Story Bound for the Stars

Hello forums. This is a story I started working on, and wanted to get the community's feel on it. I'll try to update as I go and a get chunk of it done by Friday (as I'll be gone for two weeks). This story is greatly inspired by the anime Cowboy Bebop, or at least some characters are. I hope ya'll enjoy the story thus far. Feedback is appreciated. I'll also be making a fun game for the story here on the forums, so keep your eyes open. Also, help with Spoilers will be nice.

“Go go go!” screamed the USCM soldier, as the back end of the transport ship exploded. The explosion was quickly followed by gun fire.

Everything on the transport went to Heck. Red lights were flashing as guards were escorting the escapees deeper into the ship. They were escapees from a local failed human settlement, made up of only a few of the first, second and third generations of the fall of Earth. They had attempted to survive on a supposedly deserted planet, only to find that Cultists had colonized there previous. And that they were unhappy with visitors, to the point of trying to shoot them down now.

“Julia!” cried out an older man. “Come here!” He grabbed the girl, carrying her in front of him as gun shots flew past them.

“Uncle, where is daddy and Winston?” Julia cried. She had long, black hair and was no older than six.

“They’re alright. Winston’s with your dad in the medical ward. They’re making sure that the guards that are in there are alright,” they entered through the hatch door with the few other stragglers. The doors shut behind them, the gunshots slowly died off. “Alright Julia, we’ll be alright.”

“Is everyone alright?” asked a USCM guard. “Alright...” The guard turned to Julia and her uncle. “James, we need to start getting people onto the escape pods.”

James nodded, setting Julia on the ground. “Sweetie, go head to the medical bay and go tell your dad that we gotta get to the escape pods. I gotta stay here and help the other guards.”

“Okay, Uncle!” Julia ran off through the legs of others, heading to medical ward.

James stood up, and turned to the crowd of people. “Alright. We have to head to the escape pods! This ship’s dead weight, so we need everyone...”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“This is the last of them, doc!” said the USCM guard as a soldier walked in, half-carrying a wounded soldier into the medical bay.

“Alrighty then...” Dr. Alex Parsons said, getting up from soldier on one of the medical beds. “Nurse, finish up on him. He should be good with a few doses of oxycodone.” Dr. Parsons walked over to the wounded soldier, and took him. “Alrighty, let’s get you over here...” He began to walk the soldier over to another bed.

“Uh, sir, do you want me to do that?” asked a soldier standing guard.

“No no, it’s fine...” He sat the soldier on a bed. “Now... Looks like a stab wound... Winston! NanoBand, now!”

A young boy, about seven or so with poofed, spiky, brown hair, ran to the doctor with an armful of the blue bandages. “Here you are, Alex.”

“Good boy...” Dr. Parsons. Took a bandage and applies it to the wound. “Now then, I want you to keep pressure on that. Just not too much, don’t want the bandage to stick to your hand. Just enough for the nanobots to fix that wound.”

“Thanks doc,” the soldier said as the doctor left with Winston to check on some computer data.

“You did well with today, Winston. Kept a level head with all these incoming wounded.” Dr. Parsons gave a thumbs up. “Good work.”

Winston smiled. “Thanks, Alex.” His smile faded. “Do you think we’ll find a new planet to live on soon?”

The doctor stopped his computing, and turned to Winston, crouching. He grabbed his shoulder. “We will. Don’t worry.”

“Daaaaaad! Daaaad!” Julia called out as she ran into the medical ward.

“Ah, my little girl! How is everyone?” Dr. Parsons said as he picked her up, and hugged her.

“Is my dad alright, Julia?” asked Winston.

“He’s fine, Winston,” Julia said, looking down at him. “But this is important! Uncle James said we’ll need to get everyone to the escape pods!”

Everyone in the ward gasped at the announcement. “Oh dear...” Dr. Parson said, putting Julia down. “Alright...” He cleared his throat. “Guards, we’ll need to move everyone who cant move easily. If they’re rigged up to life support, they’ll need the most help. Nurses, go with them, make sure they’re all right. If you can walk, start heading down.”

“What should we do?” asked Winston and Julia.

“You two stick with me. We gotta make sure everyone is alright. Let’s head down to the pods.”

The two children nodded, and the three of them left the medical bay with the USCM.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Alright everyone, leave a pod open. Here comes the med bay!” James called out, as some USCM walked past with some wounded.

“James, there you are,” Dr. Parsons said.

“Daaad!” Winston called out, running into James’ arms.

“Aha, Winston!” They hugged. “You helped Alex?”

“Yeah!” Winston said cheerfully.

“James, do we have a destination set for the pods?” asked Dr. Parsons.

“Yeah. We found a good grassy planet, about forty or so hours from us.” James leaned in close. “No Cultists either.”

“Thank God...” Dr. Parsons said. “Alright then. Let’s head for the pod then.” The four of them headed for the medical ward pod, when the ceiling above them made a loud crunch noise. Everyone froze. Another crunch. Many USCM began to aim there guns at the ceiling, including James. A hissing was heard, and long, redish-pink tentacles began to snake their way down the glass windows above the pods.

Frantic screams then called out as people rushed for the pods. “Alex, take Winston and go!” James screamed, as the tentacles smashed through the ceiling. The USCM began to open fire on the creature as it attacked.

“DAAAD!” screamed Winston, as Alex grabbed him and Julia. They ran into the pod, and quickly hit the “Eject” button, and were fired into space. From outside, it looked like a sci-fi movie. Many of the youngest generation thought that the rumored Beast from Beyond The Stars was just a myth. But here, they got a reality check as it attacked the USCM ship.

Winston was crying as they flew from the ship, small lasers now distant glowed faintly from the fire fight. Dr. Parsons was assisting the nurses with one patient that had gone critical from the sudden shock, leaving Winston with Julia.

“He’ll be alright, Winston,” Julia said, hugging Winston. “He’s super strong. He can kill that thing off, easy! He’s a captain of the USCM!”

Winston sniffled. He turned and hugged her back. His crying was greatly lessened, and eventually they fell asleep like that, flying through the stars.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Forty or so hours laters, they had reached their destination. They landed on the planet, and found it to be very much like Earth was. Green grass, beautiful oak-like trees, and clear, blue water. Winston was still shaken up by the turn of event that had happened, but managed fine. Everyone began exiting the escape pod, staring into the bright star that would function as their new sun.

“Alright, everyone,” Dr. Parson said to the group. “Let’s set up camp here. We’ll need a few people to go out to the woods and gather some supplies.” A group of people nodded, went into some of the supply crates, and pulled out some hatchets. They ran to the nearby woods to begin work. “Alright, everyone else, let’s start setting up a real base.

The first day on the planet was a tasking one. Everyone was assisting in setting up tents, as well as building a small wood shelter for the medical bay. After a grueling eight or so hours of work, the sun was beginning to set.

“... so that give us enough wood to last us for a few weeks! Good work guys,” Dr. Parson said. A few campfire were going up, and dinner was being cooked and served. A few of the lumberjacks had hunted some of the native animals on the planet, strange blue boar-like animals with long eyestalks. The meat tasted like chicken, many claimed.

“Some on, Julia, you have to eat,” Winston said, sitting with Julia in front of the medical bay.

“I’m not eating this nasty looking stuff,” Julia said, putting her plate on the ground.

“It’s not that bad. Just cause it looks gross, doesn’t mean it’s bad.”

Julia eyed the meat then looked back to Winston. “Well... I guess I’ll give a try... I mean, the same could be said about you...” She reluctantly picked up the food, and ate it, while Winston stared at her for her joke.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


A few days later, the lumberjacks were out plowing fields for future crops to grown. The group was planning to plant wheat, tomatoes and corn. They has also found wild beakseed, and were hoping to cultivate that. That was the plan, at least.

“Uh... Doc... What are those...?” a USCM soldier asked Dr. Parsons, pointing to a large shadow approaching the human settlement. The doctor stared, long and hard trying to make out what it was.

“Is that a... No... What...?” the doctor mumbled to himself. The shadow slowly began to approach the ground. The shadow could slowly revealed itself, revealing to be a large wooden airship; an avian craft. Many of the humans stopped their tasks to observe the ship.

“Are ya’ll alright?” came an older voice from the top of the ship. It was difficult to hear over the airship’s propellers powering down.

“Uh... Who are you?” the doctor asked, and Julia and Winston gathered behind him.

An avian popped his head over the side of his ship. He was a pirate, wearing the marked captain’s clothes. He had blue plumage and a moderately long beard. “Aye, I be Captain Ballard Angel. This is my ship, the Ungrounded. We have a fourteen man crew aboard, with three times that at our settlement on the other side of the planet. Who are you?”

“Well, Captain. I am Doctor Alex Parsons. We’re are a refugee group from another planet.”

“Refugees from what?” the captain asked, a rope being thrown from the side.

“We were attacked by cultists on the previous planet we tried to colonize. After we tried to flee, we were further attacked by a tentacomet.”

“Oh my...” The captain said, stroking his beard. “Do ya’ll need help?”

“We need some supplies. We also need more medicine, if you have any. We have quite a few wounded.”

“Aye, we can help a little...” the captain raised his arm, and a group of avians jumped over the side, carrying crates with some food, and a few weak copper and iron tools. “Not too much. We have more back at base, as well as some medicine we can actually give you.”

“Would it be alright if I flew back with a few of my men?” many of the humans were caught in surprise at the request.

“Dad, don’t!” Julia said.

“You don’t know if they’re friendly!” Winston said.

“Aye, ye got kids?” the captain asked.

“Yes sir. Julia is my daughter, and Winston is my godson.”

“Than I will promise you will make it back home here alive,” the captain said. “I have a little one of my own back at base.”

“The supplies are all off, captain!” called out one of the avians, climbing back up the ropes.

“Aye!” the captain turned back to the doctor. “We’ll be heading out then, if ye wanna come.”

“Excellent,” the doctor said, grabbing a bag. “Kids, wanna come?”

Julia and Winston looked at each other, concerned. “Uh... Sure” Winston said.

“Alrighty... Then up the ropes we go.” The three climbed up the ropes onto the ship. “Guys! Just work on the fields for now. Get wood as needed. I’ll be back soon!”

The two kids walked away from the edge of the ship. They found a stairwell leading down into the hold of the ship. There were banners and odd avian designs on the walls. “This place is cool...” Julia said, eyeing the rooms as they passed through them. They explored until they found a storage room. They began looking through crates, finding a drum and a harp. The two sat down on some crates and began to play away.

“What are you two doing?” came an elderly voice. The pair stopped as an elderly avian walked in. He was hunched over, leaning on a cane. He has a grey-blue plumage, and a long beard.

“Uh... We didn’t mean to?” Winston said, scooching close to Julia.

“Eh.. Don’t be scared... I try not to be scary at least,” the elderly Avian said. He walked over to a nearby crate and pulled out a banjo. He sat down and began to play a small tune. “So ya’ll got attacked?”

“Yeah...” Julia said. “It was scary.”

“Aye... It can be. I remember when I was attacked with my son... Oh where are my manners. I am Elder Sirocco. The captain is my son,” he played the banjo more. “We were attacked long ago, by our own people. We managed to escape, and we moved here... But that was years go.”

“That’s sad...” Julia said.

Suddenly the door to the room they were bust open. “Aye, dad, there ye are,” the captain said. With him was Dr. Parsons.

“Julia, Winston, are you two being good?” asked the doctor.

“They’re fine, we were just playing some music,” the Elder said, getting up. “I’m guessing you need me for something?”

“Aye, let’s discuss this in me office.”

“Don’t worry, kids. We’ll be there soon,” the doctor said, smiling. The two kids nodded, and went back to playing.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Winston found himself waking up after a large thud went through the ship. He got up, and woke Julia. “I think we’re here...” The two sluggishly got up, and walked to the the deck of the ship. They saw the captain and the doctor talking and approached them.

“Ah, there you two are. We’re here,” the two looked over the side of the ship.

They were no longer in a grassy field. They were looking at a massive expanse of desert, with a few scattered palm-like trees. They had landed in the middle of a sandstone town. It was dotted with red and blue banners, as well as a few red crystals.

“Alrighty guys, time to get off!” the doctor said, and picked up Julia. The captain grabbed Winston, and they went down the ropes. At the base, the put down Julia and Winston. They walked through the town to a much larger stand stone structure, the captain’s home. They entered it and was greeted by a “Daaaaaad!”

“Aye, Feather!” the captain said. He went on his kness and a young Avian girl ran into the room, and rugged her father. She had a similar plumage to her father.

“Aye, Feather. We made a few friends today. This is Dr. Parsons,”

“Please, call me Alex. And these two are Julia and Winston,”

Winston stepped forward, “H- Hello...” Julia hid behind him.

“Feather. Me n’ the doc have to discuss some things in me office. You play nice with his kids, aight?”

“Yes father,” the avian said, and the adults went into a nearby room.

“Sorry about Julia, she’s a little shy around strangers,” Winston said, bowing to the avian.

“It’s alright. I’m Feather,” she nodded.

“I- I’m Julia...” Julia said.

“You guys wanna go play? We have a tree we can go climb in the backyard,” Feather said, pointing to the back door.

“Sure, what about you, Julia?” Winston asked.

“Julia nodded and they went out the back.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


After that day, the Avian colony and the human colony began to assist each other in many ways. The humans had gathered supplies and had started a mining facility, and traded that for the clothen and clay goods and wares of the Avians. Both had also assisted in built large ships, creating a small galactic fleet to call their own. This peace time of assisting each other lasted for many years, ten years thus far.

Winston awoke to the sound of a loud thud come from outside his room. He yawned, and looked out his his window, to see that the Ungrounded had landed in the middle of town. While this was a common happening in the Avian Colony, this was a very foreign thing to occur in the Human colony.

Winston immediately got out of bed, and got dressed. As he exited, he tripped over an odd object in the hallway, hitting the floor. “What the...” He then found out that the thud that had awoken him was not from the Ungrounded, but from Julia, who was in her fluffy pajamas, and asleep on the hall floor. Whilst growing up, she had acquired a tendency to sleepwalk, and collapse when she was finished walking. She slowly stirred after Winston fell.

“Wha...” she said, getting up and rubbing her eyes.

Winston got up quickly. “Julia, get dressed. The Ungrounded is here, and I think it might be something important.

Julia yawned, shuffling back to her room. “How do you know?”

“Cause the good captain just parked in Time’s Square. Hurry up.”

Julia shut the room to her door. After a few minutes she emerged, still sleepy, but alert. They ran out of the house to the Ungrounded, to be greeted by Feather.

“Feather, what’s up?” Winston asked as they approached.

“It’s about my grandfather...” Feather started, a sad look on her face.

“What’s all the hub-bub, kids?” asked Dr. Parsons as he approached the group.

“My grandfather passed away last night...” Feather said, tears starting to flow down her feathered cheeks.

Julia went and embraced her. “I’m so sorry...”

“How... How is Ballard doing?” asked Dr. Parsons.

“He’s... He’s not in his best moment...” Feather said, pulling out a small handkerchief from her satchel. She wiped some tears away from her face. “Thanks Julia...” She took a deep breath. “He wanted you all to come to the funeral ceremony, since you’re all family friends.”

“We’d be honored to go,” Winston said, and Julia and her father both nodded. “When will need to leave?”

“The sooner, the better,” Feather said.

“Alright. I’ll just need to grab some stuff, and let the med bay know I’ll be gone,” the doctor said, and ran off towards the hospital.

“As far as I know, Julia and I are ready,” Winston said, looking to Julia. She nodded, and Feather guided them onto the ship. They sat down in the captain’s quarters, and Feather went up to quarter deck to steer. Julia’s father entered the cabin shortly, and the Ungrounded flew off towards the Avian settlement. The flight over was quiet, and Julia had fallen asleep. After a few-hour flight, they had reached the Avian settlement.

They quickly exited the ship, and were greeted by a small group of Avian priests. Feather glided down to the group, and they left for a large Avian temple at the edge of town. They reached there in a short time, and went inside the large bird-mouthed like structure.

Inside, they were lead down a series of staircases through numerous chambers. The walls were decorated in numerous gold trinkets, from masks, to sculptures, to gongs. After wandering through the dark tunnels, they reached a deep chamber. Feather opened the door, and the group entered. The room was dark, with the exception of a few glowing, red crystals. In the center of the room, Sirocco’s body lied on a pedestal. In front of the body, sat a few more avian monks, and the captain. They were kneeling in prayer. Feather then urged the humans to join in and they did. Winston and the other humans felt a bit odd after a few minutes, as they had finished with their prayer, and no one else had gotten up from their prayer. They sat like that for another twenty or so minutes before all members of the party stood up.

The captain escorted Feather and the humans out of the chamber and the temple, leading them outside. “Thank you for being here for us. It means a lot.”

“Of course,” Dr. Parsons replied. “Are you going to be alright?”

“Yes I’ll be fine... Avians are a tough crew. I think I let out most of it in the ceremony.”

“And you, Feather?” the doctor asked.

“I’ll be alright,” Feather replied.

“He was such a good man...” Ballard said, sighing heavily. Would you all be willing to stay since with us for today? We can fly you guys back by tonight, if you want.”

“I think it’ll be lovely,” the doctor said, and Winston and Julia nodded.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


That night on the flight home, Winston sat at the front of the ship, the only light being the colored lanterns that decorated the ship. He stared up at the stars.

“You alright, Winston?” asked Julia as she approached him. She sat down next to him. “Thinking about him, too?”

Winston sighed. “Yeah... I mean... He’s been gone for so long... Without any word either...”

“Well... Have you ever considered... He might be...” Julia started.

“Dead? Yea...” Winston said, which surprised Julia a bit. “But I have a gut feeling inside that tells me he isn’t dead...”

“What are you two talking about?” asked Feather, approaching the pair.

“Winston’s dad...” Julia said.

“You still think he’s out there?” asked Feather, sitting crossed legged next to the pair.

“Yeah... I just wish we could fly out and hunt for him...” Winston said, looking up at the stars above.

“If you could, would you really?” asked Feather. She started digging through her satchel, pulling out a small, glowing red crystal.

“What’s that?” asked Julia.

“These crystals are used by Avians to grant us Kluex’s might. Or that’s what the stories say.” She held the crystal up. “One’s like this are apparently used in deep-space flight by the larger Avian cities on other planets.”

“What does this all mean, Feather?” asked Winston.

“It means, you get one of your high-tech ships, put this in the fuel bay, and you can fly off in search of your father.”

“I’ve never flown a ship before...” Winston said.

“Well, I have experience flying, so I could be your pilot,” Feather said proudly. “I can easily sneak off with you guys.”

“Well... Could we at least do this tomorrow morning? At least give us some more time...”

“Wait, Winston,” Julia interrupted. “Are you actually thinking of hijacking a ship to do this?”

“Well, why not? We have a pretty good ship fleet going. And what if we do find the USCM? We could be heroes.”

“Plus, it isn’t too far away right?” Feather asked. “We can fly out, fly back in, ASAP.”

“I don’ think it’s a good idea, though...” Julia said nervously.

“Well, you don’t have to come with us,” Winston said. “You can just tell your dad what’s going on, so he doesn’t worry about us...”

Julia didn’t respond.

“So, how’s four-thirty AM sound?” asked Feather. “Don’t worry about me, I can get there in time.”

“Sounds good to me, see you at the landing pad, then,” Winston said. The rest of the flight went by in silence. They reached the human settlement, and the Parsons and Winston went back to their home. They all slept, except for Winston.

He began packing clothes into a USCM pack. After some packing, he lied on his bed to catch some sleep.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


A few hours later Winston awoke, and grabbed his pack and snuck outside. He traveled through the darkened town, no one awake albeit a few night guards. He snuck past the armory, and took a Compensator, a light durasteel blade. He also grabbed a set of Scout armor, and headed for the landing pad.

“There you are...” whispered Feather from above him. Winston looked up and saw Feather glide off a nearby building. She wore a suit of Sparrow armor, and carried an Eye of the Needle in her hand. She landed next to Winston and they entered the landing bay. “Which ship should we take?” she asked.

The pair stopped as they heard a crunch come from of the ships. They turned and saw on the ships’ lights light up. The front hatch opened up, revealing Julia standing there in Scout armor with an Awesome Shortsword in hand. “I’d say to take this one.”

“Julia! You came?” asked Winston.

“Of course. Your dad is technically my family too,” Winston and Julia then quickly hugged, and ran inside with Feather.

“Alright, where’s the fuel gage?” asked Feather.

“It’s in the front, at the navigation room,” Julia said.

Winston wandered over to a computer to turn it on. Pressing a button, the monitor came to life, and Winston was greeted with a blue, transparent face.

“Hello. I am SAIL. I will be your AI during this space fli-i-i-i-i-” The face then quickly vanished and was replaced by an image of red crystals. “-this flight. I hope you enjoy.”

The ship’s hatch door then closed, and Winston and Julia wobbled around as the ship slowly rose up from the ground. “I figured out how to fly it!” Feather called out, and the ship flew forward, knocking the humans to the ground. “Ooo... Auto pilot!” Feather shortly there after entered the main room. “Well, we’re flying.”

“Couldn’t tell...” Winston said as he helped Julia up.

“I already put the coords into the computer, too. So it should be a straight flight there,” Julia said.

And the flight was indeed, a safe flight. They saw asteroids and comets fly past the ship, observed space clouds, saw small space jellies fly around. It was an interesting journey, at least for the most part. One flying space rock eventually looked like the rest.

Eventually, the ship came to a slow halt. “Is there a problem?” asked Winston, getting up from the metal seat he was lying down on.

Julia yawned as she got up from her nap. “What’s going on?”

Feather exited the piloting room. “I think we’re here.”

“Well then...” Winston said, and he walked over to the the ship’s locker. He opened it, and pulled out a survival system and a space helmet. “Feather, make sure you’re ready to open the hatch.”

Feather nodded and ran back into the control room. “Wait, you’re going by yourself?” Julia asked.

“There’s only one set,” Winston said, putting on the helmet. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back. Winston hugged her, and ran off in the direction of the hatch. He reached the hatch, and gave a thumbs up to a camera mounted in the corner. The hatch slowly opened, and Winston took a deep breath. He then drifted out into the empty void.

The hatch shut behind him, and began pressing buttons on his left wrist. He selected a tech “bubble boost”, and a small stream of bubbles propelled Winston forward. After a few minutes, he managed to control himself, and drifted to the front of the ship. Ahead, he saw a massive ship wreck; a USCM wreck. He slowly propelled himself towards the wreck when he heard Feather talking to him through his in-helmet radio.

“Alright, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear,” Winston replied.

“Alright, well the wreck is in front of us... Just be careful.”

“Of course.” Winston slowly approached where the escape pods were originally deployed. He climbed in, and entered the wreck. The inside was relatively intact. There were holes punctured into the walls, but for what it had been through, it was alright. Walking through the halls was like a memory for Winston, remember days when he and Julia would wander around the ship. There were no children their age, so they made friends with the soldiers and anyone else willing to play with them.

He eventually found the medical bay, the place where he had helped Alex with medical work. Especially on that ill-fated day. He looked through cabinets, and found a few health syringes and a medical pack. He took them, storing them in the survival system.

“How’s it going?” asked Feather through the radio.

“I found a few basic medical supplies. No sign of my dad though...” He dug through a a locker and found a Delayed Shotgun. “Not bad...”

“What did you find?” asked Feather.

“A pretty nice gun.” He heard a grinding noise come from the back of the ship. “I might have to test it out soon...” Winston snuck through the dimmed halls of the ship, eventually reaching a dented-in door. The door. The door that on the other side, ten years ago, was full of angered, blood thirsty cultists. Winston reluctantly approached the door. The computer rigged to it was fried, so he tried to force it open manually. After a few minutes of beating the door with the butt of his gun, the finally managed to open the door halfway to snake through.

The other side of the door was horrible. A massive hole was blown into the ceiling, and lose wires and piping were loosely sticking out of broken open panels on the walls. Winston walked through as he heard the grinding noise again. Going through a blown open door, he found the source of the noise. A small chunk of foreign metal was rubbing against the wall of the room. Winston sighed, and swatted at the metal, the small chunk bouncing off the floor, and drifting back out into space.

“Alright, Winston. Time for you to get back here,” Feather said through the radio. “Our scanners say you only have about thirty percent energy left.”

Winston began to head back to the half-pried door, when he saw a bright light come from outside the ship from one of the holes. “Hey, Feather... Are you guys moving the ship?”

Feather looked up from the blinking lights and flashing buttons in front of her, looking outside. “No... Why...” Feather’s voice died off when she saw a massive, black, discus ship slowly approach the wreckage. “Winston, get out of there! Now!” Feather shouted into the mic. Julia burst into the room.

“What’s all the shouting-” Julia stared at the massive UFO. “What is that...”

Winston heard a loud crunch, and began bolting for the door. He saw a flash of light behind him, and saw a penguin in a space helmet beam down. It carried an assault rifle, and began firing at Winston. Winston half-dashed, half-floated through the ship, and saw more penguins with guns, who also began to open fire on him. He reached a staircase, and jumped over it, slowly drifting away. He turned and fired his shotgun. The bullets slowly puffed out of the gun, and drifted slowly through the ship. They then suddenly gained a boost in speed, and slammed into a wall, exploding.

Using the explosion as a distraction, he bubbled down to the hole he entered. He navigated through, and attempted to go full speed back to the function ship. As he flew towards the ship. Smaller UFOs flew around towards him. They began opening fire on Winston, causing him to fly up and away from the UFOs. This direction was, unfortunately, towards the massive UFO mother ship. The massive ship flew overhead, and began shining a massive, bright, orange light on Winston. He felt small, electrical buzzes go through his body. ‘A laser beam,’ Winston thought. ‘I’m about to die to a laser beam.’

The beam fired, and tore through the massive ship. Julia screamed, as Heather tried to keep the ship stable as the shockwaves from the beam’s impact shook the ship.

“WINSTON!” Julia screamed, tears streaking down her face. The massive UFO and it’s minions slowly retreated, leaving behind only flying ship scraps. “Winston...” Julia whispered as she collapsed to the floor in a slump, crying. Heather finally stabilized the ship, and immediately went to Julia’s side. Feather tried to talk to the crying girl, but was practically was ignored. All she could do was hug Julia, and she did. Tears started going down her face as well, and the two cried for quite a long time.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Winston awoke on a cold, hard, steel floor, a bright blue light was shining into his eyes. He shook his head and slowly got up from the floor.

“Ah, you’re awake!” came a voice. “Excellent!”

Winston looked to his right to see a silhouette of a person. The blindness from the light faded, and Winston saw that the man was an Apex scientist. He was older, in his early thirties. He had a long, black beard that connected with his long black hair, which surrounded his ape-ish face. He wore a white lab coat, and donned a pair of round glasses.

“I am Dr. Maximus Galen,” the Apex said, offering his hand out to assist Winston up. Winston took the hand, and slowly stood up.

“I... I’m Winston... Smith...” Winston said, his head still wobbly from, well, whatever just happened. “Where... am I?”

“You are aboard my ship.” The doctor went over to a computer and began typing away.

“How did I get here?”

“Well, that’s kind of a long story. I had been tracking down a certain space pirate, as he and his men have been in affiliation with the Minikong for quite some time. Since I wanted to help out the rebellion as best as I can, I had been following him around for quite some time. Eventually, he had stopped at an old pile of ship wreck, the one you were exploring. I had hid behind an asteroid and saw that they were going to kill you. So, I force-beamed you onto my ship and here we are now.”

“Wait, where are my friends?” Winston asked.

“Who?”

“My friends! They were on a ship near the wreckage!”

The doctor moved onto another computer, taking a seat. “After the wreckage was destroyed, the pirates had left. As far as I’m aware, your friends are in no harm.”

“Not physically...” Winston said, looking out the window. “Hey, Doc. Do you think you can fly us back to where the wreck was? Maybe my ship is still there?”

The doctor paused his typing. He looked over to Winston, and looked at him over his glasses. “You want me to fly my ship back there?”

“Yes. I do.” Winston walked over to the doctor. “Doc, I’ve known the people on that ship since I’ve practically been born. We flew out here trying to find out if there was any sign of my long lost dad on that wreck. I do not want my friends going back home and explaining another missing loved one to our families.”

The doctor looked at Winston and rolled his eyes. “Fine.” He got up from his seat and grabbed the controls, steering the ship. A blue monitor turned on, with an Apex general on it.

“Where do you think you are going, Galen?” the AI asked.

“Can it, SAIL. I’ve disconnected your Minikong relays, and you know it.”

“Is that an Apex SAIL?” asked Winston.

The SAIL began to yell at the doctor, and the doctor flipped a switch, turning the SAIL off. “Unfortunately. It’s apparently some Minikong general, but no one knows what they look like. Damn annoying for sure. Alright, we’ll be back at the wreckage in about an hour as long as the FTL doesn’t crap out.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Dr. Parsons stood at the landing pad as the ship slowly landed. “They hi-jack a ship for five days... Don’t even leave a word... Oh they are in trouble...” The hull to the ship opened, and Feather began to walk out, with Julia leaning on her arm. The pair approached the doctor. “Just what the hell have you two been-” Dr. Parsons cut himself off. “Where’s Winston?”

The question set Julia off, and she began crying loudly again, clinging her father instead of Feather now. “HE’S DEAAAAD!” she wailed.

“What...?” Dr. Parsons shook his head. “What?”

“We had flown out to where your old USCM ship was wrecked,” Heather said. “Winston flew out to investigate it to see if there was any sign of his father... And then a huge ship attacked...”

“THEY KILLED HIM!” Julia cried. Dr. Parsons hugged her tightly.

“And there was nothing...” Dr. Parsons started.

“No.” Feather sighed. “Who ever attacked us is far more powerful than any of us will be...”

Dr. Parsons sighed, and hugged Julia tighter.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The ship slowly stopped. Winston looked out the front window of the ship. There was almost no sign of the wreck, except for some drifting scraps. There was also no sign of Winston’s ship either. “Damn it...” Winston muttered.

“How far is your planet from here?” asked the doctor, adjusting his glasses. “I’m fine with taking you back home if it’s not too far.

“It’s a forty hour trip from here...” Winston said.

“No, with FTL,” the doctor asked.

“We don’t have FTL on our ships,” Winston said.

“Oh yeah, I forgot that humans are... More primitive... Than apex...” the doctor then cleared his throat. “Twenty minutes, tops. Just give me the coords.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Dr. Parsons and Feather assisted in moving the crying Julia from the landing strips. “Julia, it’ll be okay...” Dr. Parsons said. He was trying to hold back tears knowing that his almost son was gone.

A loud buzzing noise then began to echo across the colony. Everyone stopped what they were doing to find the source of the buzzing, except for Julia, who was crying. Suddenly, a ship almost appeared in the sky, and flew towards the ground outside of the human colony. Many people began to run in fear from the crashing ship. Right before it crashed, a set of thrusters on it’s front activated, slowing the ship down. That did not completely stop it’s impact, and the ship hit the ground, albeit, much slower than it would have previous, leaving a deep rut in the ground. Dr. Parsons almost immediately picked up Julia, which caught Feather off guard, and they ran for the wreckage.

They quickly arrived at the crash site, and were joined by USCM soldiers. All of them had their guns aimed at the door to the ship. The door then began to dent outwards, and eventually popped open. The guards readied to fire, until they saw who was in the doorway.

“Winston...?” Feather muttered, and Julia looked up. Julia’s eyes went wide as her friend emerged from the wreckage, a large shotgun over his shoulder. She immediately jumped out of her father’s arms, and ran for Winston, hugging him tightly.

“You’re alive!” she called out, and Winston hugged her back.

“Yes, I am,” Winston said, smiling. Dr. Parsons and Feather ran to the hugging pair, and they heard a second voice come from inside.

“What the hell did you do to my ship!?” exclaimed Dr. Galen, emerging from the ship. “I said give me the coordinates! Not take the wheel!” He gave out a loud monkey screech, and threw a chair across the inside of the ship. “This thing is wrecked, now!”

“You have failed the Minikong!” exclaimed the SAIL, which was followed by a loud crash.

“You didn’t even wreck the right part of the ship that needed to be wrecked!” Dr. Galen exited the ship, breathing heavily. He saw the group of people, and tried to quickly regain his composure. “Um... Yes, hello...”

“Oh, guys. This is Dr. Maximus Galen,” Winston said, pointing to the apex. “He’s the one who saved my life.

“Oh, a fellow doctor?” asked Dr. Parsons, shaking his hand. “I am Dr. Alex Parsons, leader of this human colony. This is my daughter, Julia,” he patted Julia on the head.

“A pleasure,” Dr. Galen replied.

“And I am Feather Angel, daughter of the one in charge of the avian settlement on the other side of the planet,” she bowed. “Thank you for saving our friend.”

“Yes... Well...” Dr. Galen started. “He still has to pay for what he’s done to my ship...”

A loud crack was heard, and everyone turned to see Julia punching Winston in the chin. Winston flew back and collapsed, but Julia caught him by the collar of his shirt before he hit the ground. “Do you have any idea how worried I was!? I should kick your ass for what you put me through!”

“Sowweh...” Winston muttered.

Julia turned her head and looked back at Dr. Galen, causing the apex to jump back in fear. “Thank you for saving him. Don’t worry about payment back. I’ll make sure Winston repays you!” She bowed in his direction, the apex still not letting his guard down.

“Uh... Sure...” he turned back to Dr. Parsons and and Feather.

“We owe you for saving Winston,” Dr. Parsons said. “Please, there must be something we can offer you.”

“Well... All I really need is a ship,” Dr. Galen said. He looked back at Julia and Winston. “Would I get a second ship if I save him from her?”

“Well, possibly...”

“No, I’m joking. Winston told me you all aren’t the richest colonies.”

Dr. Parsons sighed. “Unfortunately we aren’t. We’ve been here ten years, and we can barely find titanium...”

“Well... How about a trading route?” Dr. Galen asked, which caught Dr. Parsons and Feather off guard.

“What?” Feather asked, surprised.

“Well, I’m part of a Minikong rebellion. A pretty large one at that. I’m certain I can get a trade route started between your colonies and the rebellion. I’ll just need to transfer all of my computers and data into another ship, and I can send the message.”

“Of... Of course!” Dr. Parsons said. “We can discuss this further at my home. I hope all goes well for us.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Dr. Galen happily boarded his new ship. He has spent the past few days in the human colony, and even met a few of the Avians from their colony. His computers were reinstalled onto this new ship, and the first trading shipment was on it’s way towards the planet, due in a few days. It was now time for him to leave and get back home. He happily walked into the navigational room. He activated the SAIL, and the Minikong general’s face appeared. “Helloooooo SAIL!”

“Hello, Galen. I’m glad you finally captured some outsiders for the Minikong’s tests!” The AI laughed heartily.

“What...?” Dr. Galen asked, and his smile quickly faded.

The SAIL’s face changed to a blue generic hologram. “Hello, I, too, am SAIL.”

The SAIL’s face changed again to an image of red crystals. “I am also SAIL. Praise be to Kluex.”

Dr. Galen’s jaw dropped. He got up and turned to exit the ship, when he saw Dr. Parsons with Captain Angel, Feather, Winston and Julia. Feather, Julia and Winston each had a large pack on their backs.

“Ah... Hello... Doctor... Parsons...” Dr. Galen said, slowly returning to a wobbly smile.

“Hello, Dr. Galen,” Dr. Parsons said. “You said you’d like a crew, right?”

Dr. Galen eyed the kids, and looked back to Dr. Parsons. “Yeees...?”

“Well, here we are,” Winston said.

Dr. Galen’s jaw dropped again. “What?”

“Aye, we discussed why the kids bolted off in this ship,” Captain Angel started. “And from the sounds of it, we agreed that they would be excellent ambassadors between the rebellion and the colonies.”

Dr. Galen simply stared in shock. “Feather is an excellent pilot and navigator. And Julia and Winston are expert fighters, hunters, and explorers. All them will benefit your crew,” Dr. Parsons stated. “What do you say?”

Dr. Galen regained his composure and gave a dying smile. “I think it would be... Delightful...”

“Excellent! They already have bedrooms established in the back,” Dr. Parsons said.

Feather hugged her father and ran to the navigation room. “Alright, SAILs, get ready for a new pilot!” This statement was followed by robotic cheers and a ‘For the Minikong!’

“Winston and I’ll go and check out the weapons lockers one last time before we leave.” Julia kissed her father. “Bye daddy, see you soon.” She then grabbed Winston’s hand, and the pair ran down one of the back halls.

The captain then grabbed Dr. Galen, and put him in a headlock. “If anything happens to me daughter...” Captain Angel unsheathed his sword and brought the blade up to Dr. Galen’s throat. “We’ll be seeing how long you run around with out a head, aye?”

“That goes double for my kids. Anything happen to Julia or Winston...” Dr. Parsons pulled out a few colored stim-packs and pointed them at Dr. Galen’s face. “...running around headless will be the least of your concern...”

Dr. Galen nodded, and Captain Angel released him.

“Everything’s ready, Feather!” Winston shouted down the hall.

“Aye!” Feather called back. “We’ll be ready to leave soon, then!”

“Have fun, Dr. Galen!” Dr. Parsons said, and he and Captain Angel left out the open door, which slowly shut. Soon enough, the ship took off and was flying through the stars. And Dr. Galen still stood there, jaw dropped open again.

“What...”

“GAAAAH!” Dr. Galen screamed as the ship made a sharp turn to the right. He fell off the chair he was sitting on, falling to the floor.

Julia and Winston cheered Feather on as she narrowly navigated the ship past an asteroid. “That was even closer than last time!”

Dr. Galen struggled to get up, the ship still wobbling around. “SAIL, can’t you do something?”

The Minikong SAIL lit up on one of the monitors near Dr. Galen. “Hahaha! I will do nothing to help an enemy of Big Ape!” The SAIL laughed more.

This newly formed crew had been flying for approximately eighty-plus hours together. The youth of the ship had been having a fun time going on their second ever space-faring journey. They had bonded with the different SAILs as well, resulting in a never ending party through the stars. Dr. Galen, however, was not having fun. How could an elite member of the Apex rebellion be forced to work with a bunch of kids? Even his own SAIL had turned against him it seemed.

“Doc!” Julia called out as she exited the navigation room. “The planet is coming into view. We’ll be entering the atmosphere in a few minutes.”

“Oh goody...” Dr. Galen said, sitting back in his chair. “Maybe I’ll finally get some quiet time...” He was suddenly thrown from his seat again as the ship slowed down from light-speed.

“Whoops... Gotta work on timing the brakes...” Feather called out from the navigation room.

Dr. Galen simply laid on the ground where he had fallen. “Maybe I’ll regain my sanity there as well...”



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The ship slowly began to land in the middle of the rebellion camp. Winston, Julia, and Feather were lined up in front of the exit hatch. Dr. Galen was instructing the youths on how to act as diplomats with the rebels.

“Now remember, we are a strong force. You have to be civilized and serious. This is very important for both your colonies and the rebellion. So please act behaved, okay?” The hatch door slowly opened as the ship landed. “Alright, here we go...”

As soon as the hatch hit the floor, Dr. Galen began to walk out of the ship. His pace was halted as a banana hit him in the face, splattering. Multiple cheers and monkey hollers were heard, and a group of apex rebels slowly walked up to the ship giggling.

“Fall for it every time, don’tcha Max?” one rebel called out.

“Learn to figure it, out!” called out another. Dr. Galen simply sat there, dumbfounded.

The three youths exited the ship and were greeted happily by the apex. “So... Be serious, right?” giggled Julia, and the three were practically carried off to a large warehouse tower in the middle of the camp.

Dr. Galen slowly sat himself up, wiping the rotten fruit off of his face. He sighed. “How disgusting...” He then got up and followed after the crowd.

The kids were brought into the warehouse’s main room, which appeared to be a large office-like interior. Filing cabinets and desks covered with stacks of paper work lined the floor. The apex mob brought a few plush chairs with them, and insisted that the kids sat in them. They happily did so, and waited to speak with the leader of the rebel camp.

“Alright, everyone! Clear out!” called out a female voice. The large mob exited the room, and an elderly apex woman entered the room. She had orange hair, and a floral dress. She carried a large grenade launcher over her back. She sat down at the desk in front of the sitting kids. “Hello, I am Madame Koko, leader of this camp.”

“Wait... Wait for me!” Dr. Galen called out entering the room. He grabbed a steel chair and set it down next to Winston. “Apologies for being late, Madame. I didn’t get, heh heh, carried down here like the rest.” He awkwardly smiled.

Madame Koko was unamused. “I think you have lunch left on your face,” the madame stated, a stern look on her face.

“Oh, apologies, Madame,” Dr. Galen said. “When I landed, some had thrown a-”

“I don’t care,” Madame Koko said, a stern look on her face. “You should know to come to an important meeting as this in your best dress.”

“Um... Yes... Apologies...” Dr. Galen remained silent after that.

“Now then...” Madame Koko cleared her throat. “So trades between our colonies will hopefully satisfy both parties...”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Winston yawned as he exited the ware house with Julia and Feather. “That was a surprisingly long conference...”

“Yeah... I even started dozing off...” Feather said, yawning as well.

“So... Tired...” Julia said, yawning once again. “I guess we head back to the ship for the night...”

The trio headed back for their landed ship to sleep for the night.

“I hope those kids don’t do anything stupid while I’m here...” Dr. Galen said, sweeping the floor of the conference room with a broom.

“Have more trust in those kids, Max,” Madame Koko said, as she put away some files into one of the cabinets of the room.

“But they’ve caused so much more trouble for me!” Dr. Galen said, throwing the broom onto the ground. He grabbed the same steel chair he used during the meeting and sat down on it. “They’ve turned my own SAIL against me, wrecked my old ship... Now they’re getting praised like gods by everyone here...”

Madame Koko stopped filing and sat down next to Dr. Galen in one of the softer chairs. “I know that handling kids, teenagers at that, is hard work.” She patted Dr. Galen’s shoulder. “But try to be more lenient with them. They are still, just kids.”

“But, Madame. It’s just such a hard thing to deal with...”

“Please, Maximus. I know Big Ape might have rubbed on you the most out any rebel here, but try to learn fun.”

“I do have fun! I can have fun! It’s just that...” Dr. Galen’s voice trailed off.

“What is it?”

“Maybe I shouldnt’ve left the Minikong... Maybe I’ve just been with them too much...” Dr. Galen sighed.

“Hey, don’t be hard on yourself. You just have more trouble adapting into a new life than others,” Madame Koko said, smiling at Dr. Galen. “I have confidence in you. In fact...”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Julia and Feather snored happily in their bunks in the female’s dorm on the ship. Winston exited the restroom, tooth brush in mouth. He was in his pajamas, and ready for long nap. He entered the male dorm, and lied down in his bunk.

As he lied there, he heard Dr. Galen enter the ship, and the ship slowly began to make a whirring noise. Looking out his window, he saw the ship was slowly rising. Winston yawned, and slowly rose from his bunk. “What now...” He lazily walked from his room, and walked to the navigation room. Winston spotted Dr. Galen at the controls.

Winston yawned, “Doc, what are you doing?”

“Go to sleep. I got us a job from the Madame.”

“What...?”

Dr. Galen turned the navigator’s seat around. “I spoke with Madame Koko since I’m not the best captain for our crew. So I asked her if she had any advice, and she gave us a mission...” He looked at a small post-it note he stuck to the navigation monitor. “One of our rebel ships went missing a few days ago, and Madame wants us to investigate.” He turned back to the computer.

“Who said you’re a bad captain?” Winston asked, taking a seat next to the Doc.

