that of a constitutional monarchy, their technology was several decades ahead of both the United States and U.S.S.R.

 

Initially, the people of earth were skeptic by the Erbanians potential power, believing their presence was the prequel of an invasion. The notion of an invasion caused the U.S and U.S.S.R to form a temporary alliance in preparation of the supposedly hostile threat.

 

But after careful delegation with the Erbanians and understanding they didn’t know how they came to their world, on August 28, 1959, Dwight d. Eisenhower, Nikita Khrushchev, the High King of Erban Lucas the fourth, and other leaders in every country and nation, joined together for the first time in history under the banner of peace, and using the already established United Nations to birth the League of United Earth – L.U.E; the largest democratic government in history, with the heads of U.S, Russia, and Erban acting as their leaders. Since then, the entirety of Erban and the entire world prospered like never before and…um…”

 

Erb, standing upright with his DOS pad in front of him, was reading off a passage from his digital textbook. Nearing the end of his 4th-period history course, for the past 5 minutes he had started from the end of World War 2 to the page he stops on from his throat being so parched. His history teacher, Mr. Guin, a demi-human with the face of a leopard, relieves him of his duty.

 

“That’s enough for now Mister Kinomoto. You may sit.”

 

The red boy plots his rear end back on his seat.

 

“Mister Fugitaka, please continue off where he left off.”

 

Several seats away, Sai is chosen to take his place and reads out loud on the events after the formation of the L.U.E.

 

Erb tries to read along with the rest of the class, but boredom sets in, and his eyes wander off outside his DOS, staring at his plain old desk, telling himself he wishes he was home right now, doing his own thing.

 

In the next few minutes he will be off to his lunch period – the one free time of his day, other than the late evening - then his art class, later, 2 periods of gym, and finally ending with him spend around 2 more hours in his journalism club and a few more to finish today’s dreaded assignments. Of course, he had contemplated this every single day, with the same expectations – frustration - yet he never grows tire of it.

 

I really can’t wait to get home. He thought for the nth time, laying his head on the table. However, upon revising his own schedule, he reminded himself of one important deviation today; tonight, would be the night his older stepbrother would be coming back from home.

 

Oh right…him.

 

Now, the idea of going home only to expect a headache wasn’t something he was looking forward to. Not too long ago, he had a fight with him over the phone and the result was one of them hanging up out of spite.

 

I might not have time to do my own thing now.

 

Despair and annoyance fill his mind and de-attaches his anticipation in doing anything productive later.

 

But like his chronic cases of mundane dullness, this wasn’t unusual for him – just a minor mental bump on the road on his way to free time. The best remedy he can think of now is push his negative thoughts aside, sit upright and start writing – a hobby he conjured up for himself. He accesses his DOS and opens a document file, containing his fantasy novel which he had started as a freshman on a whim. A tale of a young girl meeting a pawnbroker man in a modern-day city closely resembling his own, Velium City, and their encounter leads to a life of adventure and danger. He was halfway into finishing it, racking up more than 15 chapters despite having down many revisions, reaching the main plot and the start of the action.

 

Rapidly typing out whatever comes to mind, he filled half a page in a matter of minutes, ignoring the current discussion in the room and the future disturbances later. All he can think right now is how his story should progress, what new location should it take place in, new characters to add in, a new, powerful villain to stop the heroes track. But his own imagination and excitement betray him when he hears his teacher’s voice roaring.

 

“Mister Kinomoto!”

 

“AH!” the boy gasped in fright, stopping his fingers and giving his undivided attention to the leopard man.

 

“I see you're keeping yourself busy. Taking notes?”

 

Before Erb could act, Mister Guin politely confiscates his pad and skims through its content. After a short pause and a few hand swipes, he gives it back to the terrified young man. “Lots of grammatical errors, but well detailed. I hope you plan to write all your notes from now on like this. Now please, stay focused.”

 

“Yes, Mister Guin,” he nodded and looks down on his pad in shame while hearing the giggles of his fellow classmates around him.

 

Suddenly, the school bell rang, signaling the end of 4th period and the beginning of the next. Everyone quickly got out of their seats while Mr. Guin reminds them of their new homework. “Make sure to read the rest of the chapter we are up to as well as the next, and answers questions 1, 3, 17, 18, 19, and 24.”

 

Erb packs away his belongings and reaches the door in haste, bumping into Sai who asks him, “Lunch on the rooftop today?”

 

“Sure- “

 

His innocent inquiry reminded him of another issue he faces from time to time – no lunch. But it wasn’t going to deter him from getting some quality time with his friends. “Imma head down to get something to eat. I’ll meet you guy upstairs later.”

 

His friend goes on ahead and he walks down 2 flights of staircases, carefully strolling by other students who were in the same situation as he is.

 

Packed and loud, he arrives in the cafeteria and gets in line, bidding for his turn to come. When he walks up to the cafeteria ladies, he quickly grabs a chicken sandwich and exits out, heading up to the rooftop where he is greeted by Sai, Lyla, and Johnny. He cuts in on their conversation.

 

“Whatchu guys talking about?”

 

Johnny faces him with a response. “It’s about the karate tournament tomorrow.”

 

“Oh, that,” he said, disappointingly, and his friend caught his tone. “You’re still going right?”

 

He hesitantly replies, “I don’t know.”

 

“What do you mean no!” Johnny barked. “You promised you’d cover it. You can’t back out now!”

 

With a cringing smile, the demi boy looks down, not wanting to make eye contact out of guilt. “I did, didn’t I.”

 

“What’s so important that you’d change your mind.”

 

“It’s just, I want some free time for myself; for my writing.”

 

“But you got all of Sunday to do that,” Johnny went on.

 

“I do, but one day ain’t enough for me.”

 

“Because you procrastinate too much,” Lyla guessed.

 

“No.” His facial expression was saying otherwise, and then he changes his mind. “Maybe. It’s all for the sake of research. I can’t write with what’s only in my head, I need to watch other shows and read other books for inspiration.”

 

Sai finally enters their conversation with his own comment. “I get what you mean. From what I read so far it seems you got that down. I recognize some of the fight scenes from that action anime you watch.”

 

“With some differences!” Erb added. “Don’t wanna get caught plagiarizing.”

 

Just as the topic was veering off course, Johnny steers it back. “Anyway, you can’t bail out now, there’s no one else who can take your place tomorrow.”

 

“What about you- “ Erb halts his question, recalling his club president’s reason for being unable to go. “Never mind, I remember. What about the others? The 2nd years?”

 

“Carmine’s going over to Dalmasca with his family for some wedding reception. And Theo has a double shift at his dad’s gift shop. So, there’s literally no one who can take your place. This is like the fifth most important event of the entire school year, so it has to be done!”

 

“What are the other 4?” Lyla inquired him.

 

“Fall Festival, Winter Ball, Spring Festival, and Graduation.”

 

“Fine, I’ll do it,” Erb gave in with no fuss. “11:00 in the morning, right?”

 

“At the gymnasium. Aimi will let you in but just in case you’d better bring your ticket.”

 

“About that. I don’t have a ticket.”

 

Sai cuts in. “-Way ahead of you.”

 

Erb hears a notification ring from his own pad and then opens an email message containing a digital copy of the tickets. On it contained a blacked-out silhouette of someone in a fighting stance, a bar code, and the date - April 27, 2078.

 

“Thanks,” Erb directs at his friend.

 

“No problem.”

 

“Ok, with that out of the way.” Lyla drags their attention to her. “My Dad’s about to open a new store next month, and since summer is almost here and you guys don’t have jobs – “

 

“Are you seriously trying to hire us?” The demi boy bluntly asked. “And isn’t this, like, your 25th store now?”

 

Sai soon corrects him. “37th.”

 

“How did I get that wrong?”

 

“Hey, if you don’t want it, that’s fine by me. I’m just letting you guys know in case you want some extra cash during the summer.”

 

“So, we work at your store, throughout the summer, while you…”

 

“Don’t worry, I’ll be working there too, no thanks to my dad.”

 

“I feel like that’s even worse.” Johnny joked.

 

They both laugh while the girl pouts, only to then be comforted by her boyfriend. “They’re just kidding.”

 

“I know.”

 

“So, you ready for this weekend mister black belt?” Erb jested.

 

“I’d say yes, but I don’t want to jinx myself.”

 

“You’ll do fine Sai,” Lyla assured him, and she earns a kiss on the check from him. Erb and Johnny share their disgust over their budding romance.

 

“How nice,” the red demi boy sarcastically blurted out, munching on his sandwich in the meantime.

 

“When will we ever get ourselves a girlfriend?” Johnny wondered out loud.

 

“I ain’t answering that.”

 

“Because you don’t got a girlfriend?”

 

“Because I don’t want one!”

 

Sai assumes from Erb’s unwillingness to participate. “Let me guess, you just don’t got time to spend on someone else other than yourself, am I right?”

 

“Yeah,” he guiltily told them.

 

“Lazy,” Lyla remarked.

 

“Call me whatever you want, I just like my own time.”

 

“What if you meet a super cute girl?” Johnny asked. “Like Sylvia?”

 

The moment he mentions Sylvia, Lyla nearly coughs and then begins to laugh out loud. “Yeah right!”

 

“You don’t have to rub it in,” Erb told her, but she continues. “I’m sorry but forget her; someone from a noble family – one of the oldest and prestigious of them all – would require you to make your entire schedule for the entire next month to be blank.”

 

“I didn’t know she was that annoying.” The red boy asked.

 

“No, not because of that; but because she’s most likely only into someone who’s hardworking and self-confident; handsome and rich too – as a bonus. She’s out of your league.”

 

“Hey hey hey, it was a hypothetical,” Johnny reminds them this was a friendly discussion. “I’m just saying if someone like Sylvia becomes your girlfriend, would you?”

 

The demi boy stays silent until he shares his statement. “Maybe.”

 

They all moan out in frustrations over his indecisiveness and Lyla tells him, “It’s a yes or no!”

 

“Fine fine. Yes.”

 

“That’s better.”

 

Abruptly, he hears his phone let out a single ring tone, signaling he had received a text message. He promptly takes it out and reads it, but Johnny shifts his head closer out curiosity.

 

“Can you not!” Erb scorned him.

 

But he didn’t listen and manages to catch the name of the sender. “Who’s Linda?”

 

“An old friend.” He blacks out the phone’s screen and puts it back where in his pocket. But the others are drawn by the new information.

 

“An old friend with a girl’s name?” Sai reconfirmed, and Lyla went on toying with him. “An old girlfriend by any chance? Who knew!”

 

“No.” Erb takes another bite of his meal and Johnny comes back in with his own inquiry. “Who is she?”

 

Erb swallows his chicken and was prepared to answer, “Like I said, an old friend- “

 

“Then how come we’ve never heard you mention her. And don’t say because we never asked.”

 

“But you never did!”

 

“Give us the details!” Lyla demanded him.

 

“Why!?”

 

“Because we’re your friends and we’re curious. Get with the program!”

 

“You people.” After much grumbling, he gives in, “What do you want to know?”

 

“Is she pretty? How old is she? How did you know her? Have you been in touch-“

 

“That’s too many Lyla! One at a time!”

 

“I’ve never seen you this hyper before,” said Sai.

 

“I’ve never known this part of Erb’s boring life other than his writing and bad drawings.”

 

He took offense to her comment. “Hey! I’m still learning ok!”

 

“Anyway. Who is she?”

 

“For the third time, she’s an old friend back during elementary. Her family and mine were good friends for a while, but they moved to America for some reason. Haven’t stayed in touch with her until recently when my mom told me she was coming back to live with us.”

 

Johnny cashes in his own. “Why is she coming back?”

 

“Don’t know. Nostalgia maybe? That’s what my mom thinks.”

 

Lyla takes another turn. “So, is she pretty?”

 

“I don’t know, maybe?”

 

“Maybe!?”

 

“It’s been 5 years. I don’t know what she looks like now.”

 

“Not even on social media?”

 

“Please! My mom didn’t allow me to make an account online until the end of my middle school year. Plus, I don’t know what her last name is. There probably hundreds of Linda’s.”

 

“Well, how old is she?”

 

“Probably our age. Maybe 18.”

 

“And how did you know her?”

 

“My grandpa introduced us, or rather, I met her at my grandpa’s dojo. She was the only student he ever took so she and I quickly got along; though at first, I thought she was a boy and I called her Lin, haha.”

 

“Seriously? You thought she was a he?”

 

“Believe me when I say she literally fought like a mad man – mad boy. Hell, she was loose cannon. And a hell of a puncher. I don’t think I’ve even won a single sparring match against her. Or any matches – sports, gaming, drawing, rock paper scissors. Can’t imagine how she must look now.”

 

Johnny sneaks in with his own assumption. “My guess, tomboy-like.”

 

They all shake their heads in agreement with no hesitation.

 

Then Sai chimes in, verifying, “Your gramps teaches martial arts, right? I remember you told me that.”

 

“Yup.”

 

“Why only her?” Lyla asked.

 

“Don’t know, but he taught me some moves from time to time. But after she left, he stopped and closed his dojo.”

 

“That’s weird,” Lyla spoke out, looking up in the air in wonder. “Well anyway, I suppose you already answered my last question.”

 

“Never seen her since.”

 

“And you still answered it,” she whined, expecting more details in their relationship only to be disappointed by his blunt response.

 

“Just stating that loud and clear in case someone else asks again.”

 

“What a waste man,” said Johnny with a hunched back. “You had the perfect recipe for a girlfriend brewing.”

 

“Oh well.” Erb shrugs his shoulders and then engulfs the last piece of his sandwich.

 

Lyla finally sends one last question his way. “When is she coming?”

 

“Give me a sec.” He takes out his phone again to read the message once more, and then to concludes, “Around 5:40 am. Damn, sucks for my mom. By the way, my mom told me she’ll be going to our school next year.”

 

“That’s great!” she happily said. “Then you 2 have a lot of time to catch up.”

 

“And maybe get some romance happening,” Sai pointed out in a gleeful grin.

 

“I hate you guys,” he lied and continues chuckling, unable to hold any sort of grudge towards them for simply teasing him.

 

He knew Lyla was right about one thing; he would be able to spend on some time with his oldest friend now and finally be able to make things right for a change.

 

The true reason behind why he had little to no contact with her was due to his own failure as a decent human being.