Dr. Galen sighed. “I did. I mean, you kids could probably do all of this stuff with out me... I feel like dead weight.”

“Don’t say that. Sure, you act a little odd sometimes, but you know a ton of things we don’t. We don’t know diplomatic stuff. We don’t know about half the things of our part of the universe. You’ve actually been off your planet.”

Dr. Galen looked over to Winston. “You really mean that?”

“Of course, Doc. We just gotta get used to each other. We basically just met.”

“Thanks,” Dr. Galen said, smiling. “Now you get sleep. Our destination isn’t for a long while.”

Winston, smiled and yawned. “Night, Doc.”

“Night.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The ship slowly landed on the designated planet. It was a heavily jungled planet, covered with thick jungle trees and ferns. Heavy vines dotted the trees, and bird calls echoed from the jungle.

The back of the ship opened up, and Winston exited with Feather. “Alright, we’ll go ahead and investigate. We’ll try to be back in two hours. If we aren’t, send help, alright?”

“Good luck!” Dr. Galen called to the pair from the ship. The back of the ship slowly shut, and the doc returned to one of the computers.

“So... What exactly are we doing here?” Julia asked, lying on one of the long seats within the ship.

“The rebel ship crashed here, and we need to see if there are anyone alive still.”

Julia nervously looked out the window at the jungle. “Uh... Will they be okay?”

“I honestly don’t know. We don’t know much of this planet other than jungle. Radio signals can’t even get through the thick canopy.”

Julia sat up at her seat, and sighed nervously.

“Are you alright?” Dr. Galen asked, stopping his typing.

“Yeah... I am...”

“You’re lying, aren’t you?” Dr. Galen replied. He completely turned his seat around to face Julia. “What’s bugging you?”

Julia hesitated for a moment. “Well... I’m just... Worried about... Winston...”

“Oh?” Dr. Galen said, leaning back in his seat. “What’s to worry about? You of all people should know he’s a strong guy.”

“I know... It’s just...” Julia paused. “I don’t know how to say it...”

“Well, speak your mind. I’m not one to judge.” Doc paused. “Okay, I won’t judge most things. Alright, I judge a lot of things, but I’ll try my best to not judge here.”

“Um... Okay...” Julia said. “I... I really.. Um... Like...”

Dr. Galen smiled. “Ooooh... I see...” He spun his chair around. “Young love. How romantic.”

Julia blushed madly. “I just don’t know if... He likes me... Back...” Her voice trailed off.

Dr. Galen stopped his spinning. “Well... He does care a lot about you.”

“I know... But I think he just wants to protect me...”

Dr. Galen looked at her with a slight frown. “You have to make him like you then.”

“But... How?”

Dr. Galen shrugged and turned back to his computer. “Use your feminine charm or something. That’s for you to figure out on your own.” He began typing away again.

Julia lied down on the seat, and tried her best to not worry. Suddenly, the hatch to the ship opened, and Feather’s screams came from the other side. “They took Winston!”

Julia sprang up and Dr. Galen spun his chair around as Feather ran in. She was covered in wounds, and her armor had dents. “The jungle came alive and attacked us! They grabbed Winston and took him!” Feather than began to stumble and fell. Dr. Galen and Julia helped her up.

“She’s passed out...” Julia said, as the pair took Feather to the medical bay.

“Her body’s gone into shock...” Dr. Galen said, as he rested her onto one of the medical beds. “SAIL, begin equalizing temperature. Scan her vitals.” The red crystal SAIL lit up on screen, and a light blue light began to scan Feather’s body.

“Scan complete. Foreign substance detected. Analyzing substance. Analysis complete. Floran poison detected.”

“Damn it...” Dr. Galen said.

“What’s the matter?” Julia asked, going into a nearby ship locker.

Dr. Galen sighed. “Floran poison has no cure unless you make an antidote from the source of the poison...” He turned to Julia. “What are you doing?”

Julia pulled out a pack full of medical equipment. She packed a pair of small pistols, and a hunting knife into the pack. “I’m going to find Winston.”

“What?” Dr. Galen asked, shocked. “You’re going out there? That would be suicide, especially with Florans! As Captain, I forbid-”

Julia grabbed a gun and shot it over Dr. Galen’s head, causing him to drop to the floor in fear. “What the hell are you doing!?”

“I don’t care if it’s suicide! Winston’s saved my ass too many times as is, and I have yet to start paying him back! I’m going to find him!” The hatch door began to open.

Dr. Galen got up, and typed a code into one of the computers. He then reached into a locker near him, and pulled out a few supplies as well, including a few bombs. “I’ll help you then.”

“But Feather needs someone to take of her.”

“The SAIL can do that. I’ve given it... Er... Them... full permission to the medical bay. They’ll keep her body in a coma-like state for eight hours so the poison doesn’t spread.”

“Only eight hours? Why?”

Dr. Galen stared her hard as they exited the ship. “Because in eight hours, she’ll be dead unless we find those Florans.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Ouch!” Dr. Galen said as a brach smacked him in the face. “Julia, slow the hell down and warn me when you move branches!” The pair had been exploring for around an hour in the thick jungle. Another branch smacked Dr. Galen. “Damn it Julia, I said-” He bumped into her. “What is... It...”

“I found the crashed ship...” Julia muttered. Before the pair sat a massive Apex wreck. It was covered in overgrown jungle vines, and ferns. There was a massive hole torn into the ship’s hull.

Dr. Galen and Julia slowly approached. “Be careful in here... We don’t know what’s in here...” Dr. Galen and Julia pulled out flash lights, the only light in the dark interior of the ship. A banging noise suddenly echoed through the ship, causing both Julia and Dr. Galen to jump in fear; Dr. Galen more so.

“What the hell was that?” Dr. Galen asked, pulling out a bomb and readying a match.

“I think there’s something in here...” Julia said, charging her guns.

The banging noise came again, closer, and above the pair. Julia aimed her guns at the vent shaft that snaked above them, and Dr. Galen readied his bomb. The banging came even closer, and Julia fired her guns. The lasers hit the vent, and Dr. Galen threw his bomb. Julia and Dr. Galen jumped back, as the dust, metal scraps, and dirt cloud subsided.

“Did we get it...?” asked Julia.

“I... Think so...?” replied Dr. Galen.

“Ow!” came a raspy voice from beyond the cloud. “Owowowowowowow! That stung!”

Julia and Dr. Galen aimed their weapons at the cloud. The cloud slowly died down, leaving behind an olive green colored Floran. It had many ragged, lavender colored leaves growing out it’s head. It also wore a purple vest and a matching loin cloth. It sat there rubbing it’s head as it squatted behind a massive blast hole in the floor. It looked up at the the pair, and squealed. It ran up the nearest wall and tore open a vent shaft. It climbed inside, the banging noise echoing through the vents.

“Where did it go?” Dr. Galen asked, scanning the vents.

“Floran hiding!” the floran called from the vents. It poked it’s head out of one of the vents. “You people are sssssso mean!”

Dr. Galen and Julia looked at each other in slight confusion at the floran’s response. “What...?”

The floran retreated back into the vents. “Floran jussst exsssssploring crassssssshed sssssssship. Then you all attack Floran!”

“But you crashed the ship and kidnapped our friend and the members of this ship!” Dr. Galen called out.

“Floran did nothing! Floran leave other Floransssss. They alwaysssssss eat not Floransssssss.” The floran poked it’s head out of another vent, and Dr. Galen threw another bomb.

“Do you... Maybe want to help us...?” Julia asked into the explosion, smoke surrounding them.

“What?” Dr. Galen said, looking back to Julia. “That thing will probably kill us!”

“Floran will not!” the floran declared, hanging from the vent right above Dr. Galen. It hung upside down, it’s face right in front of Dr. Galen’s. He jumped back, squealing, and falling to the ground. “Floran feelsssssss hurt.”

Dr. Galen scrambled back behind Julia. “So... You didn’t take our friends?” Julia asked.

“No no no. Floran has no interest in eating not Floran.”

“Wanna help us, then?” Julia asked, lowering her guns.

“Julia, it can still kill-” Dr. Galen started.

“Floran will help you find friendsssssssss,” the floran said, jumping down from the rafters.

“Goodie!” Julia said, holding out her hand in a handshake. The floran stared at the hand curiously, before grabbing the hand and shaking it.

“Wait, if he’s joining us, we need his name,” Dr. Galen said, slowly rising. “What is your name, Floran?”

“Name...” the floran pondered. “G’Quan Eth.”

Dr. Galen stared at the floran with confusion. “Gikwan Ith?”

“G’Quan Eth,” the floran repeated.

“Uh... How about Charles...?” Dr. Galen said, looking back to Julia. She shrugged.

“Charlesssss... Hmm...” the floran pondered. “Floran likessss name.” He gave a thumbs up.

“Well, Charles. I am Julia,” Julia said, smiling.

“And I will be your captain, Dr. Maximus Galen,” Dr. Galen said, holding out his arm. The floran spat into it’s hand and shook hands with the doctor.

“Eeeew! What the hell was that?” Dr. Galen said, retracting his hand.

“Sssspit,” Charles said, drooling. “Issssssss toxsssic.” He slurped up the drool.

“Doc! We can use this as a cure for Feather!” Julia said, jumping happily. Charles jumped with her, more out of confusion.

“I suppose it’s worth a shot... Especially since now I’m covered in venom...” Dr. Galen said, trying to shake as much of the drool off his hand. “Alright, let’s go then.” Dr. Galen and Julia then dashed out of the wreck, dragging Charles behind them.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Winston awoke in a dimly lit cavern. He looked around, further finding himself in a wooden cage. There was a pile of bones with him, and a few dimly lit torches on the walls. “Ah, Human isssssss awake,” came a rough voice.

The voice belonged to a floran warrior, a Cannibal. His brown mask guarded his face, and muffled his voice. “Where am I?” Winston asked.

“Human isssss in Floran prissssson,” the cannibal said, “You are nexssssssst meal.” Many hollers were heard from deeper within the prison chamber.

“He shall not be your meal, Radigan,” came a dark, sophisticated voice. A short silhouette slowly approached Winston’s cage. “Curious of you to search that wreck...”

“Who... What wreckage?” asked Winston, confused.

“That USCM wreckage floating out past that cultist planet. I’m curious to know why,” the short, creature, apparently, said.

“I was... Looking for someone...” Winston said, trying to eye the prison interior.

“Oh, you were... Possibly one of the people who illegally set foot on private Minikong property.”

“What...?” Winston asked, confused.

“You were trespassing on private land!” the figure leaned into the light. He was a penguin, and extremely short. “And, you attacked members of an allied party!”

Winston was drawn aback by the loud voice from the small figure. “Who are you?”

The penguin smirked. “I am Dreadwing, purge of the skies. I can out fly an avian, and out maneuver an apex. I am a god to the likes of you, human boy.”

“Masssssster, can we pleassssse eat him?” the cannibal asked.

Dreadwing eyed Winston, before nodding and walking back into the shadows of the prison. The florans all cheered, and hot coals began to slowly pour from the roof into Winston’s chamber. “Floransssss feasssst on Human flesssssh!” Winston backed closer to the cage bars, the temperature in the room increasing exponentially. He gulped as the coals gained closer.


~~~~~~~~~~~


“Bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeh,” Charles said as he drooled into a glass jar.

“Alright, that’s enough, Floran,” Dr. Galen said, taking the jar and putting it into a nearby scanner. Charles, however, continued to drool, causing a small puddle to form. Dr. Galen, began to exclaim, until the SAIL spoke.

“Analysis complete, processing antidote. Antidote found. Applying to patient.”

A small syringe filled with a purple liquid was slowly lowered into Feather’s arm. The liquid drained, and the syringe retracted.

“Will Feather be alright?” asked Julia, looking over her unconscious friend.

“It’ll take a bit for the antidote to kick in, but she’ll be fine,” Dr. Galen said. “And damn it, Charles! Stop the drooling!”

Julia sighed a sigh of relief, and Charles simply giggled. “Medical support relieved. Estimated time of awakening. In, two hours,” the SAIL said before shutting off from the medical computers.

“Alright, looks like this Floran helped us,” Dr. Galen said, wiping the drool from the tabletop.

“His name is Charles, Doc! At least treat him like he’s people,” Julia said, escorting the floran to the bunks down the hall.

“Where are you taking him?” asked Dr. Galen, poking his head out the door.

“To his bunk. Since he will be joining us,” Julia said, raising Charles’ hand into the air. Charles smiled happily, a bit of drool dripping from his mouth.

“Well... What about... Winston?” Dr. Galen asked, trying to slow down or stop the floran’s installation to the ship’s crew. He personally hated florans, they were nasty, disgusting creatures with no sense of manners. While he couldn’t stop the floran from joining the crew, but he knew he could prolong it.

“You said, he’d be fine, though,” Julia said, a bit nervous. “He could be coming back now, looking for Feather.”

Suddenly, a drumming could be heard in the distance. Everyone on the ship froze, and ran to a nearby window. Deep into the jungle, a pillar of smoke began to rise, and flocks of birds were fleeing.

Julia gasped. “I think we found Winston...” Dr. Galen said with concern. “Flor- Charles. Ehem. What are they doing?”

“Cooking csssssseremony. They will cook Human Winssssston and leaderssssss will eat him.”

Julia and Dr. Galen gasped and ran for the lockers next to the hatch. “Charles, stay here! Introduce yourself to Feather when she wakes up! Tell her we went into the jungle!”

The hatch opened up, and Julia and Dr. Galen ran outside, packs on their backs. The hatch shut, leaving Charles in the main hall. He ran to the medical bay, and looked at Feather. “Hello Bird-Lady. Floran isssss Charl.” He then ran up the wall, grabbed a ventilation shaft cover, and climbed into the vents.


~~~~~~~~~~~


Winston awoke again, this time tied to a large wooden log which stood upright. It was attached to a large wooden platform, which was held up on tall bamboo-like posts. He tried to move around, only to scream in pain. His body had numerous burns from the hot coals. Looking around, he saw that there were numerous fire pits around him.

“Ah, our food awakenssssss,” said the cannibal. He stood on a tall wooden chair, with numerous other florans, both hanging onto the chair’s legs and on the ground. “Let the cssssssseremony begin!” The florans all cheered, and began throwing burning torches at Winston. They were trying to light the wooden platform on fire.

A sudden explosion from behind the florans stopped their attack, turning towards the explosion. Standing in a pile of charred trees stood Julia and Dr. Galen. Dr. Galen threw another bomb into the crowd of florans, a large explosion sending florans to scatter. Julia ran for the crowd, her guns in her hands. The florans retaliated, pulling out needlers, and returned fire. The battle quickly went to hell, as dropped torches began to light areas on fire.

Fire quickly spread to Winston, the platform beginning to catch. “Julia!” he called out. He tried to shake loose, but stopped as the rope dug into his burns. Julia turned to her name being called, and gasped when she saw Winston going through the process of being cooked alive. She ran for Winston, diving through the flames.

“Don’t worry, Winston!” Julia called out, getting up from her dive. “I gotcha!”

She ran up to Winston, pulling out a small Hunting Knife from her pack. “Behind you!” Winston called out. Julia dove to the side as an -axe- flew right past her.

“You sssssssshall not take our sssssssssnack!” the cannibal shouted, swinging the -axe- again at Julia. She got up, and began shooting at the cannibal. He effortlessly dodged the shots, jumping into the air, his -axe- above his head.

Julia braced for the incoming blade. But it never came. She glanced up, and saw that the cannibal was dead next to her. She looked around and saw Feather, hiding in one of the boughs of the jungle trees. She had a sniper rifle, and was picking off florans one at a time. Julia waved to her hidden friend, and rushed to Winston. She cut the ropes, and Winston stumbled into her arms.

“Thanks,” Winston said, taking one of Julia’s guns. They nodded, and ran towards the jungle. Dr. Galen saw the pair, and threw a bomb into the air, it exploded into a cloud of smoke. He fled after the running pair, and was shortly joined by Feather. The four ran through the jungle, the sound of an angry floran horde behind them. In the distance, they saw their ship.

“There she is, guys!” Dr. Galen called out. “Let’s get on that thing and get the hell outta here!”

They began running the final stretch to their ship, but before they got closer, a massive laser shot the ground in front of them. Looking up, the group saw the same UFO slowly descend upon the group. “You thought you could all escape the mighty Dreadwing!?” Another laser shot down, and the penguin armada quickly joined the brawl. Winston and Julia began to fire at the armada, and Dr. Galen and Feather began to unleash their power on Dreadwing’s ship.

“Feather, where’d you get the sniper?” Dr. Galen asked, lighting another bomb fuse.

“That floran ya’ll found. He made it,” Feather said, firing a shot into a smaller UFO.

“He what?”

“He took one of the other guns on this ship and was taking it apart when I woke up. Long story short, I asked him to make me something stealthy.”

Winston and Julia were back to back, firing at the armada. “Julia, I’m not sure I can last much longer...”

“What’s wrong, Winston?”

“I got some pretty bad burns in the prison they held me in...” Winston said, wincing a little.

“Oh god... Let’s get you to that ship then...” Julia said, guiding Winston to the ship. They were stopped by a missle-launching penguin, who aimed his RPG at the pair. Just as the penguin was about to take the shot, a beeping was heard followed by gun fire, and the penguin fell. Atop the ship was Charles, standing behind a group of turrets. They began to open fire upon the penguin soldiers and Dreadwing’s ship, causing large cracks to go through the hull. The floran then gave a war cry, and jumped onto the ship. On the ship, Charles was climbing up the side of the glass, becoming face to face with Dreadwing. Charles then pulled out a copper drill, and began to drill into the glass. He smashed through with ease, and grabbed Dreadwing. Dreadwing screamed as the floran jumped out of the ship, causing it to crash into the ground in the nearby jungle.

Charles held Dreadwing in the air as he landed. “You sssssssstop attacking friendsssssss.” He then threw the small penguin into the air before the turrets opened fire on the flying bird. The ship then exploded, leaving behind wreckage. The floran then ran over to Winston. “Hello, ssssssir. Floran isssssss Charl. Floran fix ship.”

“Woah woah woah... What did you do to my ship?” Dr. Galen asked angrily, approaching the group.

“Floran fixsssss. Floran make better.” The floran ushered the group into the ship, climbing over collapsed bodies as if there were nonexistent. Inside the ship, the interior was no longer blank white with black trims. There were steel panels bolted together. The furniture was greatly improved, appearing to be more comfortable cushioned seats. The SAIL activated on a nearby computer. It was green, with a spiral emoticon-like face.

“Welcome back,” it said. “I hope the masters are pleased with the remodeling.”

“This is impressive...” Dr. Galen said, eyeing the interior.

“Bessssst part of ssssssship isssssss molten core power,” Charles said, smiling happily.

“Guys... I need some help...” Winston said stumbling around. Julia lead him to the medical bay.

“I guess I’ll fly us back to your base camp, then,” Feather said, heading to the navigation room, leaving Charles and Dr. Galen alone in the main hall.

“Well... Charles... I’ve... I’ve thought wrong about you,” Dr. Galen said, looking to see that no one entered the room. “You’re different than the other florans. I think...” He paused. “What I tell you now never leaves this room, alright?” The floran nodded eagerly. “I think you’d be a great addition to our team...”

The floran then awkwardly bowed, then ran off, calling for Julia. The ship then took off to report the kill of Dreadwing.

He jumped over the destroyed cart, the sound of metal crunching beneath his feet. The sound made him a bit nauseas, but the sound of ‘error’ echoing behind him made him shake it off. Ahead of him, he spied a ruined castle. ‘That should be enough for tonight...’

He ran inside, the wooden doors have been blown off their hinges long ago. Inside, he ran up the crumbling stone staircase. The sound of fire echoed below. “Confident. Get out of here,” he called down. “Declaration. Go no further!”

The sound of fire died down. The constant ‘error’ faded away. He lied down on the stone floor, wind going through his visor. He then pulled a flare out of his chest compartment, and threw high into the air, it’s red light shining brightly to the dark clouds. Getting up, he look at the horizon, and saw distant red light. He exhaled, and began to walk down the stairs.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Woooooo!” Dr. Galen screamed, holding two bottles of whiskey in the air. He had a lampshade on his head, and was being held up by a group of equally drunk apex rebels. Dr. Galen lifted the lampshade up, and poured both bottles in his mouth.

The rebel colony was in quite a cheer over the news of the death of Dreadwing. Although not partaking in the festivities, Madame Koko believed that Dr. Galen and his crew deserved a party for taking out an important ally to the Minikong. And Dr. Galen took the festivities full force.

“Wooooooo!” Dr. Galen screamed again, the alcohol no longer pouring into his mouth but all over him and the Apex carrying him.

Not everyone was partaking in the festivities though. Winston sat outside on a bench outside of the factory-office structure. He sat alone, the heavy music from inside adding onto the loneliness. The door opened, and Feather stumbled outside.

“What’sh da madder, Winshton?” Feather asked, stumbled over and sitting next to Winston. “Why dun ya come n’ partaaaaay with ush?”

“You shouldn’t be drinking...” Winston said. “I’m not partying because I’m underaged. WE’RE underaged.”

“Sho what? Jusht have shome fun!” Julia said, pulling a bottle of whiskey from her bag. “Drink shome...”

Winston hesitantly took the bottle. It took it and sniffed it, wincing at it’s strong smell. He took the bottle and took a swig. He swallowed a small amount of the liquid, and began to cough.

“Crap! That was awful!” Winston said between coughs.

Feather laughed, smacking Winston’s back. “It ish a bit shtrong.”

“How’s... Everyone... Else?” Winston said between coughs.

“Well... Charlesh ish having fun...” Feather said hiccuping. Winston got up, eyeing Feather with uncertainty. He opened the door and look inside. Sure enough, Charles was hanging upside down from the disco ball in he middle of the room. He had a bottle of whiskey in his hand, and was chugging it upside down. Upon completion of the bottle he fell from the disco ball, and hit the ground with a loud giggle.

“Yeah... He’s having a blast...” Winston said, shutting the door and sitting back down next to Feather.

“It’sh shomething, I think...” Feather said, taking another swig from the whiskey. “Hey... Can I ashk you shomething? About Julia?”

“What about her?” asked Winston.

“Are you two dating or shomething?” Feather asked.

It caught Winston off guard. “What...? No!”

“Really, caush she tellsh me all the time that she likesh you alot...” Feather said, taking another swig.

As if on cue, the door swung open, and Julia stumbled out. She reeked of liquor and hiccuped. “Oh crap...” Winston said, getting up. “Damn it Julia...”

“Winshton... Hi!” Julia said, waving eagerly. She stumbled around, nearly falling. Winston managed to catch her before she fell. “Thanksh...”

“Thish ishn’t good,” Feather said, getting up. “I’ll shee if I can get shomeone to help.” She went inside.

“Alright, Julia. Get on the bench...” Winston said, taking the drunken Julia to the bench. He sat down, resting her head on his lap.

“Winshton...” Julia mumbled, rubbing her hands on Winston’s face. “Thanksh...”

“For what...?” Winston asked.

“For... Being there for me... All the time...” she burped and giggled.

“It’s nothing, really,” Winston said, removing Julia’s hands from his face. Julia squirmed forcing her hands back onto Winston’s face. She pulled Winston’s head closer to her’s.

“I really... Love you...” Her breath heavily smelled of booze. She then brought Winston’s head closer and kissed him. She held on to him for many moments, catching Winston off guard. She then released him, smiling and passing out.

Winston sat there, caught off guard by the turn of events. He wanted to get up, but was now unable due to the passed out Julia on his lap. He then leaned back, rubbing Julia’s head. He looked up at the stars, before falling asleep himself.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Proud. The monster has been contained,” the Dark Knight said, bowing to the rusted, ancient king.

“Shocked. He’s traveled closer than he has in the past,” said one of the Soldiers.

“Worried. I hope he does not get closer,” another Soldier said.

“Confident. You will not!” declared the ancient king.

“Proud. Of course not, my liege!” the Dark Knight said, holding his Antispyware high. Many soldiers cheered in their monotone voices.

“Angered. Not you, fools!” the ancient king said, getting up from his chair. He began to shake, and the nearby Legionnaires ran to his side to assist him back into his throne. “Apologetic. Thank you. Serious. I meant you, Leonardo.”

The Dark Night and the Soldiers turned to the Knight in shock. “Surprise. What do you mean?” the Knight asked.

“Calm. I know your family holds the secret to containing the monster. Your family must be the one to stop it,” the king said.

Leonardo stood there, all eyes in the room. “Confident. Yes, my liege.” He raised his Premium 1.0. He then exited the royal chamber.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Winston awoke to sound of vomiting. His eyes shot open, only to find that it wasn’t Julia; she was still asleep on his lap, drooling. The noise belonged to Feather, who was vomiting into a nearby trashcan. “Oh... Maybe a bit too much...”

“You alright, Feather?” Winston asked.

“I thought I’d be... Grandad always let me have a swig when we were sailing...” She threw up again. “But I guess I’ve never had this much in one sitting... So how are you?”

“I’m... Alright,” Winston said, remembering the events of last night. “Julia didn’t get herself killed. Oh, and thanks for the help...”

“That’s good... And sorry, they started serving weyene. That crap’s hard to find,” she burped. “Oh boy...”

Julia began to stir, her eyes beginning to flicker. “Good morning...” she yawned trying to sit up. As she tried to get up, she felt an immense migraine, and collapsed into Winston’s lap. “Ow... What happened...”

“Well, you drank enough alcohol to kill a man, then you passed out,” Winston said.

“Really...?” Julia asked. “Anything else? Damn, it’s bright out...”

Winston opened his mouth to speak but stopped. He didn’t want to tell Julia about the kiss. “No... Nothing else. At least outside. I’m certain you inside the party was just drinking nonstop.” Julia simply lied there. “You gonna throw up?” asked Winston.

“Not if I just lie here...” Julia said.

“Well, I’m gonna check to see where Max and Charles are, you two wait here.” Winston got up and went inside.

The interior of the building was horrible. Covered with stains, messes, splatters. Tables and desks turned over. Piles of passed out apex. The place was a wreck. “Max?” Winston called out. “Maximus?”

“Winston?” Madame Koko said, entering the room behind Winston. “Ah, there you are.”

“Yes, Madame?” Winston asked, stopping his search.

“You need help finding the rest of your crew?” Madame Koko asked.

“Yes, Madame.”

Madame Koko nodded. She turned to a nearby slump of apex. “Maximus! Get out here right now!” The apex were woken up by the sudden noise, quickly getting up, only to collapse in pain from their migraines. Dr. Galen poked his head up and out of the pile, and stumbled out in front of Madame Koko, saluting.

“Yes ma’am?” he burped, his eyes still groggy.

“Nothing, just finding where you are,” Madame Koko said, smiling. “Winston?”

Winston nodded. “Morning, Max.” Dr. Galen nodded, rubbing the back of his head, wincing.

“Oh geez... Too much party...” Dr. Galen muttered.

“Charles! Get out here!” Winston shouted, causing Dr. Galen to wince. Many other apex began to stir, moaning in pain. A banging was heard, and Charles flopped out of a vent above the group, slamming into the ground. He quickly got back up, drooling.

“Yessssss?” Charles asked.

“Just finding out where you were,” Winston said, patting Charles on the head. “You don’t seem to be hungover.”

Charles hit his chest. “Floran sssstrong. Poisssson do little.”

“Impressive,” Winston said. “Alright, let’s regroup on the ship then.”

Winston, Charles and Dr. Galen began to head for the exit, when Madame Koko interrupted. “Wait, I got a job for you guys!”

“Can’t it wait...?” Dr. Galen muttered.

“No. It’s a bit urgent,” Madame Koko stated. “I received a message from one of our old allies; a glitch village. They were sending out distress signals, and I said I’d send a team to go help them. Guess who that is.”

“The USCM, I hope...” Dr. Galen mumbled. “Alrighty... I guess I’ll go get-”

“That won’t be needed. I imputed the controls into your SAIL last night, knowning you’d all be hungover. At least most,” Madame Koko said, looking at Winston and Charles. “That’s it.”

“Alright, we’ll get going then,” Winston said, giving a quick salute. The trio exited the building. “Feather, Julia, we got a job.”

“Yeah, getting Julia back to the ship...” Feather said. Julia was collapsed on the ground. “She tried to get up. She stumbled, and collapsed. I think she’s asleep. Or dead.”

“Charles, can you take Feather and Max back to the ship?” Winston asked, the floran nodding eagerly in response. “I’ll get Julia.”

Charles took the hands of both Dr. Galen and Feather, and headed off in the direction of the ship. Winston then walked over to the collapsed Julia, who was asleep. “Alright... Let’s get you back to the ship...” He picked her up in his arms, and she mumbled a little.

“Let’s go... Eat there...”

Winston sighed. “Even in her sleep, she talks about food...”

“Hurry... Winston...”

Winston eyed Julia for a moment. He then shook his thoughts off, and headed towards the ship.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Leonardo woke up on the stone floor of the ruined tower. He had the dream again. Well, not so much dream as a memory that wouldn’t delete. He remembered the king, the Soldiers, hell, even that damn Dark Knight that hated his guts. But why would that memory just come back? Leonardo wondered. All of them had been dead for a long while now. The monster broke out of it’s comfort zone, and had killed them all, being doom upon the kingdom... Was he going mad?

Leonardo sat, and looked over the side of the tower. The monster had left, and Leonardo breathed a sigh of relief. The monster had migrated to the castle; the place where Leonardo had just run for his life from. He managed to send out a distress signal a few days ago. Hopefully, space pirates wouldn’t come and attack...

Maybe he was going mad... Everyday Leonardo would get bolder. He would normally never get that close to the monster. Maybe Leonardo wanted to taste those deadly flames. Feel a little emotional fear in Leonardo’s life. Or maybe he was going crazy from the lack of interaction with others. The fact that only living thing left on the planet was a six-ton death machine, Leonardo did probably need more lively reaction. Lively, not deathly interaction. Heh... Leonardo made a pun...”

“Fearful. I am going crazy! I’m talking in third person and laughing at my own jokes!” He slapped himself in the face, his head spinning around. “Fear. I almost freaked out that my head spun around. I’m a damn robot!” He began to run around the tower’s roof, giving out a monotone scream. He tripped, falling down the stone flight of stairs. He hit the ground floor with a crunch, landing facedown.

“Accepting. I will die here.”

Suddenly, a whirring noise could be heard in the distance. Leonardo looked up and out of the wrecked doorway. The whirring got closer, and a ship could be seen in the distance. “Confident. Yep, I’m going crazy. No ship has flown here in ages.” The ship slowly got closer. “Certain. I am definitely going mad.” The ship roared loudly, and crashed through the tower, barely missing Leonardo’s head by mere inches. It then crashed into the ground behind the tower, creating a large crater. Leonardo turned and stared.

“Panic. I almost got killed! Who would be... Well I guess I’m currently crazy enough...” He then shook his head, and ran for the freshly wrecked ship.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Winston found himself on the wall of the ship, clenching Julia tight in his arms. Looking around, he found the ship was ruined. Tables and chairs were thrown around the main room, glass was broken, lights were no longer functional.

“Are... Are we okay...?” Julia asked.

“I think so...” Winston said, releasing her. “Is everyone alright?”

“I’m alright...” Feather said, climbing through the now sideways door to the navigation room. “What... happened...?”

A banging came from the vents, and Charles crawled out of a nearby vent. “Ssssstrange radio wavessssss effected navigation computerssss...” Charles said, squatting. “Ssssstorm alsssso sssstruck sssship. Fiercsssse lightning...”

The group turned to the sound of an emergency hatch being opened. They saw Dr. Galen climbing out of the now-ceiling of the ship. “Oh my god! We destroyed the city! Nooooo!” He screamed. Winston rushed over, and looked out of the hatch.

“Uh... No Doc... We did not do this... I think the city came like this...”

They were a ruined glitch city. Massive houses and towers were nothing more than skeletons of rubble. Multiple, dead, metal skeletons dotted the town.

“Wow... It’s all gone...” Julia said poking her head out.

“Then where did the distress signal come from?” Feather asked poking her head out as well.

“Charl want to ssssee!” Charles said sticking his head out as well.

“Alright... One at a time...” Dr. Galen said, forcing his way out of the ship. He stood on the now-top of the ship, and overlooked the ruins, Baby Barbaryan in hand, and over his shoulder. “Damn... We might be too late for that SOS...”

“You seem awful chill about this...” Winston said, climbing out of the ship.

“Oh, that’s because since out ship is totaled we’re going to die here on this planet,” Dr. Galen said. “One moment.” He then screamed extremely loudly into the sky. “Sorry about that.”

“Ssssship not dead. Jusssst crippled. Charl fixsssssss,” Charles said, climbing out of the ship. “Charl go gather dead glitch for reconssssstruction.” He ran off into a nearby temple ruin.

“Ooof... Help me up, Winston...” Julia, trying to climb out of the ship. Winston helped her, and Feather out. “Thanks... So, now what...?”

“Well, I think we should probably get food before we starve...” Dr. Galen said. “I can go look for that...” Dr. Galen said with an exasperated sigh. “Maybe I can die last... He muttered as he went off.

“Well, I can go look to see exactly what caused this whole mess in the first place...” Feather said. “I’ll try to be back in about an hour.” She glided off the ship, towards the village.

“I guess we’ll stay here... Then...” Winston said looking to Julia. “So... Uh... How are you?”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Leonardo peek from behind his rubble cover at the crew leaving their wrecked ship. This might be trouble... Should I eliminate those two standing there, and wait for the rest to return? No... Not possible... Hmmm...

Leonardo slapped himself in the face. “Anger. It’s just a hallucination, why am I afraid!” He jumped over the rubble pile, and walked to the ship. “Greeting. Hello, I am Leonardo Lanceohmwatt, and I wish to assist you in your quest to get your ship flying again!” He waved, and the male human pulled out a massive hammer, smashing Leonardo.

Leonardo shook his head violently, still hiding behind the rubble. “Denial. I’ll just wait here until something interesting happens...” He looked back over the rubble to see a floran exiting from a nearby church, carrying a large amount of floran bodies. “Anger. That’s a church, damn it! Have some respect!” He covered his mouth and retreated his head back behind the rubble when the floran looked at him.

“Fearful. Maybe it did not see me...”

“Who ssssssaw you?”

“Humored statement. The floran that was... Over... There...” Leonardo said, finding himself staring into the yes of the floran.

“You mean me?” the floran asked eagerly.

“Reluctant. I suppose so...” Leonardo said, his voice drifting off. The floran then surprised him, by grabbing him by his wrist, and dragging him across the ground to the ship.

“Winnie! Jule!” the floran cried happily. “I find thing!”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“So... He’s not dead?” Winston asked, poking the glitch’s glass-dome head.

“He apparently isn't, according to Charles...” Julia said, tighten the knot on the glitch’s bindings.

Only minutes prior, Charles had dragged an intact glitch body to the ship, claiming it was alive. Not taking chances, Winston and Julia had tied it up.

“You sure?” Winston asked. “He’s not moving...”

“Charl issssss sssshure!” Charles said, climbing up the side of the ship, holding a few glitch heads. “Charl talk to Glitch and bring here!” He jumped into the ship.

“What’s that you got there?” Feather asked, gliding onto the ship.

“Charles found an apparently living glitch,” Julia said, sitting down next to the robot.

“I see... And you killed him?” Feather asked, taking off her satchel.

“I honestly think he was dead from the start...” Winston whispered to Feather.

“Glitch live! You sssssee!” Charles called out from inside the ship.

“Well... Anyways...” Feather said, pulling out a paper from her satchel. “I tried to sketch the local area while exploring to see if there was some pattern in the destruction...” She unfurled the paper, revealing a rough-sketch map. “And what ever did this, is from outside the village... Or was at one point...”

“Okay... So we have no idea where this monster is, do we?” Winston said, looking at the map.

“Ehhh... No...” Feather said. “But I’ve noticed something a bit odd...” She turned to the village. “The village seems to be relatively in tack. Except for the occasional cracks in the walls, and the tower we flew through, the city is still in tact. That means that this slaughter was very recent, or the monster didn’t want to destroy the town.”

“Well, that distress call was sent a few days ago... We could just be too late...” Julia said.

“Nope,” Charles said, poking his head out from inside the ship. “Glitch have been dead for monthsssss at leassst. Too much russsst.” He retreated back inside.

“So... This monster has a thing for medieval architecture?” Winston asked.

Feather hit Winston with the map. “It’s just a theory. It’s probably coincidence. I’m going to head in and see if Charles needs help.” She jumped inside the ship.

Winston sighed, and sat down next to the glitch, opposite the side of Julia. He glanced over at her, and saw she was trying to blow a curl of hair from her face. He felt a little odd staring at her, especially after her drunken endeavor. He quickly turned away from her before she noticed. He then felt something poking his shoulder. Turning back, he saw Julia poking his shoulder with the glitch’s arm.

“What’s the matter Winston?” Julia asked through tightened lips, trying to imitate a funny voice. She had a childish look on her face.

Winston faked a smile, “It’s nothing...”

“Tell Mr. Robot what’s wrong.”

Winston took the glitch’s other arm, and poked Julia’s shoulder with it. “It’s nothing.”

“Mr. Robot says otherwise,” Julia voiced, slapping the glitch with it’s own arm. “What’s wrong.”

“Well...” Winston sighed. “At the party... When you were drunk...” He nervously began to spin the glitch’s arm around. “You stumbled outside, and nearly collapsed on me...”

“Yes?” Julia voiced further.

“And... Well... You told me you-”

“Angered. Enough with the slapping!” the glitch roared, taking it’s hands from Winston and Julia. “Forget playing dead, if you all want to kill me, just go ahead with it!”

Winston and Julia stepped back in shock at the surprisingly not-dead glitch. “The hell was that...” Feather asked, poking her head out of the ship. She squealed a little, seeing the glitch moving. “Oh damn, Charles was right!”

“Told you...” echoed from below her.

“For being a hallucination, you all at least try to act smarter!” the glitch called out.

Winston, Julia and Feather all looked to each other in confusion. “Hallucination?”

“Angered. Yes, hallucination. No one in their right mind would come here...” the glitch said, untying his rope bindings. “Angered confusion. Who the hell doesn’t tie a prisoner’s arms...”

“Uh... Buddy, this isn’t a hallucination...” Winston said. “We actually flew here to respond to the distress signal sent out...”

“Sarcasm. Yeah, and then you magically flew through a tower to save me?” the glitch said, standing up. “Defiant. That would never happen. Therefore, hallucination.”

“Uh... What will it take for you to believe this isn’t a hallucination?” Julia asked, now hiding a little behind Winston.

The glitch turned to her. “How about some delicious Automatoes or something? It’s been a while since I’ve had them!”

As he finished the sentence, a burlap sack flew up and onto the ship, landing with a heavy clunk of metal on metal. “I found food,” Dr. Galen said, climbing up the side of the ship. He picked up the sack, and pulled out an automato. “Here, everyone have one...” He lazily walked around, giving each person on the ship one of the metal fruits, including the glitch.

“Uh... Max... You don’t seem surprised that we have a new person with us...” Feather said.

“That’s because it’s probably some ghost or something,” Dr. Galen said lazily. “We probably died in the impact or something.”

“Confident. Yep, definitely a hallucination,” the glitch said, taking a bite into the automato. “What are the odds of just somehow getting what I want...”

“Uh... If I may ask... What will convince you we’re not dead?” Feather asked.

“I don’t know... Pain or something? I’ve never been dead before...” He took the automato, and bit it. His teeth, however, did not puncture the metal skin of the fruit, causing him to shout in pain. “Oh jeez, that hurt! Alright, we’re not dead!” He collapsed to his knees, gripping his mouth. “Wait... If we’re not dead...” He then kicked the glitch’s leg out from beneath it, catching everyone off guard. He then quickly stood up, and slammed his foot onto the glitch’s chest. “Who are you?” he asked, now point a gun at the glitch.

“Impressed. Wow, this hallucination is getting intense... Anyway, I guess I’ll just roll with it.” The glitch paused. “Introductory. I am Leonardo Lanceohmwatt, one of the last two survivors on this planet, the other being a monster built for death.” Leonardo nodded.

Dr. Galen removed his foot from the robot’s chest. “I guess you’re good... I’m Dr. Maximus Galen, captain of this ship.”

“He’s also more bipolar than a poptop,” Winston said. “Hello, I’m Winston.”

“I- I’m Julia...”

“And I’m Feather, this ship’s navigator and pilot,” Feather said. “Oh, and the guy who’s been taking your dead friends is Charles. He’s working on fixing the ship.”

“Statement. Oh, don’t worry about them, they weren’t my friends,” Leonardo said, taking another bite from the metal fruit he held. “At least most of them.”

“Oh... Well... Can you tell us what happened to them?” Dr. Galen asked.

“Explanatory. An evil monster attacked our villages and our city. I was one of many knights, but they had all fallen around me. The monster’s fire fell down upon the city, engulfing many. The corpses you find are only a fraction of whom actually lived here.”

“Fire... So... Like a dragon?” Winston asked.

A loud ‘hah’ was heard from inside the ship. Charles poked his head out. “Dragonsssss do not exissssst. Even Charl know that!” He retreated back in.

“Saddened. Dragon or not, this monster has slain many. My people have died to it.”

“Well... Then let’s kill it...” Julia said.

Dr. Galen turned to her. “Julia, we don’t even know-”

“Humored. You think you can kill the monster? Go for it! This hallucination gets better and better.”

“We could do it. We’ve killed Dreadwing and his crew. We sure as hell could take out a monster,” Feather said, cracking her knuckles and smiling.

“I’m personally against this monster hunting,” Dr. Galen stated. “We could get killed out there!”

“Leo, your people, I’m assuming they have... Had a smithy?” Winston asked.

“Response. Yes. We were a mighty army, our mines dug deep into the core,” Leonardo said, raising his fist high.

“That was then, and an army wasn’t enough to kill this monster!” Dr. Galen said. “We should only even approach it if we absolutely need to!”

“That might be needed...” Charles said, poking his head out of the ship again. “Desssssscribe monssssster.”

“Fearful pride. Giant body, twice as mine. Large claws. Breathes fire. Monstrous tendencies. Yellow paint...” Leonardo said, pointing to his fingers as he named them.

“Giant!?” Julia asked, nervously.

“Large claws!?” Dr. Galen responded, shaking nervously in fear.

“Yellow... Paint...?” Feather asked.

“Why do you need to know, Charles?” Winston asked.

“Ssssssship misssssssing important partsssssss for repair. Making sssssssure monsssssster isssssss robot.”

“So... We need to kill it?” Winston asked. Charles nodded. “Alrighty, according to the captain, we only kill it if we need to. And we need to.” Dr. Galen moaned in both pain and fear.

“We’ll need better armor and weapons, then,” Feather said. “Copper and iron won’t be enough, I’m certain.”

“Proud. I can take you all to the old smithy. It’s a bit of a walking distance, but not too bad.” Leonardo pointed to a building in the distance. “Cognitive. I can try to make some armor. It won’t be pretty.”

“Charl will go, then,” Charles said, climbing out of the ship, wiring tool in hand. “Charl can remake old armor for bessssst fit.”

“Then I think everyone should go,” Feather said, crossing her arms. “We’re all probably gonna be in this fight, better suit up for it.”

Winston nodded and turned to Leonardo. “Take us to this smithery, then. Sounds like we’re going to fight.”

“Eager. Then grab your apex friend, and let’s go,” Leonardo, turned and jumped off the ship. Behind him, everyone began jumping and climbing off the ship, except for Dr. Galen, who had to be dragged off. He eventually stood and walked with the rest through the ruins of the town.

Leonardo was happy though. Even if they were figments of his imagination, these new friends were quite something. Now to go kill the monster…

“How much further?” Julia asked, sighing heavily. The group had been following Leonardo for quite some time.

“Statement. The smithery is just up ahead,” Leonardo said, pointing.

“You’ve said that, like, at least eight times...” Dr. Galen said, dragging his feet. “I don’t know about you all, but my legs are killing me...”

“Come on, guys!” Feather said. “Just one step in front of the other!” She enthusiastically smiled, and stomped her feet.

“Can’t we take a break?” Julia asked, sweating.

“Wish you actually trained instead of sleep?” Winston teased Julia. “I don’t feel tired at all.”

“No... We can’t sssssstop...” Charles said, looking in the direction the group was walking. “It’ll be night sssssoon...”

“So? It’s not like monsters will come out and attack us...” Dr. Galen said, panting.

“The sssssstorm will worssssen and it will get quite cold...”

“That’s true...” Feather said, hitting both Julia and Dr. Galen in the back. “Let’s just keep going.”

“Leonardo, can you tell us exactly how much further the smithy is?” Winston asked.

“Deep thought. Hmm.... Approximately five-hundred sixty-three meters.”

“I guess that’s not too bad...” Julia said, slowly walking forward.

“Then let’sssss go!” And with that, the group continued their trek. Shortly after their break, they had reached the smithy. It was an old, run down building, made of cobblestone. Inside, the walls were lined with furnaces. A few anvils also dotted the floor.

“Happy. Welcome to the smithy!” Leonardo said, pointing dramatically.

“So... This is it...?” Dr. Galen asked. “I expected more... I dunno... Glitch culture?”

“I think that would be hard to preserve, especially with the fire-breathing monster on the loose...” Feather said. “So, what’s needed to get things underway?”

“Explanation. Well, we’d first need to read up the blue prints...”

“I can do that!” Feather exclaimed, eagerly. “Blueprints are an easy read for me!”

“Pleased. There should be chests between these furnaces with some blue prints,” Leonardo said, and Feather began hunting for the chests. “Question. Who would like to actually build the weapons and armor...?”

“Charl got that!” the floran explained. “Charl can build, easy!”

“Excited. That’s great, you’ll be with me on anvils,” Leonardo said, and Charles walked over to a nearby anvil. “Order. Anyone not working on current task, begin gathering ores from storage.” Leonardo pointed over to a stack of crates in the corner.

Winston, Julia, and Dr. Galen headed over to the crates, and began opening them. “I found a crap ton of titanium...” Winston called out. “I’m not sure it’ll be enough or not...”

“Statement. Just starting putting them into the alloy furnaces. Use those wheelbarrows,” Leonardo said, pointing to a few wheelbarrows in the corner of the room. Winston nodded and headed over to grab one.

“I found a few bars of titanium here...” Julia said, opening a crate. “Should I bring these over to the anvils?”

“Statement. Please start, the sooner we get this done, the better.”

“Copper...” Dr. Galen said, slamming a crate shut. He opened another. “Coal...” Slam. “Silver... Meh...” Slam. “Gold...” Slam. “Wait...” He opened the crate again. “Holy crap! That’s a ton of gold!” Dr. Galen hollered happily. “Glitch! When we survive, can we keep all this gold!?”

“Confused. Of course you can... But why would a hallucination want gold?”

“You still think we’re all a dream?” Dr. Galen asked. “You’re not going to die here-”

“Max! I need some help!” Winston interrupted. “Bars are being made fast!” Dr. Galen hurried over to the furnaces and began to bring out hot bars.

“I found the blue prints!” Feather called out, a handful of blue papers in her hands. “Let’s start this!” She ran over to the anvil Charles and Leonardo were at. “Okay, so we start by...”

The process was long and tedious. Ore after ore was smelted, and bar after bar was hammered. The room quickly became warm thanks to all the furnaces, thus making the work seem even more miserable than it was.

“Alright... This is the last of the ore...” Winston said, throwing a final rock into the furnace. “How’s the hammering coming along?”

“Statement. We are currently working on finishing the second set of pioneering gear for either you or Julia,” Leonardo said, slamming his hammer down on the titanium bars.

Eventually the rest of the of the ores were removed from the furnaces as bars and were stacked next to the anvils. “Hell, that was a lot of work...” Winston said, sitting on the ground.

“And it’s too warm...” Julia said, lying down next to Winston. “I feel like I’m gonna die...”

“Caring. You three can are dismissed. The rest can be done by us,” Leonardo said, pointing to the door.

“Are you sure?” Dr. Galen asked. “I mean, we can help with hammering or something.”

“Question. Do you know how to make armor?”

“Uh... I know how to make basic ship repairs...”

“Yesssss... And then I came along to actually fixsssssss your ssssship,” Charles said, hitting the bars with a hammer.

“Reassured. We will be fine,” Leonardo said. “Idea. You three can start setting up a small camp outside. Possibly start cooking food?”

“Outside sounds nice...” Julia mumbled, sitting up. “I’m game for outside...”

“Come on, Max. We’ll just get in their way,” Winston said, standing up. He helped Julia up, and the three went for the door out. Winston stopped in the doorway. “Feather, you gonna be alright?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine,” Feather said, leaning on an anvil, blueprints in hand. “I gotta explain this to ‘em. Just save some food for me.” Winston gave a thumbs up and exited.

“Alright, so I packed a nanostove for us to cook with...” Dr. Galen said, emptying his pack. “I also packed some canned foods. Meatballs, veggie soup, and... I don’t know exactly what this is... Just some generic canned stuff...” He placed the cans onto the ground.

“I brought sammiches!” Julia declared happily, pulling out some wrapped ham sandwiched out of her bag.

“Wait, we had actual food!?” Dr. Galen angrily asked. “I thought we had no food!”

“Technically we didn’t since the fridge had broke and ruined most of the food...” Winston said, lighting the nanostove.

“I took the remaining food that wasn’t ruined and made sammiches for everyone!” Julia smiled, eagerly.

Dr. Galen was not happy. “I walked around for like an hour hunting for food, and cracked my teeth on some damn robotic fruit!” He slammed his fist on the ground.

“Well, you even packed soup...” Winston said, opening a can of meatballs. “So we technically did have food the entire tim-”

The group went quite as a loud roar of thunder echoed through the ruined city. This was followed by lighting striking a nearby house wreck. “How about we just eat and not die, huh?” Julia said, taking the can of meatballs from Winston and putting it onto the nanostove.

The three sat around the stove, cooking food. They each took turns bringing food inside to the workers. The outside was becoming quite cold with the storm, and they took turns going inside, since it was a boiler. While they could’ve gone inside to stay warm, they would slowly begin to cook themselves from the heat. After around an hour, however, the room itself began to cool, as the heat was escaping slowly. Eventually, the room was just as cold inside as outside, except for the workers on the anvil, as they were hammering away.

“Winston... I’m cold...” Julia said, shivering as a breeze went through their camp.

“You... Want my... Jacket...?” Winston asked, shivering as well.

“But... Then... You’ll be... Even... Colder...” Julia said. “I know, we’ll cuddle.” She scooted closer to Winston, leaning on him. “This should keep us warm...”

“Uh... Yeah...” Winston said, leaning against Julia. “You gonna be alright, Max?”

“I’ll be fine...” Dr. Galen said. “I brought this trusty blanket here.” He had wrapped himself in a black blanket. “A bit cool, but I’ll survive...” He gave a thumbs up.

Winston nodded, and turned when he heard Julia breath begin to slow down. “Julia...?”

She flicked her eyes a little and yawned. “I’m tired...”

“I don’t know if sleeping in this weather would be good...” Winston said.

“Let her sleep. I think it’ll be fine...” Dr. Galen said.

Julia nodded. “Ni ni, Winston...” She closed her eyes and fell asleep again.

“So... Do you like her?” Dr. Galen asked.

“W-What?” Winston asked.

“Do you have a thing for her?” Dr. Galen asked. He had a wide grin. “Do you have a crush on her or what?”

Winston opened his mouth to speak, but couldn’t. “I guess I think she is cute...” Winston began to blush a little.

“I can say that Charles is cute, but that doesn’t mean I’m head over heels for him,” Dr. Galen said, adjusting his legs to a more corss-legged position. “Do you like her or not?”

“W- Why do you care?” Winston stammered.

“Cause there’s a good chance we’re gonna die on this planet. I don’t think it’s fair for you die with regrets on your mind.” Dr. Galen leaned forward. “Now answer the question.”

Winston paused. “I... I do... Like her...”

“Well well well...” came Feather’s voice from the door. “What did I walk into? Oh geez, a bit nippy out here...”

“I’m trying to get these two together...” Dr. Galen said.

“I see... How’s that going?” Feather asked crossing her arms. Charles and Leonardo poked their heads out of the door.

“I’m certain that if Julia was awake, a lot of problem would have been solved... But enough of that.” Dr. Galen took a more serious expression. “I’m guessing you all are done since you’re all out here.”

“Almosssssst. We’re taking a ssssssshort break,” Charles said. He wore a pair of copper goggles on his forehead. “I found sssssssome neat gogglesssss...”

“Suggestion. I believe we should finish up on this armor now.” Leonardo gestured inside. “Statement. Dr. Galen, you can go to sleep if you want. You too, Winston. Don’t worry about us.”

“Fine...” Winston said. “But don’t mention what I said to Julia!”

Feather giggled as she entered the smithy. “Don’t worry, my beak is sealed...”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Sleep mode, disabled. Activating awakening protocol. Leonardo’s eyes opened as the protocol was initialized. He sat up, and looked around, finding himself sitting in the doorway to the smithy. He saw that all the others were sleeping as well. It slowly got up, stretching. The sun was still down, but Leonardo was used to the early wakeup.

“Deep thought. How odd...” Leonardo thought aloud to himself. “Why would my imagination have me hallucinate all these different races. The higher-ups would never even let me near the city when the emissaries came around... Heck, I’ve never seen a human before...”

“Is that dome too small for your brain?” came a voice from behind Leonardo. Turning he saw Feather standing there, hammer in hand. “For the last damn time, we’re the real deal.”

Leonardo shook his head. “Stubborn. You all can’t be real! No one’s ever bothered to help me ever!” He covered his mouth at the words.

“Stubborn, huh?” Feather asked, leaning on an anvil. “See, even your AI knows that we’re the real deal if it says you’re stubborn. But enough on that, what do you mean no one?”

Leonardo lowered his arms and head in defeat. “Saddened. No one’s... No one’s ever liked me here...” He sat down. “Not my subordinates, not the hierarchy, no one...” He sighed. “Well... Except for two people...”

Feather sat down next to him. “Who were they? Those two people?”

“Saddened. The king and my brother...”

“Who have... Er.. Had... A brother?” Feather asked, a bit surprised.

“Reflective. Yeah... He was a Doomlord, one of the highest ranks a Glitch can be bestowed by his king... And I don’t know if the king would be considered a friend or not... He just managed to get the others from not killing me...”

“Why would they want to kill you?”

“Statement. Because... I’m... Insane...”

“Oh not this crap again... You’re not crazy!”

“Reply. No, I mean, according to traditional Glitch customs, I’m insane. I’m a... Free thinker... A fault in this perfect... Orderly... Society...”

“The king of all didn’t have you killed for that?” Feather asked. “I mean, I’d think the king of all people would want you dead...”

“Statement. It’s probably because my brother was a bit of a freethinker too... And he treated my brother like his own son...” Leonardo sighed. “Then, that last damn convoy came...”

“What convoy?” Feather asked.

“Saddened. Cultists... Glitch ones too... They had found blueprints... For a Super Glitch...” He slowly stood up, and looked outside. “Glitch 2.0 they called it. It had more memory, more gigs, heck, probably even built-in sound and cup holders...”

“Basically something that could replace the guards?” Feather asked, looking up at Leonardo. “And more importantly... Your brother?”

“Worry. Yeah... But my brother wouldn’t have it... He volunteered for the beta testing of the upgrade...” Leonardo turned back to Feather. “The machine needed a brain to be powered. My brother put his brain in the machine...”

“Then what happened...?” Feather asked, standing up. She looked as she saw the sun rising, and the others beginning to stir.

Leonardo stared into the sun. “Statement. Things... Didn’t go according... To the initial plan... Looks like everyone’s getting up, let’s finish up on this armor...” He walked over to the anvil that had some unfinished armor on it.

“Uh... Yeah...” Feather walked over to the anvil, picking up the blueprints.

“Grateful. Thank you for listening... Hallucination or not, it brought a burden off my shoulders...” He began to hit the metal with a hammer. “And it is ‘Have a brother’.”

Feather looked at Leonardo with confusion. “What...?”

Leonardo stopped hammering. “Have. My brother is still alive.”

“But you said yourself that everyone was dead...”

“Fearful. I said everyone except the monster and I.” He continued to hammer. Feather pondered what Leonardo told him, and her eyes went wide at the sudden realization.

“Your... Brother... Is... The-”

“Is the armor ready?” Dr. Galen asked, poking his head through the the doorway, and yawning. “Ah, Feather, you are awake.”

“Pleased. Yes, all that is left is this Nomad helmet for Charles and then we should be good...”

“Excellent. I’ll tell the others!” Dr. Galen said, exiting.

Feather looked at Leonardo with a concerned look on her face. “Should I tell....”

Leonardo shook his head no. The two continued the work in silence.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Mmmmm... Thisssss food isssss deliciousssss...” Charles said, finishing off the last of his canned meatballs.

“It’s just meat though...” Winston said, taking a sip from his water.

“Hey, Charl usssssed to raw meat. Raw tasssssste good, but not thissssssss good...” Charles happily took another bite.

“Winston... I’m thirsty....” Julia said, her head in Winston’s lap. “Give me your water...” Winston offered the bottle. “No... Pour it for me...” Winston rolled his eyes, and gave Julia the water.

“Good news everyone!” Dr. Galen said, exiting the smithy. “The armor will be done shortly! So, once we get all suited up, we’ll head back to the ship!”

“Couldn’t we fight the monster here? I mean, armor isn’t exactly light...” Winston said, removing the now-empty bottle from Julia’s mouth.

“Because, the rest of our supplies are on the ship...” Dr. Galen said, rubbing his temples. “That, and this place seems ready to collapse soon. So you two lovebirds, get up and get ready to go. You too, Charles.”

Julia and Winston looked wide-eyed at the word ‘love-birds’ and almost immediately got up, and began to pack the trash and stove away. Charles simply gave a thumbs up, a fork in his mouth.

“Let’s do this guys, this fight’ll be here soon...” Dr. Galen said.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Max... Why... did we have... to bring all... this metal... with us?” Winston asked, untying the small crate from his pack.

“Uhg!” Dr. Galen said, removing his pack and crate from his back. “Pheew... Because Charles can use some of this stuff to repair the ship. That and we’ll have tons of gold to sell!” Charles said happily, spinning in place.

His spinning was stopped, as Charles grabbed Dr. Galen by the head. Dr. Galen looked into the angry eyes of Charles. “Why did I carry thessssssse?” Charles asked. He undid the straps to his cargo, and a loud clanking and crash was heard. Charles looked behind the floran to see two anvil indented into the ground.

“Oh... Uh...” Dr. Galen smiled awkwardly. “That’s so you and Leonardo can use them for making supplies and what not for the ship...” Charles’ frown did not leave. “And only your Floran strength could carry them...” Charles rolled his eyes, and released Dr. Galen. He then picked up on of the anvils, and climbed up the side of the ship into the hatch, grumbling.

“Question. Where should I put the armor, Dr. Galen?” Leonardo asked, a larger crate on his back.

“Oh, just put that there,” Dr. Galen said, climbing atop the ship.

“Oooh... My back...” Winston said, lying on the ground.

“You guys didn’t have to carry all of that...” Feather said, walking up to Winston with Julia.

“Yeah, we could’ve helped too!” Julia said.

“No... It’s fine, we handled it alright...” Winston said, looking up.

“Eassssssy for you to ssssssay...” Charles muttered, picking up the second anvil.

“Alright everyone! Listen up!” Dr. Galen called. “We have plenty of supplies, well, accept for food... So we’ll need to come up with a plan to get off this planet.”

“Sssssssship repairsssssssss will be unfinissssssssshed,” Charles said, popping back out of the ship. “We’re misssssssssing important circuitsssssssss for the computerssssss.”

“There’s no way to make them?” Julia asked, worried.

“There weren’t any blueprints for circuitry at the smithy,” Feather said. “I can double check, I brought all the prints with me, but I’m pretty sure there isn’t one of circuitry.”

“Concerned. The monster...” Leonardo muttered. Feather looked at him with a bit of shock. “The monster should have better tech on it. It’s a... Foreign... Machine on this planet.”

“Foreign...?” Dr. Galen asked.

“Angered. Cultists brought it here. It’s far more advanced that any glitch you’ll find here.”

“Cultists...” Winston muttered, looking at a now frightened Julia. “We’ll kick this monster’s ass then knowing that Cultists are at work here...” Julia nodded in agreement.

“So... We have to kill this monster then...” Dr. Galen said, sighing unhappily. “Damn... Alright, how’s our weapon stock?”

“Well, we have a few guns... And I think a few knives... And your bombs...” Feather said, climbing onto the ship. “I’ll go check...” She jumped into the ship.

“Surprise. You guys didn’t actually bring your weapons with you?” Leonardo asked.

“Nope,” Dr. Galen replied. “If we were attacked by the monster, I’m certain we wouldn’t last since we didn’t have any armor.”

“Shock. You all have been flying around without any armor!?”

“Well, not exactly...” Winston said. “Before we flew here, we had this huge party...”

“And in our hungover state, we left our armor behind...” Dr. Galen said, smiling awkwardly. “But this stuff seems to be a lot better than our old stuff.”

“We should start getting changed into our armor, don’t ya’ll think?” Feather asked, popping her head out of the ship. She threw a crate of guns onto the top of the ship. “Here’s our gun supply.”

“Alrighty... So... I guess we just armor up and we’re ready for a fight!” Dr. Galen said. “And we’ll kick this tin can’s ass!”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Geh... This armor is difficult to put on...” Julia muttered, attempting to squeeze into her set of pioneering armor.

“Well, Leo and Charles didn’t have much reference to go off for your body, so they just made it for... Average size?” Feather said, slipping into her quail armor.

“What is average size?” Julia said, continuing the struggle. She slipped, and fell to the ground with a crash.

“Here... Do you need help...?” Feather said, putting on her helmet. She walked over to Julia, who was now sitting on the floor. Feather took in a deep breath, before dropping a kick on the armor. Julia squealed, and the armor slid over Julia’s chest. “How’s that?”

“It’s a bit tight... And hard to breathe...” Julia said, her voice slightly strained. Feather then, spun and kicked Julia in the back, causing her to cough violently. She sucked in a deep breath and exhaled. “What the hell!”

“It helps you breathe when you have difficulty breathing,” Feather said. “The tightness, you’d probably have to adjust that when we get off this damn planet.”

“Yeah...” Julia said, stretching. “Alright, I think I’ll be good. Let’s see if the guys are ready.”

Feather nodded, and the pair climbed out of the ship. “Everyone decent and ready?”

“Well, we have our leggings on...” Dr. Galen said. Looking over, he saw Charles struggling a bit to put on his nomad trousers. He successfully put them on, and collapsed to the ground. “Well, we’re trying our hardest to put them on.”

“Observation. Non-robotic beings are very odd... No snap-on armor...” Leonardo said, attaching his knight helmet to his head for demonstration.

“Well, that’s because robots don’t worry about as much stuff as us meat-based life forms,” Julia said. “You don’t have to worry about clothes matching, or being fat...”

“Or if you’re in top physical condition,” Winston added. “Well, muscles at least...”

“And you don’t have to worry about being drunk or sick,” Dr. Galen said, putting on his insurgent helmet.

“Charl doessssssn’t worry about being drunk or ssssick,” Charles called out, slowly getting up.

“That’s because you have the immune system of a damn rock...” Dr. Galen replied. “But yeah, being a robot sounds pretty cool.”

“Rocks have immune systems?” Julia asked.

“It’s a metaphor, sweetie,” Feather said. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Well, I think we’re all armored up,” Winston said. “You ready Charles?” Charles was on the floor again, but fully dressed in nomad gear. He gave a thumbs up. “Yep... We’re ready. So, Leo, how do we kill this thing?”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Feather sat atop the ship, looking through the scope on her sniper. She was looking at the buildings in the distance, scanning for the monster. She yawned, bored. “Max... Why the hell am I just sitting here... This is boring as heck!” Feather called down.

“Because we need to be able to see where the heck that monster is ahead of time!” Dr. Galen replied, poking his head out of what was the armor crate. “So we can ambush this thing!”

“So why the heck am I sitting up here!?”

“Because you have the keenest eye!” Julia said, poking her head out of another crate. “You have hawk eyes!”

Feather sighed. “But I’ve been up here since this morning! Can’t I take a break?” The echo of thunder rolled overhead, and small rain droplets began to fall.

“Definitely not-”

“Statement. Go for it!” Leonardo said, climbing out of his crate. “Observation. The monster is obviously nowhere near, so a break would be good.”

Feather sighed, and slid off the ship, stretching. “Thank god...” She hit one of the panels on the side of the ship. “Guys, you can come out. Break time.”

The panel burst open, and Charles fell out. “Crawling in ventssssssss issssss one thing... But ssssssssitting... Bleh...”

“Where’s Winston?” Julia asked, climbing out of her box.

“Help... Me...” Winston’s voice called from inside the panel. Julia and Feather both looked inside, and saw Winston tied up by wires. They gasped, and pulled him free of the wires, almost pouring him onto the ground. “Thanks...”

Dr. Galen sat on his crate, sipping on some water. “So... This monster can travel across this whole planet?”

Leonardo turned at the mention of the monster. “Statement. No, he normally patrols either around the town outskirts or the town in general. At least that what he always did...”

“What was that last bit?” Dr. Galen asked. “You wanna share something with us?”

The glitch panicked a bit. “Worry. N- No... It was nothing...”

“You do sound a bit suspicious now...” Winston said, getting up.

Leonardo began to shake. He tried to speak, but found that he couldn’t. He glanced at each member of the group, eventually eyeing Feather. She shrugged with a worried look on her face.

“What’s the matter, Leo?” Julia asked, grabbing the glitch’s shoulder.

“Panic. Don’t touch me!” Leonardo called out, smacking Julia’s hand. “Stay away!” He began to run off, tripping. He then got back up and ran from the group.

“What the...” Dr. Galen said. “Where the heck do you think you’re going!?”

“Let’s go after him!” Winston said, and he and Dr. Galen began to run.

“Hold it!” Feather shouted, stopping the two. “I think I know why he ran off...” She sat on one of the nearby crates. “He told me something about the monster...”

“What?” Julia asked, sitting down. Charles sat next to her. Dr. Galen and Winston quickly ran back.

“The monster... Is a super glitch...” Feather said. “It was meant to be a huge evolutionary step for the Glitch. It was called Glitch 2.0, and the prototype was built by cultists to see if the project was worth continuing. The glitch king wanted to create an army of Glitch 2.0 to replace his guards...”

“So? Why is this important?” Dr. Galen asked.

“It’s important because Leo’s older brother was second in command to the glitch. And did not like the idea of being replaced. Luckily, the Glitch 2.0 shell needed a brain to control it, and Leo’s brother volunteered. And as soon as the thing sparked to life, it began to kill everyone...” Feather’s voice trailed off.

“So.. Leo’s brother... Is...” Julia started. “The monster?”

“Yeah...” Feather said. “This is really tough on him too since his Brother was his only family. And he still considers him to be family.”

“Oh hell...” Winston said. “Will he try to stop us, you think?”

“Charl doessssssn’t think ssssso,” Charles replied. “Leo ssssssseemed pretty keen on killing the monssssssster.”

“Should we go after Leo?” Winston asked.

“No,” Dr, Galen said. “We should be able to handle this monster just fine. Leonardo, if anything would just get in our way...” A loud crash echoed through the city ruins.

“What was that?” Julia asked, going for her guns.

Feather immediately climbed back onto the ship, and looked through the scope of her sniper. “There’s some smoke coming from deeper within the city... It’s a bit hard to see... Wait... I see something... Fire...?”

“That hassssss to be the monsssster...” Charles said, drawing his Choppy Leaves Axe from it’s sheathe on his hip. “Leo did sssssssay fire, right?”

“Yeah, either that, or it’s a dragon,” Dr. Galen said. “And you said it yourself dragons aren’t real.”

“Guys, get to battle stations...” Feather said. The group looked to her with concern. “It’s slowly getting closer to us... And guess who it’s chasing...”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Helpless. Brother! Please!” Leonardo said, jumping over a low crumbling wall. “Please regain your senses!” Numerous errors were heard behind him, and a wall of fire exploded over his head.

“Brother! Please listen! I know you can!” More fire. Leonardo dashed behind a destroy castle wall. “You’re in danger! I met some people... They’re going to kill you!”

The fire stopped, and Leonardo looked around the wall. He heard the repeated errors, but could not see their source. The wall immediately to his left then exploded, and a robotic, clawed, yellow hand gripped the wall. A second hand almost mirror identical to the previous joined it. A massive, yellow machine slowly began to pull itself through the hole, causing the wall to crumble.

It’s eyes looked around before lying it’s gaze on Leonardo. Leonardo gulped, taking a step back. “Bzzzzzzt... ERROR... Sword... Bzzzzzzzt...” The machine said, small sparks flying off of it.

“Nervous. Oh... Uh... Yeah... About that...” Leonardo said, nervously tapping his toes on the ground. “I kinda... Considered... To kill you...” Leonardo looked up, attempting to give a mechanical smile.

“Bzzzzzzt... ERROR... Kill... Bzzzzzzzt...”

“Quick! Feather, shoot it!” Dr. Galen called, and Feather fired her rifle. The bullet flew and hit the machine in the side of it’s glass dome, causing the machine to teeter a bit. It turned it’s head to Dr. Galen and Feather, and back to Leonardo.

“Shock. I swear! I did not know they’d come after me!” Leonardo said, panicking a little.

“Feather...” Dr. Galen said, lighting a bomb.

“On it,” Feather fired her gun again, hitting the machine. This time, it turned it’s head much quicker, and roared. As it roared, Dr. Galen threw his bomb, and Charles leapt from behind some nearby rubble. He grabbed, Leonardo, and swung his Choppy Leaves into the machine’s chest, dodging the explosion.

“Surprise. You had more than just a few guns!?”

“Yessssss and no...” Charles said, putting Leonardo down. “I made myssssssself an axe with ssssssome leftover titanium...” He and Leonardo dove behind a wall as a pillar of fire shot at them.

“Bzzzzzzzzt... PRESS ANY KEY TO RESTART,” the machine roared. It jumped after the floran and glitch, the machine’s paint barely even scratched from the attacks.

As the machine crashed through a wall, it was greeted by explosive shotgun blasts. Winston stood before the machine, shotgun in hand. The machine shook off the explosion, and swung a fist at Winston. He rolled to the side dodging it. “Bzzzzzt... SYSTEM NOT FOUND. INSERT INSTALL DISC.”

“What the hell is wrong with this thing!?” Winston asked, trying to blast the machine with his shotgun. “I can’t do crap to it!” He dodged again.

“Bzzzzt... DISK NOT FOUND. PLEASE CONFIRM DISK COVER IS CLOSED,” the machine roared, bringing another punch. The fist flew to the side as Julia appeared from a wall, firing her akimbo pistols at the fist.

“I think I got one of it’s hands!” Julia called as she began to shoot the other hand. The other hand flew back, it’s spikes barely missing Julia’s head. She yelped, and ducked to the ground. The other hand came back for her, and Julia braced herself.

“Bzzzzt... READ ERROR. INSERT BOOT DISC AND PRESS ENTER,” the machine roared as it’s other hand was blasted by a shotgun shot from Winston.

“Julia!” Winston called, grabbing her wrist. The two got up and ran from the machine, fire exploding around them. The machine chased after them, before being shot in the glass dome again.

“Get going!” Dr. Galen called, and Feather fired another shot. The machine turned toward the avian and apex, and began running towards them.

“Bzzzzzt... NO RESPONSE. SYSTEM MAY BE BUSY OR MELTING INTO SLAG.” The machine crashed into the wall Feather and Dr. Galen were standing on, causing them to scatter. Dr. Galen threw another bomb, hitting the machine. It roared, and began to chase after Dr. Galen, breathing fire. It stopped as Choppy Leaves and Premium 2.0 cut into it’s sides.

“Surprise. Forgive me brother!” Leonardo called, going for another swing at the machine. Charles jumped onto the creature’s dome, and began to hit his Choppy Leaves into the glass, causing dents.

“Thisssssss thing isssssss a tank!” Charles screamed as the machine began to shake violently.

“Bzzzzzzzzt... APPLICATION ERROR. SAVE YOUR WORK AND QUIT.” The machine then calmed down, and grabbed Charles, throwing him. It then turned on Leonardo, before being shot in the back by Winston and Julia. “Bzzzt... YOU LOST EVERYTHING. WAY TO GO, GENIUS.”

It turned to Winston and Julia, roaring fire. “Take the shot!” Feather called, firing another bullet at the machine’s dome. This time, the dome cracked, spiderwebbing a section of the dome. Leonardo sat in fear at the massive machine.

“Bzzzzzzt... WAITING FOR PROCESSORS."

“Damn it, Leo! Stab it!” Dr. Galen shouted, throwing a bomb. Leonard grabbed his Premium 2.0, his body shaking. He wanted to stab the monster, but not his brother... Gah... Leonardo thought. Why the hell does this have to be so hard...

Leonardo then felt a jolt go through his body. He staggered a bit, smoke and sparks escaping from his brain. He then took his Premium 2.0 in his hand, and stabbed it into the machine’s back. The blade went deep into the machine, up to the hilt.

“Bzzzzt... 404 computer hamsters not found,” the machine stated as a surge of electricity shot from it’s wound. “Bzzzt... THREAT LEVEL UPGRADED TO JELLY ROLL 1. DETONATION IMMINENT.” But as the machine said those words it slowly shut down, collapsing in front of Leonardo.

He looked at the fallen machine, then proudly wobbled-walked onto it’s back. He looked around at everyone, expecting smiles. But instead, he saw face of shock. Confused, Leonardo looked at himself and found out why. His arm was completely torn off, electricity surging from it. His chest was also blown open, wires pouring out. Startled, he went to rub his dome, only to find that the glass had been completely shattered, and his brain was releasing blue juices. He turned and saw Dr. Galen and Feather running to him. But before they could reach him, Leonardo collapsed, the world going black.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Leonardo woke up, and found himself on an infinite white plane. He sat up, looking around. Yep. Nothing there. Just a blank, white plane.

“Oh goody, I must have died,” Leonardo said, standing up. “I was waiting when that would kick in...” He looked at himself and found that he was intact as well. “Not bad... Although... All those... Hallucinations? People? Who knows...”

“They were real.”

“Well, how would I know... I’m craz-” Leonardo cut himself off. “Uh... What?”

“Those people. They were real.”

“Before I turn around... May I ask who is talking with me...?”

“Don’t you recognize me?”

Leonardo turned and gasped. Before him stood a large Doombringer Glitch. “Brother!” Leonardo ran up to embrace him. “But how!? I just... Eh... You’re dead...”

“Well, you currently are too, but I can’t explain what’s going on. Anyways, I have a message for you and your friends.”

“What is it?”

“First off, they’re real people, and they’re looting my body for ship parts. Which, by the way, will take you far away from here. Second, when the cultists but my brain in the machine, I learned about a plan they have. Something to do with a gate and some glitch technology.”

“Wait wait wait...” Leonardo said, backing away from his brother. “How do you know about my friends and their ship?”

“Well, this is technically all a hallucination. I’m just a fragment of a memory of me you have.”

“So... I shouldn’t listen to anything you just said about this gate?”

“That’s for you to decide, since a memory can’t create information it doesn’t have.”

“Wait.. What?” Leonardo said. “Now I’m really confused... So I SHOULD go to this gate thing then?”

“You tell me,” the doombringer said, shrugging. “Anyway, looks like you’re undying now.”

The white plain began to shimmer and slowly collapse. “Wait, I’m still confused about this gate with cultists!”

“You’ll learn eventually... Maybe...” the doombringer said, and he slowly bgan to fade away. “Oh, tell Koko I said hi.”

Everything went black.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



“Crap! We’re losing him!” Feather said, rigging the alligator clips into Leonardo’s chest cavity. “Alright, Max! Let ‘er rip!”

Dr. Galen gave a thumbs up, and slammed his foot on the gas pedal of the ship. Electric wires came out of the crashed ships’ hood, and surged with electricity. The glitch body jumped into the air as the electricity pulsed through it. “Damn it!” Feather called out. “It’s not working!”

Julia, Winston and Charles sat on a nearby crate. “Can’t you guysssssss do ssssssssomething?” Charles asked, concerned.

“We can probably do minor surgery on a meat based-life form,” Winston said. “But we’re doctors if anything, not mechanics. If anything, you should know what to do.”

“Charl put Leo back together! Charl can fix, but not wire...”

“We really need a computer techie or something...” Julia said. “This is just like with the SAILs on the ship... We can repair em, but we can’t fix ‘em.”

“I feel so helpless...” Winston said, watching as Feather began to pour loose copper wiring into Leonardo’s chest compartment. “Feather and Max know tons about computers and whatnot, and we can’t do anything to help...”

“Damn it!” Feather screamed, slamming her fists into the table that Leonardo’s body lied. “Nothing’s working!” Feather leaned over the table, silent.

“Feather...?” Dr. Galen asked, climbing out of the hole in the ship.

“I think...” Feather muttered. “He’s... Dead...”

The group went silent. “Damn it...” Dr. Galen muttered, jumping down to the group. “There was nothing more we could do-”

“We can’t give up...” Feather said. “We have to keep trying...”

“Feather, there’s nothing more we could do!” Julia said. “I know he became our friend, but we-”

“I’m not giving up!” Feather said. “He helped us out so much! We can’t turn our back on him!”

“The only thing he’ll care about turning up is daisies!” Dr. Galen said. “I think you’re taking this too far! He’s gone!”

Thunder echoed with the words. Winston looked up at the thick clouds, and watched as the lightning began to flicker. His eyes went wide. “Everyone! Get back!” The group looked up and dove out of the way as a bolt of lightning struck down, hitting Leonardo’s body. The light flash passed, and a blue pulse emanated from Leonardo’s body. His eyes suddenly shot open, and the blue pulse surged up the wires into the ship. A loud pop was heard and the ship suddenly burst to life.

“Confusion. What... Just...”

“He’s... He’s alive!” Feather called, running towards Leonardo.

“Zombie robot!” Charles screamed, and he jumped into the air, Choppy Leaves in hand.

“Charles, no!” Dr. Galen called out as Charles descend down onto Leonardo. But instead of chopping the axe down, he smacked the blade against Leonardo’s head, smacking him to the ground. A bright blue flash went off as Leonardo hit the ground.

“Pained. Why would you do that...” Leonardo asked, rubbing his head.

“You had too much electricsssity pulsing through you. You had to get grounged or elssssssse Feather here would be coming roassssssted.” Charles then went to the ship, and hopped inside.

“How are you feeling?” Winston asked as Feather helped Leonardo up.

“Pained. Dizzy... What happened?”

“You we’re dead!” Julia said. “We thought your hard drive crashed for sure!”

“Glad to see you’re amongst the living, well, as much living as a robot can do,” Dr. Galen said, patting Leonardo on the back. The group then covered their ears as their ship’s horn echoed loudly.

“Everything’ssssssssss online!” Charles called. “We can leave!”

The crew cheered, and began to head to the ship, climbing up the side. “Come on, Leo. You’re with us now,” Winston said, grabbing Leonardo’s wrist. He pulled him to the ship, and the two began to climb inside.

“Impressed. Nice ship you have here...” Leonardo jumped back as the four SAILs greeted him.

“Welcome! I am SAIL, this ship’s navigational system! Praise to Kluex and Minikong!” The four colored faces began to faze and a new face appeared. “Hello, I am Grandmaster SAIL, here to serve thee.” The SAIL appeared to be a robotic elder, with a long beard. It also had a large wizard cap on it’s head.

“Well, he’s new...” Feather said heading to the navigation room.

“He must of come out of Leo when we rigged him to the ship...” Dr. Galen said.

“I hope this new guy loves the Minikong...” the Apex SAIL muttered.

Suddenly, everyone on the ship flew to the left side of the ship, hitting the wall. “Sorry!” Feather called out. “Just getting us out of the ground and back to normal again...”

“Don’t take off yet!” Winston said as Julia helped Leonardo up. “We gotta patch the side of the ship up!”

“Charl already on it!” Charles said, welding the panel back onto the ship. “Give Charl two minutessssss!”

“Well, everything is fully functional,” Julia said, manning a local computer.

“Second on that,” Winston said, reporting to a second computer. “Weapons are fully functional and loaded.”

“Repairsssssss are finissssshed!” Charl called, running for the engine room.

“Alrighty then...” Dr. Galen said, taking a seat infront of the larger, master computer. “Feather, take us home!”

“Aye!” Feather called, and the ship shot up, and began to fly forward, though shaking.

Leonardo was thrown back to the ground. “Fear. What is going on?”

“The thunderstorm’s striking at us again,” Julia said. “Thank god we’re leaving...”

“Leo, either grab a seat or head to the engine room,” Dr. Galen said. “Lying on the floor is the last thing you wanna do on this ship. Leonardo slowly began to slide back. He then wobbly stood, and headed for the engine room.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Excellent work,” Madame Koko said, clanking her glass of weyene to Dr. Galen’s glass of tomato juice. The crew ad arrived back at the rebel camp an hour or so ago, and Dr. Galen, along with Leonardo, with called to a meeting with Madame Koko.

“Uh... Excellent work?” Dr. Galen asked, putting his glass down. “The entire planet was killed off... That’s not exactly excellent...”

“But you found the source of what killed them off!” Madame Koko replied, sipping her glass.

“But we we’re still too late to save an entire planet of-”

“Statement. Don’t worry about it, Max,” Leonardo said, sipping a glass of battery acid. “I didn’t like them.”

Dr. Galen sighed. “That’s not the point I’m...” he sighed heavily again. “Whatever... So... Is this all you called us here for?”

“No,” Madame Koko said, putting her now empty glass down. “More good news. Thatnks to your crew, we’ve learned more on the cultists’ tech.” She reached into a drawer, and pulled out a stack of files. “We learned quite a bit, and we’ve figured out how to use some of it to our advantage... Fellas, bring it in!” Madame Koko clapped, and a group of Apex came through the door, carrying a large, cloaked... Object. They set it down, and pulled off the cloak.

It was an iron table. An average, iron table. With a pair of massive, robotic arms sticking out of the top. Dr. Galen stared in awe as Madame Koko went over to the device and flicked a switch. The table glowed with a blue light, and whirred to life, the arms moving frantically, as if on an assembly line.

“What...” Dr. Galen said, still in awe. “Is that...?”

“This... Is...” Madame Koko frowned a bit. “Well it’s a robotic crafting table. We couldn’t think of a more creative name. Basically, it can assemble more advanced technology. We want your crew to test this thing out.”

“Um... Madame...” Dr. Galen sighed. “You do realize that’s made from a giant machine that almost killed us...”

“Interest. I like it,” Leonardo said, taking another sip from his drink.

“Excellent!” Madame Koko said, clapping her hands together. “We’ll have it installed on your new ship!”

“Wait!” Dr. Galen shouted, standing up. “How does he have higher- Wait... New ship?”

“Yep,” Madame Koko said. “We looked over your ship when you guys came back. Quite the wreck...”

“Should we go tell the crew?” Dr. Galen asked.

“Good idea. Leonardo, you go,” Madame Koko said taking her seat. “Max, you have paperwork to do.”

Leonardo sarcastically waved goodbye as he exited, sipping his drink.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Winston and Julia sat around a table, glasses of water in front of them. Feather was polishing her sniper rifle, and Charles hung from the ceiling, eating a can of meatballs.

“So... We’re getting a new ship...” Winston mumbled.

“Yeah...” Julia replied. Both were acting quite nervous that normal.

“So... We survived a giant robot attack...” Winston said, sipping some water.

“Yeah...”

Suddenly, the door to the ship burst open, and Leonardo entered. He had a cardboard box on his head, and a case of large batteries in his hand. He wobbled a bit as he entered.

“Happiness. What’s up guys...?” He asked, swinging a battery around. “Where the party...?

“Uh... We’re not having a party...” Winston said.

“Confusion. Why not...?”

“Well... We had gotten really drunk last time we partied...” Feather said, looking through her sight. “And... Things happened...”

Winston blushed slightly, and Julia gagged a little. Leonardo stumbled over to the pair at the table. “Realization. I see... You two...” He burped. “You two... Lovers... Couldn’t resist...” He sipped the rest of his battery acid, and crushed the battery’s shell on his forehead.

“WHAT!?” Winston and Julia both cried.

“I wasn’t THAT drunk!” Julia declared, blushing.

“I would never do that! I didn’t even drink!” Winston declared.

Leonardo opened up another battery, and took a gulp. “Investigation. You we’re thinking it though...”

“NO!” was the response, but only Winston had replied. All eyes turned to Julia, who began blushing deeply. She immediately stood up when she saw the room stared at her, and she ran out of the ship. Leonardo then stumbled into her seat, Winston and Feather looking at each other in shock.

“Interessssssssting,” Charles said, drinking the sauce from the can. “Why isssssss everyone freaking out?”

“Relaxed. I’m not... Freaking... Out...” Leonardo mumbled, slowly spilling the acid over himself.

“We’re freaking out because someone like Julia was thinking about stuff like that!” Feather said.

“Who would’ve thought she would be thinking that though...” Winston muttered to himself. “I wonder if...” Winston was greeted by Feather’s sniper’s butt being slapped across his face.

“Don’t even think about going there!” Feather said, holding her sniper by the barrel.

“I don’t undersssssstand how you all think sssssshe’ssssss innocssssssent.”

“What do you mean?” Feather said, putting down her gun.

“You ssssssserioussssss? Julia drank enough boozssssssse to probably kill an Apex.” Charles jumped down to the floor, and walked over to a trash can, tossing his now-empty can. “Ssssssshe’sssss not a little kid.”

Winston slowly got up from the ground, rubbing his pained face. The door to the ship opened, and Dr. Galen entered, carrying a crying Julia by the collar of her jacket. “So... Any reason why I found... This outside the ship?” He shook Julia slightly, like he was holding a kitten by it’s scruff.

“It’s a long story...” Feather said, sitting down.

“Well... We can deal with it later... Got some news. Good and bad.” Dr. Galen pulled a chair up to the table, sat Julia down, and took a seat at the table. “Good news, new ship, Leo’s joining us when he’s sober, testing some new tech. The camp has also interested other intergalactic wanderers, so they’ll start moving into camp and setting up shop. Bad news. We apparently have a hit on our heads.”

“What?” Everyone asked.

“Someone found out about how we took out Dreadwing, and they want us dead for it. Twenty million pixels...” Dr. Galen leaned back, putting his feet on the table. “So, there’s a good chance we can die any minute. If you have anything you wanna do before you die, do it soon.”

“I’m good...” Leonardo said, burping again.

“That’s fine, since you’re not on the bounty yet.”

“You have anymore meatballsssssss?” Charles asked.