 

The day her family left was also the same day he learned Linda’s real gender which initially put him off – disheartened by being lied too. The fact that his best friend at the time, whom he thought to have been cool and strong, was a girl - weak, annoying, and all about cute things, a fault his older stepbrother had imprinted on him back then but one he quickly grew out of. He had no idea how to react to that fact and because of his immaturity and thoughtlessness, he responded rather harshly.

 

Last time he had seen her was with his mother Kana, and sister, Samantha, sending her family off at the airport. He distinctly remembers her wearing a cute white Sunday outfit – a light dress and sun hat over her short blonde hair - a change from her usually boyish outfits. When her parents urged her to follow them to the terminal, she wanted to give him a hug, yet when she steps closer to him, he recalls he took one back, and the only emotions he felt then were that of disgust. The words he said afterward were “just go already” and that was it; she left, and he didn’t say good-bye.

 

He was punished by his mother when they got back home for his thoughtless action, and he became bitter to a point where he stopped going to his grandpa’s dojo to learn martial arts, leading to it being closed due to inactivity – something he left out in his explanation.

 

Now, after 5 years from learning his mistake, he hopes to muster up the courage to apologize to her for being the jerk he was back then, something he vowed to do when they finally see each other. This was also the reason why he made little contact with her over the internet, believing telling her face to face was more impactful than over any screen.

 

 

 

Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy, local system…

 

Off on a nearby planet, the rest of the Aureaian fleet comprising of 6 ships stationed themselves in place, preparing the last resort measure for when the enemy forces make it past their front line of defenses. Painted behind the planet is a large-scale teleportation circle – an extremely complex spell on a planetary proportion that can deliver celestial bodies into another different system over vast distances. The intended destination is a system closer to their main homeworld, located at the edge of the galaxy. It was soon nearing completion, but at the same time, droves of friendly forces have begun to return, all in retreat, ordered by their princess.

 

Aboard the flagship, the Key of Destiny, the commanding officer of the fleet, General Eraqus, a tall man with brown long hair in his early thirties, outfitted with gold and steel color armor, stands on the bridge, calmly surveying his battered troops pouring in, less than half of what they started with.

 

Yet, he can sense the sparks of battle still raging far off where the bulk of the enemy resides, and the only familiar energy signature he knew among them is his former pupil, Aurora, fighting alone. He couldn’t help but worry over her.

 

On the monitors before him are Aurora’s vital signs consisting of her overall health, and her energy reserve in real time, information gathered from her armor’s sensors. Compared to how her vitals were to now, her current energy level is more than half of what she had in the beginning. Despite hearing reports of her destroying 18 of the enemy’s vessels and climbing, Eraq knew there were still far more ships left.

 

She’s doing this all wrong. He criticized, knowing he had taught her how to conserve herself better. At this rate, she won’t have enough to come back. What is she thinking?

 

He knew not too long ago, as his pupil, Aurora presented the best abilities in both combat and magic and closely followed his teachings despite having already known them. Her potential and skills were far above that of anyone else he had taught, and he was so impressed by her that he even allowed her to take the mastery exam for warriors to earn Platinum rank. Unsurprisingly, she passed, and he knew she would. Since then, her performance earned her recognition by many and became an example of what it means to be a warrior of the Lux Aurea’s. Yet, her old self outshined her current state, and he knew it was due to her last sortie.

 

All he heard from the reports of that mission, was an entire system that was being protected by the Aureaians forces, being annihilated by a single, high-level kaoticon. The only survivor was Aurora.

 

Afterward, the once elegant fighter he knew, full of courage and determination, is now fighting like a beast lashing out indiscriminately, with no restraint, and full of anger, yet contained by something lifeless and cold.

 

At the enemy’s line, Aurora takes fire from both hive ships and troops and is now feeling the pressure from expending too much of her power.

 

She uses one of her swords to erect a spherical barrier- small enough to shield her with minimal consumption of her own reserves. After regaining her composure, she pushes forward with the shield acting as a rampart, bashing any who were foolishness enough to get in her way, and crashes into the side of a hive ship.

 

Upon landing, she channels her aura into her left leg, stomps her feet onto the hull, and cracks it open, sending a surge straight down, leading its insides to erupt in blue flames. She charges up another strike, directing her focus at another hidden behind waves of the white armored beasts, all combining their beam attacks into one, sending it towards her. Before their blast could reach her, Aurora swings a powerful kick, taking the form of a comet enshrouded by a blue and white tornado. It demolishes their combined attack, engulfs their lines into cinder, and then splits their ship in 2, through the midsection.

 

That's another down.

 

She turns around, looking at the rest of their fleet now in plain view and stationed on the star’s orbit. As she basks in the star’s warmth, she surveys their forces for any potentially dangerous individuals, those of levels her normal soldiers wouldn’t be able to handle.

 

From what her people know of the kaoticons, the beasts follow their own hierarchy system called Levels and is measured by evolution. Thus far, the white armored creatures she had defeated were all the lowest class, Level 1’s. The large 4 arm beast she encountered before was one of the many evolutionary paths a level 1 can take and is considered a Level 2. Both levels are considered at best to be planet busters – beings capable of wiping out an entire planet.

 

The majority of the forces she sees consists of those level 1’s and 2’s. However, she can sense several others with an energy pool equaling to her own, and a few she cannot measure for certain – they are called Level 3’s. Kaoticons of Level 3 have different appearances, much like level 2’s, but are generally more humanoid, armored, and have varying color pigments. They are also classified as System Busters – one can destroy multiple planets. The key difference a level 3 has to its lower brethren, was that it gains an ability of its own, most of the time deriving from what it ate in the past.

 

Aurora had fought level 3’s in the past and knew just how difficult it was to kill just one. Among the entire fleet, she can sense the strongest among them onboard what she can only believe to be the fleet's mother ship. From its size alone, it was more than 5 times that of the others and is centered between the others – a strategic position, but also one that gives itself away as being a high-value target. That is all she can see right now, one large target she couldn’t possibly miss.

 

I have a clear shot now. Time for the mothersh-

 

Abruptly, she is stopped upon detecting an odd energy signature near her first target and attempts to clear her mind to obtain a clear reading on it. In seconds, within her mind, she pictures silhouette of energy, outlining a humanoid figure. The first color to pop up was black and white, covering the person like a veil. She persists into knowing more on the being’s energy composition – whether its magic or ki – and its total battle power.

 

Suddenly, without any warning, as though she was right next to the silhouette, it devours her before she knew what happened, and floods her senses with an unquenchable dominance, chilling dread, and overwhelming willpower, forcing her mind to retreat. Returning to reality, Aurora felt her heart beating rapidly, high on her own hormonal glands, her entire body in a cold sweat, and her breathing being erratic. The being she was spying on had somehow found her and attacked her on a spiritual level, nearly breaking her psyche in the process.

 

As soon as she collects herself, she begins to consider the idea of retreating, but she then sees the enemy fleet moving as one. She readies her blades and prepares to launch a long-range assault until she realizes their flight path was perpendicular to herself - ignoring her entirely. Yet, she still senses the immense presence still lingering.

 

Atop the mother ship, the black masked man, Kingsley, raises his right hand, charging a black and purple energy ball on his palm, only to clench it tight, condensing it further on the tip of his index finger. He looks to the sun and aims his finger. Like a surgical needle puncturing a thin layer of skin, a single highly dense stream of energy shoots from his hand, straight into the star, and in a few short seconds, it’s orange-red appearance was quickly replaced by a thick red glow, then expand exponentially, losing its circular form.

 

“It’s your move now.”

 

With the destruction of the sun imminent, he returns inside. Meanwhile, the remaining fleet prepares to go into slip space.

 

Aurora horrifically and helplessly watched the star undergo a supernova, and stays frozen in place, contemplating what options she has now – what was the best course of action to take before her own fears take her over. To her fortune, a familiar voice rings out into her ear. She hears her subordinate’s frighten voice, Extella.

 

Aur…roa…. Aurora? Aurora, can you hear me!?

 

Extella!?

 

Oh thank the lords you’re safe! You worried the rest of us-

 

Aurora immediately cuts her off with the intention of warning her and the others of the impending danger. There’s no time! The Kaoticons destroyed the sun and it’s going supernova.

 

What!?

 

Have General Eraq’s group completed the teleportation circle yet!?

 

Yes, they have, but-

 

Good, then start evacuating everyone now! I’m on my way back!

 

Ok but Aurora-

 

Her voice cuts off midway, but the princess gazes at the dying star.

 

To her dismay, it was growing much too quickly for her to outrun and she can already feel a tremendous gravity being generated and pulling her in. The slither of hope she can see remaining in front of her is the fleeing fleet she herself wished to destroy.

 

Back by the planet, all the Aureaian troops were notified by Aurora’s warning thanks to Extella’s swift action, and with a stroke of luck, they finished constructing the planet-sized teleportation circle to send them all away.

 

Running towards the bridge, Extella and Strider find Eraq waiting for their report. “Did you hear back from the princess yet?”

 

“I made contact with her just a while ago.” Extella pointed out. “But I lost her. The sun’s expansion is interfering with our connection.”

 

“We have to wait for her to arrive,” Strider advised. “She might be close by.”

 

But with grim voice, Erap tells them otherwise, “I’m afraid we cannot. Bring me a visual of the sun.”

 

Upon request one of the staffs, a projection appears with the star growing with no end and a white comet flying away – it was Aurora.

 

“That’s Aurora!” The blue hair girl cried out, but confusion sets in as she sees her flight veering away from them, her own people. “Where is she going?!”

 

Strider suddenly barks a question at the staffs. “Where’s the enemy fleet located?”

 

They diligently calculated their location and project it as a mini-map on the screen. Much to their surprise, they learned she is going to the remaining kaoticons.

 

Frightened, the 2 soldiers march out of the bridge to save her but are shortly halted by their superior’s booming voice. “There’s nothing you two can do for her now!”

 

The white hair man protests, “Yes, there is!”

 

“We have to save her!” Extella’s voice was strained with desperation. “We still have time!”

 

“There is no time!” He clearly stated. “Even she knew that. Hitchhiking with them is her best chance to escape the blast. If we go out there now, then we’d only be risking everyone’s lives here.”

 

"But she’s…she’s…” Feeling powerless, she trembles on the spot out of frustration.

 

Strider understands her distress yet, emotions blind her to the truth; and so, he keeps his firm stance on the situation with a few words of compliance. “We understand sir.”

 

The ship’s alarms blared wildly; signaling the end of the preparations for the teleportation circle.

 

Outside, a large green circle composed of different shapes and symbols spills forth into the planet, wrapping around it as an ocean current. The ships get caught with no issue, and they soon disappear from their current space and into a new one.

 

Strider and Extella look out of the observation deck, both wishing Aurora a safe journey and a promise they are willing to keep for as long as it takes.

 

Onboard the Raida, Aurora races towards the Kaoticons, doing what the rest of her companions have already surmised.

 

First, I’ll magnetize my Raida onto the hull, and protect myself using the reflect spell – hopefully, I won’t have to worry about the radiation of slip space. If I’m lucky, I’ll come out with a couple of scrapes and bruises on the other end…As for where and what happens next…I’ll cross that bridge when it comes.

 

In the distance, Aurora sights her people’s teleportation circle dissolve into the blackness of space, and though she was afraid of dying and not knowing where she would end up, the warrior princess couldn’t help but put up a gentle smile as all she can think about is wishing her allies a safe journey.

 

Goodbye, everyone…

 

Removing any doubt from her mind, she musters up her courage to continue onward. Eventually, she finds herself near one of the ship’s bowels, undetected, and with a slip space being torn open in front of it.

 

Magnet…! Reflect!

 

Parked to the side of the ship with a field of energy around her, she travels through a force open tear in space and waits for what lies beyond the horizon.

 

No sooner had the ships entered slip space, the sun finally went supernova; bursting into a ball of white light- a force strong enough to blow away any nearby planets unlucky enough to be in its path: leaving behind nothing but destruction and debris.

 

 

 

MN High, Newspaper Club room…

 

Stuck inside a 15 by 15 ft room, Erb, and his fellow club members, Johnny, and 2 sophomores – identified by their uniforms having blue outlines rather than the junior’s gold - sit around a square table, taking up half of the free space available to them. Behind them are bookshelves containing old textbooks filled with wear and tear, and on the corners are stacks of paper and used empty ink cartridges. With their faces stuck on to their DOS pads and their fingers tapping on paper thin keyboards, they fully engrossed themselves into editing and re-editing what they currently have for this week’s news articles – small topics mainly concerning school life.

 

“Erb, you got these wrong again.”

 

Sitting next to the red junior is Carmine, a dark-skin demi-human with dog features – ears and tail - but strongly retains human traits.

 

“On what?” Erb gets off his seat and moves behind his classmate. He hears his complaint. “You added a semi-colon here instead of just a period.”

 

“Yeah, but the 2 sentences are related.”

 

“Not really-”

 

Johnny comes in to settle the talks. “No, there’s supposed to be a period there. And there. And there. That should be a comma. ‘Their’ should be ‘they’re’. Remove that entirely.”

 

“Ok ok.” Erb’s nods his head in shame over another grammatical error.

 

“For a guy who likes to write you suck at it,” the senior joked.

 

“Geez, thanks.” Erb tried to not take his words personally, but his pride as a writer still gets chipped away.

 

“No problem.”

 

Suddenly, their fourth member, Theo, a normal human – a mix between an Erbanian and French - cries out in dismay. Startled, they look in his direction to see him standing by the printer. “No ink again?” Johnny asked while knowing the answer already.

 

“Yeah.” Theo nodded and gets reprimanded. “Didn’t I tell you to replace the cartridge on Monday?”

 

“Yeah, but I forgot. I’ll go get some now.”

 

Erb comes in to save him the trouble. “Stay. I’ll go. I want some fresh air anyway, and a soda.”

 

“In that case, get me ginger,” Johnny requested.

 

“Give me money then.” He extends his hand out. “I ain’t paying for your stuff.”

 

Johnny gives him a dollar and 50 cents, and then the red boy strolls right on out and down the vacant hallway.

 

Traversing to the floor below, he arrives at the faculty room and through the narrow window on the door he sees his lamia homeroom teacher, Miss Himeu, inside, organizing piles of paper on her own. The moment he slides the door open, she turns around and with a wide smile, she greets him.

 

“Hello Erb. Do you need anything?”

 

“Hi miss Himeu, and yeah, I do. Our printer ran out of ink so-“

 

“Say no more! Let me just tidy these up first and I’ll go get you some.”

 

“Thank you, miss.”

 

As promised, she settled her papers and lead the student to a supply closet in the room next door, and begins rummaging through it, carrying out boxes too heavy for even the boy to hold with just her snake tail alone, and with ease.

 

Seeing her feat of strength made Erb look at his own tail – leg length – and his pride gets another piece cut off.

 

He then hears her asking him, “Can you look inside this box. I think it might be inside here.”

 

Erb turns around and sees her holding the box. But plot on top of it are her perfect shape large bountiful breasts, hidden behind her orange buttoned blouse. He held in his bewilderment as best he could while taking the box away from her, making sure not to stare. She didn’t notice his strange behavior and went back in the closet.

 

Flustered by what he could describe to have been a heavenly experience, he attempts to take his mind off it by looking in the box’s contents. Inside, were smaller boxes, each having an ink cartridge, but with different numbers on them. The one he needed is identified as 63, and so, he keeps repeating the number in hopes of keeping his mentality neutral. But the harder he tried, the more he couldn’t, and the discussion he had with his friends during lunch resurfaces to haunt him. He was too much of a nervous wreck to be able to hold a relationship with a girl, let alone girls who fit his preference, and having the courage to even confess was an entirely different matter. The last time he tried was during his middle school year with a cat girl. The result was him becoming the laughing stock of the class. He dreaded that moment and lost pieces of his confidence with it.

 

However, he would want to meet the right girl for him. Someone cute and pretty, caring, around his age, smart, and has a good figure. There are a few girls he had his eye on, one of them being Sylvia, but the social status between was too large of a gap to fill - he knew Lyla was speaking the truth. As for Linda, even if things work out between them, he wouldn’t want to get in a relationship with her for fear of repeating his mistakes again. 

 

“Erb?”

 

He snaps out of his dilemma and turns to his teacher, looking down at him. “Have you found what you’re looking for?”

 

“Ah, um, not yet!”

 

He hastily gets back to searching through the box

 

“No, it’s not in here.”

 

“Ok. Hand that over to me and look in this one.”

 

He does as she said and unfolds the second. But while doing so, his love life problems linger, making him recall once having a thing for Miss Himeu; though there were several negative aspects that quickly put her off his radar. First being she is his teacher; the second, she’s in her thirties; and the third, she already has eyes on someone else.

 

Coincidentally, he hears the familiar foot-steps of that same person – heavy and thick soles smacking against the marble floor. He and Miss Himeu meet Mister Guin coming around the corner, accompanied by 2 students – both girls. To Erb’s surprise, the girl standing behind Guin is Sylvia, carrying a small stack of paper in her hands. The other, had green outlines on her uniform, much like Johnny’s, and has a purple furry tail, accompanied with shoulder length hair and cat ears, and the title of the school’s student council president written on her left sleeve. Aimi Astrain, daughter to a noble family much like Sylvia, and granddaughter to the principal of MN High.

 

“Ah, Miss Himeu, good timing,” Mister Guin casual greeted. “The other faculty members were wondering if you are still going to attend tonight’s dinner party in the city. Are you available?”

 

Erb glances at his homeroom teacher, and not to his surprise, he can already see her face blushing. For whatever reason, she had a crush on his history teacher and the only reason why he knew was that Lyla once blurted that detail to him. He felt bad for her due to knowing the leopard man was stoic by nature, and it only grew as he hears her trying to respond while containing the excitement within her wagging tail.

 

“Oh uh yes I am. What about you? Mister Guin!?”

 

“No, I’m afraid I cannot.”

 

“Huh!? I---I mean…”

 

“I’m simply passing off the message from the others, but I will let them know you will be attending.”

 

“B---but what about you?”

 

“I have prior engagements to attends. My niece is coming home tonight, and I want to cook something nice for her before she does. I don’t have much time left.”

 

“Oh…well, that’s good! You should do that for her!”

 

“I plan to. I made a promise with her and I intend to keep it.” He suddenly shifts his focus to Erb, who was still looking through the box. “Mister Kinomoto. A moment, please. There’s something I want to ask of you.”

 

Wondering what he wanted, Erb obliged. “Um, yeah. What is it?”

 

“Miss Astrian, Miss Argones, let’s discuss further on the matter tomorrow.”

 

The 2 girls acknowledge with simple nods and walk past Erb and Miss Himeu.

 

“I heard from miss Himeu you’ve yet to hand in your career sheet.”

 

“Oh yeah…that.”

 

“Is there a reason why? And please, speak freely. This is not an interrogation just something I am curious about.”

 

“Um…I guess.” He had no choice but to tell him. “I just haven’t thought of anything, that’s all.”

 

“Then what about that book you’re writing.”

 

“Ahh that. It’s just a hobby I’m doing.”

 

“Not from what I have read. You seem serious about it – 15 chapters, a section worth 23 pages. I can’t imagine how long it must be already.”

 

“How’d you- “

 

“The file name and page number were on the screen; we cat people have excellent eyesight.”

 

“Should have known.”

 

“If you enjoy writing so much, why not become a novelist.”

 

“Too many issues.”

 

“Such as.”

 

“Well, first I gotta get some popularity going for me so that other people will know what I do, or else no one will buy my stuff. Right now, I’m not having that much luck. And it still needs work.”

 

“Have you tried posting some of your work on websites? Social media?”

 

“I have, but like I said, my stuff needs more work done on it – like fixing all of the grammatical errors I made. Plus, I don’t know if I’ll be able to make a nice living with it. Got to support my family and all.”

 

Erb looks down at the box once more, and his eyes caught sight of the ink he needed.

 

“Ah, there it is,” he yelped. “Hey, if we’re done here, can I go now? I need to get this back to our club.”

 

“Yes, that’ll be all. Thank you for your time.”

 

“No problem.”

 

Erb turns his back and rushes back to the club room, though, he felt some guilt over himself, unable to think of a career. He had thought of being a writer at first but had already thought of the consequences in which he would fail, and knew he’d most likely would, no thanks to a fight he had not too long ago with his older step-brother, O’Neill.

 

The subject of their conflict was much like his discussion with Guin, but louder and one-sided. O’Neill had called him one night just to check in on him and the family, but when he asked the same question regarding what he wanted to do in the future and heard his answer, he didn’t take his answer lightly and pushed him into figuring out what he wants to be now rather than wait until it was too late. His older brother was taking over the conversation and Erb couldn’t help bringing up excuses for himself but see the logic behind his arguments. In the end, the demi boy abruptly ends their talks by hanging up.

 

I guess I could go there to kill some time – I already finished most of my homework, so that’s out of the way.

 

He returns to the club room door and reaches for the knob, but freezes in place, forgetting another reason why he went out – a drink for himself and his friend.

 

Quickly, he speeds off to the nearest soda machine, one floor up. Climbing the staircase and turning one last corner, he finds Sylvia standing alone, by the machine.

 

She notices him immediately but let out a short yelp, as though he caught her off guard. Upon noticing who he was, she lets out a relieving sigh. “Oh, it’s you.”

 

“Um yeah. You all right?” He had never seen her startled before and to his own surprise, he’s having a conversation with one of his crushes – one he initiated.

 

“I’m fine. I was just…deep in my thoughts. Erb, right?”

 

“Yup.”

 

“Sylvia-” She extends her hand out and he takes it.

 

“I know. Lyla talks about you a lot.”

 

“She does the same for you too.”

 

“Really?” He replied, finding it odd the girl who pegged him to have no chance in getting a date with Sylvia, told her about him.

 

He then watches her suddenly swipe a card on the machine and in a few seconds takes out a ginger ale can, only to then walk away. “Well, it was nice to meet you.”

 

“Uh, yeah. Same.”

 

As he hears her footsteps fading away, he steps up to the machine and pays for his items, only to then hear her coming back.

 

“Oh, Erb!”

 

“Uhuh?” he repeated.

 

“You're going to the karate event this weekend as a journalist, correct?”

 

“Ahuh.”

 

“Oh ok! Then I guess I’ll be seeing you there then.”

 

“You’re going?”

 

“Yeah, to help you get in.”

 

Erb raises an eyebrow skeptically. “I thought Aimi was.”

 

“She said she can’t make it, so she’s sending me instead to oversee the event and help out.”

 

“Oh…is that right?”

 

“See you then.”

 

“Sure.”

 

She left as quickly as she came back, and Erb was finally given the chance to take his soda’s out. “Yeah…see you then,” he muttered, cheerfully strolling back to the club room.

 

Upon entering, he hands the ink to Theo, and one of the soda cans to Johnny. He sits back on his seat and resumes typing away, now anxious for tomorrow to arrive.

 

Maybe I do have a chance after all. He delightfully thought. Tomorrow’s gonna be great.

 

However, his mood changed when Johnny barks at him over a simple error.

 

“I said ginger ale, not coca cola.”

 

“Take it or leave it!”

 

 

 

This is the 2nd episode of CrimZon. Hope You enjoyed it and leave a comment if you want.

 

OC:

1)    Aimi Astrian

2)    Guin

3)    Carmine

4)    Theo

 

 

 

 

3: Episode 3 - Chance

 

Slip Space…

 

Hurdling through the stars within the dimension known as slip space - a tunnel of light with faint traces of stars streaming against its walls – the kaoticons hive fleet has narrowly escaped being engulfed by a dying sun and are now making way to another system they had listed prior to their earlier assault in order to replenish their supplies. Despite having suffered the loss of several ships and personnel, they were still large enough to lay siege on a world that is said to be currently vacant of the persistent aureaian army.

 

Under the hull of a light cruiser, magnetized on a partially chipped off wing, Aurora hangs on for dear life with what little magic power she has left running through 2 of her spells simultaneously - Magnet and Reflect. For what felt like an hour staying perfectly still, she had only experienced less than half that time, yet she felt her once tremendous strength and endurance rapidly depleting from the hazardous materials flying within slip space bombarding her shield. Even with her godly abilities, they can’t save her from radiation poison, or worse.

 

When she first thought of her plan to hijack a hive ship, courage and determination drove her to commit to herself, anxious to rid the armored beast and return home in triumph. But now, unable to move on her own free will and dangerously close to the edge of the ship, fear gradually creeps its cold hands over her shoulder, eager for her life. If she does, by some means, fall off the edge, she would exit out of slip space prematurely and be stranded in a different unknown space, having no means to get home, let alone survive in an airless environment when her magic depletes.

 

Upon replaying her plan step by step, she soon realizes her chances of steering one of their crude vessels emerge as a larger issue than she imagined.

 

From what details she knows of the beast’s technology, they mainly scavenge and pillage other ships they have stolen from, melding them into one large carrier, varying in different sizes. However, they use them for transporting their troops during their hibernation period – an ability all kaoticons possess since birth, allowing them to rest to the point of appearing dead both physically and spiritually, escaping the detection of anything and everything while recovering their strength. Other than the mounted weapons, the only things their ships mainly contain are navigational controls, a slip space engine, and sub-light engines. The lack of life support did not bother them thanks to their biology; near-perfect immunity to all toxic’s substances, and capable of surviving star level temperatures, and the coldness of space – another trait they are all born with, without question. 

 

And so, even if she did capture a ship, a ship that is incapable of supporting life, staying alive long enough before her limited supply of oxygen runs dry was almost near impossible.

 

However, there was also another detail she had learned from her previous encounters with the creatures. Their urge to feed. 

 

It is common knowledge amongst the aureaian soldiers the time between each of their attacks is extremely brief. The reason for the short duration is that if one fleet leaves a battlefield, then they were leaving for a soon-to-be new feeding ground elsewhere. Thus, if such a scenario comes across her, the fleet would arrive at a habitable world with a breathable atmosphere, where she can take refuge on to recuperate, and then fight back if needed.

 

Yet, all she can do now is wait for fate to hand their verdict to her – allowing her to live for the next battle to come or die.

 

Inside the mother ship’s, Kingsley passes through an already opened doors and quickly enters the main bridge, where Argons remains where he last saw him. The large monster, still sitting comfortably in the center of the room for everyone to see, spots his return.

 

“Your scheme played out as you said,” Argon tells him, sensing the aureaian girl’s presence to be nearby, locating her to be somewhere in the back of the fleet.

 

“It’s too early to celebrate,” Kingsley replied boorishly, walking up to the large beast’s right side, his head reaching up to the chair’s arms. “We still need to deal with her after we exit out. How long until we arrive?”

 

“It shouldn’t be long now.”

 

“You better hope she doesn’t suffocate to death first before I can get what I want. Of course, that is easier than said.”

 

Argon slightly shifts his head down, appearing as though he was glancing down at Kingsley. “You speak from experience?”

 

“Not exactly. Life has taught me to always be prepared for any scenario.”

 

“And how have you prepared for…this exactly?”

 

“That is something you don’t need to know, other than that our chances in capturing her are high, only if I am the one to face her. She may be too much for even you and your fleet.”

 

“I see,” Argon complied, and with an appeasing tone, he continues, “Then I have no choice but to trust your judgment this time.”

 

“Oh?” A hint of surprise looms in Kingsley's voice. “How unexpected. I assumed you would feel insulted by my comment.”

 

“Do not misunderstand my compliance as submission to your will. If the reports of her…prowess, are true, then there’s no point in bickering.”

 

“How very wise of you.”

 

“And besides…if this operation proves to be successful, and you hold your end of the bargain, I’ll soon obtain a worthwhile power. So you best not forget that.”

 

“You’ve made that abundantly clear.”

 

Suddenly, underneath their feet, the floor underwent a quake, and then a violent shock knocks nearly everyone off their feet and falls back.

 

Argon remains seated but hunches forward to withstand the mysterious force. Kingsley stays in place with small effort but was all too familiar with what was plaguing them now – the ship had accelerated.

 

The sensation reverberates throughout the ship, and the rest of the fleet felt the same strange phenomena. A pulsating wave, originating far back at the end of the tunnel, ripples out, and the force they carried was pushing the ships forward, faster than ever. 

 

Aurora felt the worst of the quakes from being exposed to it on the outside and struggles to keep herself grounded. 

 

However, before she could strengthen her magic to further ensure her safety, a powerful wave overwhelms her vehicle, and a sudden jolt throughout her body made her eyes widen.