“Not personally... But there’s plenty in the camp’s food storage,” Dr. Galen replied. “Does anyone actually have a last will and testament?” The room was silent. “Of course... Well. Free time. There’s no new missions for us yet, so get out there, maybe see what’s being sold.” Dr. Galen stood up. “New ship’s at the north hangar. Some apex will be coming to move our gear, so don’t worry about that. See ya.” He exited the ship.

“Charl gonna go get ssssssssome meatballssssss,” he ran for the door. “Maybe market hasssssss other tasssty food.” Charles exited.

“Request. I’m gonna... Find the other... Ship...” Leonardo said, stumbling as he rose. “I think... I need ta... Lie down... For a... Bit...” He stumbled around before exiting.

“Um... I’m going to check out the market,” Feather said, slinging her sniper over her back. “Wanna join me, Julia?”

Julia shook her head no, and Feather headed for the door. She looked back, giving an evil glare to Winston, and exited.

Winston and Julia sat alone in the ship. “So... I guess-”

“Do you... Think I’m weird...?” Julia asked.

“W... What?” Winston asked, caught off a bit by the question.

“Do you think I’m weird... For thinking of that stuff...”

“Why do you-”

“Just answer the question!” Julia shouted.

“Okay... Sheesh... I guess... It’s a little weird to-”

“Damnit...” Julia muttered.

“What?” Winston asked.

“I didn’t want to weird you out with something like that...” Julia said, looking at Winston. Tears were welded up in her eyes. “I mean... I don’t want you to leave me from me weirding you out with-”

“Julia,” Winston said, catching Julia off guard. “It’s fine. I’m not weirded out.”

“But... My feelings to you... I wanted to tell you myself... But there was never a good moment... And now it was ruined by the drunken robot...” Tears began rolling down her face.

“Woah, it’s okay!” Winston said, rushing over to her and hugging her. “I’m certain other people get their feeling revealed by drunken robots all the time...” Julia returned the hug, holding Winston tightly. “And... I guess... Since I know your feelings... You should know mine...” Winston took a deep breath. “While not as extreme as your feelings, I guess I also... Love... You...” Julia’s eyes went wide, and she began crying again.

“R-Really?” Julia asked between sobs. “Even a ditz like me?”

“You’re not a ditz,” Winston said, stepping back from the hug. “And I mean it.” Julia, then went in for a kiss, catching Winston a bit off guard. He quickly got used to it, and the pair stood there for many moments.

“Wanna... Go... Check out the market...?” Julia asked, now smiling, though a bit nervous.

“Like a date?” Winston asked as they headed for the door. Julia blushed, and Winston smiled. “Sure, I’d love to!” And the pair exited the ship.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


She sat in her room, eating a small sushi roll. Her new room was quite dark, lest for a few candles providing light. Thick, red, drapes covered the windows, except for a small gap, which she looked through. Her room was on the apartment’s third floor, and had a view of the market below. She new that they were exploring the new market, probably separated. She took another sip of her rice wine and ate another sushi roll. She got up from the cushion on the floor, sheathing her two Oysterizer daggers into a hidden compartment in her kimono. She grabbed a handful of sushi rolls from the table, and a rice ball, biting into it. Rice ball in mouth, she exited her apartment room. That twenty million would be hers.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ooo... That place has cool looking stuffed animals!” Julia happily called out in the now-busy market place. “C’mon Winston, let’s go!”

“Slow down, I’m coming!” Winston called out, practically being dragged by his hand through the market. Only an hour previously, Julia and Winston had confessed their love for each other, and were now going on a date. The pair was happily traveling from stall to stall, seeing what the new market had in store.

But unknowing to the young lovers, they were being followed. Their stalker was a bounty hunter, one who had word of the twenty million pixel bounty placed on Winston and Julia’s heads. She followed the pair, traveling from food stall to food stall, hoping to find an opportunity to attack her prey.

“They stopped again...” she said to herself, taking a bite out of her toffee apple. “What the hell are they doing...” She saw the pair on the move and followed, slipping through the crowds of apex rebels. Looking ahead, she saw that the pair was heading for a far less busier portion of the market. She went over to a nearby stand, purchased a stuffed dirturchin, and snuck off to the side of the market, behind the stalls.

Behind the stalls was an apartment complex. She stuffed the stuffed dirturchin in her mouth, and began to climb up the side of the building. She reached the roof, and finished off her stuffed dirturchin. Looking over the side of the building, she saw that Winston and Julia were getting closer to the quieter portion of the market. She then ran across the roof, jumping from building to building after the pair.

“Come on Winston, let’s go relax over there,” Julia said, tugging Winston along. The pair broke through the crowd, and found a portion of the market that was nearly empty. They sat at one of the empty tables, and began to share a pizza that they had purchased.

“Y’know. This date is almost exactly like an average day of the two of us hanging out,” Winston said, taking a bite of his pizza.

“Well... I guess here’s a difference...” Julia said, and she kissed Winston on the cheek.

“Looks like they stopped to eat...” the assassin said. “No one around either... Perfect...”

She gripped the edge of the building she was on, directly behind the eating duo. She then pulled out a lollipop, and ate it as she slid down the side of the building with near absolute silence. She then jumped into a tree which stood near the pair, and hid within the leaves.

She pulled out her two oysterisers from under her kimono, but before she could make a further mood, an avian approached.

“Oh, Winston, Julia, there you two are,” Feather said, biting into a spicy feathercrown.

“Hi, Feather,” Julia said happily.

“Seems you two made up over that awkward situation,” Feather said, taking a seat with the pair. “Wait... Does that mean you two are dating?” Julia and Winston both smiled sheepishly. “By Kluex, no way!” Feather declared, slight shock on her face. “That’s so cute!”

“It’s true,” Winston said, taking a bite into his pizza.

“Wait, does that mean... Oh, I’m sorry,” Feather said, getting up from her seat. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your guys’ date.”

“No, it’s fine Feather,” Julia said. “You can sit with us,”

“No, your guys’ first date should just be the two of you,” Feather said, leaving. “Have fun you two, oh you look so cute together!” She said, heading back towards the market.

‘Thank god she left,’ the assassin thought to her self, spitting out the stick of her lollipop. ‘Now then...’ But, once again, before she could move, another person approached.

“Hey, you guyssssssss have, like, ssssssssixty or sssssso pixelsssssss I can borrow?” Charles asked, approaching Winston and Julia. “I wanna buy ssssssssome chili.”

“Sorry, I don’t have many more pixels on me,” Winston said, searching his pockets. Julia nodded no as well.

“Damn... Oh well, ssssssssorry for bothering you guyssssss. Don’t ssssssssuck facsssssssse too loud,” Charles said as he left.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Julia asked.

“Well, sssssssince you two have been dating for like yearssssssss or sssssssssomething, I’m don’t think you two sssssshould be perforiming public disssssssplayssssss like that.”

“We only started dating today...” Winston said.

“Could’ve fooled me...” Charles said. “I guesssssssss I ssssshould find Feather... Sssssshe owesssssss me a thousand pixelsssssssss...” He left back to the market place.

‘That’s it... I’m too hungry to wait any longer...’ The assassin then jumped from the tree, landing behind Winston. Just as the pair began to react, the assassin stabbed Winston in the shoulder. He screamed in pain, and Julia pulled out her gun. She aimed at the assassin, but right as she fired, the assassin kicker Julia’s hand, causing the gun fire upward. Many of the market goers screamed in fear at the gunshot.

“Damn it...” the assassin said. She kicked Julia into the table, and used her other oysteriser to cut herself a slice of pizza, which she quickly ate. As she ate, she pulled the knife out of Winston, causing him to scream in pain. She kicked him, causing him to fall back in his chair, and followed up with a knife to his leg. She quickly removed it, and held the knife high over Julia.

But before she could trust the knife down, she ducked as a sniper bullet quickly flew over her head. Looking up, she saw the avian and floran from before.

“You owe me...” Charles whispered to Feather.

“Later, alright?” Feather whispered back. “Let them go or the next bullet goes between your eyes!”

The assassin quickly reacted, grabbing Julia. She pulled Julia up from the table with surprising strength. She threw one of her knives into the air, and stabbed the other into Julia’s other pistol, grabbing it by the trigger guard with her blade. She then flicked the pistol into the air, sheathing her knife. The assassin then caught the other knife, sheathing it. Finally, she caught the pistol, and held it up to Julia’s head. “You fire, I fire!” the assassin called.

“Shit...” Feather muttered.

“Drop your weapons, or else she ends up like he did!” the assassin called out.

“Don’t... Do it...!” Julia called out, and the assassin released the safety. Feather and Charles looked at each other, and threw down their weapons.

“Perfect...” muttered the assassin, and she slowly began to back up to the building behind her, dragging Julia. She got to the building, and threw Julia to the ground, pointing the gun at Julia’s head. The assassin then pocketed the pistol, and began to climb up the building, but as she climbed past the third floor, the window right above her opened, and a frying pan stuck out. It swung at her, hitting her in the head. Seeing stars, the assassin, released her grip and fell into the tree below her, unconscious.

Shocked at the turn of events, Feather ran to Julia, and Charles to Winston. “What the hell just happened?” Feather asked.

“An assassin,” came a voice from the window. Dr. Galen poked his head out the window, pan in hand. He jumped from the window, into the tree below. He then jumped from the tree to the ground with the assassin draped over his shoulder. “We need to get Winston to a hospital stat. Julia too.”

“Right, but what about the assassin?” Feather asked as Charles picked up Winston.

“A minikong general knows how to deal with an assassin...”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Leonardo emptied the last of the acid from his stomach into a nearby trashcan. He leaned over the can, feeling dry heaves. ‘Alright... No more drinking... For, like... Ever,’ he though, wiping away the acid on his lips. ‘Gross...’

He stumbled out of the alleyway he was in, and saw the crew around a table. He was about to stumble over to them when he saw that Winston and Julia were being carried off, Winston bleeding. Over Dr. Galen’s shoulder was a passed out hylotl woman, wearing a bright red kimono, probably the attacker. He observed as the crew quickly ran into the market place. But he also noticed something else. A small, purple robed man was also observing the crew. While Leonardo would have shrugged it off, as many other were watching the crew, the purple robed man began to slowly follow the crew as they entered the crowd.

Interested, Leonardo began to follow the follower.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Wake up!” Dr. Galen shouted, kicking the assassin in the stomach. She practically threw her eyes open, and gagged from the force thrown into her stomach. Looking around she, found herself in a dimly lit, empty room. She was tied to a steel folding chair, and now, kicked against a wall. “Good to see you awake...” Dr. Galen said, going over to a nearby steel table.

“W- Where am... Where am I...?” the assassin asked, dazed by the kick.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll be doing the questioning...” Dr. Galen said, picking up a wrench from the table.

“You don’t scare me...” the assassin spat. In reply, Dr. Galen twirled the wrench in his hand, and smashed it into the stone wall, centimeters from the assassin’s head. A large cracked resounded in the wall, and the wrench shattered, metal fragments hitting the assassin.

“Nor am I afraid of you,” Dr. Galen said, going back to the table. “As you can see, I have quite the strength for an apex, and will not be afraid to use it on you.” He picked up a hammer. “Now then... What is your name?”

“Like I would tell you-” the assassin was cut off as Dr. Galen punched her across the face, knocking her from the chair.

“There’s a good chance my friend is going to die because of you,” Dr. Galen took a deep breath. “NOW TELL ME WHO THE HELL YOU ARE!” he screamed, and he drop kicked the assassin in the ribs.

She coughed up blood, “T- Tomoe...”

“Tomoe what?”

“T- Tomoe... Goze- Gozen...”

“Ah...” Dr. Galen said, picking her up from the ground by her bindings. She tossed her into the chair. “As in, daughter of the Gozen empire? And if my sources are correct... The youngest daughter?” The assassin did not reply. “You’ve told me enough info...” Dr. Galen looked into a darker corner of the room, and cleared his throat. After a moment, he cleared his throat again, and the wall smashed in.

Leonardo smashed through the wall, grabbing the nearly hidden purple robed man. The cultist was caught off completely, but was then dazed and he was thrown to the ground at Dr. Galen’s feet. Dr. Galen then curb stomped the cultist’s back, the sound of clanking metal being heard.

“I’m glad you decided to follow me, Leo,” Dr. Galen said, shaking hands with the glitch.

“Surprise. How did you know I was there?”

“Well, at first I only knew this guy was following me...” He gave another stomp kick to emphasize the cultist. “I heard him sneak through the rafters, but then quickly heard your stumbling outside. Though, I wish you nabbed him the first time I coughed.”

“Apology. Sorry, I didn’t realize that was a signal at first.”

“No matter...” Dr. Galen said, looking over to Tomoe. “I guess I have further questions for her now...” He walked over to the tied hylotl. “So... Uh... You wanna tell me why he’s interested in you?”

“I don’t know...” Tome muttered. Dr. Galen raised his hammer, and Tomoe winced, waiting for the oncoming blow. “I swear...”

“Hmmm...” Dr. Galen said, lowering the hammer. “I believe you... Leo, untie her.”

“Confusion. Like, let her go?”

“No, just untie her. I need to use that seat.” Leonardo nodded, and helped Tomoe up, and untied her. He had to carry her, as she couldn’t stand. “So... Mr. Cultist... Tell me... Why are YOU here?”

“My mouth is shut.”

“Odd... You’re a corrupted glitch, ain’t ya?” Dr. Galen said. “You didn’t even state your emotion...” He put the hammer back on the table, and picked up an axe. He took the axe, and swung it down, removing a leg from the cultist. But the cultist did not scream. He simply sat there.

“Fearful. It’s a monster...” Leonardo said.

“So... Tell me... Why are you here?” Dr. Galen asked the cultist.

“Twenty-five...” it muttered.

“Excuse me?” Dr. Galen asked.

“Twenty-four...”

“Shock. It’s a bomb, Max!” Leonardo called out. Dr. Galen then took the axe, and shoved it into the chest of the cultist, and the glitch’s counting stopped.

“This was never a glitch to begin with...” Dr. Galen muttered. “I have to say, the C4 was a clever touch, but very easy to get rid of.”

“Confusion. Who are you talking to?”

Dr. Galen smiled, and punched through the face of the now-deactivated cultist. He pulled out a small chip. “I’m talking to this little bug here... Listen guys, I’m just gonna say this once. Don’t send any more cultists here. I can end you.” With that, Dr. Galen smashed the chip between his fingers.

“Shock. Damn, Max. You’re one scary dude.”

“Scary... But caring...” He walked over to Leonardo, and saw that Tomoe had passed out. “Let’s get her to a doctor, and stat. I probably broke at least two of her ribs.”

“Confusion. You’re a doctor.”

Dr. Galen sighed. “Get her to a doctor that doesn’t have a history with torturing her.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Julia slowly opened her eyes. She found herself lying in a hospital bed, with the blinds and door closed. Looking at a clock, she saw that it was late at night. She sat up, and gained a massive headache, causing her to lie back down. Rubbing her head, she felt a think roll of gauze wrapped around her head.

Confused, she sat up again, ignoring the head pain. She got out of the hospital bed, and stumbled over to a mirror on the wall. Looking at her reflection, she saw that she had a bandage wrapped around her head.

“Why is that...” Julia muttered, then she remembered. She was slammed into a table after Winston was stabbed. “Winston!” she muttered, and ran for the door. As she opened it, she was greeted by a nurse.

“You shouldn’t be up!” she called out, ushering her to the bed.

“But I have to see Winston-”

“There will not be any seeing of Winston,” the nurse said, sitting Julia on the bed.

“What?”

“He’s in intensive care. He lost a lot of blood,” the nurse said. “Ms. Julia, please go back to sleep.”

Julia nodded, mostly in shock, and lied back down. “Will... Will Winston be okay?”

“I don’t know, I’m sorry.” The nurse went over to a desk behind the bed. “Now, please go back to sleep.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~


Julia awoke, and looked at the clock. It was early the next morning. Julia sat up, the headache returning. But she immediately got up, and headed for the door. She opened it, and went into the hallway.

She stumbled as she walked, mostly due to the headache. Using the wall as support, she slowly stumbled down the hall. She found a hospital map, and found that intensive care was on the floor below her. She wandered over to an elevator, and entered.

She exited on the next floor, and stumbled around some more. She eventually found the room labeled ‘Intensive Care’. Looking around, she saw no medical staff, and she entered the room.

Inside, she found herself a cane, using it to to keep her balance. Walking through the ward, she eventually found the room labeled ‘W. Smith’. She opened it, and quickly went inside.

There, she found Winston, unconscious, bandaged, laying in a bed. He was rigged up to an IV bag and a heart monitor. “Winston...” she mumbled, and she went to his bedside. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you...”

“Julia!” came a voice from outside the room. “Julia, I know you’re in there!” Feather entered the room, with two doctors. “Julia, you shouldn’t be up!”

“But... I wanted to see him,” Julia said. “I wanted to make sure he was okay...”

“The doctors will take care of him,” Feather reassured, holding her hand out to Julia. “Come on, let’s go back to your room.”

“But the nurse told me he was in a lot of danger...” Julia said, unmoving. “She said there was a good chance he’ll die.”

“There’s nothing to worry-”

“He’s lost a lot of blood. He was stabbed most likely in an artery. His muscles were also stabbed, both in his shoulder and his thigh...” Julia began tearing up.

“Julia, don’t...”

“Shut up. I know how to diagnose people, I am medically trained,” Julia said. “I refuse to leave his side until I KNOW he gets better.”

“Come on, Ms. Parsons,” one of the apex doctors said, approaching Julia. “Let’s just get you up to your roo-” He was cut off as Julia hit him across the face with her cane. The other doctor sprung forward, catching the falling doctor.

“Nurse!” he called out.

A few nurses came in, syringes in hand. They ran for Julia, who was attempting to fight them off. Each of the syringes, however, made their mark. Eventually, Julia began to become more sluggish, and eventually collapsed; asleep. “Nurses, take Ms. Parsons back up to her room. And make sure she has a guard watching her. We also need to get Dr. Milo here some help..” The doctor passed off Dr. Milo to the nurses, who also carried Julia out of the room.

“That seemed kind of harsh...” Feather said to the doctor.

“It was a common practice under Big Ape’s rule. We had to be able to detain crazies like that as fast as possible.”

“Crazies? Julia’s not...” Feather paused. “Not THAT crazy...”

“While she might not be crazy, she’s under immense stress, and, her concussion has definitely rattled her brains a bit. As long as she gets rest for the next week or so, she should be stable enough to let her go.”

Feather looked to Winston, “And Winston?”

The doctor sighed. “Julia said it herself. It’s hard to say...”

A nurse ran into the room. “Max is here with a patient.”

“Tell him to take care of his own patients. He’s a doctor.”

“Max told me that he’s the reason the patient is here...”

The doctor gained a look of shock. “I hope he means driving here...”

He, Feather and the nurse, then ran out of Winston’s room, and downstairs to the main lobby. There, they found Dr. Galen with Leonardo, who was carrying a hylotl woman. She was bruised, and was bleeding a bit. “Hello, I have a fresh one for you,” Dr. Galen said.

“What the hell did you do!?” the doctor asked, as some nurses ran up, taking the hylotl girl.

“This is the one who attacked Winston and Julia,” Dr. Galen said. “Take care of this one, please.” The doctor sighed and nodded, running after the nurses. “Feather, I’d like to talk to you outside.”

Feather nodded, and she and Leonardo exited the hospital. “What’s going on, Max?”

“Fear. There are cultists watching us,” Leonardo said, looking around.

“Let them watch,” Dr. Galen said. “We already killed one of them today.”

“You guys were attacked!?” Feather exclaimed.

“Kind of... I was... Interrogating the hylotl girl, and Leonardo caught a cultist spying on us. Long story short, we killed him unharmed, then came straight here.”

Feather sighed. “Does Charles know?”

“Charl doesssssss now...” Charles said, approaching the group from behind the hospital. “Thisssss isssss not good...”

“Agreement. Cultists will be very troublesome,” Leonardo said, scratching his chin.

“No, Charl meansssssss the incssssssident insssssside with Julia.”

Dr. Galen looked to Feather. “What happened?”

“Julia... Kinda lost it...” Feather replied.

Dr. Galen sighed. “Damn it Julia...”

“That didn’t worry Charl,” Charles said. “Charl worried about needing to wait at leasssssst a week before Julia came out.”

“A week!?” Dr. Galen said, surprised. “If I had known that hylotl wretch was going to cause us this much trouble, I’d have beat her up worse...”

“A week at least...” Feather said. “Then there’s Winston.”

“Idea. We can fortify the camp more while we stay here,” Leonardo said. “Since cultists and assassins will be our biggest threat, and since we can’t leave Winston and Julia alone due to said assassins, we would stay here for a while and help fortify the camp.”

“Would you be able to lead the fortification process?” Dr. Galen asked.

“Proud. Of course, I basically ran the external fortification process back at home.”

Dr. Galen looked at Feather, then Charles, and Leonardo. “You all think this sounds good?”

“Doesssssss Charl get to kill off pessssssky Cultisssssstssss?”

“Of course.”

Charles smiled. “Then Charl isssss in!”

“I can help,” Feather said. “Possibly somewhere in navigation and communications.”

“Perfect,” Dr. Galen said. “I’m certain Madame Koko will be all for the idea.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Sure enough, Madame Koko was, indeed, all for it. Over the next week, the able-bodied member of the crew assisted the camp in raising their defenses. Not only did the crew assist the Apex rebellion in defense, they also assisted the shopkeepers who came to the camp. Avians, florans, glitch, and hylotl shopkeepers were taught basic defense training, in case of a scale attack on the now Outpost; whether it be pirates, cultists, or Minikong.

During that time, Julia did her best to recover. She still worried about Winston, but was more worried about accidentally hurting other people at the same time. She anxiously counted down the days to her freedom from the hospital, as each daily check up, she felt better and better. Sure enough, as promised, Julia was released from the hospital after a week. She stretched as she sat up in the hospital bed, and Feather entered, carrying a paper bag.

“Julia! Hurry, get dressed before the guys get here,” Feather said, throwing the bag at Julia. She caught it, and pulled out some new clothes from the market below.

“They look so stylish,” Julia said, looking them over. She quickly undressed from her hospital gown.

“Hurry up!” Feather said. “I wanna get you outta here ASAP.”

“We’re coming in...” Dr. Galen said, swinging the door open. He had his hand over his eyes. “Don’t worry I won’t peek. You’re only for Winston to see.”

“Courageous. I’ll peek,” Leonardo said as he entered. “I’m a walking talking vending machine.”

“You shouldn’t look regardless!” Feather said. “Isn’t it against chivalry?”

“Sarcastic. Well, that last huge group people I know who followed chivalry was my entire planet. And they’re dead... So I’m not taking any chances.”

“It’s fine Feather, I’m decent,” Julia said. “How do I look?”

“You look fine,” Dr. Galen said, hand still covering his eyes. “Now let’s go. We’ve practically bounty hunter proofed this place while you were here.” He turned to walk out the door, and slammed into the wall. “I meant to do that...” Leonardo helped him up, and the group exited the room.

“Wheres Charles?” Julia asked.

“Probably in town chasing robot chickens,” Feather said. “Some glitch farmers moved in a few days ago, and he want’s to help them move into town...”

“Hey guys...” Julia started. “Do you think it’ll be alright to if I go see Winston before we go?”

“I’m certain it’ll be fine if you ask one of the doctors,” Dr. Galen said. “Without hitting him with a cane.”

The group took the elevator to the floor below, and approached the Intensive Care Ward. A nurse ran out, and almost bumped into Julia. “Oh, apologies, Ms. Parsons. I was just about to come get you. Winston’s awake, and he requested to see you before you ago.”

“I was just about to go see him,” Julia said. “Come on guys.”

“You visit him a lot, or something?” Feather asked.

“He started waking up early this week, but his medical procedures have him awake at different times than mine allow me. We usually see each other about an hour a day before I have to get thrown into a forced sleep,” Julia explained as the group approached Winston’s room. “Hey, Winston,” Julia called out as she entered Winston’s room. “I’m gonna leave soon, but look who I brou-” Julia stopped, and began to garble her words.

“Julia, what’s wrong?” Feather asked, and poked her head through the door. She gasped at the sight.

Winston was indeed awake in his bed. He had a bandage wrapped around his head, as well as a bandage wrapped around his shoulder. Next to him on a chair was the big shocker. She was a hylotl woman, with a green face. She had two, blue fins coming from the sides of her head, and third, larger fin coming out of the top of her head. She wore a red kimono with a yellow sash, but a cast around her ribs could be seen. Her three red eyes made contact with Julia’s two, and both simply stared at each other in fear.

Dr. Galen glanced into the room, and elbowed Leonardo. Leonardo nodded, and walked behind Julia.

“Ah, Julia, I was wondering if you had left or not!” Winston said, a wide smile on his face. “I’d like to introduce you to a friend I made here when we weren’t hanging out.” He pointed to the hylotl woman, who bowed.

“Um... Hello... Please to be... Reacquainted with you,” the hylotl woman said. “My name is Tomoe... Tomoe Gozen.”

“Reacquainted?” Winston asked. “You all already know each other?”

“Well...” Tomoe started. “Kinda... It’s a long-”

“YOU!” Julia screamed. She tried to jump at Tomoe, but Leonardo quickly grabbed her by the shoulders. “Let me go, damn it!”

“I think I should go...” Tomoe said, getting up.

“Let me at her!” Julia screamed.

“Refusal. No! You’re not going to benefit anything from attacking her!”

Winston sat up. “What the hell is going on!?” He then shouted in pain, and grabbed his chest, the heart monitor flickering with a large pules followed by many smaller pulses. Everyone in the room froze, except Tomoe, who rushed back to his side.

“You should make sudden movements. You know the doctor said-”

“S- Screw what the- the doctor said...” Winston said, wincing. “I need answers.” The hell is going on!?”

“I think I can help,” Dr. Galen said. He pushed past Julia, nearly tripping. He cleared his throat. “Well, I’m assuming how you first met Ms. Gozen, correct?”

“Yeah...” Winston said, looking at Tomoe. “She’s the one who attacked me and Julia.”

“And you’re OKAY with that!?” Julia called out.

“Of course I’m not!” Winston said. “But I’m no longer pissed at Tomoe for what she did. At least not now, when I get out, maybe.”

“And do you know how Ms. Tomoe met Leo and I?” Dr. Galen asked.

“Kinda. You beat the crap out of her, that’s why she’s here,” Winston replied.

“Then what questions are there still?” Dr. Galen asked.

“I guess why Julia is freaking over Tomoe being here,” Winston said. Leonardo released Julia, and she ran to Winston’s bedside.

“I’m sorry... It’s just... I was really worried for you. I’m still worried for you...” Julia said, hugging Winston tightly. “And seeing the person that nearly killed you being this close to you... Just freaked me out...”

“I’ll be fine,” Winston said, smiling. “I’ll get out of here ASAP, then we can have a real date this time. Okay?”

Julia kissed Winston. “Okay, it’s a deal.” She looked up at Tomoe. “If you do anything to him, I will kill you.”

“I won’t do anything, I swear,” Tomoe said, raising her hands in a form of surrender.

“Alrighty then,” Dr. Galen said. “Julia, let’s head off. You can go see Winston tomorrow. Let’s go get Charles and get you introduced to the recent changes to camp...”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“There you are!” Charles said, happily. He picked up the small robotic chicken, and hugged it. “Thank goodnessssssss you’re alright. Let’ssssssss get you home...” Charles walked from the spot. He stepped over the recently killed cultist bodies, their robotic bodies town and mangled. Charles happily hummed, his boots crunching on the robotic fragments. “Ick... I ssssstepped in oil...” Charles wiped the black sludge off his boot as it dripped from a nearby cultist skull. “I hope there aren’t any more cultisssstssss...” Charles said to the robotic chicken. “I already killed thirty of them, and I’m getting tired. Do you think Charl ssssssshould work out?” The robotic chicken clucked, and Charles continued down the path.

“Order. Bring up three more crates of steel!” Leonardo called down from his post. He stood atop a partially constructed tower with a few apex workers. As a member of the outpost’s defense committee, Leonardo was tasked of bringing his knowledge of defense into the construction of towers and walls. While walls wouldn’t too much to guard against intergalactic attacks, Leonardo had stated, towers would be much more beneficial.

And did Leonardo know how to build a tower.

“Leonardo, sir... How much bigger is this tower going to be...?” one of the workers asked, carrying a crate of steel blocks in his arms.

“Reply. Not too much larger, then we can work on the wiring of this baby...” The last of the crates was dropped off. “Happy. Excellent work, guys. Now then... You know the drill...” The apex workers nodded, and began to run down the spiral staircase down the center of tower. Leonardo clapped his hands together, then, grabbed a crate. He began to expertly throw the steel in a near-perfect circle around. While at first appearing to be a crazed dance, it slowly began to build the tower’s walls upward. He topped at a certain point, and began building the staircase in a similar fashion below him.

“It’s impressive how well he can do that...” one worker said, sitting back and watching the tower slowly grow.

“Well, this is basically what he did back on his old planet...” another worker said, taking a sip of his Pineapple Drink.

Eventually, out of the tower grew a room at the top, with a walk around circling it. Eventually, a pointed roof grew out, shining in the sun’s light. Finally, a loud bell rang out from the tower, marking the completion of the tower. The workers then picked up a crate of wires, and reentered the tower.

“Sir, are you having fun?” one of the workers called up the stairs.

“Pleased. I am having a delightful time!” Leonardo called, sliding down the guard rail of the staircase. At the base, he slipped, falling off the rail onto the floor. “Pleased. Still good.”

“Alrighty then, we’ll start setting up the defense turrets upstairs then...” the apex workers began pulling out gun parts, and assembled the turret. They began carrying it up the stairs.

“Need help?” came a familiar voice from the door. Leonardo looked up from his face plant and saw Feather walking into the tower.

“Greeting. Hello Feather,” Leonardo slowly got up. “What are you up to?”

“I was curious to see this new defense system,” Feather said.

“Proud. It’s something my people did. Primitive, but effective.” Leonardo lead Feather up the stairs to the turrets being set up. “All you do is put a gun into the turret, and the turret will function just like that gun. We’ll have all these puppies rigged up to a lever in the middle so we don’t have any accidental firings.”

“Can I test one out?” Feather asked, pointing to her sniper rifle over her back.

“Conflicted. I don’t see why not...” Leonardo pondered. “I guess it’s alright...”

“Sweet!” Feather said, and stuck her rifle into the turret. She then eagerly flipped the lever, and the turret came to life. “Ooo... Neato...” The turret then began pointing into the fields below, and began to fire nonstop. Screams were heard from below. “Oh, crap!” Feather said. She ran to gun, and tried to pull her gun out. The turret instead, flipped around, and began to fire inside the tower. Everyone took cover, except for Leonardo, who took the shots. He slowly approached the lever, and flicked it off, the turret powering down.

“Upset. I think you should leave now...” Leonardo said, leaning over the lever.

“I didn’t mean-”

Leonardo turned to Feather, his front covered with dents. “Angered. Please leave. Go check if everyone below is alright.”

Feather nodded, took her gun, and ran down the stairs to the exit. Outside, she ran around the tower to see that no one was around. “I swear there was screaming...” She went over to the fields, walking through the plants. She pulled up one of the plants, finding a feathercrown. “I guess, all I did was zap some plants...” She took a bite from the feathercrown, and began to walk through the field back to the main town.

After a long walk, the town was in the distance, and the farm house was even closer. “Hello?” Feather called out. Suddenly, five glitch dressed as farmers emerged from the plants around her, each holding guns. They pointed the guns at her. “Uh... Hi?”

“Alert. Found the culprit!” one of the glitch called out.

“Finally...” came a familiar voice. Charles exited the farm house with two more glitch. “Let’sssssss sssssee who it issss-” Charles made eye contact with Feather and the two stood there, awkwardly. “Feather...”

“Yeah...?”

“Pleasssssse leave.”

“I was planning to-”

“Pleasssse leave not through the farmsssss that are sssssssuppossssed to feed this outposssst...”

“I didn’t know-”

“Five.”

“Charles, what are you-”

“Four.”

“Statement. Get runnin’, girlie,” one of the farmers said. Feather began running from the farms as ‘Three’ was heard.

Charles looked at the running avian. “One.”

“Statement. You skipped two.”

“Charl can’t count... Anyway, just sssssshoot into the air a bit. Ssssscare her or sssssssomething.”

Feather ran even faster as she heard the gunfire behind her. She eventually made it to town, glad that the farmers did not chase her. In town, she found a seat under a tree to catch her breath.

“Damn... Well I guess I can’t help out Leo or Charles either...” Feather said.

“Why not?”

“Well, I royally screwed up at the tower building Leo was at... Then I almost got killed by Charles and his newly made gang of redneck robots...”

“Isn’t Charles your friend?”

“Yeah, but I guess he was really upset by me kinda barging into the farms...” Feather’s eyes went wide when she realized she was talking with someone. She turned and saw Tomoe hanging upside down from the tree, eating a corn-on-the-blob. “Typical florans, turning on their friends...”

“Um... What’re you doing here?”

“Well, I was having a conversation with you.” Tomoe took another bite.

“I mean... Shouldn’t you be at the hospital?”

“Oh. Yeah, I should. But I got hungry, so I left a note saying I’d be gone for a while.” Tomoe finished off her corn, and tossed the core into a nearby trash can. She reached into a hidden pocket on her kimono, and pulled out a ham sandwich, and began eating.

“Aren’t you, like, in pain? I mean, you took a good beating.”

“Not really. All that really needs tender care are the ribs,” Tomoe said as she finished off her sandwich.

“So... Hanging upside down is going to help with that?” Feather asked, leaning back in her chair sarcastically.

“Uh... I guess not...” Tomoe then tried to ‘roll’ her body off the limb of the tree. Instead of landing on her feet like she expected, she fell face first into the concrete. “Ow... Nope... Did not help...”

“Let me help you...” Feather said, helping Tomoe up. “Can you sit on your own?”

“I’m injured, not old...” Tomoe said, taking a seat. She pulled out burrito and began to eat it. “Want one? I have a few.”

“Why do you have all this food?”

“I get hungry...” Tomoe said, blushing slightly.

“I just watched you eat like, half of your body weight in food,” Feather said. “That seems more than hungry.”

“I...” Tomoe started, blushing more. “I... Have an eating... Disorder...”

“Eating disorders usually cause people to eat LESS,” Feather said, rolling her eyes. “I think you’re a glutton.”

“I’m not a glutton!” Tomoe said, food flying from her mouth. Tomoe immediately covered her mouth, blushing madly. She swallowed. “Sorry...”

Feather wiped the food off her face. “It’s... Alright, I guess... I’m kinda used to it...”

“Oh?”

“Well, I mean, you should know my crew, seeing as you tried to kill two of em.”

“It still couldn’t be that bad,” Tomoe said, finishing off her third burrito. “I mean an apex and a floran may not have the best manners-”

“It’s not the apex. Dr. Galen is fine, he has all the etiquette. It’s more Winston, Charles and Julia...”

“Julia? Really?” Tomoe said, wiping her face. “She couldn’t-”

“She was raised by USCM soldiers.”

“Ah, makes more sense...”

“I guess I shouldn’t talk, being born into avian pirates, but I mean, at least pirates have some decency.” The two laughed.

“That makes Julia sound like a scarier person,” Tomoe joked, downing a bowl of corralcreep curry.”

“She’s not that bad, though I guess her attitude towards you isn’t a good example... You kinda tried to killer her boyfriend and childhood friend at the wrong time...”

“Well, I didn’t know they were dating.”

“Well, they basically confessed to each other like an hour before you attacked them...”

“Oh, that’s what you meant by bad timing. I thought you meant that time of the mo-”

“Tomoe!” came an angry and familiar voice.

Feather and Tomoe both turned to see Julia in a nurse’s uniform pushing a bandaged Winston in a wheelchair.

“Julia, slow down...” Winston said and Julia approached the sitting pair.

“Tomoe! What the hell are you doing here!?” Julia half yelled, half asked.

“I said in the note I was going to be gone...”

“You left that note last night!” Julia said loudly. “You need to get back to the hospital ASAP!”

“Fine...” Tomoe said, getting up. “See ya, Feather...”

“Wait, wanna hang out tomorrow?” Feather asked.

“I dunno... Queen Julia, do I have permission to hang out with Feather?” Tomoe gave a graceful, wincing at the pain from her ribs.

“Oh god...” Winston muttered. “Julia... Don’t kill her...”

Julia had a very angered look on her face. “I... Suppose... It’s... Fine...” she said through gritted teeth.

“Alright, see you then!” Feather said. Winston and Tomoe waved as Julia took the pair back to the hospital. After a short trip, the trio arrived at the hospital, where Julia escorted the pair back to their rooms.

“You alright?” Julia asked, helping Winston into his bed.

“Yeah, I’ll be alright,” Winston said. Julia released her grasp and Winston almost fell into his bed.

“Sorry I can’t hang out longer with you, but since I’m volunteering, I hve to help out around the place more.”

“Julia!” came a voice from outside the room.

“Coming!” Julia gave Winston a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll visit you when I clock out.” Julia then dashed out of the room.

Winston sighed, and lied back into his pillows.

“Knock knock,” came a voice from his room’s door. Tomoe poked her head into the room. “May I come in?”

“Come on in,” Winston said. “But won’t Julia get mad for you being here?”

“She won’t be back here for a while. They’re checking out the southern wing today.” Tomoe pulled out a small deck of cards from her kimono. “Žandari?”

“Nah... I’m not feeling cards today.”

“Oh...” Tomoe said, pocketing the cards. “Something bothering you?”

“I guess...” Winston said. “I guess, it’s more about you attacking Julia and I...”

“Oh, damn it. I’ve apologized like seven times. Today!”

“I know that, it’s just that we were on a date when you attacked. And now Julia and I can’t really hang out since I’m still hospitalized...” Winston sighed.

“Well, you still get to see her everyday.”

“Yeah, but it’s not quality hangout time. I mean I see a tree everyday, that doesn’t mean I hang out with it everyday.”

“True...” Tomoe said, trying to think of a way to cheer up the now saddened Winston. “But it’s not THAT bad...”

“How so?” Winston asked.

“Well... You get to see your girlfriend wearing a nurses uniform...”

“So?”

“With that short skirt, you almost get to see EVERYTHING,” Tomoe said, wiggling her wingers, as if trying to cast a spell.

“I’m not really thinking of that kind of stuff...” Winston said. “Especially while living is a kinda higher thing to worry about in my current status. But I’m a bit surprised you’d point something like that out.”

“Oh... Uh..” Tomoe began to blush. “I guess when you have seventeen older brothers, they’re perversions rub off on you...”

“Seventeen? Damn...” Winston said. “And I guess your brothers might have rubbed off the whole nonstop eating thing, too.”

“Uh... That’s an eating disorder I have...” Tomoe said, blushing a bit more.

“Disorders cause people to eat-”

“Cause people to eat less... I know...” Tomoe said, sighing. “Feather told me that...”

“Any idea why you eat so much?” Winston asked. “I know a bit about medical stuff.”

“Not really...” Tomoe said, pondering. “And being in a hospital doesn’t give you knowledge on medical stuff.”

“No, I mean I’ve received USMC medical training. Julia too, in fact her dad’s a doctor.”

“You think you could figure out why I eat so much!?” Tomoe asked, eager.

“Well, I think it might be a tapeworm, but I’m assuming nothing showed up in your xrays.”

“Nope, I’m parasite free,” Tomoe said.

“Well, I’m assuming you do a lot of exercise?”

“I do that exercise to make sure I don’t gain weight. I may be a tom, but I still enjoy having a girlish figure...”

“Well, I can’t really do much else while I’m here... Maybe when I get out I can help you.”

“Oh that would be great!” Tomoe said excitedly, clapping her hands together.

“TOMOE!” Julia called out from down the hall.

“Crap... I guess they were in our wing today... See ya Winston!” Tomoe said, running out.

Winston sighed and closed his eyes. Now he could relax.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Feather appraoched the hospital doors. It was late in the evening, the sun had gone over the rise hours ago. Julia would get off her shift within minutes, and Feather hoped that she would be available to hang out, seeing as the only person who Feather had actually hung out with was forced to go back to the hospital.

After a few minutes of waiting, Julia emerged from the hospital doors. “Hey, Julia!” Feather called out.

“Oh, hey Feather,” Julia replied, running over to Feather. “What’s up?”

“I was just hoping we could hang out for a bit.”

Julia yawned. “I guess I can for a bit, though it’s late...” The two began to walk.

“But you usually stay up this late.”

“That was before work. Work is killer...”

“I thought you were volunteering?”

“I thought so too, but I got paid today...” Julia pulled out a small 5k block out of her bag.

“Nice,” Feather said. “Maybe I should get a job here.”

“Do you know how to perform a PET-CT, EKG, or MRI?” Julia asked.

“Uh... I know how to use PRNDL2...”

“Maybe working here wouldn’t be the best for you...” Julia said. “They really like people with previous medical experience.”

“You’re lucky...” Feather said, sighing.

“About getting a job here? Not really... We’re just helping out the outpost while we wai-”

“No, I mean everyone in the crew,” Feather sat on a nearby bench, sighing. “You guys all have great talent that can be used off a starship...”

“What do you mean?” Julia asked, sitting down next to Feather.

“Well, Leo get’s to help out with building defenses, since he was a defense specialist on his planet. Charles is working with some farmers of getting a steady food supply, you’re helping here at the hospital, and Winston could too once he’s out... Max can practically run this place... All I can do is fly a ship...”

“That can be useful...”

“Not here...” Feather said. “There’s no need for me to be flying around or anything...” She sighed.

“Don’t linger on it,” Julia said, smiling. “Come on, let’s go hang out, get your mind off of this.” She got up, and pulled on Feather’s wrist.

“Woah, okay, where at?” Feather asked, getting up.

“There’s a small twenty-four seven food place open right now,” Julia said, bolting for the market, nearly dragging Feather. “Let’s go!”

The two ran for quite a bit, before reaching a small shop. It looked to be a small wooden shed-like building, built to serve seven or eight people at a time. There was no door, only a front wall made from a low hanging curtain. The pair lifted the curtain and entered the food bar, sitting at the counter.

“Oh crap...” Came a familiar voice. The two looked, and saw Tomoe sitting at the end of the serving bar, eating an eggshoot salad.

“Damn it, Tomoe!” Julia called. “Get back to the hospital!”

“But I got hungry,” Tomoe said, finishing the plate.

“Julia, let her eat, she’s a horrid glutton...” Feather whispered loudly.

“I- I’m not a glutton!” Tomoe called out. “It’s an eating disorder!”

Julia rolled her eyes. “Disorders mean you usually eat le-”

“Shut up! I know!” Tomoe said, slamming her hands into the counter.

“Statement. Please settle down,” said a glitch as he entered behind the counter. “Question. What would you like to eat?”

“Meatwich sounds good to me,” Julia said.

“I’ll take a bowl of curried beakseed,” Feather said.

“I’ll take the house special,” Tomoe said. The glitch looked at her oddly. “What?”

“Statement. Uh... I’ll get these to you all shortly...” the glitch said as he went into the back room. After a few minutes, the glitch returned with Feather and Julia’s orders. With him was a hylotl woman, holding a plate covered in miscellaneous meat.

“Who ordered the house special?” the hylotl woman asked.

“Uh... I did?” Tomoe said. “Is something wrong?”

“No one has ordered it yet, I wanted to see their reaction to trying it...” the woman gave Tomoe the plate. “Enjoy.”

All eyes in the room were looking at Tomoe. She slowly, and reluctantly, took a bite of the first piece of meat. “It’s alright...” The glitch and the hylotl sighed, and went into the back room. “Was something supposed to happen?”