 

The last shockwave caused the wing section she was on to break off from its vessel, and slowly, together, they drift away silently. The sense of being weightless and watching both the fleet moving further away, left the poor girl frozen in place out of pure terror. As she was about to crash into the edge of the dimension, she shuts her eyes tightly, fearing death’s grasps.

 

In a moment’s notice, she disappears within it without a trace, while the rest of the hive fleet continued to move forward.

 

 

 

MN High….

 

The sun was beginning to set, and the once-bustling campus was dribbling down to a handful of students finishing their club activities and faculty members doing the same – marking homework and revising future course plans.

 

Outside in front of the school building, the pink hair girl, Sylvia Von Argones, patiently stands in the open as the cool sea breeze brushes her by, causing her hair to fly wild. She looks to the light orange sky, admiring the view in peace and solitude, until she finally lets out a loud sigh of relief, feeling completely done for today.

 

“I can’t wait to get home,” she whined, letting her stiff shoulder finally hang loose.

 

Born from nobility, her family pride themselves as being strong, dignified, and at the same time elegant, thus she is obligated to uphold what her family considers to be their standard level of conduct - to not tarnish their reputation.

 

From morning to afternoon, she played the role of a model student with flying colors, not once showing any signs of tardiness and laziness – showing proper social skills, a sparkling clean background, peak physical health, strong academic marks, and most importantly, eloquence on all aspects. Having a Secretary position in the Student Council was considered a plus to her social standing by her parents.

 

However, with each passing day, the fatigue of having to keep her facade up was digging at her core as a person; unable consume fast foods and sugary drinks, buy cute dolls, wear colorful clothing, social with other kids her age about the latest anime shows and movies on now.

 

Today, her lack of focus leads to her being less vigilant than normal when she was ambushed by Erb at the vending machine – letting down her persona for a moment. Yet, it was her fault alone for spoiling herself with a can of ginger ale after a long day.

 

What a blunder. She thought despairingly. I actually let out a scream in front of him.

 

Although she hardly ever interacted with the red demi boy – passing by him from time to time – being unable to at least greet him properly was something she felt ashamed of, especially due to what happened yesterday.

 

During her lunch hour, on the rooftop of the main school building, Sylvia was sitting around a circle with several other girls and was listening to their gossip of the current pop culture trend. Aimi and Lyla were also present at the time, and the latter of the 2 brought up an image of a fairly handsome young man belonging to a foreign music band, leading to a discussion on which of the members do they fancy. After they each said their piece, they then moved on to their classmates – the males. Sylvia was forced to go first since she went last, and all of her friends wondering what kind of boy she prefers. At the top of her head, the red demi-boy came to mind, shocking everyone, especially Lyla. Her reason was purely his hairstyle – it reminded her of a character she liked from an anime, but she didn’t tell that to them. Instead, she vaguely confessed that he looked the most unique of the bunch.

 

Earlier today, before she and Aimi encountered Mister Guin, Aimi suddenly sprung her duties this weekend to the pink girl and asked her to take her place in supervising the karate tournament tomorrow. Sylvia didn’t get a chance to decline as Aimi pins it on her. It was only later on, as she encountered the red demi boy by herself, realizes her president’s intentions on the spot upon recalling one of the newspaper’s club members would be there. She asked him to verify and to her surprise, her guess rang true.

 

Sylvia digs into her bag and takes out the can of ginger, snaps the small lid open, and devours its contents in one gulp, finishing off later with a loud burp, only to then walk over to a nearby recycle bin and toss it inside. 

 

“Gotta save the environment.”

                          

By the time she returns to her post, she spots a black car driving off the bridge and around the circle road – her ride home has arrived. It pulls up, and with haste, she opens the car door herself and plots her rear end on the soft, smooth, cool black leather seats, feeling a flood of relief drowning her body as she lets herself go limp. 

 

“As always, right on time Maxwell.”

 

“My pleasure mistress,” the elderly elf responded. “How was school today?”

 

“Long, as usual. But first, get me home! Quick!” She cutely pouted as though she were a small energetic child. “I don’t want to miss my show!”

 

“You do know you can always stream it anytime you wish mistress.”

 

“Yeah, but I don’t like watching it on my phone. Strains my eyes too much. I want to watch it on the big screen! And in solitude.”

 

“Oh-h the perils of a noble. How tragic.”

 

“Less talking, more driving! Now…mush!”

 

“Very well,” he chuckled, and as a sled dog, he begins driving back towards the bridge. 

 

As they reach the end of the circle, a bus stands in their way, currently being boarded by other students. Forced to wait, Sylvia lets her eyes rest as she presses her back against the seat, allowing herself too comfortable. As she opens her eyes to catch one last glimpse of the sun, out the side window, she caught sight of 2 students exiting out of the parking lot, one of them is Erb, and the other is a freshman girl. From what her friend, Lyla, had told her about his family, he has a little step sister attending the same school.

 

“So that’s her,” she guessed, and hers stays drawn to them until they were no longer in sight.

 

She soon earns a satirical remark from upfront. “Eyeing a potential suiter, are you?”

 

Her eyes widen from his sudden comment and with a flustered look, bright pink shades encircling within her cheeks, she replied, “It’s not like that.”

 

“Is that so?” Maxwell retracts his words but still teases her. “My apologies then miss. I have mistaken your look of admiration as longing.”

 

She keeps her mouth shut for fear of earning another tease from her butler. But as they were starting to move once again, she glances at the unsuspecting Erb, and without a doubt in her mind, she does like his hair. 

 

 

 

Erbanian Army Base, Fort Xander, northeast of Velium City…

 

Further up north, around 352 miles away from the public, surrounded by a natural barricade of mountains and forest, a military installation housing the highest specs in weaponry and science, and home to the brave men and women – human and demi-human alike – who are prepared to lay down their lives to promote freedom and justice, and most important of all, in defense of their homeland on any given notice - let it be a terrorist attack or an entire invasion from another country. 

 

But today, a monthly tradition was occurring amongst the personnel. In between a carpet of VTOL warships, tanks, and all other assortments of transport vehicles and a row of hangers and barracks on the other, a large spotlight centers around a boxing ring, where a match currently being held, and almost every soldier in the base is present to watch. 

 

On one corner, a Latin American male with a short black flat hair is breathing heavily after relentlessly throwing punch after punch at a target he can’t touch. 

 

His opponent, born from Velium city, and also a recruit pilot, an average-sized human male with brown blazing short hair and eyes brimming with confidence, hopping in the middle of the ring without a care in the world.

 

Lance Corporal O’Neill Kinomoto, 21 years old, an ace rookie pilot, and older brother Erb and Samantha. Joining the military straight out of high school, after he spent 2 years of training from being an undergraduate pilot to finally getting to sit in the cockpit of a fighter jet, only to then earn recognition for his skills from a recent skirmish, fast-tracking himself to earning a spot inside a mobile suit.

 

The Latino leaps out from his corner, winding his right arm back to throw a forward punch that would have knocked a tooth out – if he ever connects. The Corporal, moving only his rear leg, quickly takes a step to his right, allowing the punch to fly pass, and exchanges with a swift jab under the veteran’s chin – barely grazing his skin. Despite not having done any real damage, the force he applied to the man’s chin was enough to shake his brain from the inside, causing it to hit against the walls of his skull. The effect it had made the man suddenly slump forward with daze eyes, overcome with dizziness, unable to get on his feet. As the rookie pilot watches his opponent remain on the ground moaning, he was declared the winner – and the crowd went wild.

 

“O'Neill! O'Neill! O'Neill! O'Neill!”

 

The soldiers cheer his name out in unison, making the underdog bask in glory with his hands raised in a boasting manner. In a few short seconds, the young man soon found his opponent waking up, and decides to stand before him with a rather large smirk across his face.

 

“You ok their buddy?”

 

After shaking off the bells in his head from ringing any longer, the man gets up and storms off the ring – with some assistance. O’Neill stays in the ring and sat at his corner, taking a long and satisfying gulp from a water bottle, he almost threw it back up when a female soldier sprung at him from behind, wrapping her arms around his neck in a headlock hold, and hearing her disgruntling yet feminine voice tone.

 

“No time for resting corporal!” 

 

The female soldier who is happily strangling him from behind is an erbanian demi-human born from a city further up north, Dalmasca. She belongs to the feline class – more specifically, she is classified as a lioness. With the face and body closely resembling a regular human female and covered mostly in a golden color fur with brown hair, her strength is surprisingly greater than that of most human males – even from her race - making it impossible for the pilot to break free through sheer brute strength.

 

“A..alright..alright I give! I give!” He squealed pathetically with the little air he had and is rewarded with his release. “Damn lieutenant; were you trying to break my beck or what?”

 

“Then you should’ve had your guard up; even if you’re going back home tomorrow.”

 

“I’ll make a mental note on that ma’am.” He rubbed his neck to ease the pain but seeing his superior enter the ring and looking at her slender back, gave him some worry.

 

Tilting her face around to barely see his own, she went on to add one other piece of information. “And also…I wouldn’t be able to enjoy beating your ass for the seventh time now…if you are ill-prepared, corporal!”

 

“…Say what!?” He yelped from the sudden news, clearly seen by his widen fearful eyes.

 

Lieutenant Maude Liopatra, 28 years old, a fellow mobile suit pilot, a lieutenant, and one of O’Neill’s superiors - as well as his next opponent.

 

Earlier, he participated in the boxing matches to settle a grudge with the Latino man but was told someone wanted to fight him. Accepting both matches filled out today’s number, being that of 5 matches total. His were the last 2, and despite fighting back to back, he still went on with the idea that he can always quit on the second match if it proves too much.

 

Unfortunately, he no longer could with his Lieutenant – if he quit, he would still face her wraith afterward. Beating her was also another matter.

 

Holding an impressive track record of over 39 victories and only 2 losses; his chances of winning against his superior, the current reigning champion of the base, was small. O’Neill, on the other hand, held a streak of 7 wins, and 6 losses – all 6 of his losses were from her.

 

And yet, this did not discourage him from paying back Maude for those humiliations; the opportunity in front of him may be hell but was too good to pass up. He trained rather rigorously for this moment and it was high time for him to test himself out.

 

With a newly found motivation, he declares war with her. “Alright then; Lieutenant Maude, you’re going down today!”

 

She flicks her head away from his view. “Hmph, we’ll see about that.”

 

Standing across from one another on the ring, the announcer of today’s event is a hot-headed canine man with brown fur and all the other aspect of a wolf.

 

“Ok ladies, and ladies! In this match we have our lovely reigning boxing champion, Lieutenant Maude, going against our underdog, Corporal O’Neill. Without any further ado, let the match…begin!” 

 

The wolfman quickly gets off the stage upon the sound of the bells ringing, and then the two fighters approach one another slowly, arms up and eyes set, watching each other’s every move, preparing to counter at the right moment. 

 

Swiftly, Maude covers the distance between them with a simple skip, thrusting a jab straight to his face. 

 

O’Neill brought his front arm up to guard, and counters with his rear, but misses, receiving a clean hook to the left. He stood his ground luckily and threw back another jab, barely grazing her cheek with it, but made her back away in haste.

 

“That stung like a bitch.” He muttered while rubbing his injured cheek. But within that brief moment of pause, the demi-woman got close to him again with one uppercut. He dodges, this time completely, and leans further down on his right side, throwing his own left hook, only to miss and to receive several more punches, wildly yet accurate. He did his best to guard himself, bringing his arms closer to his face and tightening his muscles, withstanding her assault, but keeping his eyes focus on an opening to exploit. Eventually, he found one.

 

Every time she prepares to attack, there is a split second of pause she exhibits, a point where she gathers, he strength to then unleash. He bid his time, taking in the pain until he found his chance. As she was about to throw one last uppercut, the beaten fighter sends a jab, connecting her face perfectly. Sadly, he couldn’t dodge the last punch and reels back as his view of the world spins around him. 

 

Maude on the other hand also took a step back, fazed by being suddenly hit, but recovered quickly to press on the attack again until a loud blow horn overwhelms her sensitive ears, as well as the audience, stunning everyone in place.

 

Their attention is drawn to a large man – a human in his fifties with black crewcut hair – holding a blow horn the size of his muscular arms – and immediately, they, including Maude and O’Neill, drop whatever they were doing and assemble at once.

 

Colonel Quintus Ceosus, presently one of the highest-ranking officers in the base, saw the fight was getting a little too serious upon seeing one of his rookies taking a beating.

 

“That’s enough pummeling for one day,” he proclaimed. “And this festivity is over. Everyone clear out.”

 

Within minutes the once busy space is now holding a handful. Sitting by a humvee, O’Neill with an ice pack on his bruised face stands by with Maude as they earn their share of scolding from the Colonel.

 

“You 2 don’t know when to take it easy do ya?”

 

“No sir, we cannot,” the corporal responded sarcastically, despite the pain in his jaw.

 

“I’m afraid the fault is mine sir, I got caught in the moment.”

 

“You sure did,” the colonel spoke. “He finally got a hit on you.”

 

“Ah-“

 

O’Neill saw her eyes widen and shift her gaze to him, realizing he, himself, managed to connect a punch after 7 bouts.

 

“- yes…he did.”

 

“Shocking, I know,” the corporal jest. 

 

“Better go to the infirmary Corporal. Get yourself checked out.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

He gets up, performs a salute to his superior officers, and begins marching off to the medical room.

 

Meanwhile, the colonel looks to Maude with a question. “Lieutenant. If I recall, weren’t you supposed to be having dinner in the city by now? Instead of picking a fight with your subordinates?”

 

Maude shoulder’s slump and a look full of guilt wash over her once prideful glow.

 

Receiving silence instead of an answer, the senior officer went on. “It’s not my business to pry in. Still, you’d best get your matters in order soon.”

 

“Y-yes sir,” she stuttered.

 

“The transport chopper is leaving in 30 mins. You’re dismissed.”

 

Elsewhere, O’Neill, upon entering a hanger connecting to the main building, is met by bright floodlights and several engineers and mechanics still tinkering away on rows and rows of idle mechanical giants, all of them being the standard model, the Realdo. 

 

Priced at more than a 1.2 billion in tax payer’s money, equipped with a plasma-based propulsion system, armed with anti-tank rounds and heavy-duty rifles, and can transform into a fighter jet with speeds topping over Mach 7. 

 

It’s overall design however was first conceived by the United States, the Union Realdo, but as of recently, Erban’s military was able to manufacture their versions. Slightly faster and better software and hardware, but less armored for the sake of the time it takes transforming between modes – airplane to mech and vice versa.

 

At the end of the line, he finds his own, standing upright, and he couldn’t help but smile at his pride and joy, ignoring the pain of his cheek. 

 

Fresh dull green paint, new armor plating, and leather seat.

 

Suddenly, from behind he gets another headlock, this time detained by a large dark green skin muscular man.

 

“Hey there slugger!”

 

“Not…again!”

 

O’Neill frees himself but rather his capturer let him go, and turns around to meet Rico, an orc with biceps as big as his own thighs, an iron body, a white beard as thick as a full head of hair, and a pair of small tusk-like canine teeth sticking out from his lower jaw. In the army, he has the rank of sergeant, but outside the military, he is a family man with a beautiful wife and 3 loving daughters - triplets. On top of those, he is also the head mechanic of the armored division, and there was no one better to maintain the many mobile suits stationed in the base. 

 

“Seriously, why is everyone after my neck?”

 

“Cuz your easy to sneak up on,” Rico replied.

 

“Haha funny, sarge.”

 

“He’s not wrong.” A feminine voice rings behind the giant’s back.

 

Walking out are 2 other soldiers, both rookie pilots like himself; Eve, an elf woman with shoulder-high blonde hair, and Vic, a human male with an average build and short orange hair.

 

The same woman further comments, “Wow you like terrible.” She slightly touches his bruised face, causing him to flinch.

 

Vic chimes in with a snarky remark. “So, does that make your 9th lose?” 

 

“7th Vic.”

 

“You never learn,” Rico told him. “Even I don’t wanna tussle with the lieutenant.”

 

“Yeah, well, it's not my fault you’re afraid of girls.”

 

“Shit, you’d be too if you have a wife and 3 daughters. But if you keep talking like that to me, I ain’t gonna fix your mech next time ya hear!?”

 

His threat rang through O’Neill’s chest like a knife, fearful that he might actually do as he said, and so he hastily retracts his earlier statement. “No! Please! I’m sorry. Please keep fixing my mech please!”

 

He hears his mechanic laugh and soon after his fellow pilots did as well, and so he was left in defeat once more.

 

Abruptly, the orc brings up a different topic. “Oh hey! Aren’t you going home tonight?”

 

“Sure am. After I get checked by the doc. Hopefully.”

 

“Well get better bud.” Vic heavily slaps his hand on O’Neill’s back, making him wince in pain. “Eve and I are gonna get our freak on.”

 

As he did, Eve slaps Vic, but on his head. “Not so loud! It’s embarrassing.”

 

“Sorry sorry,” he apologized, and then the 2 mingle off, leaving Rico and O’Neill behind.

 

“How the hell does a boy like him get a dime like her?” The orc question in bewilderment whereas the pilot shrugs his shoulder, “Hell if I know.”

 

“Hold on.” Rico brings their conversation back to earlier. “How are you going back home tonight?”

 

“The transport chopper that’s how.”

 

“But isn’t that about to leave in –“

 

Rico lifts his left arm to view his analog watch resting on his large wrist and reads out, “- 15 minutes.”

 

“What!?”

 

O’Neill looks at Sarge’s watch, confirming the time, and lets out a frightful yelp. “I gotta get going!” 

 

In haste, instead of going to the infirmary, he dashes to the barracks to gather his belongings, and while doing so he hears his sergeant screaming out his parting words behind him.

 

“Tell your mom I said hi! And get along with your brother too, ya hear!”

 

As the corporal exits out of the hanger and into the main building, the once urgent behavior that was driving him quells to that of remorse. Hearing Rico mentions his brother, Erb, brought up some bad memories, still fresh in his mind. 

 

At first, he wanted to make some casual talk with his little sibling for old time sake, but when he heard his brother was unsure of what he wanted to do in the future, O’Neill’s first thoughts centered around finance and security, thus he urged him to pursue a more lucrative option for himself; he didn’t want his little brother to make the same decision that he made when he came upon that same dilemma. 

 

With no idea what type of job he wished to pursue, O’Neill joined the military as a means to support his family and take some of the burden off his father who is working off abroad in Kenya, as well as giving himself the chance to pay for his college tuition after his tour was over. Sadly, Erb misunderstood his worry as contempt, leading to a foolish argument to erupt, only to end with a bad taste.

 

Regardless, when he returns home, he plans to get some face-to-face time with his sibling, where they can mend each other’s mistakes, find common ground, and help one another understand their point of view in a calm setting. 

 

That is if he can get home on time.

 

 

 

Erb’s home…

 

After a grueling 30-minute drive from MN High to the front gate of their home, no thanks to the afternoon traffic, Erb with Samantha sitting behind him, reach the doorstep of the wooden gate separating them from their home. After parking the scooter by the roadside, making sure no other vehicle in sight would collide with his own, and at the same time, Samantha hops down and approaches the door. As she was about to unlock it, the demi boy heard something peculiar and then stops her.

 

“Hold up.”

 

But his sister could ask, a loud noise accompanied by the sound of an old man screaming from the other side of his door, peaked their ears. The familiar cry of an old pitiful man and the roars of an angry daughter - Erb immediately pieced together what was going on, and knew the procedures in which to follow.

 

“You might want me to go in first.”

 

His sister obeyed, taking a step back, and he walks forward, ready to open the door only to suddenly meet it flying wide open, stopping itself abruptly against the stone walls encased around it – his plan already in a painful ruin. Barreling through it is their grandfather with his face on the pavement, sliding across the road to then crash into the wall on the other side.

 

Aber grovels on the ground, covered with several large bumps all over his face, and holding a telescope in his hands, raised above his head, treating it as though it was his life. 

 

Samantha, standing on the sideline, was all too familiar with what was happening now, and though her brother knew it too, he was careless this time and had a door slam on his face as a result.

 

“Ahhhh that hurts,” he mumbles, muffled by his own hands easing his face.

 

Coming from the other side of the door, marching out with her hands planted on her hip, the 2 children look up to see their mother with a scowling stare resembling that of a wrathful demon.

 

“If I ever find you peeking at other women in the neighborhood with that telescope ever again, then I swear I will-” 

 

Aber, swiftly getting on his knees, begs her, “Please stop, I won’t do any of that stuff again so please, pretty please…leave my telescope alone.”

 

As she was about to respond, she then gets cut off by a cough from Erb, still rubbing his nose, along with his step-sister.

 

“Oh! Welcome home kids.”

 

“Good to be back,” the boy sarcastically tells her and begins to walk past her with an annoyed look.

 

Samantha greets her stepmother with a cracked smile, “Ahhh, we’re home!”

 

Erb enters the house alone, and after taking off his shoes near the front door, he climbs up the stairs and reaches his room, where he drops his belonging on the floor and plots his entire body on his bed, letting out an exhausting sigh fill the now stale air.

 

“Gotta crack a window,” he tells himself and did what he said, letting the fresh cool air of the afternoon in.

 

The room fell quiet right after, devoid of any noises beside his heartbeat, his eardrums pulsating, and the outdoor world. 

 

Taking a moment to rest already cleared his mind of the headache he accumulated from today’s ordeals, and hopefully, with no interruptions, he can resume where he left off earlier – his writing. Sadly, this time, his procrastination pulls him away from his task as he is drawn to murmuring noises coming from within the wall beside him. 

 

The room next to his own is Samantha’s, and if he recalls, this wasn’t the first time he’s heard his sister talking unnecessarily loud in her own space – most likely on the phone with her boyfriend, another freshman from their school; around 5 feet 6 inches tall, short black hair, narrow eyes, Asian ethnicity, grumpy yet quiet, and reserving. He met him several times but never had any real interaction with him. 

 

Out of sheer boredom and curiosity, he focuses on what little snippets he can make out what his sister is saying. But to his surprise he heard someone else talking; a male person with a squeaky voice – clear and pristine, not what you would hear from a phone speaker.

 

“Who is she talking to?” he asked himself in a low voice.

 

He lifts himself off the bed, quietly strolls out of his room and immediately knocks on her door. He kept knocking the door repeatedly until she finally opens a big enough crack to poke her head out of. 

 

In a quick but innocent tone, she replies, “What do you want Erb?” 

 

To the young man, her proper behavior was a dead giveaway she was hiding something. 

 

“I just came by to check on you. It sounded like someone else was inside.”

 

“Well, there’s only just me,” she responded, opening the door wider to show it was vacant. 

 

“Oh…ok. So what are you doing then?”

 

“Nothing, and if there’s nothing else you need, goodbye! So long! Farewell!”

 

She closes the door, leaving Erb not much choice but to go back to his room until he hears the same voice erupt behind her door – hysterical yet condescending for some reason. Knowing he wasn’t crazy, he instantly begins knocking again, and his sister flutteringly answers, “what is it!?”

 

“The heck was that noise!?”

 

“What noise?”

 

“That squeal just now! Are you hiding some kid in there?”

 

Samantha nervously and worryingly responds, “What!? No! You heard wrong. You’re going crazy. Now leave me alone!”

 

He didn’t believe her desperate plead, and his suspicions only grew. “What’s the hurry. I thought you were doing nothing?”

 

Then suddenly Samantha quickly speaks back in an annoying tone, “Well now I’m doing something so leave!”

 

Erb took this opportunity to enter inside, ignoring his sister and looked around for the source of the noise. But all he finds is her neat and tidy room, except for a misplace stuff animal on her bed; it was a black color seal plushie with a sad expression. He observes nothing on her table and didn’t see any sort of communication device within his view. His intuition is telling him that something about her room didn’t seem right but his train of thought disconnects as his sister drags him out of her room.

 

He is then reminded of an infuriated Samantha, yelling at him, “I told you I’m not doing anything, and don’t you ever barge in my room again, or less I’m going to tell mom.” She then goes back into her room, slamming the door behind her, locking it, and left the hallway echoing.

 

And with that, his curiosity ceases. 

 

I guess I was wrong…Oh well. 

 

Returning to his room, with nothing of note to take, he goes to his laptop, turns it on, opens the file of his most recent chapter and was about to resume where he left off, until he stops, not hitting a single keystroke. 

 

Minutes later, he didn’t type anything new and goes on brainstorming, but not one play felt right to him. 

 

Eventually, he began typing out whatever came to his mind, hoping to iron it out later. But the more he added, the more he had to delete due to incoherence – from sentences to paragraphs. As frustration overtakes him, he remembers his talks with mister Guin, and in turn unveiling his fight with O’Neill, adding on top of his stress.

 

If he couldn’t become a novelist, what line of work should he pursue, what college should he attend, what should he do for the future?

 

He lets out a sigh and soon looks to his DOS pad sitting on his desk. Taking it in his hands along with a pair of wireless earpieces, he stands up and begins pacing around the room while tuning in on a mixture of electronic dance music – EDM – and a wide variety of rock-themed tunes. Drowning his sense of hearing in a torrent of a hyper rhythmic wave with ever-changing tempo and pitch, he lets his imagination run wild, replaying scenes from his story over and over with slight differences. 

 

The scene in question takes place in an abandoned building, where the hero – a high schooler like himself - runs for his life while a monster chases him – a beast on all fours ravaging and powerful; something any normal person would never want to fight against even with a weapon in hand. 

 

The hero, filled with terror, almost pissing himself senseless, knew he was no match against it, yet, he had no choice but to confront it with what is available around him. And so, he led it into the abandoned building where it would have a harder time maneuvering through, as well as hoping to lead it into a trap. He dodges and weaves through the dark desolate labyrinth, making use of what little time he has before his attacker can reach him. Eventually, the beast used brute force to break through the walls, nearly getting the high schooler. However, after grabbing a metal pipe, he stabs the monster in the eye, forcing it back temporarily, long enough to find his way out, where his trap lied – a large pit with walls riddled with more metal pipes. He positions his back to face the trap, and calls out for the beast, luring it to himself intentionally. The monster takes the bait, and as it closes in on the hero, with jaws wide open…

 

“No.” Erb stops his idea short, unsatisfied on its progression – the beast he imagined could have easily bulldozed its way through the building from the beginning, thus it wouldn’t make sense for the hero being able to get ahead of it since he would be slower.

 

And so, he replays the scene back again but in a different scenario; he repeated the process several more times, letting an hour fly pass before he returns to square one – deleting everything new.

 

Defeated, and unable to come to a compromise with himself, he no longer has the motivation to continue – his brain burnt, his mental energy empty.

 

Usually, spending some time distracting himself with video games or some online manga readings would help set him straight. But now, he was not in the mood to do such things. Additionally, he has no homework, no projects, and especially no one to talk to right now. For once he wishes he had some assignment to do and not be so efficient in finishing them.

 

Wonder if Sai wants to get online? Erb thought, dialing his friend’s phone number on his cell. Unfortunately, all he receives is his voice mail, making him quickly give up. 

 

He then fell on his bed once again and looks towards the orange sky as if he’s going to get a sign from above. But on top of the darkening clouds, he views the dim-lit moon in the orange sky and thus entrancing him into a deep state of peace and tranquility. Suddenly, a strong urge to go somewhere takes control of his body, away from his mundane room and to a place where he can fully immerse himself in total solitude.

 

In a quick motion, he jumps off his bed, packs his laptop, left his room, and treads outside the front gate with his helmet under his arm. 

 

As Kana is preparing dinner, she hears the start of her son’s scooter coming to life and immediately walks outside to find Erb about ready to leave. She asks him, “Where are you going?”

 

Her son replies, “I’m going to twilight hill; I’ll be back around 8. Also, I’m not hungry.” 

 

But just when he was about to accelerate away, he calls out to her with a question brewing since his lunch. “hey mom!”

 

“Yes?” She walks out of the front door drying her wet hands on her apron. 

 

“Linda is coming here tomorrow, right?”

 

“Did you just remember that now?”

 

“I forgot, ok!”

 

“Well, she is, at 11 in the morning.” Then, with a mischievous smile, she joking asks, “Do you plan on picking her up later yourself?”

 

“Funny,” he dully said, and then drove off on his scooter leaving Kana’s mouth hanging out, unable to say goodbye to her son again.

 

“There he goes again.”