“Well, most house specials have all kinds of weird meat in them,” Feather said.

“You could be eating another person!” Julia said.

Tomoe looked at the plate, taking another bite. “I could see why florans would be cannibals then...”

“Okay, after this plate, you’re going back to the hospital...” Julia said, a disgusted look on her face. Feather was giggling a bit.

“Alright fine...” Tomoe said as she quickly finished off her plate. She left some money on the counter and headed out. “See ya tomorrow, Princess Julia.”

“She really urks me...” Julia said.

“Why?”

“She never fully listens to me, she just nods her heads then leaves... Not only that but she did kind of attack me and nearly killed Winston...”

“Well, Winston seems pretty chill about it,” Feather said. “Don’t the two hang out daily?”

“Which they shouldn’t, since Winston still is in intensive care. He needs to relax, and having a crazed assassin I’m sure stresses him out...”

Feather pondered what Julia said and snapped her fingers. “I get it, you’re jealous!”

“I’m WHAT!?” Julia asked. “Of who?”

“Well, Tomoe. It sounds like you’re jealous of her... Which is why you’re harsh towards her all the time.”

“Why would I be jealous of HER!?”

“She can spend as much time with your boyfriend as she wants...” Feather said, finishing off her food.

Julia sighed loudly and finished her food. The two left money on the counter and left. “I’m not jealous...” Julia said in a pouty voice.

“I was joking,” Feather said.

“Herumph...”

“Alright, I’m sorry I didn’t mean it... I just don’t want you to be upset with me since we’re roommates...”

The two walked to the landing strip, and found the crew’s new ship. They opened the door into it, and walked in. Inside they were greeted by the SAILs, their AI being transferred over from their old ship. They walked down a long hall, and took a left, to the girl’s dorm.

“You still mad at me?” Feather asked Julia as they changed into their pajamas. Julia didn’t respond. “Fiiine...” Suddenly, Feather was hit by something soft. Turning around, she saw Julia standing there holding her pillow in hand.

“Pillow fight!” Julia called out, and swung again. Feather grabbed her pillow, and the two began swinging, laughing all the way. After a while they went to bed giggling.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The next morning, Feather awoke and saw that Julia had already left for work. Yawning, she got out of bed, got dressed and went into the main chamber of the ship. There, she only saw Dr. Galen, who was sitting at the table, eating some toast. “Morning, Max.”

“Morning,” Dr. Galen replied.

“Hey, do you need help at the office?”

“How so?”

“Like, do you need any extra hands to help out?” Feather asked. “I’m kinda looking for a job until Winston gets out of the hospital.”

“I don’t know about me, but maybe Madame Koko needs some help.”

“Alright sweet,” Feather said, walking over to the toaster and putting in some bread. “Thanks.”

Shortly thereafter, the two left for the city council building; a.k.a. the large warehouse. There, Dr. Galen went to his office, and Feather went to Madame Koko’s. Feather knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Madame Koko called out. Feather entered. “Ah, hello Feather, what is it?”

“Um... I was hoping I could get a temporary job here while waiting for Winston to get out of the hospital...”

“Hmm...” Madame Koko pondered. She looked around the messy room. “I think you can help me out... Can you file?”

Feather looked around the room. “Is everything labeled?”

“It should be.”

“Then I can file.”

And with that, Feather worked her new job. It’s was boring and tedious, but Madame Koko gave her quite the pay for the job. The after a few days, the boredom ended with a crash.

No literally, a crash.

Whilst working, a crash was heard from outside the warehouse. Everyone in the warehouse ran outside to see what caused the commotion. Feather almost lead the charge, almost eager at the change of pace. Outside, there was quite the sight.

A USMC jeep was crashed into the side of the warehouse, with a group of people around it. Feather, Dr. Galen and Madame Koko pushed through and saw two humans at the wheel.

“Oh my god,” Feather said, rushing to their side. One human was passed out and bleeding, and the other was a bit dazed from the crash. She snapped out of the daze and nearly jolted out of the jeep’s seat.

“Who is your leader here?” He asked.

“That would be me,” Madame Koko said. “What’s going on?”

“We need to get these guys to a hospital,” Dr. Galen said.

“Don’t worry about us...” the USMC soldier said, but he fell to the ground. Feather rushed to his side, trying to keep him steady. “You’re all in danger...”

“In danger of what?” Dr. Galen asked.

Suddenly, the ringing of bells could be heard in the distance. “Cultists...”

A gasp came from the group of by-passers. “The hell are you all standing around for! Get to the shelter!” Dr. Galen called out, and the group quickly dispersed.

“What do we do?” Feather asked.

“We need to first get these guys to a hospital,” Madame Koko said.

“We can’t carry them there though, we need to get up and help defend!” Dr. Galen said. Feather looked to the wrecked jeep.

“I think I know a solution...” She ran over to the jeep and popped the hood open.

“What are you doing?” Dr. Galen asked.

“I’m going to try to fix the the engine of this sucker... We should at least get this thing mobile at least to get these guys to the hospital then get us to the front lines...” After a few minutes she shut the hood, and jumped into the passenger seat. She turned the key, and jeep roared to life. She then moved the passed out USMC soldier into the passenger seat. “Everyone get in.”

Dr. Galen and Madame Koko looked at each other in surprise, then took the wounded soldier into the jeep. Feather then slammed on the gas, and drove towards the hospital.

They pulled up to the hospital in a matter of minutes, and Julia and a few nurses greeted them outside. “Get these men to ER now, they have some bad injuries,” Madame Koko ordered.

“What the hell is going on!?” Julia asked.

“Cultists are attacking...” Dr. Galen said, loading a pistol. “We need to get our armor and gear, stat.”

“Julia, you get to the front lines. I’ll cover for you,” Madame Koko said, as she ran into the hospital.

Julia nodded, then hopped into the jeep, and the trio drove towards their ship. “So... What’s with the jeep?”

“Those guy we dropped off crashed into the warehouse with it,” Feather said.

“Apparently she can fix this stuff...” Dr. Galen said from the back seat. “Why we needed an engineer for the ship...”

“Hey, I can fix diesel ran engines, not starships,” Feather said. They quickly approached the ship, and ran inside. They quickly donned their armor, except for Julia, who required a bit of assistance from Feather, and ran back to the jeep.

“What about Leonardo and Charles?” Julia asked as they raced towards the front lines.

“They always wear their armor,” Dr. Galen said, pulling a bomb out of his pack. “They’ll be fine.”

In the distance, the farmhouse quickly came into view. The crew stopped. “Charles!” Dr. Galen called out.

One of the glitch farmer emerged from the house, shotgun in hand. “Statement. Charles already headed towards the front lines. He told us to wait here as a secondary defense.”

“Second dary defen... But he’s one of the main defen...” Dr. Galen sighed. “Alright... Thanks... Let’s go.” The crew sped off.

“So what’s our plan?” Feather asked, shifting into fifth gear.

“Don’t have one...” Dr. Galen said.

“Of course...”

Feather suddenly swerved as the ground in front of the jeep exploded. “They’ve got bombs!”

“On it!” Dr. Galen called out, lighting his bombs. He began throwing them over the hill in front of them, explosions echoing. The jeep flew over the hill, and below were the fallen bodies of cultists. Landing, the crew kept going. Up ahead, cultists were swarming the furthest-most defense tower.

“Drive me along the side...” Julia said, pulling out her pistols. Feather swerved close, and Julia began to fire into the cultists. They fell quickly but began to return fire.

“They need help up top!” Dr. Galen called, pointing to the parapets above. Sure enough, Leonardo and the few apex workers were fighting for their lives against hundreds of cultists.

“Julia, take the wheel!” Feather called.

“What!?”

Feather then released the wheel, and pulled out her sniper rifle. Julia panicked, and grabbed the wheel, struggling to stay steady. Feather scoped into the roof, and began to fire. Cultists quickly began to fall, but it was not enough. More and more began to pour in. “We’re not enough!” Feather called, taking back the wheel.

Suddenly, a grim war cry echoed over the din of the attack, consisting of gargles, roars, and hollers.

“What the hell is that!?” Julia asked.

Dr. Galen sighed. “Charles is gonna need our help…”

“YAAAAAAAAAH!” Charles screamed as he flew through the air. He swung his two choppy leaves madly, hitting many of the cultists directly below him. As he hit the wall, he curled into a ball, and used the moment to thrust himself forward. Into the crowd.

“Yep, there he goes!” Dr. Galen called out, and pointed towards the floran. Feather sped towards him.

The outpost was beginning to be under attack, with cultists attacking the farthest out defense tower. Leonardo and his apex workers were trapped in the upper chamber, while the crew tried to break them free.

“Statement. TAKE THIS, SCUM!” Leonardo called as he slammed his fists into the skull of another cultist. “Statement. DIE YOU WEED!”

“Sir!” one of the apex cried, barely dodging incoming sword swipes. “I know it’s not the best time... Woah...” He ducked from another swing. “But I think your internal AI is a bit bugged!”

“Statement. Nonsense,” Leonardo said calmly, stabbing his blade through two cultists. “I just enjoy sound super calm in the heat of battle.”

“Did... Gah...” another apex said as he dodged some attacks. “Did the other knights do that back at home?”

“Statement. Yeah!” Leonardo replied happily, cutting another cultist. “Wait... Nope...”

A loud crash came from down stairs. “The hell was that?” an apex asked, peppering a few cultists with lasers. Charles screamed as he slammed another cultist into the wall.

“Joyous. It’s just Charles.” As Leonardo spoke the word, a cultist flew up the stairs, and was followed by a yelling Charles.

“Ssssssssup guysssssss,” Charles said, squatting on the rails at the top of the stairs. The cultists then diverted their attention to the floran and began attacking him. Charles smiled widely, his tongue flopping out the side of his mouth. He jumped forward, and began walking on the heads of each cultist, dragging his choppy leaves behind him. As he approached Leonardo and his apex team, he stopped at the very last cultist in the row he was running on. Leonardo then ran up, and swung, beheading the cultist Charles stood on. Sparks flew; a glitch cultist.

As Charles and the head landed, Charles quickly spun, and kicked the head with full force. The metal skull flew into another cultist, taking him down. The head then began to pingpong quite a few cultists. Leonardo then intervened and the skull began to lose it’s momentum, and finished off the last of the cultists.

Everyone breathed heavily after the fight, except for Leonardo. “Statement. Excellent work.”

“You didn’t do ssssssssso bad, either.”

“Everyone okay?” Dr. Galen asked, running up the stairs. As he reached the top, he tripped over the glitch skull, hitting the ground.

Feather and Julia quickly climbed up afterwards, stopping behind the fallen Galen.

“I think they’re good...” Feather said. “Lotta bodies...”

“I killed thirty-sssssssssseven,” Charles said.

“Wait, you guys kept track?” Dr. Galen asked, slowly getting up.

“Proud. Forty-two.”

“During a a major invasion that threats the outpost... You guys counted your kills like it was game!?” Dr. Galen half yelled, half asked. “This is serious, right guys?” Dr. Galen looked to Feather and Julia for back up.

“Twenty-two...” Julia said.

“Eighteen...” Feather said, sighing sadly.

Dr. Galen looked like he was on the verge of screaming, but instead, swung his arms madly while making miscellaneous grunting noises. After the moment passed, he took a deep breath. “Now that that’s out of the way... Where did they come from?”

“They came from a south-west direction,” one of the apex said, pointing.

“How were the turrets?” Feather asked.

“They completely cut off the wiring before they fired a shot...” another apex said, sadly.

“We gotta take them out at their source...” Dr. Galen said. “Alright guys, get to the jeep. Engineers, you guys stay here and ring the bell if you see more cultists.”

“We have a jeep?” Charles asked.

“Why should we ring the bell? Everyone knows cultists are here, I’m sure.”

“Well, if more cultists comes, that means we all died,” Dr. Galen said, heading back down the stairs.

“There’s a big chance we can die?” Julia asked.

“We actually have a jeep?” Charles asked.

“Nice priorities...” Feather said, rolling her eyes. “C’mon, let’s go.” The group rushed down the stairs, and headed for the rustic jeep.

“We do have a jeep...” Charles said, looking in awe. “Let Charl drive!”

“Uh... No, I’ll drive,” Feather said, hopping into the the drivers seat.

“Why do you get to always drive?” Charles asked as the rest of the crew entered the jeep.

“I get to drive the jeep because I fixed it.” Feather turned the ignition. Charles jumped onto the back, and they sped off.

“So, does Charl get to fly ship next time, then?”

“Sure,” Dr. Galen said. “You can fly the old ship. Since it’s been scrapped and turned into packaging crates.”

“Impressed. You fixed this yourself, Feather?” Leonardo asked.

“We have a new ship?” Charles asked.

“Yes and yep,” Feather said. “The old ship was horribly trashed, so we were given a new one. And some USMC guys crashed a jeep into the warehouse... And I fixed it.”

“By the way, Julia, did you recognize any of those humans?” Dr. Galen asked.

“No... Though I’ll have to talk them to see if I actually know them...” Julia said.

The drive went on relatively quiet, until a sight to behold was seen ahead. A large USMC space ship was crashed into the ground. Numerous cultist ships surrounded it, and cultists were emerging from them. Feather stopped the car and looked through the scope of her sniper.

“What do you see with your hawken eyes?” Julia whispered. Feather eyed her menacingly, then continued to look through.

“I think they’re teleporting in... I see a few others pointing orders, might be leaders...”

“Probably not higher ups, but leaders nonetheless...” Dr. Galen said. “Wanna give them a bad day?”

Feather took in a deep breath, and fire, killing one of the ordering cultists. The camp immediately went into a frenzy, and Feather turned the ignition, and sped towards the camp. She drove over a few cultists, and slammed into a final one before she stopped, pulled out her rifle once again, and began firing.

Julia Jumped out of the passenger seat, and began to fire away with her pistols. She walked slowly, firing with precision, killing quite a few cultists. As she gunned down another, she barely dodged a spear thrust towards her. She turned, and fired at the spearing cultist, but he effortlessly dodged, swinging his spear upward, and knocking the pistol into the air. She quickly aimed with the other pistol and fired, but missed her target by a hair, and her other gun was thrown into the air. She quickly took a fist-fighting stance, and swung her fists. The cultist dodged effortlessly, but his counter-stabs were quite ineffective, as Julia dodged them easily. After another thrust, Julia grabbed the end of the spear, and snapped the tip off. The cultist was caught off guard and the wooden stick was kicked out of his hand. Julia then dropped kicked the cultist to the ground, and curb stomped him. She then held her left hand up, and caught her pistol, and shot a charging cultist. Raising her other hand, she caught her other pistol, aimed at the down cultist and fired.

Dr. Galen’s bombs were having quite the effect on the purple hordes. He was taking out many of the cultists with little effort. Until he spotted a larger, more beefier cultist. Dr. Galen lit a bomb, and lobbed it at the big man, creating a large explosion. Dr. Galen smiled, but it quickly faded when the massive man came from the cloud of smoke, almost unharmed. He dashed at Galen, and swung his fist, clocking Dr. Galen across the face. Galen fell back, but quickly reacted, throwing an electrogrenade. The big man shouted in pain at the shocks, but shook them off, and chased after Dr. Galen. Dr. Galen quickly ran, but reached into his pack, and pulled out a gas grenade. He then stopped running, and turned, throwing the nade. It shattered open into the cultist’s face, causing him to scream in pain. But the big man did not slow, and almost increased speed, tackling Dr. Galen.

While Galen was pinned, he reach into his pack, and smashed a molotov into the big man’s face. Fire exploded everywhere, shower everyone in a nearby radius in fire. Both Galen and the big cultist screamed in pain from the flames, but Dr. Galen used the fiery diversion to escape the big man’s grasped. Whilst burning, Galen jumped onto the big man’s back, and back flipped off, lobbing his final specialty grenade. The blue plasma grenade exploded with a horrible brilliance, obliterating many cultists near the blast. Dr. Galen landed his flip, and walked away from the smoke cloud as it parted, no sign of the big man ever to have existed.

Charles twirled around on a single foot, axes in hand. He smiled happily, tongue hanging out of his mouth, and his eyes closed. He imagined he was a ballerina, dancing and twirling, spinning around. Opening his eyes, he watched in joy as his choppy leaves cut through another cultist. Charles’ eyes went wide as he stopped his twirl mid spin, a massive hammer swing down, inches from him.

A tall cultist picked the hammer back up, and swung at Charles. He backflipped out of the way, and front flipped onto the head of the hammer. The tall cultist began to swung his hammer around, attempting to shake Charles off. Charles held tight, and giggled, watching as the hammer-wielder began hitting his own comrades in a near drunken stupor. “I guessssss I’ll take lead...” Charles said, slamming his choppy leaves into the beam holding up the hammer head, removing the head. He then swung the choppy leaves up, the sharp edge piercing the cultist’s jaw. Charles then spun the cultist around, brought him close, and skull bashed him. The cultist fell, lifeless.

As Leonardo brought his antivirus down on another cultist, he saw one of the orderers from before run up to a large gong. He rang it, and all the cultists stopped their fighting, turning to the orderer. “Let these non believers perish!” The cultists began to chant in an eerie unison. the crew members all quickly retreated back to the jeep, standing back to back.

“What’s going on?” Feather asked.

“Obvious statement. Some kind of chanting... Maybe a spell?”

“Magic issssssn’t real...” Charles said. “Next you’re going to sssssay a dragon will attack...”

Suddenly, the jeep below the group exploded, almost at random, causing the five to hit the ground. “No, jeepey!” Charles screamed as he flew through the air. after landing, Dr. Galen slowly tried to sit up, moaning in pain. He saw the other members of his crew either unconscious, or dead. He hoped the latter wasn’t true, but that quickly became the least of his worries. An electric cage appeared around each crew member, and forcibly dragged the crew into a central, larger spot.

“Now, these nonbelievers will burn!” the lead cultist from before called out. Many of the cultists cheered, and the cage began to shrink. Dr. Galen tried his best to stand, shouting out in pain. He limped over to his fallen comrades, and began to drag them closer towards the middle of the cage. “Do not even bother, ape!” the cultist called out. “This power will destroy all of you!” He laughed maniacally. His laughter was cut short, catching everyone present off guard.

Dr. Galen slowly turned back to the cultist, only to see a long blade stabbed through the cultist’s chest. The cultist gurgled, turning his head slowly to see his attacker. Behind him stood Tomoe, brandishing a first mate broadsword. She quickly removed the blade, and sheathed it.The cultist’s eyes then rolled back into his head, and the cultists collapsed. Many of the other cultists began to murmur with concern, then began to brandish their numerous weapons. The cage quickly faded, releasing the unconscious crew.

“I advise you do not attack me...” Tomoe said. “I have killed giant flies with more strength than all of you combined.” The cultists did not heed her words, and began to chant. “Uh... Stay back...” Tomoe said, taking a step back. “Oh man...”

Suddenly, an explosion went off at the front of the cultists, sending many flying through the air. Looking back, Tomoe spied someone standing on the ridge of the valley. Winston reloaded his shotgun, and fired again. The crowd exploded again, but many cultists began to attack. Tomoe luckily began to fight.

She leapt high into the air, first mate in hand. She swung down into the horde, cutting down a few cultists. As soon as he cut the ground, she spun, cutting more cultists. She gracefully spun, dodging bullets and the explosions from Winston’s shotgun. After dodging a third explosion, she threw the first mate high into the air, and pulled out her two oysterizers. She quickly moved through the crowd, stabbing more cultists as they fired. After her movements were completed, she threw her two oysterizers into the air, and turned back to what remained of the cultist horde. A larger cultist, with a large iron axe in hand charged at her, screaming. He held his axe high, and Tomoe did not flinch. But before the axe made contact, Tomoe smiled as her first mate descended, impaling the cultist through his back. Then, two more cultists charged Tomoe, but she instead took a deep breath, almost ignoring the attacking pair. Then, sensing their presence, thrusted her arms forward, hitting her two oysterizers as they fell. They flew forward, and impaled the two charging cultists between the eyes. As they fell, Tomoe grabbed her first mate, ran past the falling cultists, taking her oysterizers and charged into the remaining group.

“Damn...” Winston said, nearly dropping his shotgun as he watched the fight. “That’s impressive...” His eye suddenly caught Dr. Galen limply fighting off a small group of cultists, who were attempting to grab his fallen crew mates. She quickly limped over to the fray, blasting the cultists. “You gonna be alright, Max?” Winston asked, as he blasted a cultist.

“Nope.”

“Gonna pass out?”

“Should’ve a while ago, I’ve lost feeling in about eighty percent of my body.”

“Why haven’t you passed out yet?”

“Making sure my crew is safe is more important... Tomoe!” Dr. Galen screamed out. The assassin turned her head at her name being called. Dr. Galen raised his hand, and Tomoe understood the signal, and reached into her kimono, and pulled out one of Julia’s pistols. She thew it to Dr. Galen, who caught it and blasted a cultists sneaking up behind Winston. “Now then, onto important matters,” Dr. Galen said, and he collapsed onto the ground. Winston looked over to see Tomoe beheading the last cultist.

She turned to him. “Shouldn’t you be in the hospital?”

“Shouldn’t you?” Winston asked and the two chuckled.

“What do we do about your buddies?” Tomoe asked, sheathing her weapons.

“Well... We’ll need to carry them back...”

“You walked too?”

“Unfortunately,” Winston sighed. He walked over to Leonardo. “I guess we should wake him up...” He kicked the side of Leonardo’s head, and the glitch almost sprung to life.

“Pleased. Of course I’d like more tea!” Leonardo screamed before stumbling a bit and regaining his senses. “Pained. What happened? Fear. The cultists! Where are they...” Leonardo’s sentence slowly died, matching the scene of the cultists.

“We got the cultists,” Winston said, slinging his shotgun over his shoulder.

“Surprise. You’re here, Winston!” Leonardo said. “Shouldn’t you be in a hospital?”

“Shouldn’t you be building a tower?” Tomoe asked.

“Insult. Shouldn’t you be in a fat house?” Winston shorted at the quick response, and Tomoe blushed. “It’s an eating disorder!”

“Fact. Disorders usually make people eat le-”

“I KNOW!”

“Uh... Anyway... Leonardo, you alright to walk back to town?” Winston asked.

“Report. My left optical sensor is a bit shot, and I feel slight loss of internal pressure. But I should be able to help.”

“Can you carry a a few of the guys back to town?” Winston asked. “I can;t carry everyone at once...”

“I’ll get Feather,” Tomoe said eagerly, carrying Feather on her back.

“Statement. I’ll get Max and Charles,” Leonardo said, slinging the named two over his shoulders.

“I’ll grab Julia then...” He picked her up in his arms.

“How fitting...” Tomoe said. Winston eyed her, and the trio began to walk back to town.

The walk was long and arduous, as the sun shone high overhead. Winston and Tomoe were also in a great deal of pain, as they had snuck out of the hospital through a window.

Julia stirred in Winston’s arms, causing the trio to stop. She slowly opened her eyes. “Win... Ston...” She muttered. She then coughed a bit, and tried to stand up, causing her to moan in pain. “You need to lay down-”

“I’m the one who’s carried you a few miles, you’re the one who needs to lie down,” Winston said. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.” Julia nodded, and gave a weak smile, and passed out again. “Come on guys, let’s hurry up.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Julia sat up quickly. “Winston!” she called out. She looked around and found herself in the hospital. “Wha...”

“Glad to see you’re awake,” came a familiar voice. Julia turned to the door and Winston entered, dressed as a doctor. “How’re you feeling.”

“Did you carry me across the planet?”

“Kinda.”

julia punched him in the arm. “Idiot, you needed to get rest.”

“Well, I’m pretty good now. That was a while ago.”

“What do you mean?” Julia asked.

“Well, you’ve been in a coma for about three weeks...” Winston said. “You had some pretty bad injuries.”

“Three weeks!? How is everyone else?”

“They woke up last week. Leonardo helped carry you guys here.”

“And the cultists?”

“Dead. Tomoe and I killed them off.”

Julia’s eyes went wide. “You worked with HER!?”

“Yes. I did.”

“But she tried to KILL you!”

“Yes, but I also healed you,” Tomoe said, entering the room. “Hello.”

“What do you mean you healed me?”

Tomoe smiled, and pulled out a lollipop. “Check your bandage on your stomach.”

“My what on my...” julia pulled up her shirt, and on her stomach there was indeed a large bandage wrap. Written on it was ‘Tomoe was here’, as well as a crudely drawn hylotl.

“Julia, I understand you don’t like her, but please. Just trust her.”

“She bandaged... Me...”

“Yes. After I pulled a large piece of shrapnel from your stomach,” Winston said. “Now, I can’t stay long. Charles is due for surgery in ten minutes.”

“Why’s he in for surgery?” Julia asked, concerned.

“He said he wanted surgery. I honestly think he’s fine, but he wants it.”

“What about the shrapnel?” Tomoe asked.

“Those are car parts. That he ate. Because he missed the jeep.” Winston looked at the wall clock. “Oh, damn gotta go. I’ll talk to you later Julia!” He ran out, leaving Julia and Tomoe alone.

“So... Uh... Hi,” Tomoe said bowing. “I know we didn’t get off to a great start-”

“You bandaged me?” Julia asked.

“Oh come on, just because I kill people for a living doesn’t mean I can’t save people.”

“Sorry... It’s just...” Julia paused. “I guess my mind still lingers on when you attacked Winston and I...”

“... And I nearly killed him. I know...” Tomoe said, taking a seat next to Julia’s bed. “And I’m sorry.”

“I know...” After that, they went quiet, and both became quite awkward with the silence. “So... Uh... How was surgery?” Julia asked.

“When I was in ER or yours?” Tomoe asked.

“When I was in...”

Tomoe grinned evilly. She got up from her seat and leaned into Julia’s ear and whispered. “Winston was inside of you...”

Julia blushed. “Okay, nevermind on that!”

Tomoe giggled again. “Overall, the surgery went fine. We kept all the shrapnel if you wanted a necklace or something made from it. Either that or it’ll be used for Leo’s teeth fillings.”

“I think I’ll pass on the necklace...” Julia said. “Hey... Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“Do... Do you have a thing for Winston?”

Tomoe paused, and sat up in her chair. “Don’t worry, I won’t take him from you.”

“Tomoe, you’re needed downstairs!” A nurse called out from outside the room.

Tomoe got up and headed for the door. “He’s all yours.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Oh thank Kluex we finally got out...” Feather said, cracking her back as she exited the hospital. “Six weeks is way too long of a doctor’s visit...”

“Pleased. I’m glad to see you’re all okay,” Leonardo said, happily.

“I’m glad to see our shrapnel being used for a higher dentistry purpose.”

“Charl got cool necklacsssssse!” Charles said happily.

“I didn’t know you wanted a shrapnel necklace,” Feather said.

Charles looked at her, confused. “Sssssshrapnel? No, Charl made necklace out of dead cultissssst teeth.” He pointed to the necklace, eagerly.

“I refuse to have that thing on my ship...” Dr. Galen said, a disgusted look on his face.

“Question. Which thing, the necklace or Charles?” Leonardo asked.

“Which ever ends up actually bathing regularly...” Dr. Galen muttered.

“I’m... Glad to... See... Everyone... Is... Happy...” Winston said, yawning. “Julia, I didn’t know your shifts were so rough...”

“They weren’t,” Julia said as she exited. Winston leaned on her for support. “I didn’t have to do surgery for ER.”

Winston yawned again. “Still... fifty-six straight hours...” His walking pace slowed, and he leaned forward almost falling.

“Woah, Winston!” Julia called out, catching him. “Oh no... He’s out cold...”

“Do you need help carrying him?” Dr. Galen asked.

“Proud. I can help,” Leonardo said.

“No... I got this...” Julia said. She moved Winston onto her back, and wrapped his arms around her neck loosely. She took a step and wobbled, leaning horribly to the side.

“Woah woah woah!” Feather called out, rushing to Julia’s side. “Come on, let one of them help-”

“No... I gotta do this...” Julia said through clenched teeth. “He carried me across the planet... I need to repay him by carrying him back to the ship at least...” She slowly took each step.

“Well then, we’ll meet you at the ship,” Dr. Galen said, and he and the crew, except for Julia and Winston, quickly headed for the ship. Julia exhaled heavily, then hoisted Winston slightly higher onto her back, and slowly headed for the ship.

After around twenty minutes or so, Julia found that she had only just entered the market place, not even half of her needed travel distance. She sighed, and saw a table and a few chairs under a tree ahead. She slowly brought Winston there, and sat him in one of the seats. She took the other seat next to him, exhausted.

“We have to stop meeting like this...” came a familiar voice. Julia looked up and saw Tomoe jump out of the tree, cooked ham in her hand. She landed on the table, and quickly spun around, and sat down, facing Julia. Tomoe took a bite out of her ham, “Don’t look at me like that.”

“I’m still don’t completely secure around you... Sorry...”

“It’s alright... I guess...” Tomoe glanced over at Winston, taking another bite. “So... Why’re you carrying him to the ship?”

“Because... I wanted to pay him back... For carrying me across the planet to save me...”

Tomoe’s eyes widened a bit at the thought, taking another bite. She then smiled evilly. “How exactly were you planning to pay him back...?”

“Uh... Carrying him...?”

“Uh huh... Or were you planning to do-” Tomoe was cut off as Julia’s fist made contact in the middle of Tomoe’s three eyes. “OWW!”

Julia stared into Tomoe’s now squinting and wobbling eyes, blushing. “Stop with those jokes!” Julia’s voice went quiet. “I don’t want what I’m thinking to be projected out there in a comical way...”

“Alright... Sorry...” Tomoe said, rubbing her face. “Ow that hurt...”

Julia got up, and went to grab Winston. “Sorry. Anyway, I need to start heading to the ship.” She hoisted Winston on to her back, and slowly walked in the direction on the ship.

“Can I come...?” Tomoe asked.

“Why?”

“Because... I don’t have anywhere to stay...” Julia stopped and turned to Tomoe.

“Don’t you have a hotel room?” I can’t afford another night. All my pixels went to my hospital bill...”

Julia pondered, then went back to walking. “Come on...” Julia said, and Tomoe looked up.

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Let’s go.”

Tomoe eagerly jumped up from the table, and landed next to Julia. “Thank you so much! I promise I’ll pay you back!”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“We’re... Here...” Julia muttered, approaching the new ship. “Let’s get Winston inside... Quickly...” Julia went up the the door on the side of the ship, and typed in a small number code into the panel. The door slid open and Julia entered. “Let’s go...”

Tomoe nodded and quickly followed in. “This is a beautiful ship you have...”

Julia lied Winston down on a black couch, the collapsed onto the floor. “Thanks... It’s only a month old. I think...”

“You think?” Tomoe asked, sitting on a chair next to Julia, eating a ham sandwich.

“Hospital time really screws with outside time perception...”

“Of course...” Tomoe said, looking around. “So... Where is everyone?”

Julia sat up. “That’s a good question... They said they were coming back to the ship...” Suddenly, all the lights on the ship went red.

“Alert. Target found in main lobby of ship,” the SAILs began to repeat, and metal panels began sliding over the doors and windows of the ship.

“Julia, what the hell is going on!?” Tomoe asked, getting up.

“I have no idea!” Julia said, quickly getting up.

Suddenly, a banging came from the vents, and Charles jumped out, in full armor. He pinned Tomoe down to the ground. “Charl hasssss her!”

“Excellent work,” Dr. Galen said, entering the room with Leonardo and Feather. “Feather, cuff her.”

Feather nodded, and went to Tomoe and Charles, pulling out a small set of handcuffs. Feather then got up, and Charles picked up Tomoe by the cuffs.

“Put me down! What’s going on!?” Tomoe called out.

“Leonardo?” Dr. Galen said.

“Presentation.” Leonardo pulled out a paper scroll. “Ms. Tomoe Gozen, you are hereby placed under arrest.”

“For what charges!?” Julia asked.

“For the fact that Madame Koko received a threat letter a few days ago...” Dr. Galen said, tossing a small enveloped paper to Julia. She caught, and eyed it suspiciously.

“What does the threat have to do with me!?” Tomoe asked. “I was only ordered to get you guys, not anyone else!”

“This has nothing to do with that!” Dr. Galen said. “Julia, please read the latter aloud for us...”

Julia opened the envelope, and cleared her throat.

“Dear Apex Outpost Command,

This is the a message from Emperor Xiang Gozen the twenty-sixth. I have come to understand that my youngest child and only daughter has been sent to assassinate your best space crew. I care not if your crew is dead or not, but I demand that you return my daughter to me at once or suffer severe punishments...”

Tomoe’s eyes went wide. “How did he... Please don’t send me back! I’m begging you!” Tomoe frantically tried to escape Charles’ grasp.

“...These punishments would include but are not limited to the slaughter and enslavement of all citizens of your planetary territory. If these demands are met soon, I will send my first fleet of highly trained aphotic warriors to begin the attack.

Signed,

Emperor Xiang Gozen the twenty-sixth.”

Julia looked up from the letter with a look of shock on her face. “This is horrible...”

Tomoe’s eyes watered up. “Please don’t send me back...”

“I’m sorry, but we have to,” Feather said. “The life of the outpost has a higher priority than the life of a foreign assassin.”

“Then don’t send me back alive...” Tomoe said, her head hanging low.

“I’m sorry, but you have to go back...” Dr. Galen said, sighing. “Charles, Feather. Take Ms. Goz... Take the prisoner... Down to the hold and make sure she stays detained... Leonardo will be there shortly to be guard.”

Feather and Charles nodded, and took Tomoe down a hallway. As she was being taken, she looked back at Julia.

“I’m... Sorry...” Julia said, her eyes watering. She collapsed to the floor, crying.

Winston awoke from his long nap, finding himself in one of the beds of the new ship. Looking outside the window, she saw stars flying past at high speeds. “We must have taken off on a new mission...” he said, yawning. He got slowly got out of bed, and stretched. He exited the room, and headed towards the main chamber. There, he saw Dr. Galen at the computers.

“G’morning...” Winston said.

“Oh... Uh... Morning... Winston...” Dr. Galen said.

“Where’s Julia?” Winston asked.

“Oh... Uh... She’s...”

Feather poked her head out of the navigation room. “He had to lock her up in the hold.”

“What!?” Winston asked. “Why!?”

“Because... She was acting extremely rowdy...” Dr. Galen said.

“Rowdy!? What did she do!?”

Before Dr. Galen could respond, Feather poked her head out again. “She got really upset that we had to lock up Tomoe, and we had to lock her up in the process.”

“Thank you...” Dr. Galen said, rubbing his temples.

“Wait... Why is Tomoe here? More importantly, why is she in the hold?”

“Tomoe followed Julia here after she carried you from the hospital,” Dr. Galen said, looking up from the computer. “You did quite the time at the hospital these past few-”

“Cut to the chase, Max.”

“Yes... Well... Madame Koko had received a threat letter a few days ago...” Dr. Galen handed Winston the letter. Winston opened it, and read it.

“So, I think I can safely say that Tomoe was not at all for this transaction, was she?” Winston said, giving back the letter.

“Well, she struggled a bit, but then stopped. And she kept begging to not be sent back home.”

“Did you ask why she didn’t want to go back?”

“Uh... No...?”

“So... You acted on only knowing half the story?”

“I suppose I did...” Dr. Galen sighed. “But the safety on hundreds of people are at stake! We don’t stand a chance against the Tomoe family army!” Winston sighed, and headed in the direction on the hold. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to get answers.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Request. Please eat, Tomoe. Please?” Leonardo said, holding a bowl of coralcreep curry. “Fact. Come on, you eat nonstop. Why would you stop now?”

“She won’t eat it, you know...” Julia said, sitting in her cell. “She’s trying to starve herself to death.”

“Why would ssssssshe do that though?” Charles asked, swinging the ring of keys bestowed upon him on his fingers.

“Well, seeing as she doesn’t want to go home, she probably trying to starve herself,” Julia said.

They were all talking about Tomoe Gozen, their prisoner. She was indeed trying to starve herself. “Hopeful. Maybe she’ll eat later...” Leonardo said. He started walking up the stairs from the hold. “Statement. I’ll go report to Max.”

“Sssssssee you...” Charles said, sitting down in one of the chairs. As he sat down, he heard a loud THUD, and Leonardo fell down the stairs, bowl on head. “Uh... Leo, you alright?” Julia looked out of her cell, intrigued.

Winston then walked down the steps, hands in pockets, and face in a scowl. “Winnie, did you do thisssss?” Charles asked, getting up. Winston walked over to the fallen glitch, and grabbed his wrist. He then drove his foot into Leonardo’s chest, and pulled on the arm, removing it. “Uh... Winnie? What are you doing with tha-”

Charles was cut off as Winston swung the arm at him, barely missing. He jumped back, and jumped forward at Winston, who dodged the jump. Winston then swung the arm, hitting Charles in the back of the head. Dazed, Chalres stumbled a little before Winston grabbed him. He spun Charles around, and slammed his face into the chair. Once, twice, three times. Winston then threw the floran at Julia’s cell door, causing her to squeal, and jump back.

Winston picked up the fallen keys on the floor, and walked over to Julia’s cell, he opened it, and Julia quickly slipped out. Winston then pushed Charles into the cell, and slammed the door shut on Charles’ neck. The cells were made from long, wrought-iron rods, like a glitch jail cell, so instead of a broken neck, the unconscious Charles would awaken to find that his head was locked inside the cell, with no apparent way to get out.

“Winston!” Julia said, hugging Winston. “What the hell was that?”

“I was a bit upset...” Winston said. “And I wanted to get info from Tomoe without anyone else listening in. I’m fine with you though.” Winston then walked over to Tomoe’s cell, and unlocked it. He entered. “Hi, Tomoe.”

“Hello...” Tomoe said, looking up at Winston. “Remind me to get you your morning coffee when you wake up.”

“Of course,” Winston said, sitting down. Julia sat down next to him. “So... Care to explain why you don’t want to go back home?”

Tomoe sighed. “It’s a long story...” She cleared her throat. “Hylotl culture is very... Old fashioned. An example being that everyone prefers to have a son more than a daughter. Well, my father, being emperor, has an...” She stopped to ponder. “Screw it, he has an orgy of wives. Eighteen. Well, had eighteen. Basically, he had a kid with every one of those ladies. All of them sons, except for me. Originally, my father wanted to kill my mother and I after I was born. Luckily, my step-mothers managed to convince him otherwise, but he didn’t like me in the slightest. So, when I finally turned eighteen, he banished me from the family shiro... Er sorry, castle. Luckily, I managed to take some pixels, and highjacked a ship. A few months after that, I flew to an old outpost, and ran into some guy in a purple robe, which I now know as a cultist, and got job to kill you guys.”

“Not to be rude, but can you hurry this up to why it’s bad to send you back?” Winston said.

“Oh sorry. Anyway, if he’s wanting me to come home, that means he’s really upset. And if he’s willing to wipe out a planet, he’s VERY upset.”

“Well, was it a good ship you hijacked?” Julia asked.

“No, seeing as the thing practically fell apart at your guys’ outpost. But whatever he’s mad about, it probably has something to do with politics... Which is really really bad.”

“Why is that bad?” Winston asked.

“It means...” Tomoe sighed heavily. “He’s expanding his kingdom... And needs me to wed some foreign prince...”

“You’re lying,” came a voice from outside of the cell. The three looked back to see Dr. Galen sitting on Leonardo’s unconscious body.

“Oh?” Tomoe said. “About what?”

“Something about the marriage thing... Though I don’t know what.”

“How do you know?” Winston asked.

“Minikong taught me a lot about interrogation, and detecting lies was one. Though Hylotl’s are the hardest to read. So, Tomoe, care to tell us what’s up?”

Tomoe sighed. “You got me... Though I only lied about the marriage thing. He is probably expanding his territory. By...” Tomoe sighed. “By... Selling... Me...”

“What!?” Julia shouted out.

“Well... He probably struck a good deal with someone important... And I should probably say bye bye to the little freedom I have left. Fittingly enough, in a jail cell.”

“I do wish you could’ve told us that sooner...” Dr. Galen said, sighing heavily. Suddenly, the ship shook violently.

Feather spoke up over the speakers on the ship, “Uh... We’re really close to the planet... And they have a tractor beam on us. ETA... About eighteen minutes...”

“Damn it... No time to plan...” Dr. Galen said, getting up. He kicked Leonardo, who slowly began to stir.

“Well... Seeing what could happen...” Tomoe said, getting up. “I highly recommend that Julia and Feather stay on board with at least someone to guard them. I also recommend that only one person escorts me to the emperor. In case things go sour...”

“Uh... What happens when things go sour?” Julia asked, getting up.

“They’ll be killed almost immediately. If only one gets killed, the others have a better chance to escape.”

“So, we’re gonna die?” Winston asked.

“Well, there’s a good chance. But knowing your luck, Winston, any hylotl that has a good chance of killing you will fail.” Tomoe smiled.

“Hmm... Any volunteers willing to go?” Dr. Galen asked.

“Charl volunteers!” Charles said eagerly, head caught in the prison door.

“I don’t recommend that... Hylotl hate florans,” Tomoe said.

“Awww...”

“I’ll go,” Winston said.

“No, don’t!” Julia exclaimed. “I’ve almost lost you once to a hylotl, I don’t wanna go through that again.”

Feather’s voice up over the speakers. “ETA... About five minutes.”

Everyone looked at Winston. “Looks like time’s up, and you’re the one, Winston.” Dr. Galen said. “We’ll try to think of a plan to get you out Tomoe, ASAP.”

“Don’t do it Winston!” Julia exclaimed.

“Julia, there’s no one else who could do it,” Dr. Galen said.

“How about when you all break me out successfully, and get me back to the outpost, I’ll pay for you and Winston to get a room for a night, yeah?” Tomoe said. “You wouldn’t complain, would you Winston?”

But before he could respond, the ship landed, and the sounds of hundreds of marching feet were heard outside. Winston then kissed Julia, and he and Tomoe went to the door.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Winston, wake up!” Tomoe called out. “Please, Winston!”

Winston groggily got up, and found himself in a dark cell, with Tomoe. “What... The hell...?”

“Oh damn, you don’t remember, do you?” Tomoe said.

“Remember what?”

“When you escorted me to the castle, we were attacked by a group of sea-archers.”

“Does the crew know?” Winston asked, getting up.

“I don’t think so... Hopefully they execute their plan soon...” Tomoe gulped.

“Yeah... I’d like to get out of here fast...” Winston said, rubbing the back of his head.

“Well... It’s not exactly that...” Tomoe said, gulping again.

“Oh?”

“I overheard my father talking about my sale... And...” Tomoe almost began to sob. “I don’t want to lose my womanhood to some freak I don’t know!”

“Woah, don’t cry. Don’t worry, I’m certain the crew has a plan and are acting on it as we speak.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“It’s been almost two hours, and we don’t have a plan...” Feather said, slamming her fists onto the table. “Damn it, what are we going to do!”

“Yeah, and Winston hasn’t come back yet...” Julia said.

“Statement. We can go and investigate,” Leonardo said.

“Ssssssso we can get ssssssslaughtered?” Charles said, laying on the table.

Suddenly, the door opened, and everyone jumped, weapons in hand. “Calm down, it’s me Max.” He walked into the room.

“What did you find out?” Julia asked.

Dr. Galen had just been exploring the town, specifically finding where the castle was located. Once he had located that, he then snuck inside the castle walls, and began to investigate and formulate a way to get in the castle to save Winston and Tomoe.

“Well, I can confirm Winston got captured.” Julia gasped at the words. “I overheard some of the lake-guards talking about him.”

“Where are Winston and Tomoe being held?” Feather asked.

“In some prison on the castle grounds, though I don’t know the specific location.”

“Statement. Most likely somewhere underground...” Leonardo said. “If there’s one thing I know about castles, it’s where things are...”

“I came up with a plan to get in. Sort of...” Dr. Galen said, taking a seat.

“Sort of?” Feather asked.

“Well, it can get two of us in. Specifically, one plus me.” He pulled out a rolled up piece of paper from his pocket, and unrolled it. “I made a rough outline of the castle. There’s a ventilation shaft here where we can sneak in. Though from there, we’d be blind.”

“Why can only one other person go?” Feather asked.

“Because we have to be quiet and sneaky.”

“I’ll go!” Julia said. “I wanna save Winston.”

“Sorry but no.”

“Why?”

“First off, you’re extremely loud where ever you go. Second of all, you probably wouldn’t fit in the vent anyway.”

“Are you calling me fat?” Julia asked, blushing.

“In some parts of your body, yes. But we can discuss this later!” Dr. Galen said angrily as Julia covered herself with her arms. “Anyway, I already had someone in mind. And I can’t believe I’m saying this... But Charles, you’re with me.”

Charles’ eyes widened when he heard this. He sat up. “Charl assssss in Charl?” he asked, pointing to himself.

“Unless there’s some other floran on the ship that goes by Charles, yes. You have a lot of experience with climbing through rafters and all that fun stuff. So I’ll need you.”

“Question. What should we do?” Leonardo asked.

“Well, stay here, to be honest. If you guys don’t hear from us in four hours, leave,” Dr. Galen said, getting up. “Come on Charles, let’s go.”

“You’re leaving now?” Julia asked.

“Seeing as Winston and Tomoe’s lives are in danger. Yes, we’re leaving now.” He headed for the door, Charles following shortly behind. “Hopefully I’ll see you all in four hours.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Winston sat next to Tomoe, who was sniffling. “You gonna be alright?”

“No...” Tomoe said, her eyes watering. “I don’t want my life to end like this...”

“It won’t, I promise,” Winston said. “Once the crew comes and saves us-”

“Ha!” laughed a guard as he walked past. “No one here escapes a free man...” He turned to the pair in the cell. “Well well well... If it isn’t Tomoe Gozen...”

“What about me?” Tomoe said, through sniffles.

“I’ve heard that you’re old man is selling you for a few stars out by the Falen Spark Clouds. Damn shame...”

“Like you care...” Tomoe said.

The guard then took his stinger gun, and aimed it at her and Winston. “You’re right. I don’t.”

“What are you doing?” Winston asked.

“So, princess, since it’s gonna be ruined within weeks... Why don’t you give me a show of that body of yours? Rumor has it that it’s quite lovely.”

“Go to Heck...” Tomoe muttered.

“Well, that’s not nice... What will they say when the higher ups find your friend’s corpse in your cell?” the guard fire a needle, and it nearly hit Winston in the head, sticking into the wall inches above his head.

“No, please don’t hurt him!” Tomoe said.

“Then take it off...” the guard said, now gaining an evil smile.

Tomoe started to stand, but Winston stopped her. “No, don’t do this more my sake!”

“No, Winston. I don’t want you to get killed over something like this...” She got up, and walked to the cell bars. “Winston, please cover your eyes...”

“Of course...”

Winston did, and heard the sound of cloth hitting the floor. He heard an evil snicker from the guard. “The rumors are true... Well then, I think I’ll be off... Heh heh...”

Winston still did not open his eyes until he heard Tomoe crying, and she hugged him tightly. He hugged back, letting her cry into his shoulder. “I... Never... Want... That... To... Happen... Again...” she said between sobs.

Suddenly, the guard shouted out, and a crash was heard. “I don’t you’ll need to worry... I think the crew is here...” They both looked up and saw the guard’s lifeless body flop down the stairs outside their cell. But instead of Dr. Galen or someone else from the crew to greet them, they were greeted by a pair of hylotl.

One was orange with a tall, blue fin on his head. His underbelly was colored white, and he wore a white trainee shirt, with matching white kimono pants. The other was white, with a shark-like fin sticking out his head. He wore a set of blue monk robes.

“Saburou! She’s over here!” the orange one called out.

“Don’t worry, Tomoe. We’ll get you out of there...” the white one said, picking the lock to the cell door.

“Yuudai? Ryuu?” Tomoe asked, sniffling and getting up.

“Shhhh...” Ryuunosuke, the white one, said. “We don’t know how many guards there are around...”

“We could still take them down, easily...” Saburou, the orange one said.

“Easy, brothers,” said a third voice. It belonged to a light green hylotl, with a teal, geisha haircut. “They are still quite powerful.”

“Sabu!” Tomoe said, wiping her tears. Ryuu finally opened the door, and opened it. Tomoe rushed out, hugging Saburou. “I’m so happy to see you guys...”

“That bastard guard didn’t do anything to you, did he?” Saburou asked.

“No, but he did see me...” Tomoe said, hugging Saburou tighter.

“Well, it’s a good thing I killed him then...” Yuudai said.

“You killed him!?” Ryuunosuke asked, angry.

“Not intentionally! When I kicked him, he fell and kinda snapped his neck on the stairs...”

“Uh, Tomoe, wanna explain what’s going on?” Winston asked, appraoching the four hylotl.

“Oh sorry,” Tomoe said. “This is Yuudai, Ryuunosuke, and Saburou. They are my brothers.”

The three bowed, “Pleased to meet you.”

“Uh yeah... I’m Winston.”

A voice came from up the stairs. “Hurry up! I think I heard guards...”

“Is that Akio?” Tomoe asked.

“Yes it is. But let’s get out of here,” Saburou said, and everyone ran up the stairs. “Alright, Akio, let’s regroup at Kazuki’s”

“Yeah,” said a yellow hylotl. He wore a green kimono, and had a yellow underbelly. He had a green ponytail-like fin. “Hi, sis,” he said as he ran. He hugged Tomoe, and picked her up.

“Alright, up ahead, left turn...” Saburou said, and the group turned at a branch in the hall. Around the corner, however, was a pair of hylotl guards.

“Crap...” Yuudai said.

“What?” Winston asked.

“We have no weapons...” Ryuunosuke said.

The guards pointed their tridents, but before they could do any more, a pair of short, red hylotl jumped from the rafters above, tackling the guards to the ground. They both had matching orange underbellies, as well as three orange fins on their heads.

“Shichirou! Hachirou!” Tomoe called out happily.

“Tomoe!” the pair called out in unison.

“Reunion later, guys,” Akio said. “Let’s get to Kazuki’s.”

They quickly continued their sprint, eventually making a right turn in the oriental halls. Looking around, Winston observed the halls had an appearance to that of a pagoda, ancient temples that used to be on Earth. The running stopped at a doorway in the hall. Saburou gave a special knock, and the door opened. There, a black hylotl with a white underbelly and a red wide fin greeted the group. He wore a red merchant’s uniform ushered them inside.

Inside, there was another hylotl. “Tomoe! You’re alright!” said a green hylotl. He had six blue fins coming off of his face, and a matching set of monk’s robes.

“Kazuki!” Tomoe cried, and she ran and hugged him.

“Alrighty, Tomoe. I’d like to get some more explanations on exactly what’s going on...” Winston said. He sat down on the floor, which was surprisingly plush.

“Oh... Uh yes.” Tomoe said, taking a seat. The other hylotl in the room took seats as well, mostly on any furniture they found comfortable. “Well, as you know, I have quite a large family... Well, this is some of them.”

“I’m Yuudai,” the orange hylotl with a blue fin said.

“I’m Ryuunosuke, but please, call me Ryuu,” the white hylotl said.

“Saburou,” the teal-geishaed said.

“Akio,” the yellow hylotl, scratching his green fin.

“I’m Sachirou...”

“... and I’m Hachirou,” both red and orange hylotl said eagerly.

“They’re basically twins, even though they have different moms...” Tomoe said. “That is, Ken’Ichi,” Tomoe said, pointing to the black hylotl. “He doesn’t talk much, but call him Ken.”

“And I am Kazuki, second in command of the Gozen children,” the green and blue-finned hylotl said. “I’m glad to see Tomoe made a friend while she was gone.”

“So... Where’s the other... Nine of you?” Winston asked.

“Ah, we split up so our father wouldn’t realize that we’re helping Tomoe,” Saburou said.

“Okay... And Kazuki? You said you were second in command, who’s first?”

“Oooo, can I tell him?” Tomoe asked, and Kazuki nodded. “It’s our biggest bro, Katsuro. He’s the biggest, smartest, and strongest Gozen. Even father is afraid of him.”

“Well, father’s also afraid of Jurou,” Akio said.

“That’s because he’s insane,” Ryuunosuke replied.

“Anyway... Tomoe, why are you back here?” Kazuki asked.

“I was captured...” Tomoe said, sighing.

“By who?” Yuudai asked. “Let’s kick their asses!”

“Um... My crew and I captured her...” Winston, raising his hand sheepishly. A gasp went through the room. “Hey, we wouldn’tve come back if Tomoe told us that she was gonna be sold sooner!”

“Wait, so you’re crew is here too?” Kazuki asked.

“Yeah, they parked their ship, a distance away. We told them to break us out if we got captured... Which we did...” Tomoe said.

Suddenly, Ken’Ichi’s eyes went wide, and quickly sprung to his feet, going to the door. “Who’s there, Ken?” Shichirou asked.

Ken’Ichi flashed some hand signs, and the twins nodded. “Looks like our bros have found an apex and a floran climbing through the rafters of the castle...” Hachirou said. “You know ‘em?”

“Max and Charles I’m guessing. But how odd that they’d work together...” Winston said.

Ken’Ichi flashed more signs. “Ten minutes time... They’ll be there,” Shichirou said.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Why didn’t you ssssssssssay they were this agile!” Charles said, as he frantically climbed through the vent.

“I didn’t know that they were THIS agile!” Dr. Galen said, right in front of Charles. The two had executed their plan quite nicely. They broke into the place without being detected by guards. They even climbed onto the roof to the ventilation opening. Heck, they even navigated halfway through the vents. Then, this... Not even a hylotl, really. Climbed in after them. And was chasing them, more ravenous than Charles ever could be. “There’s an exit up ahead!” Dr. Galen smashed through the vent, and he fell out, hitting the ground.

“Help!” Charles called out, struggling to exit the vent. “It’sssssss got me!” Dr. Galen quickly climbed up, and grabbed Charles’ wrists, in an attempted to pull him out. “It’ssssss no luck! Forget Charl! Gah, it hassss my leg in it’sssssssss teeth!”

“You’re part of my crew, I won’t leave you behind!” Dr. Galen said. He then lost the grip in one of Charles’ wrists.

“When you go back... Tell Feather ssssshe ssssmell good. And tell Leo he ssssssmell bad!” Dr. Galen then lost his grip, and Charles was sucked into the vent.

Dr. Galen fell back, and landed on something soft, and slightly moist. Looking up, he found himself in the hands of three muscular hylotl. One purple, one orange, and one green. They all had matching light-blue topknots, and white underbellies. “Uh... Hello...”

“Are you here to help little sister?” the purple one asked.

“Uh... Yes, and the floran is too...”

The green one looked to the purple and nodded. He walked over to the vent, and pounded his fist. Into the side of it. “They’re friendly!” Shorty after, a banging was heard, and a pick hylotl emerged from the vents. He had a yellow underbelly and a yellow ponytail. He dragged Charles out of the vent, Charles’ foot in his mouth. He crawled on all fours, and spat our Charles.

“Let’s get going...” the orange one said, and the group began to move.

“There’s guards up ahead...” came a voice from above. Jumping from the ceiling, came a blue hylotl with a purple underbelly and matching leaf-like fin. A shout of pain was heard from ahead, and a pair of purple hylotl came from the hall.

“Was, there was guards up ahead,” one said. He had a white underbelly, with blue tri-fins.

“Were. Were is grammatically correct,” the other said. He was a near exact replica of the other hylotl. Twins.

“Whatever...” the first one said. “Jirou, did you let Ken know?”

A green hylotl with a light-green underbelly emerged from the hall, nodding.

“Let’s go, then!”

The group ran down the hall, down a length of of corridors. Eventually, a door ahead of them opened, and the group made a sharp turn, and all ran inside.

“Max! Charles!” Winston called out. Looking around, Dr. Galen saw many hylotl and Winston, sitting in the midst of them.

“Uh... I’m guessing this is the family reunion?” Dr. Galen asked.

“Yep,” Tomoe said, nodding. “Alright, so. Ichirou is the one with the leaf-fin... Jirou is the bald one. He doesn’t talk either... But he and Ken can talk telepathically. The two purple twins are Shirou and Rokurou. They really hate each other... Kaito is the purple big guy with the cute topknot. The freaky pink one is Jurou.” Jurou barked as he was called. “And the green and orange big guys with matching topknots are Noburu and Shouta, respectively.” They entire group bowed, which was awkward in the relatively small room.

“I think we’re missing one...” Winston said, and Dr. Galen and Charles went and sat next to Winston.

“Oh, we probably won’t run into Katsuro soon,” Tomoe said. “He’s trying to kill dad.”

“Ah...” Winston said, a little shocked. “So, now that the Dozen Gozen are here... What’s the plan?”

“Well...” Kazuki said. “First would be is to get out of here... Quietly...”

“That ain’t happening...” Dr. Galen said. “No offense, but these guys are loud as hell.”

“Then we leave loudly, duh...” Charles said, rubbing his bitten leg.

The room looked to him. “I like him!” Saburou called out. “Let’s use his plan.”

Murmurs of agreement went through the Gozens. “Okay... So in the time it takes for us to get these guys back to their ship, we’re gonna scream murder in a rampage...” Tomoe said. “We’ll be dead by the front door.”

More murmurs. Suddenly the door burst open, and everyone jumped. Entering the room a large hylotl. He was blue with a white underbelly. He had a teal shark fin, and bulging muscles. He walked to the front of the group, and slammed a paper scroll on the table. “Uh... Hi Katsuro...” Tomoe said.

“Hello little sister.”

“So, there is issue with coming up with a plan, little sister?” Katsuro asked.

“Yeah...”

Katsuro eyed the group. “I have plan on what to do.”

“Awkward. So... Anyone know how to play cards?” Leonardo asked, sitting at the table.

“No...” Julia said, lying facedown on the table. She rolled over, her hair covering her face. “I’m bored...”

“I know how you feel...” Feather said, looking out a window on the ship. “No word from any of them... And still two hours left on the time limit Max gave us...”

“Bleh... What did you when you got bored back at home?” Julia asked, looking at Leonardo.

“Statement. Tried not to get killed by a rampaging monster.”

“Oh... Right...” Julia replied, blowing a raspberry. “Bleh...”

Suddenly, the ground be back to quiver. “Uh... Is the ship moving?” Feather asked.

“Observation. I think it’s some kind of quake moving the ship...”

“But we’re, like, on one of the highest points of this planets!” Julia said, sitting up. “We would be hit by a quake, right?”

“Uh... Guys...” Feather said, looking out her window. “I found where the quake is coming from...” Leonardo and Julia rushed to the window.

“Fearful. Is that... Are those...”

Julia gulped. “That’s a lot of hylotl...”

Outside the ship, a large group of hylotl were indeed approaching the ship. Not large, huge. Gigantic. Massive. Whichever can describe at least ten thousand hylotl. Anyway, a ton of hylotl were out there, all of them disphotic samurai, each holding all wielding Seaserpent spears. They marched up the hill, in rows of twenty, and quickly surrounded the ship. A shout was heard, and the hylotl all charged the ship, stabbing away at the hull.

“Oh jeez!” Feather called out as the ship rocked violently, and she fell to the ground. “We have to fly out of here!”

“But what about every-” Julia said, falling to the ground.

“If they are sending this many guys at us, that means they want to finish us all off...” Feather said, helping Julia up.

“Leo, how’s the ship holding up?”

“Error!” called out the SAILs in unison.

“Thrusters taking heavy damage!” the blue SAIL called.

“Thrusts are gone!” the green SAIL said, it’s facing spinning.

The lights on the ship then shut off, leaving the main room dark. Leonardo, Feather and Julia quickly huddled around each other in the middle of the room, and drew their weapons. “I think we’re going to die here...” Julia whispered.

“Gloomy. Who would have thought that a mighty broadsword would fall to a flimsy katana...” Leonardo said, holding his sword in front of him.

The trio waited for their oncoming attackers for many minutes it felt. “Uh... Are they gonna come in here or what?” Julia asked.

A flash of orange went by the window. “Confusion. What was that?”

Feather slowly shimmied over to the window and peaked out. “What the hell...”

“What is it?” Julia asked.

“All these hylotl are collapsed on the ground...”

“What?” The pair ran to the window looking out. “Woah...”

“Observation. It seems that they also stopped attacking out ship...”

Suddenly, the lights went back on, and the SAILs flashed back to life.

“Error!” the wizardy SAIL called out. “Power has been cut off-”

“Silence!” the blue minikong SAIL said. “We obviously have power back!”

“Kluex has sent us an angel!” the red crystal SAIL said hapiily.

“Try eight angels...” came a voice. The trio jumped, and turned to see a group of colored hylotl enter the ship. There were small ones, large burly ones, even one that acted a lot like Charles.

The trio flashed their weapons at the hylotl. “Woah woah,” said a large, purple hylotl, holding his arms up. “We’re with you guys. You’re the friends of little sister, right?”

“Uh... You mean Tomoe?” Feather asked, lowering her sniper rifle a bit.

“Yes, she is our dear little sister,” said a burly green hylotl.

“She told us to come here cause she knew you’d all be in danger,” said a burly orange hylotl. “So we stopped the danger.

“Thank goodness you did, or we’d be sushi...” Julia said, sighing.

“Suspicious. How do we know you’re actually here to help us? Saying you know Tomoe doesn’t exactly prove friendship...”

The hylotl quickly circled up, mumbling something to each other, then nodded and gave a cheer.

“Ms. Julia?” one hylotl asked. It was pure white.

“Uh... yeah?” Julia replied, a bit caught off guard.

“We have a message for you from Winston to prove you can trust us.”

The dog-like pink hylotl then scurried over, to Julia. It spat a rolled piece of paper onto the ground, barked, then ran back to the hylotl crew.

“What’s it say?” Feather asked, lowering her sniper further.

Julia picked it up, unfurled it, and began to read.

“Hi Julia, it’s me Winston. Please try to trust these guys. One them launched a guard out a three story window trying to prove to us they are allies.

-Love Winston


PS: I think I should be a samurai.”

“Confused. Why did he think he should be a samurai?” Leonardo asked, lowering his blade.

The hylotl all looked to each other with worried expressions. “Well... He had the idea of samurai all wrong...” Noburu said.

“Care to explain?” Julia asked.

“It was crazy!”

“Winston asked us for a pen and paper so we could deliver a note. We gave him some paper, but we didn’t have a pen on our immediate persons...”

“So he pulled a knife from his pocket and stabbed himself in the wrist, and began writing the message with the knife!”

“We asked him why, and he looked at me with with creepy stare and said ‘This is the way of the samurai, sending a message to her lover’.”

“Is it the way of the samurai?” Julia asked, shocked.

“No!” “

We told him ‘No’ too!”

“Then he shook it off, and kept writing and gave us the note.”

Leonardo, Feather and Julia all eyed each other with worried glances.

“Then he passed out.”

“Probably due to how the prison is set up. Breaking constitutions and whatnot.”

“Damn it Winston...” Feather muttered.

“Aren’t constitutions documents of freedom?”

“You’ve got a crazy one on your hands, Julia...”

Julia holstered her guns and sighed. “Alright. I think we can trust you guys. Let’s go help.”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Another disphotic screamed in pain as Saburou stabbed his first mate into him. “That’s the last of them! Let’s go!” The group continued deeper into the palace.

“Alright, so father’s chamber is just up ahead. From there, we can just take him out,” Kazuki said.

“Katsuro should ready be there was well,” Hachirou said, smile on his face.

“When we attack, father’ll think he’s with him, then BAM!” Shichirou said, giggling a bit. The two high fived.

“So... Again, why are we doing this?” Dr. Galen asked. “Sounds like we’re just dealing with your guys’ politics.”

“Katsuro is next in line to rule father’s empire. When father either steps down, or gets killed, or retires... Mostly the gets killed part, Katsuro takes over,” Jirou said, pulling out a small notebook from his kimono. “Wrote it down and everything here.”

“Then, when Katsuro takes control, he’ll lessen the oppressive power of the Gozen empire,” Shirou stated.

“From there, Tomoe will be able to return home without fear of being executed, the Gozen Empire will look good again, and the people down in the city won’t have to worry about starving off,” Rokurou said. He looked back at the crew. “You all got it?”

Charles and Winston looked at each other with slight confusion.

“We’re still trying to figure out which hard to pronounce name goes with which color of the hylotl rainbow here...” Winston said.

“Doessssssn’t help that there’ssssss two sssssssetss of twinssss...”

Tomoe chuckled, “Don’t worry about it. Just know that Katsuro is the big guy, I’m Tomoe, hopefully you knew that, and that Jurou is completely insane.”

Ichirou, who was leading the group, skidded to a halt in front of a large pair of golden doors. The rest of the group stopped, and Ichirou held his finger up to lips for silence. He then leaned his head against the door, listening. He then ushered everyone to step away from the door, and he pulled out a sacred splash staff. He aimed it at the door, and exhaled slowly. A sudden gush of water burst from the end of the stave, slamming into the door. The door exploded inward off it’s hinges, and the group ran in.

“Dono yōna jigoku!” cried out an elderly, orange hylotl. “What are you all doing here?” He had a long, grey, pair of fin coming from his upper lip like a fu manchu.

“We’ve come to overthrow you, father!” Tomoe called out.

“You!” Father called out. “You’re supposed to be locked away or servicing some twenty some-odd men right now... Sore wa jūyōde wa arimasen! You think you can just come in here and kill me? Katsuro!”

The large hylotl turned instead of towards the group, towards his father. “I’m sorry, but I, too, will overthrow you and take my place on the throne.”

Father exhaled. “And all of your brothers agreed to this?”

The roof suddenly exploded in, and the rest of the Gozen brothers, including Leonardo, Feather, and Julia burst in, landing with the other group. “We have!” called out Yuudai.

“You even threatened our home!” Dr. Galen said, angrily. The crew agreed loudly, and the sounds of a few guns being loaded and weapons being drawn were heard. “For that, you must fall!”

Father sighed. “Very well, but do remember, a warlord like me will not go down without a fight...” He clapped his hands together, and quite a few aphotic ninjas appeared from a sudden cloud of smoke. Like, at least seventy of them, maybe eighty. They each brandished different weapons, ranging from trunkcutters, to pitchforks. Basically, a lot of impervium, most likely made by the near-slaves of city in the water below.

“Attaku!” Father screamed, and the aphotics leapt into action.

Everyone immediately sprang into action. The brothers immediately took initiative, almost happy to fight. Blades met axes, axes met hammers met blades. The crew, in fact, did not even join the fight, both impressed and shocked at the fight.

“Impressive...” Feather said.

“They fight with a real warrior’s spirit...” Dr. Galen said.

“Winston, you sure you’re alright?” Julia asked, shaking Winston. “They said you passed out!”

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Winston said. “They were just emitting something into the cells... It didn’t effect hylotl though...” He coughed. “I feel like I should be worried about you, seeing as you jumped from a two story-ish building.”

“Thisssss fighting issssss boring...” Charles said, rolling his eyes. “It’sssssss almosssssst all ssssssshow...”

“Agreement. While as a professional swordsman as my self understand the importance of honor...” Leonardo started. “I still know that when something’s worth fighting for, making it look pretty isn’t really cared for...”

Charles and Leonardo sighed loudly. “Be quiet you two!” Dr. Galen scolded. “Maybe we won’t have to fight this fight...”

Katsuro, the only hylotl unarmed in the fight, punched almost through an aphotic. As it fell, Katsuro turned behind him and was greeted by a spray of blood. Tomoe, oysterizers in hand, sliced another aphotic, the blood spraying Katsuro. “Brother, get to father!” she called out.

“Right!” Katsuro ran for father, knocking away aphotics and dodging weapon swings, from both attackers and brothers. He quickly approached his father’s throne, grabbing the elder hylotl by the collar of his kimono. “Father, today, you will die!”

Suddenly, a gunshot was heard, and father gave out a cry in pain. Everyone stopped fighting to see that father was bleeding from a bullet hole that almost appeared in his chest. Katsuro gently put the dying hylotl down, and all eyes looked to the crew.

“Don’t look at us!” Dr. Galen said. “We planned to stay out this fight once we saved our guys!”

“Our guns are holstered!” Julia, Winston and Feather shouted out, holding their arms in the air.

“Charl issss afraid of gun!”

“Fact. I left my crossbow at home!”

“Shut yer yappin... came a gruff, slightly echoed voice. “Don’t take credit ye cowards...” All eyes turned to the whole in the roof.

There stood three figures, all with foreign armor, confusing everyone. “Who’re you?” asked a Gozen.

“What are you?” asked another.

The leader, who wore a skull mask, laughed. “I’ll keep things brief since I’m here for two things. I am Xenonth, the gambler’s Bromire, and the bandito’s Ivadine.” Bromire and Ivadine flashed their dual pistols, which gleamed in the light. They all jumped down into the room, and walked over to father’s now dead body. “Glad to see we have one thing down...” Xenonth reached for the dead hylotl’s body, but Katsuro stopped him grabbing his shoulder. But before Katsuro could speak, Xenonth quickly turned and punched him in the face, a loud crack echoing through the room. Katsuro stumbled back, and fell; out cold. Many Gozens gasped at the sight of their eldest brother being defeated by such a small, ominous figure. “Don’t act shocked... He left is biggest weak point open and I took it...” Xenonth reached into father’s kimono and pulled out a small key. He spun it around and pocketed it. He looked to Bromire, and nodded.

Bromire turned to the Gozens. Eyeing the crowd, he suddenly shot a grapple hook from under one of his sleeves, latching onto Tomoe. She screamed as she jerked back towards the concealed attackers. As she reached Bromire, he launched her towards Ivadine, who grabbed her, and held a gun up to her head. Everyone gasped.

“Now...” Xenonth said, pulling out a knife from his pocket. “Where is the Gozen family cemetery?” He looked Dr. Galen straight in the eyes. “I’d advise you start talking or everything Mr. Maximus over there has done to her will be a mere scrape on the knees.”

All the Gozens eyed Dr. Galen suspiciously, then looked back to the attacker. “It’s in the back...” Jirou said. “And Galen... We’ll talk with you afterwards...”

“Gooood...” Xenonth said. “Let us all go there... Together... Like a big happy family.” He pulled out a red orb, and held it up to the throne. “I recommend everyone take a step back unless you want to end up like Daddy...”

Everyone did, except for the other two assailants, and turned away from the throne. The red ball lit up, and emitted a red, glowing bubble. It lazily drifted to the wall and throne where it popped. Suddenly, a massive explosion erupted from the wall, sending chunks of stone flying. Everyone shouted in alarm, and the three attackers began to walk out. “Come on now, or else Sissy Toe-Toe here gets a taste of that.”

Outside, a large graveyard expanded up to a cliff drop, that fell into the ocean. Everyone exited slowly. “What do you want with a bunch of old bones?” Kaito asked.

“I don’t want these bones...” Xenonth said. “And neither will you once I’m done.”

Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

Xenonth chuckled. “Tell me, do you know how the Gozens became in charge? Specifically this planet?”

“It was because the first Gozen killed a dragon, right?” Dr. Galen said.

“Correct!” Xenonth said “Now, what did-”

“Ha!” Charles called out. Everyone looked at him as he laughed. “Everyone knowssssssss dragonsssssss aren’t real. Giant flying fire breathing rabbitssss, sure. But not dragonsssss.”

Xenonth looked back at Bromire and Ivadine, most likely in confusion, and the pair shrugged. He turned back to the crowd. “Yes... Well... That may be the case now... But what did Gozen use to lure the beast before killing it? Maxie?”

“He used a bunch of scrap garbage to make a decoy princess... I think...” Dr. Galen said, walking towards the front of the group.

“That is correct! But why use scrap when you can use a real, live, meaty, princess!”

“Meaty!” Tomoe called out. “I may eat a lot, but I ain’t meaty!”

“Wait...” Winston said. “You’re going to use Tomoe here to lure a dragon-”

“That diesssssssn’t exisssssst!”

“-Yes... That doesn’t exist... That’s supposedly been dead for Kluex knows how long?”

The Gozens all huddled around in a circle, muttering. They broke and turned back to the masked assailants. “We have decided you are insane.”

The crew looked at the brothers with a sarcastic face of disappointment. Tomoe sighed. “What gave it away!? The fact that they plan to do something with dead things or the fact I’m being held a gunpoint and about to become a sacrifice to some zombie dragon!?”

“Not a sacrifice... If your family here is fast enough...” Xenonth clapped his hands, and Bromire nodded. He walked over to a nearby tree, and climbed into the branches.

“What do you mean if they’re fast enough?” Feather asked.

“I meant all of you, unless this crew doesn’t see Tomoe as family...” Xenonth shrugged. “I mean, sure she almost killed you two lovers, but you still helped her.”

“You didn’t answer my-”

“Alright, how do you know so much about us?” Julia asked. “You’ve practically retold our story.”

“Just what you’ve all done at the Outpost... But the reason being that I’m part of a crew of bounty hunters. And we do deep research on our targets.”

“Surprise. You’re here to kill us too?”

“You all are on our hit list, but we can deal with you all later,” Xenonth said. “Bromire, hurry with post.”

A large wooden branch flew out of the tree Bromire was in, and stabbed into the ground next to Tomoe and Ivadine. Ivadine then slammed Tomoe into the side of the post, and began tying her to it. A clicking came from the tree, and Bromire aimed his gun at Tomoe, ensuring that she wouldn’t try to escape. Ivadine gave a thumbs up, and Xenonth nodded. “So, last question of the day. Does anyone know where this dragon fight took place?”

“Dragon... Fight...?” Katsuro asked, slowly getting up from his black out. “Wasn’t that here... Where the palace was built...?”

“Ah, the new emperor wakes! That is correct!” Xenonth walked over to Tomoe. “Now that the preparations are complete... The blood from two emperors are needed... Luckily, we have D.I.D. as one...”

“D.I.D?” Tomoe asked.

“Dad is dead... Work with me on this one... And the second emperor being Mister Katsuro Gozen.”

“If you think I’ll be killing myself for your crazy stunt, you’re wrong!” Katsuro said, standing now.

“I wear a skull for a mask, but I don’t collect souls, man. I just need your blood, which you already have given me...” Xenonth removed his glove, covered in blood from punching Katsuro, revealing a glowing, blue hand. He tossed it onto Father’s dead body, and an ominous lavender mist arose from the body. The ground trembled slightly, and a growl was heard.

Xenonth pulled out a golden pocket watch, looking at it. “Well, it looks like my comrades and I’s time is done here. Enjoy your new friend.”

The ground rumbled again, and everyone drew their weapons, and another roar was heard, but this one was followed by a loud whistle. The whistling grew louder and louder, and the group looked up to see an amazing a sight.

A large, multi-car locomotive, green in paint, flew from the sky, plowing through the tombstones behind the group. The masked attackers jumped onto the train as it passed by, it’s whistle nearly deafening out the roars that now emanated from the ground. “Farewell!” Xenonth shouted. “Meet the feared dragon of old!” The train coiled around the palace, and flew off with a loud, echoing whistle.

The ground continued to shake, faster now. “Everyone, get close!” Kazuki called out. “What ever the hell this thing is, I’m certain if we stick together, we can take care of it!”

“We gotta untie Tomoe!” Katsuro said, and the two pairs of twin nodded, and ran for Tomoe, cutting her ropes.

“Guys... What’s that?” Julia asked, pointing to the sky. Feather looked through the scope of her rife.

“It’s a... Red bubble...?” Feather muttered.

“Everyone get back!” Dr. Galen shouted, and everyone leapt out of the path of the lazy bubble. “That’s the thing that destroyed this wall...”

As if on cue, the bubble hit the ground, exploding violently. After the smoke passed, the group looked to see what damage had been caused. But, the ground exploded a second time, but not due to a magic bubble.

A massive skeletal monster stood there. It had large, leather wings, a long tail. Massive claws. Giant skull head thingy. A a pair of vicious, glowing red pupiles, which floated in it’s sockets. It roared, and a trail of fire shot from it’s mouth.

“Statement. Hey Charles...” Leonardo said, looking in shock.

“Yesssss...?”

“Question. You know how you said dragons did exist?”

“Yesssss...”

“You were dead wrong!” Winston shouted out as he a few Gozens dodged the dragon’s billowing flames.

The group began fleeing, running into the palace. “Technically, that’sssssss a wyvern... Sssssssinccce it only has two legsss...” The dragon smashed through the palace, raining fire down on the fleeing group.

“If it roars like a dragon, flies like a dragon, has the bloodthirst of a dragon...” Julia said, leaping over large chunks of stone.

“Then it’s a damn dragon!” Feather shouted. She quickly stopped and turned, and fired a shot from her rifle at the dragon’s head. The bullet made impact, but bounced off. “Okaaaay! It has a thick skull!”

“Like almost everyone here...” Dr. Galen said, running.

“Stressed. If we weren’t being chased by a high-flying flamethrower, I probably would have hit you for that...” Leonardo said. He stopped and turned, jumping at the dragon. He stabbed his sword into the dragon’s left leg. The dragon, however did not roar in response. If anything, it probably didn’t feel it. He did, however, kick Leonardo off, throwing him past the group into the hall.

“Gozens, why are we running?” Katsuro asked.

“Cause the dragon is scary!” Akio shouted out.

“But our family came to power killing it!” Katsuro responded. He sprint slowed, as well as that of the other Gozens. They eventually stopped and turned to the flying beast. “All we gotta do is... Unkill... it...”

“Have fun with that!” Dr. Galen called out running past the hylotl. Something, however, caught his leg and he tripped, sliding a few feet.

“This fight I think we have to be a part of...” Winston said. “Sorry about tripping you, but that’s how I feel.”

“Can you guys think of a plan?” Tomoe asked.

“Think? No,” Feather said sarcastically. “Make a plan? We can try.”

“Perfect!” Saburou said. “Well Gozens! Let us fend off this beast!” The hylotl all cheered, and charged the dragon, weapons in hand.

“They bought... Seven minutes I think...” Feather said.

Kaito flew over the crew’s heads, smashing through a vase on a pedestal. “Six...” Julia said.

“We need a plan... And fast...” Winston said, thinking.

“Shock. Charging blindly does nothing to it,” Leonardo said, readjusting his limbs. “That I found out the hard way. It also appears to not feel anything.”

“Charl hasssss plan!” Charles said eagerly. Everyone looked at him in confusion.

“Charles, all you do is charge blindly into battle...” Dr. Galen said. “You don’t even believe in dragons.”

“Which issssss exactly why Charl hassss besssst plan to kill dragon!”

“Waaaaaaah!” screamed Noburu as he was thrown through the air. He crashed into a set a decorative armor, smashing it.

“Hey Katsuro...” Tomoe said, approaching her older brother, who was slowly getting up from being thrown himself. “I don’t think we’re hurting it...”

Katsuro looked at the dragon, who was now standing on the ground. It flapped it’s wings, and the Gozens climbing on them were thrown off. It sprayed a small wall of fire, scaring more Gozens away.

“It looks like we’re tiring it out,” Katsuro said, brushing off dirt from his shoulders. The dragon roared weakly, and breathed more fire. “See, little sister? It’s roars have grown weaker. It’s close to death.”

“Uh... Bro. I’m pretty sure it just yawned,” Tomoe said. “I think it’s bored.”

“A giant fearsome creature like this cannot grow bored. It hungers for blood!”

As Katsuro said that, Jurou howled and charged at the dragon. The dragon yawned again, and simply kicked the pink hylotl away. “Alright... It’s bored. What should we do?”

“Worry no longer!” Winston said, the crew behind him.

“Charles thought of a plan,” Julia said. “Tell your brothers to step back.”

Katsuro nodded, and turned to the dragon. “Brothers! Fall back! We have a plan!”

The brothers nodded, and quickly retreated up the walls into the rafters. The dragon eyed the brothers curiously, then turned to the crew, roaring.

“Hey ugly!” Charles screamed out from one of the beams in the rafters. The dragon looked up, roaring. “Yeah you! Fight me!” Charles jumped down to the floor, choppyleaves in hand. He pointed the axe at the dragon. “You and Charl! Fight me right now!”

Murmuring came from the Gozens in the rafters.

“Is he crazy?”

“What is he doing?”

“Ten thousand pixels on the floran losing...”

“Raise that to fifteen, you got a deal, brother.”

Katsuro raised his hand at the murmurs. “Silence brothers. The floran’s plan is genius one that requires silence.” He leaned over to Feather. “So... What the hell is your little friend doing?”

“We honestly don’t know...” Feather whispered back.

“Statement. He has us all huddle up around him, then he started mumbling nonsense to us.”

Katsuro and Tomoe looked at each other with confusion. “Uh... What kind of nonsense?”

“The ‘whiswhiswhis yeah yeah whiswhiswhis’ kind of nonsense,” Dr. Galen said. “You know, trying to sound like whispering.”

“Then he he randomly shouted ‘hands in the middle’, and we did so, and gave a mini yell that was made up on the spot,” Winston said. “He even made us practice saying it a few times.”

Katsuro rubbed his temples. “My brothers and I have been fighting a zombie dragon for at least thirty minutes now... And you guys took the time to practice a team cheer!?”

“Hey, don’t get mad at us!” Julia said. “He then told us that he had everything under control and to do our part when he gave the signal.”

“And your part is...?” Tomoe asked.

The crew looked at each other confused, and shrugged. “Of course...” Katsuro said, and Tomoe sighed. “I guess we have to see what the floran does.”

“What do you sssssssay, ugly!?” Charles screamed again. “Do you accsssssept my challenge, or are you asssssss weak assssssss you look!?” The dragon nodded, and roared. “Excssssselent! Then, to armsssssss!” Charles shouted, then charged at the dragon. The skeletal beast swung it’s tail, which Charles jumped over effortlessly, causing many Gozens to cheer happily. A wall of fire breathed down on Charles, engulfing him. But he popped out of the flames, a bit ashy, but mostly unharmed. He jumped up at the dragon’s head, bringing his choppyleaves down. The dragon, however, quickly reacted, and opened it’s mouth. Charles flew inside, a look of shock on his face.

“Charles! No!” the crew shouted out, and numerous shouts of disappointment came from the rafters from bets lost.

“Charl... Not... Dead!” Charles’s voice echoed from the dragon’s skull. He popped out of the dragon’s nostril, and climbed onto it’s head. “Charl still here!” Numerous cheers from rafters came, followed by bets being raised. The dragon then shook it’s head, causing Charles to fall. The dragon quickly swung it’s tail, hitting Charles, and sent him flying into a pile of pottery in the corner of the room.

“Ouch...” Tomoe said, wincing a bit.

“Proud. He’ll be fine. I made the very armor he’s wearing. It’ll last.”

Charles emerged from under the piles of shattered pottery, covered in dry clay bits. Green blood was dripping from his mouth, and he was a bit hunched over. He spat on the ground, which was mostly blood, and approached the dragon once again.

“You’re quick... Charl givessssss you that...” Charles said, pointing at the skeletal behemoth. “But... Thissssss time Charl will not go easssssy...” He threw his choppyleaves at the dragon, and put up his fists. The axe bounced off effortlessly, and the dragon eyed Charles, confused. “Put up your dukessssss...”

“Okay... He’s going to get himself killed...” Katsuro said. “Let’s just get back in there and-”

“No... Let him do his thing,” Dr. Galen said, sitting down, and grinning evilly. “This is the only plan we have to go by.”

“The only guy who knows the plan is about to get killed...” Katsuro replied, rubbing his eyes. “And how the hell can you relax at a time like this!?”

“Calm down,” Winston said, as he and the rest of the crew sat down next to Dr. Galen. “This is just how Charles does stuff.”

“Anyone want snacks?” Feather asked, pulling out strips of bananacon from her bah.

“Yes please!” Tomoe said, running over and sitting next to Feather.

“Tomoe... You too!?” Katsuro said with disbelief.

“Katsuro, can you move please?” Julia asked.

“Why...”

“Fact. You are blocking the view.”

“Of course I am...”

The dragon roared and stomped it’s feet. “Let’ssssss go!” Charles said, charging the beast. He leapt up, and elbow dropped the dragon. The dragon slammed into the ground, and everyone in the room gasped in surprise at the floran’s intense strength.

“The hell was that!?” Katsuro asked.

“Told you to not worry...” Dr. Galen said, eating a strip of bananacon.

The dragon roared, and flung Charles into the air. “Nicssssssse try, beassssstie!” Charles said, and midair, performed a drop kick. As the dragon slowly rose, a bit rattled by the elbow drop, Charles slammed it’s massive skull back into the ground, leaving cracks in both the skull and the floor. The dragon quickly rolled onto it’s back, and breathed fire upwards. The Gozens in the rafters above screamed in terror, and fled from the now burning rafters.

Charles quickly recovered from the flip, and charged the dragon again. It roared, and performed another tail swipe, which Charles dodged. He jumped up, and the dragon breathed flames once again. It stopped, however, as a large chunk of burning wood fell from the rafters above, smashing into it’s head. Charles, quickly jumped back off the burning beam, landing on the ground, a few feet from the dragon. The roof quickly began to collapse atop the skeletal creature, which was now screaming. It flapped it’s wings in an attempt to take off for flight, but this was quickly stopped as the rest of the roof collapsed on the beast.

Charles looked at the pile, then flexed victoriously as the ruins stopped it’s roaring and movement. “Charl did it!” He called out happily, and everyone cheered.

“He did it!”

“Wow, what immense power!”

“He’s stronger than us Gozens combined...”

“Which is like... at least several million armed soldiers at least...”

“How scary...”

“How the hell did Jurou win fifty thousand pixels!? He can’t even talk!”

But the cheering was quickly halted as a massive skeletal dragon exploded from the rubble, and roared a billowing tower of flames into the sky. It then bit down on where Charles stood, and swallowed him.

“Charles!” Feather called out.

“Waaaaah!” Charles screamed as he fell from the creature’s skull into it’s ribcage. He landed with a thud. “Ouch... What happened...” He snapped out of his confusion when he heard the dragon roar again. It breathed another wall of fire, and began flapping it’s wings. It slowly left the ground, and Charles began to scream in fear. The dragon then took off, flying up and out of the palace through the roof, Charles in ribcage.

“We gotta save him!” Winston shouted, and everyone, crew and Gozen, ran outside through the hole in wall into the graveyard. Looking around, they spotted the dragon flying over the ocean, roaring and breathing fire, Charles screaming.

“Crap...” Dr. Galen muttered. “Now what?”

“Question. Should we got retrieve the ship?”

“Wait... Is Charles screaming something...?” Julia asked.

Sure enough, Charles’ womanly screams were not white noise, but a message. Everyone went silent, and sure enough they heard something.

“It sounds like...” Yuudai whispered. “Sound like... Sick Nal...?”

The crew immediately sprung to action. “Signal! That’s the signal!” Dr. Galen shouted. “Alright, Leonardo, Feather. You two, go run and get the ship we’ll need it to even be able to catch that thing. Winston, Julia. You two stay here with me. If that dragon flies back here, we gotta do everything to break it’s ribs open.”