 

 

 

In space, above the earth’s atmosphere…

 

Several kilometers away from the moon’s surface where nothing but space dust resides, a small line of light spills out, then warps, coils, oscillates into a myriad of colors, bending into many amalgamations of shapes until finally, a tear rips into existence and spinning out from it came Aurora on her raida, still alive, and still carrying the chipped off wing of the hive ship. 

 

Her shield begins to flicker, and the coldness of space is now taking effect on her. She opens her eyes and to her shock, she stumbles upon what appears to be the dark side of a planet as she can see sunlight peering over its circumference. After a glance around, she spots a moon behind her but nothing else – she was alone. To her surprise, she can spot rings encircling the planet and tall metal spires sprouting from the bottom of the surface.

 

Could those be spires? She guessed, identifying the strange objects to be that of the ones like her homeworld – large elevators used to transport materials and personnel past the planet’s atmosphere and into low orbit. But unlike her people’s spire - comprised of a special metal alloy that can transfer and store large amounts of energy and held together through magic - the ones she sees were primitive by design.

 

Before she can fully commit herself to reach her salvation, she uses her glider’s scanner to collect data on it – to see if it was habitable – would it have what she needs to survive. 

 

Raida, scan the planet, quickly!

 

She commanded her craft via telepathy, and in response, a light emerges, forming into a circular display, gathering all sorts of data from through a variety of factors taken via visuals and the many types of energy emitting from the planet. Aurora held her breath, shuts her eyes, waiting for her answer to shown, praying to whatever higher power there is to make her last haven to be an actual haven and not her grave.

 

Not too long after, a single ring shifts her eyes to a text highlighted in yellow, only to then turn white; an indication that the world in front of her, is indeed habitable, filled with more than billions of sentient beings – she was saved.

 

Yes! She excitingly cheered.

 

But getting there safely soon became a problem. The energy she expended into her shield had drained her nearly completely, and the added weight of the broken wing tip attached to her was accelerating her centrifugal force, leading her into an uncontrollable spiral.

 

She releases Magnet, losing the dead weight, and attempts to steer herself properly. With what little strength she had left, she made use of the planet’s gravitational pull, allowing it to drag her in and allowing her to position her feet to face the ground, and pray again for a safe landing. 

 

Much to her delight, keeping her reflect spell active saved her from the sheer heat generated upon her entry into the atmosphere; if it hadn’t been on, she would likely be vaporized.

 

But once again, after seconds of intense heat washing over her body, fortune shines upon her as the temperatures gradually died down, and her weight returning.

 

Arriving into a breathable environment, she adjusts her trajectory to ease the stress on her shields and glides her way down into an ocean of darkening clouds. Sadly, at that point, the last ounce of luck she held slips away upon both all of her protective spells dissolve simultaneously and discovering her raida going inert - with no more energy to supply, everything she powered till now followed suit.

 

Oh no. Not now!

 

Now in freefall, she escapes out the clouds quicker, but the entire landscape below fell into darkness, making it nearly impossible for her to discern what was land, water, or something else entirely. 

 

Swiftly, she focuses her ability to sense the life force of others aimed beneath her and confirms a huge population centered in one general spot. Landing in the middle of a populated area would cause more harm than good. Without any delay, she searches for a region with little to no energy signatures and hopefully somewhere near an ocean she can crash into, and not die. 

 

She eventually marks her spot further west and takes her chances there. As she drew closer to her target, in the horizon in front of her, she made out a large body of water with what little sunlight was left and is beginning to become hopeful for her survival. That is until she then realizes that the landing area is still too far away and a forest is what stands in her way as she quickly loses altitude. Without her shield, she would have to rely on her durability to withstand the impact. Thus, tightening all of her muscles and taking a brace position, she went for the landing.

 

 

 

Velium City Outskirts, nearing Twilight Hills…

 

Minutes after departing from home once again, Erb drives through the almost vacant expressway toward an area further northwest - Twilight Hills; a meadow hardly untouched by many due to its location being surrounded by a dense forest. The path to take to reach it is off-road, and can only be accessed on foot. He came upon it as a child with his grandfather by accident, and since then he came by periodically to clear his mind and gain some measure of inspiration, using the path he found to get there with ease, though a bit of effort is required. 

 

The orange sky was quickly becoming darker, forcing him to turn on his headlights to see the road more clearly. Off the corner of his eyes, he was welcomed by whatever sunlight was shining over the horizon, bouncing off the ocean surface to create spectrum colors; a sight he never grew tired of. 

 

Now that’s a beautiful sunset.

 

Erb finally stops on the left side of the road, gets off his scooter, places his helmet on the handle, and looks to his right to view the ocean one more out of nostalgia. Turning his attention to the small cliffside where he parked his scooter, he puts on his backpack and begins scaling the rock wall at a slow pace, grabbing onto the same pieces of rocks he mesmerized beforehand. With some difficulty, he gets to the top of the short cliff and from there he ventures deep into the woods, minding his step on certain plants such as poison ivy, and natural ditches. After a few minutes of walking, he finally gets to see Twilight Hill.

 

Greeted with a sudden gust of wind, carrying with them white petals, the young boy finds himself standing before a sea of flowers and the moon now above the clouds in full bloom, lighting the field like spotlights in a theater. 

 

The flowers are known as Astra Flora – Astra meaning heaven, and Flora meaning the flower goddess – and rumor has it that if a man and a woman were to ever fall in love with each other on the field, they would live a long happy life together. 

 

He set his sight on moving further into the field where his usual spot is, the stump of a tree cut down log ago. Upon finding it, he sits on it, and then takes a good long look at the moon, carefully observing its surface, attempting to count the number of craters on the moon out for fun.

 

That’s a lot of craters.

 

In the spur of the moment, he wondered what would happen if the moon suddenly feels out of the sky and head towards the Earth. His first thought is that of a pebbling striking the surface of a pond – the pebble being the moon and the pond as the earth – leading a ripple effect afterward. The conclusion he came upon would be their immediate deaths until his brain added in cheese into the mix, the old childish notion that the moon is made out of cheese. But without a doubt, the same conclusion arrives – they’d still be dead.

 

Then a spark lights up in his eyes, another epiphany for his scene. If his monster can bulldoze through a building, would it be able to survive one falling on it?

 

Without further delay, he takes out his laptop, sets it on his lap, and goes adding his new idea into the scene.

 

The hero with the monster behind his back finds a building currently in construction and charges his way through with a clear view of the exit. The monster, with its sheer size, crashes in, but despite nearly reaching the little human, it couldn’t catch him. The hero uses the support pillars keeping the building up to slow his attacker and succeeded in letting it break all of them, leading to the building to finally collapse. The hero narrowly makes it out, seeing one of the beast’s limbs hanging out of the rubble, not moving.

 

“Nah that seems too easy,” he noted to himself, somewhat satisfied with what he got but felt the chances of the hero being able to pull the stunt off without any prior knowledge of the building layout seemed too unrealistic.

 

Thus, he goes at it again, like before, repeating the process for around an hour until finally, he was done.

 

“Ah man. I’m done!”

 

A sense of accomplishment washes over his face and he lets out a long sigh of relief, letting go of the stress he built up. Now, in a good mood, and wanting to get home to put in an extra hour for revision, he gets up and makes the trip back to his scooter, carefully minding his step as he traverses through the white flower field, and then through the woods, reaching the cliff side where his scooter is parked below.

 

But before getting back down, the demi boy’s ears perk up from a strange howling in the wind, close to that of what you’d hear a plane’s engine flying overhead, but sharper yet not as loud – a very loud whistle.

 

“What is that?”

 

He looks towards the direction he believed it was coming from, and up in the sky, he spots a flash of light, revealing a type of aircraft skimming by with the moon as the background. 

 

“What…is that?”

 

At first, he thought it was just some plane heading to the airport in the city, but then, he notices the object suddenly changing course; creating a j-shape stroke. Upon closer inspection, its trajectory got him feeling nervous, as it is heading towards his direction at accelerating speeds – becoming larger and larger in his view.

 

“…oh shit.”

 

Erb stood frozen on the spot, wondering if he should move or not, with the cliff behind his back. However, it was too late to decide as the object was coming into view, clipping off the trees in his view, forcing him to duck to the ground. 

 

“OH SHIT!” He screamed in terror, covering his head with his arms as splinters rain down on him.

 

But in spite of the chaos around him, in between a gap made from his arms, his eyes are glued to the back side of the object, where he caught a glimpse of a person riding on it. He quickly lost sight of it below the cliff, closer to the ocean, where a thundering crash resonated out, scaring off all the wildlife in the entire area, all except for a single demi boy, getting back up on his feet and with a face that defined the meaning of the word, shock.

 

 

 

 

4: Episode 4 - Encounter

Erb’s Home, Samantha’s room…

 

As night falls over Velium City, within the Kinomoto residence, in a mid-size bedroom with its walls covered with posters of pop culture icons and plush toys, Samantha sits diligently by her desk, jotting down answers to series of mathematical equations as part of her homework assignment. In the spur of finishing one question, she gets up to switch the lights on to better illuminate her sights and then returns to solve the next. 

 

“Subtract both sides…divide by 8…multiply by 7…”

 

Just as she was about to finish her thoughts out loud, a sudden raspy, yet high pitch voice cuts her off. “That’s wrong.”

 

The abrupt call out made her turn away from the papers and towards the direction of the voice. She set her sights on a black seal doll, sitting unusually upright with its head held high and its eyes filled with what one could perceive as arrogance.

 

“Your supposed to multiply 7 first and then divide by 8,” said the animated doll.

 

Without batting an eye, treating it as nothing more but a common occurrence, she looks back down and spots her mistake. “Thanks.”

 

The living doll who had just helped her is Umi, a creature of magical origin and a longtime companion of the teenager. 

 

Their first encounter took place on a normal day and Samantha was searching through a pile of old artifacts found by her father - Daniel Maxon, an archeologist of some world-renown – from one of the many old ruins throughout Erban. Her mission was to find the coolest item to bring for her school’s “show and tell” event. However, upon accidentally breaking an item resembling a sea lion, Umi appeared. The first thing he did was announce himself as a powerful being, feared far and wide for his skills in the magic arts. But all young little Samantha did was hug him due to how cute he was and it was there Umi discovered he was but a small animal with little to no magic power – a shadow of his former self. With nowhere to go, the creature decides to stick with her, and after sensing she had dormant magic energy within, he became her teacher as a means to kill time. Afterward, the 2 then formed an unlikely bond with one another, and Samantha became a practitioner of magic. Not one of her friends, nor any of her family members for that matter, knew of her capabilities, and she wants to keep it that way.

 

As of recently, however, keeping that a secret became increasingly harder; recalling how her brother almost caught Umi nearly gave her a heart attack.

 

Now, unable to stay quiet about it, she reminds her companion just so she can get it out of her system. “You couldn’t have lied down somewhere else before? You almost got caught.”

 

He comes back to life again, sitting upright in a mummy fashion. “Hey, I was just as surprised to see your brother barge in like that. I didn’t think he could hear me.” 

 

“You were rather loud.”

 

Umi then lets out a frustrating sigh from his discomfort in always having to hide from public view. “Don’t you think it’s about time your family knew what you can do? I mean, I don’t think they’ll treat you any differently for it.”

 

She immediately shot him her response. “I’m not afraid of that. It’s just for their safety. Plus, I don’t want them to…worry about me.”

 

For several years, after her father remarried and while being trained by Umi to use magic, she quickly learns of the presence of other magicians throughout Velium City but kept to herself after being warned by one such individual. 

 

An elderly lady owning a flower shop spots them both and immediately recognizes Umi as a magical being. As a veteran in the arts, she told Samantha and Umi of the current magical society that was actually outside of the public’s knowledge. They discovered magicians were considered a rarity after the native earthlings encountered the Erbanians, and due to their skills, they were highly sought after by other countries for either scientific purposes or military use. However, due to their popular demand, and for fear of monopolization or being abducted, many magicians formed their organizations – guilds in a sense – and let themselves be hired by any nation under the L.U.E or anyone with enough revenue to hire them. For decades they thrived from their work, yet the pursuit of science had also grown to the point it overtook them out of nowhere – primarily, the development of mobile suits and the orbital elevators. To make matters worse, the birth of new magicians was on the decline, thus these very same organizations became desperate in recruiting new members. Those who refuse though were rumored to be kidnapped or threatened to join – an irony Umi quickly points out.

 

If anyone were to know she is a magician, and a good one at that, she wouldn’t know what to do if she refuses. Scared of what might happen, she did her best to keep her skills hidden while also improving herself for when she must come face to face to her worst-case scenario.

 

Though, as she was reminded before, her facade was also gradually breaking down, and she suspects some of her family members may find her private activities suspicious, especially her grandfather, Aber.

 

A few months ago, in the middle of the night, Umi, feeling rather bored and hungry, went down to the kitchen to grab a snack, but nearly gets caught when Aber was downstairs as well – doing the same. He dipped into the darkness to hide and waited for the old lizardman to pass. After returning safely to her room, the next morning Samantha learns of his close encounter from the seal and scolded him for it. 

 

Again, she reminds her friend of that incident. “I still haven’t forgotten you almost getting caught by my grandpa.”

 

Umi then incisively retorts, “You worry too much. Now hurry up and finish your homework so we can get back to doing some magic training.”

 

“You don’t have to ask.”

 

Before long, she solves the last of the questions and closes her books. She gets up and walks over to the door, making sure it was locked. After turning her back to it, she begins writing on the wall using her index finger, highlighting out a runic symbol in purple. It took only a few seconds to finish, and once it was done, a slightly transparent visible bubble envelopes around the door and then ripples out throughout the entire room, covering it from corner to corner. 

 

Among the many spells she learned from Umi, the one she enacted now covers a fixed enclosed area, blocking any sound coming out of the room, though any sound outside can still be heard.

 

Umi, watching her flawlessly activate the spell as though it was second nature, congratulates her. “Well done.”

 

“Ok, so what’s today’s agenda?”

 

“Same as usual.”

 

“Of course,” she said with a bored look. 

 

Shortly after, she begins writing out symbols in the air using her fingers once more, as though reciting the alphabet. Within minutes she finishes the last of the spells she had memorized, and after it disappeared, she repeats her actions several more times until they are fully engraved in her mind.

 

“That’s enough now,” Umi told her.

 

She stops and hears his next instructions. “Now begin incanting the spells.”