Feather and Leonardo nodded and ran. A few Gozens ran as well with them. “We can help,” Tomoe said. “What do you need of us?”

“Cannons...” Julia said. Everyone stared at her oddly. “What? Cannons can help us here! And I’m certain Charles will be fine, seeing as he just elbow dropped a dragon.”

A few more Gozens nodded, and ran into the palace. “Anything else?” Katsuro asked.

“Be on your guard, and get ready for a messy fight,” Dr. Galen said, and the dragon turned, flying towards the palace again. “Here he comes!” Dr. Galen, Julia, and Winston began to open fire on the beast, and Charles screamed as he flew past. The Gozens all jumped onto the dragon’s ribs, slash, crashing, and smashing into the thick bone.

“Help Charl!” Charles screamed at Tomoe, who was stabbing her oysterizers into a rib repeatedly.

“We’re trying!” Tomoe said, nearly falling off. “Hey... If you were strong enough to drop kick this thing...” Tome nearly slipped again. She stabbed her oysterizers into the rib and hung on. “Why the hell don’t you break yourself out!?”

“Charl tricked monssssssster into thinking Charl hurt it!” Charles screamed.

“How did you-”

“Charl acted sssssssuper sssssssstrong and dragon bought it!!! Charles screamed again. “Pleasssssse help!”

“Alright, give me a second...” Tomoe muttered. She slowly began climbing the rib., reaching the sternum. Climbing across the sternum, she eventually reach the creature’s large spine. Taking her oysterizer, she stabbed the rib right where it attached to the spine. After a few stabs, a large crack appeared. “Holy... Guys! Stab it where the bones connect! It’s weak there!” The Gozens all look at each other, then scrambled up the ribs.

The dragon, however, noticed the pests crawling on it, and began to fly circles around the palace, spinning. The Gozens did their best hold on, but were thrown off, one by one, flying off in random directions. Charles screamed as he was thrown around inside the rib cage, hitting each rib. Tomoe was the last one to hold on, and she reached through the ribs, grabbing Charles by the hand. She looked him in the eyes, and said, “I really hate you for this...” And soon enough, she too flew off, landing in a small tree grove to the east of the palace.

“Damn it!” Winston called, firing another bullet at the dragon. “The Gozen Family was just sent airborne!”

“Now what do we do!?” Julia asked, firing.

Suddenly, a giant koi fish flew past the dragon, missing it by mere inches. “Seems like the rest of the Gozen family is airborne...” Dr. Galen muttered, and lowered his bomb throwing.

Three more koi-ships flew past the dragon, and began to circle it. One at a time, the ships began to ram the dragon. The first few hits landed, but the dragon did not take this happily. He began to swerve, dip and dive, dodging the rampaging ships. After a third wave of failed ramming, the dragon charged one of the koi, grabbing onto it with it’s talons. It then performed a beautiful backflip, slamming the ship into another, sending both into a fiery nosedive to the sea.

“Oh god!” Dr. Galen called out. “Where the hell is our ship!?”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Come on... Come on!” Feather said as she held down the ignition key. “Start up, damnit!”

The ship was having a difficult time turning it’s engine over, a sickening revving noise coming from it’s engine. Feather continued to rev the fuel pedal, the ship’s struggling only becoming louder.

“Question. Should I go out and push?” Leonardo asked, a bit sarcastic.

“Oh shut up!” Feather snapped. “We gotta get this airborne ASAP, or else everyone’s gonna die!”

“Question. Should I go mess with the engine?”

Feather sighed. “Fine... Wait, no! You’re a smithy, not an engineer!”

“Statement. I had to repair horses for higher ups when I was a squire.”

“Repair... Horses...?”

“Sarcastic. Horses. Long face. Long mane. Winies a lot. sixty miles to the gallon.”

Feather tried to rev the engine again, with no luck. “I can’t tell if you’re talking about horses or race cars now...”

“Confused. There’s a difference?”

Feather turned and looked at Leonardo, who had a confused look on his face. “Fine... Go mess with the engine...”

Leonardo nodded, and ran outside. He headed to the front of the ship, and ripped the hood off the ship. Let’s see what ol’ Leo can do... he thought to himself, looking into the ship’s guts. He reached his hand in, and began to violently shake hoping to find some kind of part he understood. He eventually grabbed a... Thing... A pulled it out.

He tried to scream, but due to his AI, he could not state his emotion fast enough, resulting in a static noise coming from his mouth. In his hand, he held a glitch head.

“Realization. Oh yeah... Charles built the engine out of glitch parts...” He tossed the head, but caught it with his other hand and another realization. He climbed on the hood of the ship, and began pounding the glass, causing Feather to jump out of her seat.

“The hell! What!?” Feather called out.

“Question. Isn’t this a new ship?” Leonardo asked.

“Yes... Well... Yes and no...” Feather said. “Charles took a new ship, and added parts from our old one into it.”

“Sarcastic question. Is that why it looks like a glitch battle field in here?”

“Probably.”

Leonardo sighed and tossed the head to the side. After a few minutes under the hood, Leonardo called out. “Order. Try turning her over now!” As Leonardo tried to step down from the the hood, he slipped, falling into the hood itself.

“Alrighty... Feather said, pushing the ignition button. The engine roared to life, drowning out Leonardo’s screams. “It’s running! Leo, let’s go!”

Leonardo slammed his torso into the windshield. “ERROR. My leg is caught in the battery!” He shrieked as electricity pumped through his metal body.

“Oh...” Feather said, leaning back in her seat with shock. She slowly pushed her foot down on the gas pedal, and the ship slowly rose from the ground.

“ERROR. Why are you taking off!? Get me out of here!”

“You’re probably the reason why we’re moving... So... Uh...” Feather slammed on the gas. “Try to not plaster yourself to the windshield!” Feather shouted, and Leonardo screamed as they flew to the palace.

The palace was approaching fast, and above it, a third hylotl ship went crashing into the sea. Feather slammed on the gas, and the ship accelerated even faster. “Leo, we’re gonna ram out ship into ol’ graveyard, got it!?”

“ERROR. I get that, but but am I going to do!?” Leonardo asked.

“Can you stab it if I miss?” Feather asked.

Leonardo sighed, and tried his best to aim his blade at the bone dragon. He screamed as they approached the dragon, and braced himself as the dragon’s rib grew inches from his face. But they never hit. Leonardo looked up, confused, and saw as the dragon held the ship with it’s large talons. Leonardo tried to swing at the beast, but his blade was barely out of reach. The dragon gave almost a smile, and roared proudly.

“ERROR. Feather, can you put more gas into her?” Leonardo asked.

“I’m trying, I’m trying!” Feather shouted, slamming the gas.

“Charl still here, guys!” Charles screamed. “Don’t try to kill dragon so hard there’s no more Charl!”

“Hit that dragon as hard as you can!” Dr. Galen screamed.

The dragon’s mouth began to smoke, and flames slowly began to rise. The crew, both in the air and on the ground, gasped as the flames rose higher. Feather, however gasped as she saw a billowing cloud of smoke rising from the engine. Suddenly, the engine exploded, catching the dragon in surprise. Leonardo screamed as he was launched from the engine, and stabbed the dragon in the skull. The dragon then screamed as pulsing electricity left the glitch’s body and entered the body of the dragon. After a few minutes of “fireworks”, as Winston described them, the dragon the fell to the ground, next to the palace.

All the grounded Gozens, Dr. Galen, Winston, and Julia quickly rushed to the downed ship, and the ex-ex dragon that held onto it with a ex-ex death grip.

“Feather!?” Julia called out.

The Gozens began to quickly try to remove the dragon fragments from the front of the ship.

“Charles!?” Winston called out.

“Leo!?” Dr. Galen called, approaching the wreck.

Suddenly, a blade emerged from the dragon’s skull, and Leonardo forced his way out of the pile. “ERROR. I have conquered another mighty beast for the kingdom of 1T81Y! Yaaaaaah!” He held his sword up high in triumph, but then dropped the blade as a quick shock exploded from his neck, and his lights went out. He then staggered forward and collapsed off the pile.

“Well, at least he’s okay...” Dr. Galen said, going over to the fallen robot.

“Hey!” called out Kaito. “I found the avian!” Ken’Ichi then crawled out of a makeshift hole in the top of the ship, carrying Feather over his shoulder.

“Feather!” Julia called out, rushing up the pile with Winston.

“Julia...?” Feather moaned. Kaito helped her off Ken’Ichi’s back. Feather then tried to stand, staggering over to Julia. “Julia... How... Is... Charles...”

“We don’t know,” Julia said. “We haven’t found him yet.”

“I found him!” Tomoe said, pulling Charles out of the bones at the front of the ship.

“Charl... Okay...” Charles muttered, wiping soot off of his face and slowly staggered. “Just a bit stunned.”

“Well, that’s good,” Tomoe said. She suddenly gained an angry scowl, and punched Charles in the face, sending him flying down to the ground. You could almost hear the boxer bells. “That’s what you get for that jackass plan!” Tomoe screamed, and she jumped off the pile, sending a driving kick into Charles’ back.

Charles screamed loudly, and Feather looked up. Her eyes then went wide. “Tomoe, stop it!” She then pushed herself away from Julia, and almost fell off the pile herself, leaning on Tomoe. “Please, don’t hurt him anymore.” Tomoe then reluctantly stopped kicking, then laughed aloud as Feather began kicking the downed floran. “You and your jackass plan!”

Julia and Winston quickly ran down, holding back Feather, and the Gozen had to hold back Tomoe, and struggled to do so. “Max, help us!” Winston called out.

“Right,” Dr. Galen said, laying down Leonardo on the ground. He then ran over to the huddle, and forcibly kicked Charles.

“Not with the kicking!” Winston called out. “We’re trying to stop that!”

Dr. Galen sighed. “Fine...” He then snapped his fingers in front of of the angry girls, causing them to pass out immediately.

“Woah...” Katsuro said. “Where’d you learn that trick?”

“Infiltrating a hylotl military base back in the minikong. Would do that then kill them,” Dr. Galen said, ignoring the shocked look on Katsuro’s face.

“Right, we can discuss this later...” Julia said. “Katsuro, is there a medical bay here in the palace? We have four injured, that are now passed out.”

“Of course!” Katsuro said. “Gozens, lets go!”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Feather awoke in a medical bed somewhere in the palace. She sat up, finding herself with a few bandage wraps on her.

“Ow...” came a familiar voice. Feather looked at the door to the ward, seeing Tomoe with a few bandages of her own, limping out of the room.

“Tomoe, what are you doing...?” Feather asked, lying back down.

Tomoe froze, caught in the act. “Oh... Uh... You’re awake... I’m... Uh... Just... Getting a snack. Yeah, a snack.”

“Oh you are?” Julia asked, almost appear in the doorway. “Not with those injuries.”

“Come on, Julia, please?” Tomoe asked. “I hate being cooped away like this. Especially-”

“You already said good bye to them,” Julia said, sternly. “I’m certain your brothers don’t want you to hurt yourself anymore than what’s already been done.”

“Wait, what?” Feather asked. “How long have I been out?”

“About six days,” Julia said, helping Tomoe back to her bed.

“Six days!” Feather shouted, shocked.

“Yeah,” Julia said. “That knock-out snapping trick that Max used was supposed to last only about ten hours, but seeing as you crashed a spaceship into a zombie dragon...” Her voice drifted off.

“Wait, what did I miss!?” Feather asked.

“Well, Katsuro negotiated with Max about help and stuff... You know, for the outpost,” Tomoe said. “Most of my brothers went to different portions of the empire to help spread word of Kat’s coming to power... I woke up a few days ago, Charles woke up hours after we beat him...”

“And Leo?” Feather asked.

“We need to get him back to the outpost so he can recover,” Julia said. “We’s back online, but we don’t have the right parts here so he can repair himself.”

“Ah...” Feather said. “When are we leaving?”

“Tomorrow, seeing as your awake,” Julia said. “When we get home, we’ll get everyone to the hospital just to make sure we’re all hunky-dory.”

“Wait... How do we get home?” Feather asked. “I wrecked the ship!”

“Kitty Kat gave usssssss ssssssship!” Charles said as he popped his head out of a vent above. Feather and Julia screamed in a bit of shock at the sudden floran.

“Damn it, Charles!” Julia said angrily. “Winston! Get your patient back to his room!”

“Hey, Charl jusssssst going for walk and thought to check on Tomoe and Feather,” he jumped from the vent to the floor. “But yeah, Katssssssuro gave ussssssss a royal sssssssship to usssssssse.”

Feather’s eyes went wide when she heard ‘royal’ and ‘ship’ used in the same sentence. “Charles!” Winston’s voice echoed from outside the room.

“Uh oh, gotta go!” Charl said, hopping back up into the vent. “Ssssssssee you all tomorrow!”

Julia sighed. “Alright, Feather, see if you can walk around. Let’s make sure all the bones are where they should be...”


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Xenonth sat in his wooden chair as the space train rumbled through space, his hand crossed in front of his skull-masked face. The desk before was bare, except for a few pencils and papers. He looked up as the door to his car of the train opened, and Bromire entered. He placed a piece of paper down on the desk, and exited.

Xenonth read it, and chuckled to himself. “Oh, perfect! I’m glad they responded to my purchase so soon!” He pushed a hidden button under the desk, and a large television screen flashed to life on the wall, showing Ivadine at the controls of the train. “Ivadine, wake Nobel. I want us to get home in seventy two hours. Our plan just took a huge leap forward.” The bandito nodded, and the screen faded to black. It then sprung back to life as a familiar voice came from a silhouetted figure.

“Xenonth! Have you done your part?” the figure asked.

“I have, it has awoken,” Xenonth said. “And we set out the traps in the asteroid belt near base.”

“Ah, good good!” the figure said, cackling. “Oh this is excellent! It was a bit rocky, but I think this thing will finally pull together!”

“As long as those fungal freaks keep their side of the bargain...” Xenonth said. “You know I can’t like those agarans, D...”

“I know, they make me uneasy too...” D said. “But the fact we actually could communicate with them just helps us. They’re stupid enough to be slaves, too.”

“Still, they’re more vicious than the cultists...”

“Once we get everything together, we’ll just kill ‘em off,” D said. “Oh, before I forget, those kids you said you saw... You’re sure they’re dead?”

“The bone dragon isn’t some petty museum display. It’ll take a lot of force to kill it off. Again.”

D cackled again, nearly falling out of his silhouetted chair. “Good! After what those brats did to my ship and my army... Eeeerg... Anyway, I gotta go. When you get back, we’ll go check up on the traps, and see it’s here.”

“Also expect a package from the cultists. They finished our order in quick time, and the first one should be at base in some forty hours.”

“Excellent!” D said. “Alright, I gotta go. Snickerdoodles in the oven. Dreadwing out!” The screen went black. Xenonth leaned back in his chair.

“Those damn kids...”

“Alright, alright,” Madame Koko said, getting the crew to sit in their seats. “Alright, welcome everyone, I’m glad you all came.”

“I’m honestly surprised,” Dr. Galen said, taking his seat.

“Oh be quiet Max!” Feather said. “You can be such a jerk at times...”

“Guys, be quiet!” Julia shouted. “This has to be important!”

“Koko, what’s going on?” Winston asked.

Madame Koko sighed. “I’m trying to explain, but everyone keeps talking...” The room quickly went silent. “Alrighty then. So, first off, I’d like to congratulate everyone on your most recent and successful mission. Not only did you stop that evil hylotl from killing us, you also managed to open up a trading route with them!”

“You’re welcome on that,” Tomoe said with a smug look on her face. She stuffed a chicken leg in her mouth, “Ma berg bro’sh ‘n farsh nerw.”

“Uh... English?” Dr. Galen asked.

“Statement. She said that her big bro’s in charge now,” Leonardo said, and Tomoe gave a thumbs up.

“Yes, well, thank you,” Made Koko said, smiling and bowing. “Not only that, but you also killed a dragon...”

“Leo and I got trophies...” Feather said, smiling and fist bumping Leonardo.

“... and also revealed a possible new threat to us. Those masked men you mentioned sound like quite a threat...” Madame Koko said, walking over to a nearby cabinet.

“Did you do research on those guys?” Winston asked.

“Yeah! Charl want revenge!” Charles said, angry about the dragon fight.

“Well... From your descriptions... It seems those three were novakids...” Madame Koko said, giving a file to Dr. Galen. He began to skim through the file, and passed it on to Feather, who passed it on to Julia, ectetera.

“Novakids?” Feather asked. “The hell are those?”

“Fact. They are in fact star people,” Leonardo said. “Distant. I believe I recall a few of them visiting my planet once... They were multicolored, talked funny... And had odd symbols on their faces...”

“Sounds like a novakid,” Madame Koko said.

“Even in the minikong, I’ve never heard of these star people...” Dr. Galen said, sitting up in his seat.

“Probably because Big Ape doesn’t see them as threats,” Madame Koko replied, taking her seat. “They usually keep to themselves, isolated from non-novakids.”

“So... Do we know anything about these kids besides they like being alone?” Julia asked.

“Well, they really like engineering,” Madame Koko said, pulling out some files from her desk. “They like trying to rebuild things they think looks cool. So, they try to build a ship, go off memory, and build a ship.”

“They sound quite organized,” Tomoe said, taking another bite from her chicken.

“Not entirely...” Made Koko said, stacking the folders of files on her desk. “They seem to be easily distracted as due to reports, also being described as not being able to hold a conversation for longer than five minutes.”

“Ssssssssoundssss like Charl,” Charles said, taking some of Tomoe’s chicken.

“Except that they can effectively build a ship,” Dr. Galen said.

“So, why would a bunch of isolated, ADDed engineers want to attack the Gozen Empire?” Feather asked.

“That is what I’d like to know...” Madame Koko replied. “I don’t think they’d have the real want to assassinate someone like the emperor of the Gozen empire...”

“As far as I know, dad never ruled over any novakids slash star people,” Tomoe said.

“Sounds like they were hired, then...” Winston said. “But by who...”

“Since we have heard of or from them since the dragon fight, we shouldn’t dwell on it,” Madame Koko said. “Especially since you all got quite a few missions on hand.”

“Oooo... What are they?” Charles asked.

“They’re all about monster attacks...” Madame Koko said. “Nothing to hard, so I thought I’d split you guys up.”

A loud gasp came from the group. “Split us up?”

“It’s only temporary...” Madame Koko, a bit taken back from the gasp.

“I may not like half these guys,” Dr. Galen said. “But they’re my crew. We work well together.”

“I don’t think it’s necessary that you all need to go on these minor missions!” Madame Koko said, pulling out three keys from her desk drawer. “You’re all profound monster hunters, from pirates, to robots to the dead!” She tossed a key to Dr. Galen.

“What’s this for?” he asked.

“That’s for your new ship,” Madam Koko said, tossing another key to Winston. Feather quickly plucked the key from Dr. Galen, and Julia looked at Winston’s key with envy.

“I’ve also chosen who’s going with who so there’s no problems,” Madam Koko said, tossing the last to Tomoe. Right before she caught it, Charles dove for it, missing it, and crashing into Leonardo, sending them crashing to the floor. “Tomoe’s with Charles. Winston’s with Julia. Max is with Leo and Feather.”

“Question are you sure that’s safe?” Leonardo asked, getting off of the downed floran.

“I know Charles and Tomoe are bit crazy at times, but I’m certain they can handle themselves,” Madam Koko said, and a ‘hell yeah’ was heard from Tomoe.

“I think he meant about tarot card six, over there,” Feather said, pointing at Winston and Julia. “The lovers...” Winston and Julia blushed.

“I know my decisions sound a bit crazy, but I feel these were the best choices,” Madame Koko said, giving each group a file. “Each of these has a mission I’ve assigned your group based on your presented skill sets. You are all leaving tomorrow morning, so I recommend you all group up, and get some supplies. Meeting adjourned.”

The crew then slowly got up and headed out.

“I’m honestly pleased with my group,” Dr. Galen said. “Pilot, smithy, and dragon slayers.”

“How much food do you think we’ll need for eighty an eighty hour flight?” Tomoe asked Charles, looking at the mission notes.

“I swear to Kluex, Winston. If anything happens to Julia, I will tie your limbs to giant flies and have them rip you apart,” Feather said, eyeing Winston.

“Friendly suggestion. Just don’t get wild,” Leonardo said to Winston. “But if anything does happen, let me and Charles know.” Winston sighed, rolling his eyes, and looked back at Charles, who was smiling and giving a thumbs up. This was quickly followed by the sound of metal crunching as Feather kicked Leonardo in the chest.

“Alrighty guys...” Dr. Galen said as they exited the warehouse. “Looks like we’ll be splitting up. I hope everything goes well, and that Charles dies in some horrible accident.” He then walked off towards the market, Feather and Leonardo with him.

“Well, I guess we’ll be off too...” Winston said.

“This is good practice, you know,” Tomoe said. “For when you two actually tie knots and get married.” Julia blushed even brighter and ran off into the market.

“Julia...!” Winston shouted, and chased after her.

“Let’ssssssss go ssssshopping!” Charles said eagerly, and grabbed Tomoe’s wrist, running into the market.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“So... Where are we going for our mission?” Feather asked, leaning on the shopping cart. “Like... What’s the weather like?”

“Well...” Dr. Galen said, looking at the mission notes. “It’s from a glitch village. And some scary monsters apparently attacking.”

“Proud. Fellow glitch require assistance? I shall help them!” Leonardo said proudly, drawing his sword.

“Sir, please put your weapon weapon away while in the Infinity Express,” came a raspy voice from the hylotl at the counter of the store.

“Apologetic. Sorry...” Leonardo replied, putting his blade away.

“So... What food should we get for the flight then?” Feather asked.

“Hm... Canned goods would be good...” Dr. Galen said. “Just grab everything canned, really.”

And the three did. Meatballs, veggie soup, and other assorted canned foods. Drinks, too. Bottled water, meat wine, and other various beverages. “Question. Can I get some battery acid?” Leonardo asked.

“Go for it,” Feather said, tossing avesmingoes into the cart. After a few more pounds of food were added to the cart, the crew quickly checked out, with assistance from the raspy voiced hylotl.

“That’ll be sixty-seven thousand pixels, sir,” the hylotl said.

“Six... Sixty-seven...” Dr. Galen gasped, shocked at the price. “Is it really that much!?”

“Technically sixty-six thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine pixels, sir,” the hylotl replied.

Dr. Galen sighed, pulling out the large cubes from his pockets. He sadly pushed the cubes over, and the hylotl took them, putting them into the register. “Thank you, sir.”

“Alrighty, then,” Dr. Galen said sadly, “After lessening the weight from my wallet... I think we can head to the ship for tonight... We’ll head out tomorrow. The three headed out to the ship yard with the groceries in hand.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey! Julia!” Winston called out into the crowd. “Julia come back!”

“Hey! Younk man!” called a thick, accented voice to Winston.

He stopped, looking around.

“Younk man! Over here!” came the voice. Winston turned and saw a faded-purple robed man sitting atop a large green creature. The creature had large, green elephant feet, and had a large pair of tusk-like pincers. IT carried large rolled up white scrolls or carpeting, and dragged a large, purple, shipping container. It had barrel and crates stacked atop it, and had a set of iron bars over a window. “Is this younk girl the one you’re callink for?”

Winston ran over to the... the thing... And saw Julia rubbing her forehead and sitting next to the shipping container. “Julia! Are you alright?”

“She ran into my shop while I was movink,” the man said.

“I’m sorry about this,” Winston said, helping Julia up. “We were just in a rush; We have a big mission tomorrow.”

“Perhaps Vlad can help you?” the man asked, sliding off the back of the large green beast.

“What... What do you sell?” Julia asked, teetering a bit.

“Vlad welcomes you to Treasured Trophies!” Vlad said. As he said it, a large tentacle burst from the container, flailing about. Julia and Winston began to back away, but Vlad called out. “Do not worry, that is just some tentacle tree samples I got from my travels!” He kicked the box and the tentacle retracted. “So, what do you guys need?”

“We need food, enough for about eighty hours of space flight...” Winston said. He looked through the mission papers. “Yeah, the avians that are hiring us are willing to supply us some food once we get there.”

“Ah food! Vlad has the finest food from around the universe!” he kicked the shipping container again, and a small tray popped out, with some fruits. “This here is an occulemon! This eyeball fruit watches you watch it!” He held the large fruit to the pair.

“Uh... Hi...” Julia said, looking into the eye.

“If that is not your taste, Vlad understands!” He set the occulemon down. “This is a dirturchin! It looks nasty but tastes tolerable!”

“We see these all the time...” Winston said.

“Oh...” Vlad said. “Well, my last foreign fruit is the rare, illustrious, neonmelon!” He held up the blue fruit. “These not only taste like death, but glow in the dark as well.”

“Wait... Where did you get this?” Julia asked.

“Some planet... I think Alpa Century something or another...” Vlad said.

“Alpha Centauri 56B?” Winston asked, looking at the document papers.

“Aye, that’s the one!” Vlad said. “Nice, odd place.”

“That’s where we’re heading,” Winston said. “Can you sell us some of the supplies you used for your flight there?”

“Of course...” Vlad kicked the supply crate again, and the fruit retracted, instead popping out with a large, wooden crate. “Everything you need is here!”

“Can you deliver this to the landing strip?” Julia asked. “It’s too big for us to carry.”

“Ah, Vlad was heading there now! Hop aboard!” Vlad said, and the tentacle burst out of the container again, grabbing Winston and Julia. It then set them on the roof of the box, and Vlad ‘hyaed” the green beast into motion. They then quickly rode down the plaza to the landing strip.

“So... What mission are you two takink?” Vlad asked Winston. “If I may ask, of course.”

“Well, we’re helping out some avians who recently discovered a planet with odd readings coming from it,” Winston said, going through the folder. “Upon reaching the surface, they found huge, beautiful trees...”

“Rainbow wood,” Vlad said. “I might have bumped into their landink camp while explorink planets. I then took some neonmelon and seeds, and left.” He cleared his throat. “After lookink through their notes, however.”

“Well, can you tell us anything about the place, then?” Julia asked, practically slumping herself over Winston’s shoulder.

“Well, the avians were reporting some odd shadows that would always surround their camp at sunset. They were so scared to the point they didn’t want to camp out on the surface, instead staying in their ships. They only reason they stayed was because of how rare rainbow wood is, and they wanted to cultivate and claim it. We’re here.”

The tentacle dropped the crate off at the gate of the landing strip, and Winston and Julia jumped off. “Thanks for the lift!” Winston called up to Vlad.

“It was nothink! Are you sure you want me to leave the crate here?” Vlad asked.

“Yeah, we can just push it, our ships near the front,” Julia called.

“Very well, good luck on your mission!” Vlad shouted happily, and hyaed the beast once again, and sped off into the landing strip. Winston and Julia then nodded, and quickly began to push the crate to their new ship.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Ow ow ow!” Tomoe called out as she was dragged through the market. “Charles, let go! You’re digging into my wrist!”

“We’re almossssst there!” Charles said happily, leading the charge. “Charl knowsssss a great sssshop for food!”

“That’s great and all!” Tomoe cried out. “But don’t drag me there!” Soon enough, the pair stopped at a small shop. It had a large tree growing out of the roof, and the word “Terramart” was written on a sign across the top.

“Here we are!” Charles said happily, releasing Tomoe. He started banging on the counter of the large window of the shop. “Lily! Lilyyyyyyyyy!”

“Hold on, Charles!” came a female voice from the shop. After a clamor, a floran poked her head out the window, leaning on the counter. She had olive skin, and pink leafy hair, tied up in a bun. “Hello, and welcome to Terramart!” Lily said happily.

“Uh... Charles...” Tomoe asked, rubbing her wrist. “Why did we come to a plant shop for food shopping?”

“Charles!” Lily said, a bit upset. “You didn’t tell her about the secret menu, did you!?”

“No no no!” Charles said. “That wasssss all you. Charl lipsssss sealed!”

“Damn it...” Lily said. “Screwed up again...”

“Charles, who’s your friend?” Tomoe asked. “And would she care to explain this whole hidden menu thing?”

“Oh, sssssorry,” Charles said. “Thissss isssss Lily. Sssssshe’sssss a floran who’sssss family left the old wayssssss long ago.”

“Hello,” Lily said happily. “The secret menu is supposed to be a secret... But my family owns a secret meat farm on my home planet. We sell all kinds of meat, but only to those who know the secret menu...”

“I see...” Tomoe said, intrigued by a meat-based diet for the long flight. “What do you have?”

Lily clapped her hands together happily, then leaned into Tomoe’s ear. “We have ham, steak, tentacle, flesh lump, bacon...” She quickly glanced back into the store. “We just got some fresh ribs and chicken too...”

Tomoe’s mouth salivated at the mention of all the meat. “I think we’ll take a crate’s worth...”

Lily smiled and nodded, and hit a button on the counter. The sounds of machines whirring began to resonate from the back, before a loud crash was heard, and the machines stopped. “Oh dammit!” Lily said. “The packing machine broke again...”

“Charl can fix!” Charles said eagerly, and he quickly jumped onto the roof of Terramart, and opened a vent, jumping inside. “Let’ssss sssee what Charl can do...” Charles’ voice echoed from inside the store.

“Does Charles visit you often?” Tomoe asked Lily, leaning on the shop’s wall.

“Not too often,” Lily said. “He sometimes stops by during his patrols to chat. Probably due to there being very few florans here.”

“Ah...” Tomoe said. “So... How come you don’t talk like Charles does? I mean, with the whole accent thing that he has.”

“That’s because he’s straight from a tribe,” Lily explained. “My grandparents left their tribe, so our family had time to adapt without gaining the thick floran accent.”

“Charl fixsssed!” Charles called, and the sounds of machines whirred up again. Charles then jumped from the roof of the Terramart, landing next to Tomoe. “Accssssent doessss make it hard to talk at timessss, but Charl get usssssed to it,” Charles said, proud that he eavesdropped.

Soon, a large wooden crate came out of the side of the shop, and Charles quickly went over to pick it up. He struggled at first, but then tossed it into the air, catching the crate on his back. He then began to walk away, smiling with his new haul.

“Charles! Come back!” Tomoe called. “We gotta pay!”

“No, it’s fine,” Lily said cheerfully. “Fixing the machine covers the cost.”

“Oh, well, thanks,” Tomoe said bowing. As she began to chase after Charles, Lily called to her.

“Just remember! Keep the menu a secret!” Lily’s head then snapped around, and her red bun bun opened up into a large, gaping maw, leaking saliva; a fly trap. “Or else you’ll become Soylent Green!”

Tomoe nodded, and frantically dashed off, catching up to Charles. “There’sssss no hurry, Tomoe,” Charles said as he saw Tomoe approach.

“You didn’t just see what happened to Lily?” Tomoe said, pointing to the Terramart.

Charles turned, and saw Lily reach for something over the counter. She, however, slipped, falling to the ground in front of the shop. The skirt she was also apparently wearing flipped down, revealing her underwear, which, luckily for her, no one saw.

Charles eyed Tomoe. “Charl knowssss you’re into that... Do keep in mind that Charl doesssssn’t care for that...” He continued walking, crate in tow.

Tomoe looked back at Lily who sat on the ground smiling at Tomoe. Her head then snapped around again, and the fly trap licked it’s lips. “She did it again!”

“Have sssssome dignity...” Charles said, a bit sarcastically.

“Not the skirt thing...” Tomoe said. “Her head snapped around and her bun turned into a giant gaping mouth!”

“Have you gotten into Maxsssssss’ horror book collectsssssion?” Charles asked. “Lay off the booksssss.”

Tomoe moved to speak, but sighed, knowing she lost the argument of her non-perversion. The group quickly approached the landing strip, and Tomoe pulled out the key to the ship. She clicked the button, and a ‘beep beep’ emanated from the lot. The two wandered towards, hoping to find their new ship.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Damn it...” Xenonth said, kicking the small cardboard box to the side. “None of them have anything!” He and his space train had reached the designated planet, and decided to check the nearby asteroid field to see if the traps he had placed caught anything. “The butter ain’t cheap either! If none of these caught anything... D’s gonna kill me...”

“Maybe because using these cheap little boxes doesn’t do anything?” came a voice. Xenonth turned, and saw a yellow novakid, with a star on his face. He was the crew’s newest recruit, a bandit.

“What’re you talking about, newbie?” Xenonth asked. “These have always worked.”

“For catching a mother!?” the novakid asked. “You’d need iron bars, and guns, all kinds of crazy stuff in order to catch one!” He picked up a small box. “I don’t care how cheap it is, cardboard boxes won’t catch them!”

The novakid then shouted in pain, as Bromire hit him in the back of his head with the butt of his gun. Ivadine giggled, and a new voice was heard. “Henry, yer an idiot. We ain’t here to catch a mother,” said Nobel, the crew’s Varmint and engineer.

“Did you have any luck, then?” Xenonth asked.

“Sure did...” Nobel said, holding up a slightly damp, squirming, cardboard box.

Xenonth’s skull-mask smiled evilly as he took the mask. “Bromire, Ivadine,” the two snapped to attention. “Play rock paper scissors or something to decide who drags Henry here back to the train. Nobel, I want you to check how much butter we got left...” Xenonth peaked inside the cardboard box. “Our little scheme is coming together quite smoothly…”

The following should be read as it’s own individual tale, independent from the main story. It afore mentions many loved characters, but is it’s own creation. A spin-off, I suppose. Ah, but I’m rambling. You came here for a story, and a story you shall get.

This tale takes place in a familiar apex outpost camp. While it was quite city like, it was far more rural than other planets, outposts, and the like. It had a hospital, a few rural apartments, and a large warehouse, which overshadowed the vast, open air marketplace. Goods of all shapes and sizes, from metals and ores, to food and drink, even clothes and armors were sold there. Loud echoing shouts and hollers from the shop owners echoed around, advertising their wares. But louder than all of the din was a small group of kids.

Well, maybe not kids. Young adults.

“Winston! Over here!” Julia called out, dragging Winston behind her. “I heard that Tinroy’s new stock of shirts got here and I wanna see ‘em!”

“Alright alright!” Winston replied, barely able to keep his footing as he was pulled. “The shop’s not going anywhere! Slow down!”

“The shop’s not, but the stock is!” Julia said, puffing her face up a bit. “You know how popular his stuff his!” Before Winston could reply, he tripped, and was being dragged across the ground. Luckily, his outrider armor protected him from the course dirt.

“That lookssssssss like fun...” Charles said, watching as the pair ran into the bazaar.

“I’d wish they wouldn’t run off like that during patrol...” Feather said, rubbing her temples.

“Observation. I think it’s cute,” Leonardo said, swinging his antivirus over his shoulder.

“It’s cute and all, but we have a job to do!” Feather responded, loudly. “And Charles get off the ground!”

“Awwww... But Charl wants get dragged around...” the floran said, looking up from his resting place.

Feather puffed angrily, and Tomoe approached, eating a banana split. “Sorry I’m late. Mmmm...” She put a scoop of ice cream in her mouth. “Why’s Feather all mad?”

“You’re late!” Feather shouted loudly, causing the others to jump a little.

“I know, that’s why I said I’m late...” Tomoe said, putting another scoop into her mouth. “I think you need to stop working at Max’s all the time...”

“Gah... Sorry,” Feather said sighing. “He probably is rubbing off on me. Since Koko hired me, I have to work with him a lot...”

“Statement. Just keep your Galeness under check,” Leonardo said. “Let’s go after Julia and Winston before we lose them.”

“Right.” The group quickly headed into the bazaar, except for Charles, who was being dragged by Tomoe, with a grin from ear to ear.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Maximus!” Madame Koko called out from her office.

“Yes, ma’am?” Dr. Galen asked, entering.

“How’s that new scrapyard coming along?” Madame Koko asked, sipping a cup of dirtea.

“As far as I know, it’s going well...” Dr. Galen replied. “Those novakids we hired to watch the place know how to manage the place.”

Madame Koko eyed Dr. Galen. “You alright? You seem tired.”

“No ma’am. Do I look tired?”

“You just said that novakids knew something.”

Dr. Galen blinked. “Well they do know what to do! I taught them myself.”

“How do you know they remembered it though?”

Dr. Galen moved to speak, but stopped. “Do you want me to check on them?”

“Yes please,” Madame Koko said. “I’ve tried to call them multiple times, and it goes right to the answering machine.”

Dr. Galen sighed. “They probably turned the phone into another satellite dish. I’ll go check on them.” He headed for the door, grabbing a key off one of the small hooks on the wall. “I’m taking one of the jeeps.” He exited.

He walked down the hall back to his office, grabbing his coat. Looking up at the clock, he saw that there was an hour before he was supposed to meet up with his crew and discuss upcoming missions. “Ah, damnit... I won’t make it back by then... I guess I gotta leave a note...” He went to his desk, which was covered with books. He quickly grabbed a piece of paper from a nearby pad. “Oh, where the hell is my pen...” He mumbled, going past book after book.

‘Lethal Laughers from Mount Luna’, ‘Bread Alive’, ‘Poptoprecaun’. Dr. Galen had recently been on a reading spree, specifically horror books. He normally would bring them into his work to read while on his lunch breaks, but got addicted to them. To the point, where recently, he had difficulty falling asleep due to a fear that giant flies would carry him away in his sleep.

“There it is...” Dr. Galen happily declared, moving a copy of ‘Killer Automatoes’. He took the pen and wrote out the note that the meeting was cancelled and to be moved to a later date. He then pinned the note on the door to office, quickly grabbed his hat, and headed out.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


After a few minutes of driving, Dr. Galen stopped at one of the guard towers of the outpost. He parked the jeep, and headed to the front gate, where a pair of avians greeted him.

“Hello, sir,” one guard said.

“Hello. How is everything here?” Dr. Galen asked.

“Everything’s good,” the second guard said. “You heading out of town, sir?”

“Yeah...” Dr. Galen said, sighing. “Madame Koko wants me to go check on the scrapyard...”

“Oh...” the first guard said, looking nervously to the other.

“We lost communication with the novakids there, so I guess I have to go check on them...” He sighed again, and saw the two guards standing nervously. “You two alright?”

“Oh, yes,” the second guard said. “It’s just that... We don’t... Like... the Scrapyard...”

“It makes us nervous, sir,” the first guard said.

“Nervous how?” Dr. Galen asked.

“You haven’t heard the rumors of ghosts?” the second guard said.

Dr. Galen screamed a little on the inside at the mention of the word ‘Ghosts’. He gulped, then regained composure. “Ghosts aren’t real.”

“Those glitch farmers have seen them!” the first guard said. “As well as a few people who have visited the scrapyard!”

“They say that they see ominous, disfigured lights, that they hear steps and voices when no one’s there, and even have watched mechanisms come to life!” the two guards began to quiver as the list of read aloud.

“First off, I don’t think you should really trust those glitch farmers with what they see... Their a few wires short of a collider. Secondly, the novakids were probably messing with their toys or something. No ghosts.” Dr. Galen started heading back to his jeep. “Alright, thanks for the check up.” He hopped into the jeep.

“Wait, sir!” a third guard called out, an apex. He ran past the two avians, to the side of the jeep.

“Yes, what is it?” Dr. Galen asked, starting up the jeep.

“Are you coming to that fancy dinner tonight?” the apex asked, handing a flyer to Dr. Galen. “Ms. Gozen’s eldest brother is visiting tonight to make sure we’re all still alive. I guess...”

Dr. Galen looked at the flyer, and pocketed it. “I might go, who knows.” He then drove off past the tower. The road ahead was quite rocky, being only a dirt stretch across the grassy field. To the left of the road, were large farms, grown by the before mentioned glitch.

The fields were ripe and ready for picking. Miles on miles of every fruit, vegetable, and everything between, behind, or in front of, was prepared for harvest. Dr. Galen could spy a few of the glitch farmers, as well as their seasonally hired help, picking large bushels of bananas and pineapples. A few waved, and he waved back. One of the workers caught Dr. Galen’s eyes, and he stopped the jeep, pulling off the road next to the fence.

“Nickol!” Dr. Galen shouted out, and a pink nova kid poked her head up from where she was working. She looked over at Dr. Galen and ran to the fence.

She wore a white shirt, and blue overalls. Her hair was up in curled twin tails, and she had a Venus symbol on her face.

“Hi, Mr. Galen!” Nickol said, her twin tails bobbing as she ran. “What’re you doing here?”

“I should ask you the same thing...” Dr. Galen said. “I was just heading over to the scrapyard to check on you and your folks. We lost communication with you guys. Again.”

“Oh, it probably was Markury or Paulo messing with the phone again,” Nickol said nervously. “Nothing to worry about.”

“You don’t wanna go back, do you?” Dr. Galen said.

“No, sir...”

“Wanna tell me why?” Dr. Galen asked.

“Well... There’s weird stuff goin’ on, and it ain’t pa’s or my brothers’ inventions. Like theres... Ghosts... Or something...”

Oh great, the g-word again... Dr. Galen said. “You know you gotta work there, right?”

“I’d rather not...” Nickol said. “It’s too creepy.”

Dr. Galen pondered. He had to get her back to the scrapyard... Her parents were probably worried. How could he get her to go... Dr. Galen tried his best to go through his vast knowledge of paranormal and spookiness, trying to remember a solution. “Hey, I know something that’ll keep the ghosts away!”

“You do?” Nickol asked. “What is it?”

“See if you can grab a neonmelon. You can make it into a bright light that ghosts are afraid of!” Nickol nodded and ran into the fields. Well, at least his plan was working. While it was annoying to him most of the time, Dr. Galen was a bit glad that novakids weren’t too bright. In a book he had read where angry poultrygiests attacked, the heroes used neonmelon lanterns to keep the spirits at bay. It was also later found that ghosts were afraid of the light novakids gave off, but Nickol didn’t know that, and surely enough the spirits at the yard didn’t know it either.

“I have it!” Nickol shouted. Dr. Galen looked up, and saw the pink novakid running to the fence, a large neonmelon in hand.

“Alrighty! Hop in, and we’ll get you home!” Nickol happily hopped over the fence, and ran around into the jeep’s passenger seat, and the pair drove off down the road.

“Hey... How does a neonmelon help keep ghosts away?” Nickol asked, holding the large fruit.

“Uh... Well...” Dr. Galen started. “You know how the inside of a neonmelon glows?”

“The tasty, yellow insides? Yeah!”

“Well, if you carve a scary face into the rind of one, the light would shine the scary face, and scare off the ghosts.”

“Oooo...” Nickol said, looking at the fruit. “Maybe I should eat my fruits and veggies like ma says so...”

After that, the ride was quite, except for the roaring of the jeep’s engine. Soon enough, a large building came into view; the house were Nickol and her family stayed at the scrapyard. Dr. Galen stopped the jeep in front of the house, and both he and Nickol got out. They approached the door, and a voice from inside was heard.

“Ozz! I found ‘er!” came a woman’s voice. The door opened, and a purple novakid, hair in a bun, came out. He wore an old, western dress, and had a lambda symbol on her face. “Where the hell have you been young lady!?” the purple novakid asked, hugging Nickol tightly.

“Gee, ma. I was at the farms helping out,” Nickol said. “Dr. Galen taught me how to keep the ghosts away!”

“Oh he did?” the purple novakid asked. She looked over the doctor, who stood there smiling. “Oh, forgive me, doc. I didn’t see you. I was just so happy to see Nickol back. Speaking of which...” the purple novakid took the neonmelon, and pushed Nickol inside. “Go get yer pa! I’m certain doc here wants to make sure the scrapyard is all workin.”

“Yes ma...”

“Please, come in, doc,” the purple novakid said.