 

This time, she went to her desk and takes out a rather long wooden rod - polished and refined to the point it resembled a piece from a piece of expensive wooden furniture. Like her finger, the rod emits a light purple glow, and with it, she writes out the first symbol among her list again, but this time, she spoke out its meaning. “Water.”

 

Liquid substances spew out from thin air and remain contained in a spherical form. Using her magic power, she converted her energy to take a solid form, in this case, water and retains free and full control over its movements. She changes its shape to that of a cube, then into a long cylinder, shortly later she morphs it into complex shapes – a sword, a whip, even a boat. It took her 2 years to be able to master that one spell, and she can still remember the number of blunders she had to dry herself off of. Yet, now, here she is fiddling it around like a toy.

 

“Good.”

 

“It’s nothing,” she sarcastically said, and with a quick snap of her finger, she made it vanish.

 

“Now perform the next incantation.”

 

Without delay, she does the same thing, and each symbol she defines brought out a different element or substance – fire, wind, lightning, earth, light, dark, dust, metal, fog, smoke, ash, ice, and many more. Eventually, she finishes her routine of incanting 108 spells and starts to feel slightly dizzy – mainly due to her rapid consumption of mana.

 

Umi takes note of her condition and makes a small reminder. “Remember to keep an eye on your mana levels.”

 

“I know,” she confirmed. “You would think after all of the training I’ve done; I’d be strong enough to incant these spells with no problem.”

 

“It’s to be expected – 108 spells being used in such a short amount of time is no small feat for any normal magician to achieve. Plus, the fact that your human, and a young one at that, also factors in. Still, you're getting better. I’d say in a month you’ll be able to breeze through these routines as you said.”

 

“That’s nice, I guess…Umi?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You’ve taught a bunch of people before, right?”

 

“Oh many, and they’ve all became legendary fighters.”

 

“I know. You told me. But how do I stack up?”

 

“In terms of mana reserve, they have at least 8 times what you have, and in terms of experience, well…”

 

“No need to tell me. I get the picture.”

 

Samantha heard of his tales involving some of his pupils and had grown rather annoyed by his excessive bragging of them. From one defeating a dragon with a single spell, another defending a whole city from being invaded by a neighboring nation, and a group of magicians defeating what is considered to be the equivalent of a god – a demon king. 

 

Still, she couldn’t help but be rather awe-impressed to know humans from Erbans were capable of such feats and was motivated even more to become one of them.

 

“Don’t worry Sammy,” Umi cheered. “You’ll get there someday, and as I said, you're still young. Keep practicing and you’ll see the results. Still, the path to being a full-fledge magician is an arduous one. So do not take it lightly.”

 

“Yes yes.”

 

“Yes yes, what?”

 

“Sigh, yes teacher,” she repeated, and goes on to make a false claim, “I understand how perilous my journey to become the sorcerer queen will be!”

 

“That’s more like it.”

 

Samantha shakes her head out of annoyance to the little seal’s ego, and resumes her routine once more, starting from water.

 

 

 

Twilight hills….

 

After leaving the highway and following the trail of broken tree branches and burnt leaves still falling, Erb marches through the small forest with due haste, not knowing what was driving him to get closer to the strange object rather than run away. Upon reaching a small beach where the trail ends and finally taking a breather, he stares at the man-made trench leading to the raging water where the object can be seen barely afloat. 

 

One thing he knew for certain, is his curiosity was getting the best of him, evident by the sound of his heart pumping quickly, not out of fear but out of excitement for the unexpected. 

 

As he draws closer to the trench, he notes the sand had become glass at the bottom, and without having to touch it, he knew it was still hot from the heatwave emitting out.

 

His eyes turn to an object further out in the sea, and after recalling he had seen someone on the craft, he determined the object is that same individual – hopefully, unconscious.

 

He estimates the person is at least 30 meters away, and as the tide rises at a frightful rate, he knew he had little time to spare. Whether or not the person is dead, he felt obligated to at least try and get the body back to shore. Still, reaching that person is going to be a challenge in itself – he fancies himself a good swimmer but doubt he had the stamina needed to achieve a roundtrip.

 

Yet, without a moment’s hesitation, he desperately runs in, sluggishly treading the cold ocean as fast as he could until his feet no longer touch the shallows. After taking a look back at the shore, he was startled to see it so far away, and as he struggles, fear begins to set in as he starts to hallucinate figures underneath the water. After an arduous swim, just as soon as the body began to sink, he reaches his arm out, grabbing whatever he can, and pulls.

 

With one yank, he pulls up the person’s head, and much to his surprise, the person is a girl – blue short hair and pearl skin – and wearing pieces of armor around her. But what surprised him more was her weight – he had trouble keeping himself and her above the waves. The harder he kept paddling his legs, the quicker he felt exhausted from his effort. He tried using the waves to get closer to shores but they lack the strength to push him faster. 

 

Suddenly, a bright light shines out from the corner of his eyes, veering his gaze to her highlighted armor, and in moments, it disappears instantly into a flurry of particles. With it gone, he felt her weight getting considerably lighter, thus making it easier for him to keep swimming. For what felt like hours of treading between the lines of life and death - which was only a few minutes – he at long last felt the hard sand of the shores under his feet and drags himself and the girl to safety.

 

Now out of danger but wildly spent to get where he is, the thought of wanting to sleep finally takes hold of him, and he face-plants on the sand, taking a breather. Strangely, he felt something moving on his left hand, – a soft and firm round object. He shifts his gaze to see what he was touching, and with widened eyes and a bewildered look, he discovers his fingers wrap around the girl’s left breast.

 

“AHH!” He screamed, and in a quick and loud fashion, he pulls his hand away from her, jumps backward, and back paddles 10 feet away.

 

His breathing became heavy again from his panic attack, but he slowly grows concern again as he observes her body lying motionless on the sand. He decides to crawl back to her, and using what he learned from watching several shark movies, places his finger by her neck where her artery should be. 

 

Much to his joy, he felt a pulse and hears her shallow breathing.

 

“Oh thank god she’s breathing,” he whispers out with a sigh of relief. With terror now off his shoulders, his attention veers over to her questionable attire.

 

A long blue clothe with golden decorations covers her front and back, reaching her ankles but only wide enough to cover most of her body’s width. Underneath is a sleeveless lighter blue color leotard with the same gold linings. The same material covers both her entire forearm and her legs, leaving the top portion of her thighs and shoulders exposed. 

 

Examining her voluptuous figure soon became too nerve-wracking for fear she may wake up, see him eyeing her, and label him as some pervert. Before things got weird, he purifies his mind of the thoughts and went back to the task at hand - getting the girl some help.

 

He dips into his soaked pockets for his phone, hoping to get her to a hospital as quickly as possible. However, to his shock, it isn’t in there, and to further put him in dismay, the idea of it being at the bottom of the sea came to mind.

 

“Ah shit,” he cursed, simulating how his mother would react if she learns he lost his phone. “She’s gonna kill me.”

 

Without it, no help would be arriving, which meant he was on his own. Still, he notices his surroundings is rather vacant, and the lack of sirens is odd.

 

The highway he took to get here was not widely used due to it being the longer route to take if someone wanted to travel to the nearest city, and didn’t have a lot of space for many cars to get by all at once – 2 lanes in total, one for each direction. It was the sole reason why he took it, since it would be the safest one and gets him closer to his favorite spot.

 

Suddenly, the thought of having to go back through the forest crosses his mind. “Crap. I have to go back through that again.”

 

He looks back at the girl, checking once more if she’s still breathing – she remains much the same. Then, as the moon rises above them, shining its light down to further illuminate the dark, his eyes remain stuck on her, unable to take them from her peaceful glistening face – faint traces of light refracting off from the sand and water droplets.

 

Slender hourglass figure, big thighs, large busts, and a toned body, accompanied by exotic hair color. Stunningly gorgeous are the first few words that come to mind, and the only other girl he can think of at the top of his head who comes close to her would be Sylvia. Judging by the length of her body, he can guess she is as tall as he is, which would make her a rather tall girl. 

 

He immediately pulls his mind back, reaffirming his stance as a proper gentleman.

 

Then, a different thought arises – something he should have noticed earlier. After another quick overview of her body, he learned she had no injuries whatsoever – not even a scratch on her skin and clothing. Despite what looked to be a violent crash, he suspected she would have suffered a broken limb or worse. There is the possibility she had internal bleeding, but he had no way of knowing.

 

Could her armor have saved her? He wondered but then suddenly held his breath upon noticing her fingers and eyelids twitching. 

 

Aurora let out a moan as she wakes up from what can only be one of the worst nightmares she experienced and slowly opens her eyes, seeing the stars out in plain view.

 

What happen to me? She thought. 

 

She uses her arms to sit upright and felt dust-like substance all over her. 

 

What is this? And why am I wet? 

 

Aurora rubs her eyes with her sleeves to clear her vision further, and the first thing she notices is a presence right beside her. She turns face to face to a boy with red hair, light red skin, and wearing strange dark color clothing.

 

She briskly surveys her surroundings, and quickly pieces together the clues – she crashed in the water and was about to drown, but the boy went in and saved her. If she had remained where she was, the likely hood of her death before regaining consciousness was high. 

 

I could have died. She shockingly thought. 

 

Instead of dying from an exploding star or the vacuum of space, or even from the impact of the crash, she would have perished on an unknown habitable world from just water. Someone as powerful as her, dying in such a manner would have been considered a laughing stock. And yet, the fact remains, that a stranger saved her. 

 

At that moment, gratitude was the only emotion in her mind and how she begins to express her gratitude.

 

She repositions herself into a proper stance with her knees on the ground and straightens her back. With a soft, genuine smile, she thanks him. “Thank you for saving me. I would have died if it wasn’t for your help. My name is Aurora. Aurora Lux Aurea, fourth princess of the Lux Aurea. May I know what your name is?”

 

Silence sets in between the 2 strangers, and after for some time, Erb spat out, “Um…I did not understand what you just said.”

 

He was unable to understand, let alone recognize, a single word that came out from her mouth, and cocks an eyebrow out of confusion.

 

Aurora quickly picks up the hint. “Language barrier.” She places a hand on her head, loathing herself of the blunder. Of course.”

 

Strangely enough, the red boy understood her gesture as a sign of self-loathing. 

 

Suddenly, she crawls closer to him on all 4, and before he could move away, she grabs his head with both hands and places her forehead on his own. 

 

Closing her eyes, she then pronounces a single word. “Perception.”

 

Their bodies let out a faint white glow around them. But as quickly it appeared, it disappears, and Erb felt no different than before.

 

What did she do? He wondered, and then watches the girl open her eyes and moves her face away, but only a few inches. 

 

She sheds a smile at him again. “Can you understand me now?”

 

Her sudden inquiry made his jaw drop, yet he manages to pull himself together and respond, “Ah…yes.”

 

“Good,” she replied and sat back in her previous position. “It worked.”

 

“What…did you do? Just now.”

 

“I used my mana to connect our thoughts together, and from our brief contact, I was able to understand your language.”

 

“Ma…na?” The moment Erb heard her mention “mana” lead him to believe she had meant magic. He knows of its existence, but is not knowledgeable on the topic nor has he ever met anyone who can use it – secretly, he had always wanted to witness real magic. 

 

“Let me start over,” Aurora continued. “My name is Aurora, what’s your name?” 

 

He stutters from suddenly being able to understand her and became cautious, unsure how to approach her. Regardless, he tries to copy her and introduces himself. “Erb. Erb is my name.”

 

“Erb,” she repeated, engraving his name in her memories. “Thank you for saving me. If you haven’t done what you did, I don’t think I would be here talking to you right now.”

 

Hearing her praise left Erb blushing and let out a slight chuckle. “I just did what anyone would do.”

 

Aurora continues to speak. “Is there any way I can repay you. I’d feel rather ashamed if I couldn’t pay you back for troubling you.”

 

Hearing her request made him pause, and ponders what to say next. He had no notion to be rewarded for his deed since it wouldn’t feel right to him, though some questions do come to his head that needed answering. 

 

“If that’s the case,” he nervously musters up his questions. “I kind of have some questions for you.”

 

“Very well. What would you like to ask?”

 

“That light you made; you said that’s mana? Do you mean magic?”

 

Thanks to her Perception spell, Aurora knew what he calls magic is another name to her Mana abilities.

 

“Yes, it is. Do happen to know it? Wait, can you use magic too!?” She excitingly said, assuming magic is a common phenomenon - she would have a foothold to stand on in communication.  

 

“Not really, I just know it exists.” 

 

“Oh.” Her disappointment came visible by her shoulders slightly slacking.

 

After taking a deep breath, Erb begins to share another inquiry. “So, how’d you end up crashing here?”

 

“I came from a battle that was waging in space against a vicious enemy known as the kaoticons.”

 

Her one sentence alone already sent his brain over the moon and back again. “Kaoti-what?”

 

“I suppose you don’t know what they are?”

 

“Again, what!? Space battle!? Enemy!? What are you talking about!? Are you an alien or something?”

 

“I’ll take that as a yes. And by alien, do you mean I am not from this world, then yes!”

 

With what he heard just now, he begins to believe her story to be nothing more but a synopsis of some movie or television show – a very elaborate lie - and the longer he collected his thoughts, the more suspicious he was of her. What if the girl was playing him for a fool? What if she was just a secret spy agent from another country? What if she was just plain crazy? He’ll play along with her game, just until he can no longer keep up his act.

 

“As for how I ended up here, well, the same enemies decided to blow up the local star that was nearby, and sadly I got stuck with them as they left the system via slip space.”

 

“The heck is slip space?” He blurted out but quickly takes it back. “Never mind. Forget I asked. Please continue.”

 

“It's fine,” she replied. “Slip space is a term we use for traveling through space at faster than light speed, creating tunnels of sorts.”

 

“Oh. A wormhole than?” A term he learned from watching too many science fiction movies and tv shows.

 

“If that helps you understand then yes. But when I was in slip space, something happened. Something that shouldn’t have happened. A gravity wave suddenly caught up to us from out of nowhere. I got knocked out of slip space and somehow arrived in your world.”

 

“I see.”

 

At that moment Aurora can sense Erb’s doubts resonating from his words, but knows from his point of view she is a stranger to him.

 

“Now, if you don’t mind, can I ask some questions of my own?”

 

“Um, sure, go ahead.”

 

“What planet am I on?”

 

“It’s called Earth,” he answered with caution.

 

“What a strange name,” she remarked with an innocent tone.

 

“Thanks,” he sarcastically tells her.

 

His sarcasm went unheard in her ears and she brings up another question. “Do you know what star system we are in?”

 

“Um…yeah, it’s the solar system.”

 

None of these terms ring a bell to Aurora, and she knew almost every known habitable world under her people’s control. Her only conclusion is this world has not yet been discovered. Which made sense to her seeing as how she never met a young man with his physical features – close to that of a human but still retains other bestial traits - and a world with a man-made metal spire that can reach past the planets outer orbit. They aren’t as advanced as her people, but given another thousand years or so they will be.

 

The only way to know for sure, is with her Raida’s navigation system.

 

“Have any more questions, um, Aurora?”

 

Hearing the young man’s question brought her attention back. “I do, but before that, I’m going to need to get my Raida back.”

 

“Raida?”

 

This time, Aurora didn’t say anything and proceeds to get up. She walks towards the ocean and steps into the water causing Erb to jump up. “Wait, where are you going?”

 

“I’m going to find my raida.”

 

“But you can’t go in there! I just got you out of there!”

 

“No worries,” she shouted, and then dives into the water, disappearing in the blackness, leaving Erb worried.

 

As a minute went by without any hint of her resurfacing, Erb was about to go back in, fully prepared to redo his rescue. “Goddamit. I can’t believe I let her go.”

 

This time he takes off his wet coat and steps into the water. Suddenly, an explosion erupts out of the water, and he fell back out of fright. He covers himself with his arms as seawater rains down on him. After his vision clears up, he caught sight of something in the sky above him. With eyes completely wide for anyone to spot and jaws hanging even lower than before, he stares at Aurora, hovering in the air, carrying her raida above her head. With nothing under her to stand on, and holding something that could easily weigh as much as a car, he could only surmise she is levitating and holding the heavy object by herself – a feat only found within a comic book.

 

Aurora lands down near him and drops her raida on the ground. She examines it’s exterior for any signs of damage, but other than some dents, it remains intact. With a single hand gesture, she brings the craft back to life and made the navigation hub pop out – a sphere with a cluster of stars contained within.

 

“Let’s see where I am.”

 

With a swipe of her finger, countless stars spill out all around them and then settle down to form a large star map.

 

“Oh my god, she is an alien,” Erb professed, now convinced by everything she said to him is the truth.

 

Aurora didn’t hear his comment as she was engrossed in studying her whereabouts. But it didn’t take long for her to figure out her location.

 

“I’m in another galaxy,” she muttered with hints of despair in her voice, learning she is more than 25,000 light-years away from her home galaxy.

 

At that moment, the shockwave she experienced came to mind. Kaoticon slip space drives are incapable of covering a distance between 2 galaxies within the allotted time, however, the force of a supernova – theoretically – could give them the boost required. It was the only explanation she can think of that made sense, and now, she needs to know how to get back.

 

But her train of thought cuts off when Erb spoke out. “Hey, that’s our galaxy.” 

 

He points at a swirling mass of stars – the Milky Way Galaxy – and in it is a blinking blue dot – her current location marker. 

 

Aurora confirms it for him. “Yes, it is.” 

 

Hearing him innocently pointing out his home galaxy made her act the same. “My people are from this one.” She points at a cluster closest to the milky way, slightly smaller in size and retains an elliptical shape.

 

“Wow. Who’d have thought we live so close by and didn’t even know.”

 

“My people haven’t ventured out of our galaxy yet, but we assumed there would be a civilization.”

 

“Same with us. I guess our kinds were both right.”

 

“I suppose.”

 

“So, how you planning on getting back?”

 

Aurora’s eyes look down in dismay over her new dilemma and became afraid to answer his question. Regardless, she goes on to say, “I don’t know.” 

 

Hearing herself didn’t sit well in her gut as someone who would always have a solution to almost every situation she came across. But this time, with no means to get back home, and all alone in a foreign world, she couldn’t help but feel hopeless. Not even her god-like powers can help her now – she was still mortal and needed to breathe in space.

 

Erb, watching her once beautiful face distort to that of despair, can sense her inability to accept the reality of her predicament. But in all fairness, if he was in her shoes, he’d feel the same. 

 

He is responsible for saving her life since he chose to do it out of his own volition, thus, it was only right of him to continue his helping trend.

 

“Then, is there any way I can help you?”

 

His honest question causes Aurora’s face to light up and looks at him with a surprised look. 

 

Her nature is that of someone who never accepts help from others, not because she didn’t need it, but rather she didn’t want them near her for their safety. She recalls her subordinates urging her to accept their help, but ordered them away, and chose to take a lonely path. In hindsight, it was actually for the best that they stayed behind; she wouldn’t want them to be stuck too. 

 

But now, a boy she just met, who seemed too weak to help her in a battle and most likely didn’t have a spacecraft, had asked if she needed his help. Most other Aureaians would laugh at him for asking, but Aurora wasn’t going to – the thought never crosses her mind. The main reason, was because he genuinely asked. 

 

Unbeknownst to many, among Aurora’s vast array of skills and abilities, she has the power to strongly sense a person’s sincerity – if someone was being completely honest to her, she can read it from their aura or life force.

 

Much to Erb’s credit, he wasn’t aware of how pure his intentions were, treating it as his way of being nice. Still, his one question, with no hint of hesitation, causes the girl to form an even brighter smile.

 

For the first time in a long time, she wanted someone to help her.

 

“Will….will you…really help me?”

 

Erb can see her once distraught eyes now filled with life and had a feeling he was about to do something outside of his comfort zone. However, he didn’t care; the story he was about to be a part may be a once in a lifetime opportunity for him to experience with his own eyes. No longer would he be writing his imaginations; he will be living in it.

 

“I mean…if it's within my abilities…sure.”

 

Once more, she forms another smile, and graciously replies, “Thank you very much.”

 

He lets out another chuckle, but quickly informs her, “But uh, just letting you know, I can’t send you back home. I mean I can’t physically get you home seeing as how I don’t have a space ship, and our world’s technology isn’t that…advance enough, to get you where you need to go. Plus, even if we did, it’ll probably take way too long if that space documentary is right…”

 

Without even knowing, he rambles on, continuing to point out all of the things he couldn’t do and what to expect if things didn’t turn out as plan - getting all of his pessimism out in the open. He soon learns of his mistake as Aurora’s face expresses that of someone who seemed lost, and he tries to bring up some good points to change the mood.

 

“…But if anything, I can help you get used to my world…our world…and hey maybe you’ll find another means to get home like some super…secret…teleporter…thing…or maybe someone who can teleport you back. Or maybe there’s an ancient space ship lying around the bottom of the ocean that no one knows and it can take you back….I don’t know what I’m saying. But you probably don’t even need my help seeing as how you can fly, super strong, and pretty-”

 

His last comment flies into Aurora’s head. 

 

“I’m beautiful?” She murmured, loud enough for the boy to stop and realize his blunder.

 

“…I mean, what I meant to say was…ah…um….”

 

Erb’s brain was beginning to meltdown from all the hot blood circulating in his head and was unable to speak out his mind until Aurora begins to laugh. 

 

Shortly later, she speaks up. “You’re quite the talkative type aren’t you, Erb.”

 

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I’m not normally like this.”

 

“It’s fine. I rather enjoy your little rant.”

 

“But I was serious. I do want to help you. I just…don't know how.”

 

“Thank you Erb,” she repeats sincerely, leading him to blush even more.

 

“Don’t thank me just yet. I still haven’t started. Now, um, how about we go somewhere else…I feel rather cold. Aren’t you cold?”

 

“A little, but I can fix that.”

 

Aurora raises both hands and emits a white glow on both, only to then incant one spell. “Cleanse.”

 

She swipes her hands across herself, and in an instant, she was clean as new – not a single speck of sand can be seen. She does the same to Erb, and he discovers much the same.

 

“Oh…Convenient.”

 

“Magic has its uses, though I don’t normally use it for this.”

 

“Well, this is the first time I seen it at work…I mean the second time.”

 

Suddenly, a low growl permeates out from Aurora’s stomach, and coincidentally, Erb’s stomach let out the same sound. A slight pause came between them, only to shatter from their laughter over their awkward behavior.

 

Erb then suggests to his new – pretty – friend, “This may sound a little weird, but if you’re hungry, we can eat at my place. If that’s ok with you.”

 

“I’d be happy to,” she complied with a hand over her stomach.

 

“We just need to get back on my scooter…which is...” 

 

He stares back at the now eerie blackened forest and recalls it's difficulties. Going back now would most likely end with him being lost. “Oh yeah…shit.”

 

But the thought of going through the forest returns his mind to one of his earlier discussions - why was there no one coming here to investigate? Too much time had passed for which meant no one saw Aurora’s crash. 

 

“I’m surprised there aren’t others coming here,” he said. “I would think some helicopters or the army would show up.”

 

“I’m guessing your people are at the point where you can detect things using heat, or light.”

 

“Ah what? I mean…I think so.”

 

“Then that’s why. Raida was likely able to mask my approach.”

 

“What?”

 

“It can mask its energy signature and other detectable elements such as heat and radiation. The only way someone would be able to detect my raida’s approach is by looking for it with their eyes. Of course, I can make it invisible using my magic.”

 

“Oh…Cool.”

 

“Though, I am grateful for the fact that I didn’t crash into a populated area. That would have been terrible.”

 

Or me for that matter. Erb thought, picturing how close she came barreling through over his head.

 

He looks at the forest again and already he felt exhausted. “Well let’s get to my scooter. Hopefully, it’s still there and no one stole it or some shit.”

 

Suddenly, he stops himself upon realizing he had curse just now in front of his alien guest – he didn’t want to set a bad example. “Excuse my language.”

 

But Aurora wasn’t too focused on his poor choice of words, but rather by his decision. “I can just fly you to where you need to go.”

 

“Um…huh.”

 

He considered the thought, along with how terrified he would be of both the height and the notion of falling and breaking a bone - or several.

 

“I don’t think so.”

 

“It’s no trouble, really. In fact, I can take you home myself.”

 

“…You’d do all that for me?”

 

“Of course; and if you’re worried about attention, I can easily fix that with my magic. I wouldn’t want to attract unwanted attention to myself either way.”

 

Erb folds his arms and shuts his eyes to deliberate on his next choice. After a few seconds of decision making, he finally takes up her offer. “If you’re willing, then ok. The faster we get home, the sooner we can eat. But what about my scooter? And yours?”

 

“Already taken care of.” With a tap on her wrist, a beam of light envelopes the Raida, and absorbs it back into her wrist band, leaving no traces behind. “I can store you ‘scooter’ within this device.”

 

“You sure can do everything,” he noted and goes on. “I’m beginning to think you might not need my help at all.”

 

“Perhaps,” Aurora jested and resumes, “But I already grown rather fond of your company.”

 

“Say what?” He blurted out in confusion over her sudden remark.

 

Suddenly, he felt his feet get swept off the ground and find himself looking up to her. Feeling her left arm on his back and her right arm lifting his feet, he pictures himself being carried in a princess position; Aurora acting a knight and him as the damsel in distress.

 

“This does not feel right.” 

 

The idea of being manhandled by an alien girl wasn’t how he planned on going home, though, if he tried to hold her up, he would have some difficulty keeping himself upright. There was also a bonus – or a very dangerous threshold – in his current position, and it made itself abundantly open in front of his face – her chest.  

 

Aurora peeks at Erb’s face to find him flustered and mistook his behavior to be caused by the fact that he was going to fly. “Flying isn’t that scary once you get used to it.”

 

How does one get used to flying!? He nervously thought.

 

“And you don’t have to worry about me dropping you either, since your so light and thin.”

 

Even though he had watched her carry a vehicle with ease, her last words stung his pride, and he silently whimpers away. 

 

Out of the blue, he felt his body get slightly lighter and recalls the sensation from each time he rides a roller coaster – gut wretched and body floating.

 

“Wait wait wait wait-“

 

With his sudden request ignored, Aurora rises high into the sky and Erb was left screaming in terror while facing the g-force caused by her rapid ascent. He shut his eyes from the wind pressure pushing down on him, but as soon as it calmed down, he opens them up, and peers down, looking above the once tall trees and beach. Further, in the distance, he spots what can only be the lights from velium city. 

 

“Where is this ‘scooter’ of yours?” Aurora asked.

 

“Oh uh, yeah,” he staggered. “It should be-“

 

He quickly peers around for an unnatural grey road, and thankfully, his eyes were able to spot it.

 

“-Right around there.”

 

As soon as he points towards their new direction, he felt another strong breeze push him back, and yet the view of the highway became close enough for him to see the tiny crevices of the asphalt on the road. Aurora lets him down, and Erb, overcome with whiplash, stumbles to stay standing.

 

She just flew here in a blink of an eye...christ, I just flew here in a blink of an eye! He bewilderedly thought and looks at Aurora to find her still smiling. “Can uh, all of your people fly like you?”

 

“Yes,” she immediately said, “But truth be told, anyone with sufficient aura can fly; after that, it’s all about practice.”

 

Again, how does someone practice flying? And did I hear her right? Aura?

 

Aurora walks over to his scooter and quickly inspects it. 

 

Erb assumes she had never seen one and must think of it to be rather primitive compared to what she is used to. Then, he watches her tap the same wristband, causing light to spill out and engulf his ride.

 

“All done,” she announced.

 

“Neat,” he nodded, only to suddenly get his feet swept up again. 

 

“Stop doing that!” He protested.

 

“Sorry,” she apologized with a soft grin and then incants another spell. “Illusion.”

 

Another white glow pours out of Aurora’s body and travels over Erb. It soon solidifies itself as a thin transparent membrane with a watery surface, and the boy can feel it be a warm mucus texture. 

 

“So which way do I go?” the girl requested.

 

“Um…down this road, you’ll see lights over the horizon, but before that is where I live.”

 

“Ok. Now hang tight.”

 

Erb heeds her words and wraps her arms around her neck, careful to not touch her chest. “Please go slow if you can.”

 

“We’ll see.”

 

“What do you mean by-“

 

Before he could finish his sentence, they rocket away, leaving behind a sea of rustling trees, caused by the shockwave generated from the alien girl’s sudden outburst.

 

 

 

 

OC:

1) Umi