“Ah, yes, thank you Ruth,” Dr. Galen said. He entered the house, and Ruth shut the door behind him. He sat over on a rustic couch, removing his hat and leaving it on the table. Soon after he sat down, a green novakid entered. He wore sheriff's gear, and had a phi on his face.

“Howdy, doc,” the novakid said, going over to a nearby desk. He pulled out the wooden chair and sat down. “What’re ye here for?”

“Oh, just making sure everything was well, Ozz,” Dr. Galen said. “I would’ve called, but your phone seems to be dead. Again.”

Ozz sighed. “Probably was Markury or Paulo messing with the lines again... Damn it...” He leaned back in the chair. “Sorry, doc. I’ll fix it today.”

“No, rush, just making sure everything’s good,” Dr. Galen said, smiling. His smile quickly faded. “So, is everything okay?”

“Why wouldn’t things be okay?” Ozz asked.

“Well, haven’t you heard the rumors going around?” Dr. Galen asked. “That there’s apparently-”

“Ghosts, right?” Ozz asked. “I don’t believe they’re ghosts. I honestly think it’s the kids pulling pranks.”

“I’m not so sure about that...” Dr. Galen said. “Nickol said she ran off because she was afraid of the ghosts.”

“She just doesn’t want to help out here...” Ozz said. “I can’t believe you’re buying her stories.”

“Well, the only reason why I believed her is the fact I told her a neonmelon lantern could keep the ghosts away. And she brought that neonmelon home,” Dr. Galen said, pointing at the large melon on the counter.

“I still don’t buy it...” Ozz said.

“Ah well, as long as it makes her happy, I suppose,” Dr. Galen said. “Well, I outta go.” He got up, and the flyer from earlier fell out of his pocket.

“Doc, you dropped this...” Ozz said, picking up the flyer. “A dinner party?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Dr. Galen said, donning his hat. “One of my crew’s older brother is visiting, and he’s one of the folks who’s helping keep the outpost funded. There’s going to be a huge feast and everything, though I’m not sure if I’m going to go or not. You and your family are welcome to come, though.”

Ozz pondered the thought. “Hmmm... Maybe. The kids haven’t been too good recently, but who knows. We’ll see.” The two nodded, and Dr. Galen exited. As he approached his jeep, he heard a voice.

“Mr. Galen! Mr. Galen!” looking around, confused, Dr. Galen looked up to see the voice came from Nickol, looking out what was assumed to be her bedroom window. “Mr. Galen! Thank you for tip with the ghosts!”

Dr. Galen smiled and waved, and hopped into the jeep. He revved the engine, performed a three-point turn, and drove off, down the road, relieved. For three reasons, in fact. The first being that the scrapyard was okay, and that he was right about the phone. The second being that he managed to Nickol sneaking off again, and got her back home. Third, that he was able to leave the scrapyard, since he almost suffered PTSD from that spot.

Dr. Galen shivered at the memories there. He and his crew had gone down to this spot, before the house was even built. The color purple had uneased him since then, as he and his crew had to fight off countless numbers of cultists. The fight had gone so smoothly, too, until the jeep they rode in on exploded magically, and had severely injured the members of his crew, until Winston and Tomoe had come and save them. Luckily, after the two saved the crew, they destroyed the cultists and their ships, creating a large scrap pile.

Soon, numerous people of the outpost began to use the scrapyard as both a dump, and as a place to grab some spare parts. Madame Koko felt that while it was good for the community wanting to use the scrap for something, she felt things could get out of hand. So she had hired the small novakid family, and had them work the yard.

Dr. Galen shuddered at the thought, though, of the cultists getting up from their graves and walking around. Combining the cultist battle with nights upon nights of horror stories, was not a healthy combination. Still, he trusted that the cultists were dead, and that they’d stay dead.

He shortly arrived back in town, and headed back to the warehouse, parking his jeep. As he headed up the stairs to report to Madame Koko about his findings, he found that the warehouse was empty. He got to Madame Koko’s office, and hung the keys back up, finding a note.

“Maximus,

I’ve decided to dismiss everyone early for the party tonight. Your crew stopped by earlier, and I told them you had left. They will also be attending the party tonight. Dress casual, it’s an informal thing.

Madame Koko.”

Dr. Galen looked at the note and sighed. Looks like he HAD to go to the party now. Someone had to keep his crew under check, especially after the large party they had after killing off Dreadwing. He sighed, and headed back to his office, hanging up his hat and coat. He then sat down at his desk, and picked up a book from the pile, ‘Death Bread: The Bread that Eats’, and began to read away. The party wasn’t for another few hours, and he wanted to pass the time. Since he also wouldn’t have to go back to the scrapyard anytime soon, Dr. Galen felt some spooky tales were fine to read.

He kicked his feet up on his desk, and began to read.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Dr. Galen awoke as he fell out of his chair. Looking around, Dr. Galen was confused for a bit, and looked up at the clock. There was half an hour until the party. He quickly grabbed his coat, and headed out. The sun was setting, casting eerie shadows across the streets and buildings. A light fog also rolled in, which caused the streets to glow eerily. A few passerby greeted Dr. Galen as he headed through the town to the landing field. He reached the field and was a tad surprised to see that the large hylotl mothership was not present.

“Hey, Max, what’s up?” came a voice from behind him. Dr. Galen squealed in surprise and turned around to see Tomoe standing there, looking both amused and confused. “Uh... You alright?”

“Gah... It’s just you... Don’t scare me like that...” Dr. Galen said, puffing angrily. “I thought you were the Creature from the Tar Pits... Gah...”

“I’ll have you know I actually showered today,” Tomoe said, half jokingly. “And you should stop reading those horror books. They’re really getting to you.”

“I’ll be fine...” Dr. Galen said. “As long as no one sneaks up on me again...”

“Like thisssss?” Charles asked, hanging upside down from the gate. Dr. Galen turned and was greeted by the upside down face and screamed in fear. This was quickly drowned out by Charles’ and Tomoe’s united laughter.

“Damn it...” Dr. Galen muttered as he exhaled nervously. “Why’re you two here early?”

“Well, seeing as it is MY brother coming to visit, I thought it would be good for me to be here early,” Tomoe said.

“Charl here becaussssssse Charl want to challenge Katuro to fight,” Charles said, jumping to the ground.

“Ah... Of course...” Dr. Galen said, getting up. “Any reason why he’s not here yet?”

“Ah, yeah,” Tomoe said. “Bro wants to host the feast on the ship, so he’s probably be a bit late. Though we are early.”

“How are we going to fit a whole party into the ship?” Dr. Galen asked. “Ships aren’t too big. As he said that, a loud humming from overhead echoed. Looking, Dr. Galen gasped as a massive ship slowly descended into the landing strip. It was the size of the warehouse, and was a deep blue, with three red lights on the front. It slowly landed, and a side hatch opened up, where the big hylotl himself exited.

“Little sister!” Katsuro called out, and the burly hylotl ran at the three. He smashed through the weak chain link fence around the landing field, and trampled Charles. Dr. Galen was barely able to dodge the huge hylotl as he gave his little a tight hug. “It has been too long!”

“Not really, Katsuro...” Tomoe struggled to say as she was slowly crushed by the hug. She was eventually released and gasped. “So... You got tons of food?”

Katsuro smiled. “Of course. We had take in account at least a hundred or so people, as well as little sister. Would you all like to come in since you’re early?”

“That would be nice,” Dr. Galen said.

Katsuro nodded. “Very well, let’s go. Come on, Charles, don’t lay around.” The trio quickly headed for the ship, while Charles slowly picked himself from the ground.

“Woooooah...” Dr. Galen said, looking at the vast room before him. Katsuro had brought Dr. Galen, Tomoe and Charles into his ship’s vast dining hall. The walls were decorated much like how one would perceive the hall of an emperor. Large katanas along with naginatas, kens, uchigatanas and tachis all hung from from hooks on the walls. Large suits of disphtotic armor lined the columns of the room, each holding an oil lantern in their hands.

There was a back room where numerous hylotl chefs could be seen working, quickly cooking the night’s feast. “...and this is where we’ll be eating,” Katsuro finished. “Please, take your seats, as they will fill up fast.” The trio quickly picked their spots; Tomoe sitting near the head of the table, Charles sitting next to her, and Dr. Galen sitting away from the pair. “I’ll go check on the food,” KAtsuro said, heading into the kitchen. Looking up at a hanging wall clock, there was still about fifteen minutes until the other guests were expected to arrive.

The silence was extremely awkward for all three in the room. They sat, not saying anything for many minutes until Katsuro returned from the kitchen, pitcher of water in his hand. “Looks like the food will be ready by the time the others arrive.” Katsuro smiled, poured water into everyone’s glasses and took his seat at the head of the table, next to Tomoe. He then asked loudly. “So, is this floran the ‘cute boy’ you keeping telling me about?”

Tomoe immediately spat out the water she was drinking, which startled Charles more than the original question. “What the hell are you going on about!?”

“It’s alright if you’re embarrassed, while not usually custom, quite a few hylotl and florans get together,” Katsuro said, a large, toothy grin on his face. Dr. Galen caught the lie in his eyes and giggled a bit at the ploy.

“Charles! Don’t listen to him!” Tomoe shouted at the floran while punching her older brother in the shoulder. Katsuro began to laugh loudly, almost shaking the room.

“Alright, calm down, Katsuro,” Dr. Galen said, getting up. “I know you’re lying.”

“See!? It’s not true!” Tomoe shouted. “He used to be minikong, he knows this stuff!”

“So you can tell if I’m lying, eh?” Katsuro asked. “How so?”

Dr. Galen got up from his seat, taking his glass with him. “Well, I can tell by your eye’s movement, your voice, your body movements. Anything, really,” Dr. Galen said, taking a sip of water.

“Fine then, am I telling the truth when I say this?” Katsuro challenged. “I hate my little sister.”

Dr. Galen pondered. “Ninety-five percent false. You love her, except your jealous that she can more freely go about where she wants in the universe.” Katsuro’s smile quickly faded when his secret got out.

“You a mind reader or something?” he asked.

“Just a body noticer,” Dr. Galen said, turning to Tomoe. “Now you try.”

“Fine! I looooove Charles secretly,” she said angrily.

Dr. Galen took a sip as she said it, then spat out his drink. Her face read ‘truth’, but it also read ‘I will murder you in your sleep if you say truth’. Dr. Galen then coughed nervously. “False. Obviously false.” A loud gong then rang out, and Katsuro sprang to his feet.

“Ah, the guests are here!” Katsuro said, the smile quickly returning to his face. “I’ll go fetch them.”

“Don’t you dare mention this to anyone!” Tomoe threatened. Dr. Galen nodded, and returned to his seat. While there had been attempts in his past to be murdered in his sleep, he also managed to stop the murderer, well, in his sleep.

“Charl confussssssed...” Charles said, and he rested his head on the table.

Soon enough, more guests entered, chatting and taking seats. Dr. Galen recognized some bazaar shop owners, some farmers, and even saw his own crew come in. They saw him, and waved, and the four sat down next to him.

“Statement. I wish I knew we could come earlier, I would’ve gotten a seat next to the kitchen doors...” Leonardo said, looking at the doors to the kitchen.

“I find it it a bit odd that a glitch would like feasts,” Feather said. “I always forget that robots can actually eat.”

“Proud. Whenever my kingdom would conquer another, we’d have a feast, with the finest automato stew and pizzap in the land.” Leonardo held his glass up high and declared, “Question. Where is the mighty feast?”

“It’ll be here in a few minutes,” Katsuro stated. “Once everyone is seated, I’ll make introductions and the chefs will bring out the food.”

Dr. Galen leaned back in his seat, and was caught off guard by a tap on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Nickol standing there, waving. “Howdy, Doc.”

“Oh, it’s Nickol,” Julia said, looking over. “What’re you doing here?”

“Good question...” Dr. Galen added. “You didn’t sneak out again, did you?”

“No, I’m a good girl now!” Nickol said. “I asked permission, and my parents agreed I could go if I got a ride here. So I made one.”

Dr. Galen eyed her, and noticed she was acting a bit nervous. “What happened...”

“Well... I made a jeep-like vehicle to get here... And it worked... Then it broke...” the pink novakid said. “So... Could I get a ride back, afterwards?”

Dr. Galen sighed, and his four crew members all giggled. “Yeah... I’ll just have to stop by the warehouse then...”

Katsuro then tapped a spoon against his glass, calling attention from the guests. “If you could all takes your seats, please! I’d like to begin. First off, I’d like to thank Madame...” Katsuro’s speech went on for quite a long time. Unfortunately for him, almost everyone in the room stopped paying attention after the first few minutes. While it was a bit rude, everyone was here for one thing: the feast. Which luckily for them, was announced, “...and without further ado, chefs, if you could.”

The kitchen doors opened up, and a platoon of finely dress hylotl chefs entered the hall, each carrying platters of food. Everyone’s mouths watered the delicious sights. Stews ranging from oculemon to wartweed were the first delicacies that were set, and all guest stared. Or, in the case of the oculemon, the guests were stared at. Next was a loved arrangement of stuffed automato and dirturchin, followed by large platters of ribs, tentacles, poultry, and hams. Salads were then brought out, full of fruits, vegetables, eggshoot, and spices. Boneboo marrow, offal, smash, mountains of sweat corn. Ape grapes, eyebowls, lucky dip, curried pearlpeas, if there was a food that existed in the universe, it was there. Dr. Galen was surprised that the room wasn’t flooded from the amount of salvation coming from people’s mouths.

Then, as the guests began to grab platters of food, more chefs entered the hall, carrying drinks. Bottles of meatwine, wartwine, grape wine, and weyene were brought out ceremoniously with numerous juices, from pineapple to carrot. Large barrels of whiskey were brought out as well, and set up in the four corners of room, which quite a few people went for, and to the crew’s dismay, Julia had lead the charge.

Dr. Galen grabbed some roast bananas and dug in. It was heavenly, the crunch in his mouth almost reminding him of his old home, before even the minikong. After around an hour, the food and drink was low, and the stomachs were full. Many guests began murmuring to each other, discussing how the spicy feathercrown was, or placing wagers on how much cyanider one could drink. The discussing died down as Katsuro rang his glass again, calling attention. “While the feast was good, I’m certain of it...” Everyone in the room all murmured in agreement and a few clapped. “... This is also a time for us to get to know each other, I suppose. A social event. Anyone have any good stories to tell?”

Leonardo started the group off, telling an old glitch folktale. It was about a lone glitch village that was terrorized by a monster that lived in a nearby cave. It would periodically come into the village and eat the citizens of the town. Fed up with the monster, a lone glitch warriors went to the cave, challenging the monster. After cutting off the arm of the beast, the warriors learned that the creature was only a child to an even more wicked beast. The glitch warrior fought hard, but died whilst beheading the monster’s mother.

The next story was from Feather, telling an old tale about odd space monsters. When her ancestors would fly from planet to planet, they would receive distress calls from wrecked ships. Upon investigation, beautiful half tentacle, half avian women would be there. After seducing the men, the women would attack and eat the crews, and destroy the ships.

Charles told the next tale, reciting an ancient floran song about the rumored tentacomet, and how his people had interacted with it. The song was sung in ancient floran tongue, but Charles would happily translate it the best he could after each verse.

This story was followed by Winston telling his family’s story about cultists, and how they would attack the human settlements relentlessly. This eventually lead into the fight with Dreadwing the Pirate, the Glitched Circuit, and even the destruction of the Bone Dragon, with each member of the crew telling their sides of the story.

While the crew’s adventures were some of the best stories told, the best stories had to have come from Dr. Galen. He would recite from memory the horror stories he had been reading. Agarans using mind control on poor florans, one-eyed demons terrorizing a glitch church, giant crystal worms destroying a city. There was not a horror story that didn’t leave Dr. Galen’s mouth. The other guests by the end of his stories were all impressed, scared, and a little drunk. Except for Julia, who was just passed out and completely drunk.

Looking up at the clock, Katsuro decided that the party should end, so that everyone could get enough rest that night. Winston and Leonardo escorted their drunk crew home, and the shop owners and farmers had to rise early the next day for work. Dr. Galen would have left with his crew, but he had to drive Nickol home to the scrapyard. He found her asleep in the chair she sat at durning the feast. He shook her, “Come on, Nickol, we gotta go.” She groggily mumbled, but didn’t get up. “Come on, you gotta get home...” Dr. Galen said as he shook her harder. She eventually sat up, and groggily looked at him. She then slowly got up, leaning on Dr. Galen as they tried to navigate the halls.

“Maximus, wait!” Katsuro said, approaching the pair. “Max, you’re taking her home, right?”

“Well, I definitely am not taking her to my place. The ship’s full of crazies as is...”

“You want to borrow a jeep from me?” Katsuro asked. “So you don’t have to walk all the way to the warehouse?”

“That would be great, the sooner I get to sleep, the better,” Dr. Galen said.

“Alright, I’ll get one of the butlers to drive it out for you. Make sure you return it.”

“Of course,” Dr. Galen said. “Thank you.” He then took Nickol, and headed out of the ship.

The night was warm, and there was a not a cloud in the sky. The moon above was full, and assisted in causing eerie shadows to be cast across the ground. Dr. Galen gulped in nervousness, as the night’s stories made him extremely uneasy. He heard a loud engine roar, and jumped at the noise, only to turn and see it was a hylotl in a jeep. “Here you are, sir,” the hylotl said. “Have fun.”

“I’ll try...” Dr. Galen said, and he helped Nickol into the passenger seat. The hylotl then entered the ship, and Dr. Galen hopped in front of the wheel. He revved the gas, and drove off, heading towards the guard towers and the farm.

The op of the tower was lit dimly, the night guards probably lighting a fire. Some laughter could be heard from above, and Dr. Galen assumed they were goofing off instead of working. While he would normally go up and yell at them for goofing off, he was both too tired, and goofing off himself at the party. He drove past without any other thought.

The farms were quite eerie, Dr. Galen noticed as he drove past. The patches of oculemon watched him as he drove by, their nonblinking fruits leaving Dr. Galen uneasy. A faint glowing came from further into the farms, which frightened Dr. Galen with thought of poptop children to emerge from the fields. He then remembered that over ripened neonmelon glowed through it’s rind. Then, there was a rattling of bones, which Dr. Galen thought was skeletons rising from the ground, but instead saw the large stalks of boneboo flowing in the wind. “Uhg... I’m getting scared by plants... I gotta get home fast...”

He then sped up, hopping to clear the fields quickly. The night wind was picking up, and made the warm night less bearable. As he sped up, he noticed a large dirt cloud ahead. The wind wasn’t strong enough to pick up that much dirt... Maybe it was Nickol’s parents coming to pick her up? As the dust cloud got closer, Dr. Galen heard what sounded like galloping. Native animals never got this close to the city... And galloping? None of the native animals had hooves... What was causing that dust cloud?

The dust cloud quickly passed by Dr. Galen, waking Nickol. “What... What was that?” she asked, groggily.

“I... I don’t know...” Dr. Galen said. “It looked like someone on horseback...” He actually didn’t know what the heck that was. He saw the blackened silhouette of someone riding on the back of a horse-like creature, but couldn’t tell who or what. “Whatever it was, it’s gone now...”

As he said it, he heard the galloping grow louder. Looking back, he gasped as the dust cloud came closer. He sped up, and so did the cloud. He kept trying to make out what the creature was, but could not identify it. “Max, look out!” Nickol screamed. Turning back to the road, Dr. Galen swerved, barley missing the scrapyard house. He turned again, crashing through the chain link gate that surrounded the scrapyard. He quickly braked, and both he and Nickol jumped out of the jeep, and ran inside, slamming the door loudly.

“What the hell was that!?” Nickol asked.

“I have no idea! It’s not a native animal or anything...”

“Maybe someone illegally came to the planet?”

“We would’ve known back at home if anyone landed illegally.”

A clamor came from upstairs, and Ozz and Ruth came down the stairs, dressed in nightwear. “What the hell is with all this ruckus?”

“Daddy!” Nickol called out, running into the novakid’s arms. “There was some monster chasing us on the drive back!”

“Monster?” Ruth asked.

“I didn’t get a good look at it... But it’s near the house...” Dr. Galen said looking out the window into the yard. “Ozz, get your family upstairs in case... Whatever it is... Decides to show up...”

“Right,” Ozz said. “Should I get some guns?”

“Might be a good idea... We don’t know what this thing i-” Dr. Galen was cut off as the house’s front door exploded into wooden splinters. Nickol and Ruth screamed, and Ozz quickly lead them up the stairs, calling to his sons to get the guns. Dr. Galen covered his eyes as wooden splinters barraged him, and he finally got to see the face of this attacker.

The attacker wore a pure black black, with purple buttons and cuffs, as well as a purple folded back hood and torn cloak. It also donned a matching pair of black trousers, and large purple boots, as well as black gloves. In it’s right hand it held a large, and wild blade; a legendary Overgrown Mower. In it’s other hand, it held a glitch skull, which lead to Dr. Galen looking to the creature’s face, only to see that it had none. It didn’t even have a head, it was gone. Or, as Dr. Galen thought, in it’s hand.

The headless creature raised it’s disembodied head, and a pair of red lights sparked to life. A pair of red plasma beams then fired from the skull, shooting above Dr. Galen’s head. With a shaky voice, Dr. Galen called out. “Who... Who are you?” The creature did not respond, only pointing his sword at Dr. Galen. It then stowed it’s head onto it’s belt, and picked up the nearby neonmelon on the counter. Nickol had apparently carved an ominous face into the neonmelon’s rind, giving the creature a horrifying, glowing, psuedo-head.

Suddenly, gun shots fired, and the creature staggered. It turned it’s body to the stairs, where Ozz, Markury, and Paulo fired their apaches at the creature. The creature swung it’s overgrown mower, cutting through the stairs. This was followed by a flurry of leaves, which stuck into the wall behind the now retreating novakids.

Dr. Galen used the distraction to open the door to the yard and ran out. He quickly hopped into the jeep, and revved the engine, and pulled a three-point-turn, driving back out the destroyed fence. As he drove past the front of the house he saw the creature jumping onto the back of a rundown and rusted glitch horse, a bright red light glowing from it’s eyes. It then began to chase after Dr. Galen, creating a large dust cloud, but Dr. Galen could now see an ominous, glowing face through the smoke. He revved faster, and the monster sped up, and grew closer and closer to Dr. Galen.

Dr. Galen heard a thud come from the back of the jeep, and turned to see the headless horseman stabbing it’s sword into the back of the jeep. He stabbed again, and this time, Dr. Galen sped up, taking the horseman off of it’s mount, which continued to run alongside the jeep. The horseman looked up at Dr. Galen, it’s glowing face flickering ominously. Dr. Galen pulled a hunting knife out from his side sheath pocket, and stabbed it into the horseman’s melonhead. The horseman then threw it’s robotic skull at Dr. Galen, where it then began to unleash wires from it’s throat, in an attempt to entangle the apex scientist.

As Dr. Galen tried to untangle himself from the wires, he felt an immense and sharp pain. Looking down, he saw that his own hunting knife was stabbed into his gut. Looking at the creature, he saw that the monster had removed the knife from it’s melonhead, and stabbed him with it, neonmelon juices pouring out.

He glanced ahead and saw that the outpost was growing closer, more importantly, the tower. Dr. Glaen turned back to the headless horseman, and kicked his foot under it’s arm. He then forcibly through the horseman over him onto the front of the jeep. Dr. Galen then swerved the jeep, and crashed it into the guard tower, passing out on impact.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The next morning, Dr. Galen awoke and found himself in the hospital, where Winston and Julia were quickly pumping oxygen into him. They were relieved he was conscious, but they quickly knocked him out for operation, as the juices of neonmelon are lethal to anything except glitch and novakids.

When he was able enough later that week, he gave a full report on the incident. Whilst escort Nickol back to her home at the scrapyard, an ominous figure began to chase after the pair’s vehicle. Upon reaching the household, the creature attacked, wielding a wicked blade known as the overgrown mower. There, it was found that the creature was indeed a glitch cultist, but also decapitated, carrying it’s own head, which could fire red plasma bolts. After six shots from three apache snipers were fired into the cultist, Dr. Galen managed to escape back on the jeep, where the cultist began to pursue the doctor on horseback, specifically that of a run down glitch horse. After an extended fight, the horseman climbed into the jeep using it’s sword, where it began to strangle Dr. Galen with it’s wired head. It also had stabbed the doctor with his own hunting knife. Seeing no chance of winning the fight, Dr. Galen kicked the Horseman onto the front of the jeep, where it was crashed into the guard tower.

However, further investigation revealed that there were no signs of a glitch being in crash; no scrap, no skulls, no robotic horse parts either. However, multiple foreign stab marks were found in the back of the jeep, each creating lacerations that no known weapon could make. Numerous strangle marks around Dr. Galen body also furthered the claim that something had attack the doctor on his drive home. Witness reports from the novakid family also reported the same headless horseman description of the attacker.

The complete report made from the crew has decided that this monster is definitely more powerful than anything anyone has seen. While the headless horseman has not been seen by the novakids or by Dr. Galen, numerous guards and farmers claim to have seen the creature running along the dirt road, only to vanish when it reaches the guard tower, it’s melonhead glowing brightly.

Since the incident, Dr. Galen has sworn off horror stories, saying that they certainly have wrecked his brain, and apparently, his physical body as well. Madame Koko also enlisted Leonardo to build a forth guard tower at the scrapyard, as well paving the road to the scrapyard for easier drives there. The novakid family was reimbursed for the damages to the house, and was quickly repaired. The novakid family has also increased their own personal defense, incase the blade-wielding horseman returns.

Who knows, maybe the horseman will return, stronger than ever, ready to seek revenge on living. I hope you all have enjoyed, the Legend of Starry Hollow.

The following story takes place in it’s own realm of time. It’s technically non-canon to the story, and should be treated as such. Enjoy the story!


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Maximus was dead. Like dirt. Dust. Concrete. No pulse. Goner. He was dead. It was no true surprise though, as he had just reached the age of ninety-five a few weeks before his death. And that was seven years ago this occurred.

In fact, seven years ago on this very night.

Winston limped through town, hunched over. His hair had grown grey and mangled, his face now covered with a greyed beard, and his left eye gone pale from blindness. While he wishes to keep his age redacted, Winston was fifteen years younger than Max, so do the math.

Winston limped through the town as the heavy snow fell. It blew into his face, his thick coat, and overall, angered the old spacefarer much more than he already was. He was headed to the warehouse at the center of town, which had become his business many years ago, and was at one point, Max’s as well.

As he strolled through the streets, many of the townsfolk stepped out of his way, for his nasty reputation had spread through the city. Shop owners quickly locked their doors, children hid from the old man, and even the blind’s guiding dogs did their best to lead their owners from the wicked man. Even the snowmen seemed to melt out of fear as Winston had walked past.

He approached the front doors to the warehouse, grimacing at the old, wooden sign that hung over the doors. He fumbled through the pockets of his jacket, eventually pulling out an old keycard.

Before he could swipe the card, a young avian ran up, carrying a small crate full of coal. “Care to buy some coal, sir?” the young avian asked.

Winston turned, and stared down the avian. “No. Now bugger off you pest, before I call the police for soliciting.” The avian boy gasped, and ran off. Winston grumbled, and looked at the keycard in his hand. He swiped it along the door, opening it, and entered.

Inside, he hung up his jacket, and slowly went up the stairs to his office on the top floor. He climbed the old, battered stairs, which creaked under his weight, and reached the door. He opened it, and entered the office.

“Happy greeting. Good morning, Mr. Smith,” came a familiar voice. Winston looked over to a corner desk of the room, and saw Ratchet, his glitch comrade. He was a rusted and dented glitch, but tried his best to keep up with Winston’s demands.

“That sentence is false,” Winston sneered. “There is nothing good about this morning.”

“Curious. If I may ask, sir, why not?”

Winston approached Ratchet, and slammed his cane into the glitch’s head. “Because on this morning seven years ago, Maximus died,” Winston said. “Not only that, but due to these damned holidays, everyone is becoming quite fat and drunk in the streets...”

“Remembrance. Ah yes, good ol’ Max...” Ratchet said, returning to his work. Winston walked slowly to a door in the back of the room, and opened it, revealing his actual office. It used to be Madame Koko’s room, the smell of cheap banana perfume never leaving the confined space. He slowly approached his desk and sat down, pulling out a pair of glasses. Before, he could begin working on his papers, a loud knock came from the door.

Ratchet slowly got up from his seat, and ran to the door, opening it, and two folk entered with a ‘Merry Christmas’. A hylotl and a floran, both in fine suits; fellow businessmen of Winston’s. They nodded to Ratchet who returned to his post, and approached Winston’s office doors.

“What do you want?” Winston asked.

“Merry Christmas, sir,” the hylotl said. “Do we have the pleasure to addressing Mr. Smith or Dr. Galen?”

“Dr. Galen has been dead for seven years,” Winston said, looking up from his work. “On this very night, in fact.”

“And we’re sssscertain that hissss generossssity excssssseedsss him,” the floran said.

“I ask again, what do you want?” Winston asked.

“We ask for donations,” the hylotl said. “Us and a few other men and women wish to pull together a small fund, and purchase food and drink for the poor and needy.”

“Are the farms in operation?” Winston asked.

“Uh... Yesssss...?”

“And the crystal mines on the moons, are they still operational?”

“Yes, sir. Though I wish I could say they weren’t.”

“And the workshop houses and factories, they still run?”

“Unfortunately...”

“Oh thank goodness then,” Winston replied, returning to his work. “For a second, I thought something had happened to them.”

The hylotl and the floran looked to each other in confusion, then back to scrooge. “I don’t believe you underssssstand our purposssssse, ssssir.”

“Oh, I do, I do,” Winston said.

“Ah, excellent!” the hylotl said, pulling out a small pen and memo pad. “How much can I put you down for?”

“Nothing.”

“You wisssssh to be anonymousssss?”

Winston glared at the floran. “I wish to be left alone.”

The hylotl sighed. “Sir, we only wish to better the lives of those in the work houses, nothing more. Every man knows those stuck in those houses wish to be dead.”

“Then let them die and decrease the surplus population...” Winston muttered. “Good day to you.”

The hylotl and floran looked at each other, then took their leave, nodding to Ratchet. Winston grumbled angrily, and slammed a few shelves, searching for more paper. As he returned to his work, however, and the door opened once again.

“Merry Christmas, Uncle Winston!” called a young human, entering the office. He wore a heavy jacket and pants, and a multicolored wool hat, which covered his long, brown hair. “Ah, hello, Mr. Ratchet. How are you?”

“Cheerful. I am well, sir. Curious. And you sir?”

“I am quite chipper. I’ll have to speak with you later, Ratchet. I’m on a mission!” the young man nodded to Ratchet, and rushed into Winston’s office. “Merry Christmas, Uncle.”

“To hell with Christmas...” Winston muttered. “How much do you want, nephew?”

“I want not a single pixel of you, Uncle. I need no money.

“Good. Then leave.”

“Uncle, I would like to invite you to my wife and I’s Christmas party tomorrow. Would you be interested?” the nephew asked.

“I refuse to go until you leave her,” Winston growled. “You married her against my judgement. Bah... Marrying a poor woman.”

“I care not if she’s poor or rich, Uncle,” the nephew said. “I married her because I love her.”

“Love... To hell with it, it cannot buy you happiness...” Winston muttered. “Now be off, and a good day.”

The nephew sighed. “Very well, Uncle. Merry Christmas.”

“Good day!” Winston said angrily, and the nephew exited.

“Good day to you, Mr. Ratchet! Oh... How is are wife and kids?”

“Pleased. Quite well,” Ratchet said. If he could, the glitch probably would smile.

“And the lame boy, with the bad leg?”

“Happy. He is quite well, and feels no sadness.”

The nephew clapped. “Good to hear! Well, I must be off, my lunch is near over.” The nephew exited quickly.

The next few hours of work were slow, as per usual, until the sun had set over the horizon, signifying many the end of the day had come. Winston checked his watch, grumbled, and shut the book before him. He got up from his desk, and headed into the main lobby, where Ratchet offered him his jacket and hat.

“I suppose you’d want the whole day off tomorrow?” Winston asked.

“Hopeful. If it is convenient, sir. It is only once a year.”

“Bah, it’s never convenient. And why should once a year be an excuse to laze away while there is work to be done?” Winston asked. “However, I suppose you can take the morning off, but be here by noon, or there will be hell to pay!” Winston then exited the office.

Shocked, Ratchet began to skip happily around the lobby at his new free time. He then grabbed his hat and jacket, and exited the office himself.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Winston grumbled to the edge of town, to the old landing strip; the ship yard. He entered, fumbling around in his pockets, searching for his key card. He eventually found it, and began to look for his ship. After many minutes, he reached the ship, and approached the console next to the door. A small, human S.A.I.L. appeared, asking for ID. Winston scanned the the key card, and opened the door. As he entered, however he heard a sickly voice drift from the console.

“Winston...”

Winston froze, and looked at the console. The human S.A.I.L. blankly stared. However, for many quick flashes Winston saw something odd. He thought he saw a quick glimpse of an apex S.A.I.L. This, however, was impossible, as the ship didn’t have other S.A.I.L installed for some couple decades.

He ignored it, and quickly entered, shutting the door behind him. Inside, he types in the seven different security codes, putting the ship into a total lockdown. He then removed his coat, and hung it up near the door. He grabbed a nearby lamp, and entered into the dark ship.

He reached his room, which was kept clean thanks to the maid he had hired. He changed into his sleepwear, and set the lamp on a small table. There, he picked up a bowl of automato soup, and began to eat, sitting in a large chair. As he ate, he observed his bare room. A few old warning lights hung on the walls, their fuses have died a long time ago. He needed to tear those down, he could sell them, most likely.

As he ate, he saw a glimmer of light in the corner of his eye. He turned, and saw nothing there. He saw another glimpse. He turned. Nothing. Always, he saw a quickly flash out of the corner of his eye, which worried him. Then, out of no where, a loud warning buzzer went off. He quickly looked up, and saw the dead warning lights flashing madly. Loud sirens went off, their voices silenced many years ago with the lights. The ancient security system had come back from the dead, and apparently were warning Winston of some intruder.

Then, as quickly that they began, the sirens and lights stopped. He quickly looked around, eyeing the room with his good eye. Then returned to eating, keeping track of the dead security system. Then, outside his door, he hear a loud and heavy thunk, which caused him to almost throw his now empty bowl across the room in fear. He turned to the door, where large dents began to appear across the titanium. Quickly the door burst down, revealing a horrifying sight.

There stood Maximus Galen, as crisp and clean as the day he was buried. He wore a fine suit, but was covered in chains, dragging one that was tied to chests and crates. He floated in almost motionless and called out, “Winston.”

“Who are you!?” Winston shouted.

“Ask who I once was.”

“A-Alrighty then... Who were you!?” Winston asked, though he knew.

“I was once know as you business partner: Maximus Galen.”

Winston stared at the specter. “Can you sit, spirit?”

“I can.”

“Then, please, do so. In your usual spot,” Winston pleaded, and the spirit did so. “So... How have you been, Max?”

Maximus, however, moaned in anguish, which shook the whole ship, and sent Winston into fear. “I have come to warn you, Winston. Warn you of the hell to come!”

“Of- Of course you have!” Winston stammered. “You were always such a dear friend. What is this hell of which you speak?”

“You see these chains, Winston?” the spirit asked.

“Yes, is appears to be a strong, mighty chain.”

The spirit moaned again. “It keeps me from leaving this mortal realm and ascending to someplace higher. Trapped, I am, along this world which I have brought into pain, forced to pay for my sins to man!” The spirit stood from it’s chair. “Everyday, I made a link for this chain, volunteering bringing this hell upon me, weighing myself down from my mountains of greed; which now keep me here!” He moaned.

“Is there something I can do for you, spirit?” Winston asked.

“There can be nothing done for me, but you. You, mortal! There is something you can do to save yourself. Three more.”

Winston stared. “Three more what?”

“Spirits!” the spirit moaned. “You will be visited by three more spirits like I, and they will help you!”

“Do they have to be spirits? Can they not be something happier?” Winston asked.

“My time grows short, Winston.” The spirit drifted over to a nearby window. He forced the window open, and thousands of screams echoed. Winston rushed to the window, and looked out. He saw thousands of spirits, each with chains of varying lengths, flying about, begging for forgiveness. Some threw money fruitlessly into the air, wishing to send their hell away.

“Spirit who are-” Winston began to ask, and saw that Maximus was gone. Looking outside, he saw the spirits were gone as well. He then quickly rushed to his bed, covering himself in his bed covers.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Winston slept soundly, although it took him a few hours before he actually could calm down enough to sleep. As he slept, the lamp he had brought into the room flickered to life. It began to flash in many different colors, from it’s default white, to red, to orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, pink, and back to white. It strobed for many minutes, and woke Winston. He looked at the lamp in shock, and the lamp froze on the yellow light. It then pulsed out electricity, at fist appearing as that of a horrid short circuit, but the plasma began to take shape. It slowly formed into a humanoid shape, and flashed brightly.

Where the plasma was before stood a yellow novakid. It wore deputy’s gear and had a star brand on it’s face. In it’s hand it held an ice bow, which it played with happily.

“Yeeeehaaaaaaw! Howdy, Winston,” the spirit said.

“Are you one of the spirits foretold by Max?” Winston asked.

“Yessiryeedoo,” the spirit said. “I am the ghost of Christmas past, but for simplicity’s sake, you can call me Henry Radalton.”

“So you are the spirit of Christmas’ past in general?”

“Nah Winston. Yer past.” Henry walked over to the window from before, and opened it. “Alrighty, let’s go.”

“Uh, spirit, I may have been a great adventurer once, but that was many years go. I cannot simply leap from such high windows now,” Winston said, approaching the window cautiously.

“Take a hold on my bandana here, and you’ll fly like any old spirit,” Henry said, flying about the room. “Grab on.”

Winston did so, and the pair flew out the window. A thick fog rolled in, and when it dissipated, they were in another world. Below them stood many large tents and small building complexes. Primitive farms rolled over the grassy hills, and a few avian air ships as well as a few human space ships were all landed around the small town.

“Do you know this place?” Henry asked as they landed.

“This... This is... Home...” Winston said. “This is where the other survivors and I went after we were attacked by cultists all those years ago...”

Henry nodded, and the pair entered the large medical tent. Inside, there many doctors running around, tending to a few wounded. A large monster had appeared in the forests and attacked a harvesting crew. In the corner, sat Winston, who was cleaning off the medical tools used in operations.

“Poor, poor little Winston...” Henry said. “Even though you wanted to go into the medical works, Dr. Parson’s never allowed it, and always had you clean the tools...” Winston said nothing and simply stared.

“Winston, Winston!” came two familiar voices. “Winston let’s go play!” Running into the busy medical bay, was a young Julia and a young Feather. “Please pay with us!”

Winston looked over to Dr. Parsons, who nodded happily. Winston then smiled widely. “Let me just put these away, and we can go!” He then ran off with the two girls, giggling.

“Even though Dr. Parsons didn’t want me to go into medicine, he was still nice...” Winston mumbled. “I wish he was still here...”

“Do not get sad here,” Henry said. “We still have much to see.” The spirit flashed brightly, and the two found themselves in a large warehouse, and there was a party going on. Bright flashing lights and loud music echoed through the warehouse. There were many apex dancing and drinking alcohol. In the crowd, Winston spied a younger version of himself, dancing with his old crew.

“Do you know of this place?” Henry asked, tapping his foot to the music.

“Know it!?” Winston asked. “Why, I could navigate this place with my other eye blind! It’s Madame Koko’s warehouse!” He began to dance to the music happily. “She would always hold such great parties, and invited everyone in the outpost!”

“It must have costed a fortune, don’t you suppose?” Henry asked.

“It’s not about how much it costed!” Winston said happily. “It’s about giving to those closest to you-” he cut himself off at the realization of his words.

“Something wrong, pardner?” Henry asked.

“No... It’s just that another spirit seems to have haunted me now...” Winston said. “Can you take us elsewhere.”

“Look in the corner,” Henry said. Winston looked, and saw a younger Winston with Feather, flirting.

“This was after Julia and I broke up...” Winston mumbled.

“Do you promise we won’t fight?” young Feather asked young Winston.

“I can’t promise that, but we’ll be together forever,” young Winston said. The two kissed and the spirit flashed brightly once again. Winston opened his eyes and found himself outside the warehouse. Numerous ambulances gathered around the doorway to the warehouse, and the old crew stood there, somberly. Two apex doctors exited the warehouse, and were carrying something on a stretcher, covered in a white cloth.

“Why are we here, spirit?” Winston asked, tears welling in his eyes.

“Because this is when you and Maximus gained the warehouse, correct?” Henry asked. “The day Koko di-”

“No more, spirit!” Winston begged. “The day she left us, the crew was disbanded, and we never saw each other again...”

“Except for two people,” Henry said.

“Spirit, please! Not then!” Winston pleaded, and the spirit flashed again.

Opening his eyes, Winston was where he dreaded most. “I came as quick as I could!” young Winston shouted, running through the spirit and Winston. They were inside the outpost hospital, and Julia was lying in one of the hospital beds. Numerous apex doctors surrounded her. “Is she still...” young Winston asked as his voice drifted.

“She is...” one of the doctors said.

“Win... Ston...” Julia whispered, and Winston immediately ran to her side.

“I’m here, Julia!” Winston said. “Do you recognize me?”

Julia nodded weakly. “Win... Ston... Promise...”

“I’ll promise anything!” Winston pleaded. “What is it?”

“Promise... You’ll...” her voice drifted and the machines attached to her began to beep loudly.

“Get him out of here!” one of the doctors said, and they forced him out of the medical room. “She’s going critical!” They shut the door behind Winston, and a faint crying of a baby was heard from inside. Tears welled up in Winston’s eyes, both young and old, and the young Winston ran from the room.

The machines stopped their beeping, and many of the doctors sighed in relief. “Win... Ston...” Julia whispered. “Promise... You’ll... Take care... Of my... Boy...” Julia whispered, and a single flat tone was heard from the machines. The doctors froze, and sighed with sadness. They began to remove the machines slowly and somberly from the room.

“I’m sorry Julia...” Winston said and began to cry. “Forgive me!” he moaned. Henry helped Winston up slowly. “Please spirit, take me home...” Henry flashed brightly once again, and Winston opened his eyes to find himself in his old, personal ship.

“You’ve changed, Winston!” young Feather shouted.

“How have I changed!?” young Winston asked. “I’m still the man I am now that I once was!”

“Do you remember this, Winston?” Henry asked.

“I wish I did not...” Winston mumbled.

“An idol has replaced me in your heart, Winston,” Feather said. “A golden one!”

“There is nothing wrong with wanting to achieve greater things in one’s life!” Winston said.

“Tell me then,” Feather said. “If you were as rich when we first met as you are now, would you still go for me?”

Young Winston hesitated, and replied, “Of course I would.”

“No...” Feather said, removing a ring from her hand. She gave it to Winston. “I hope everything goes well for you... Winston...” She exited the ship, and young Winston began to cry.

“Spirit, please! No more!” Winston pleaded.

“We have one more stop on my train here...” Henry said. He flashed brightly, and Winston found themselves in the warehouse. Young Winston stood next to a doctor and Max’s maid. Winston was signing something into a book and shook hands with the doctor.

“Tell me, Winston,” Henry asked. “How did you feel when you sighed that book? You best and only friend in the world, and when he died, you took his ship, his money, everything from him.”

“No more... Please!” Winston cried.

“How did you feel, Winston!?” Henry asked, angered. “Did you feel remorse at all? Regret? Sadness!?”

Winston then snapped up, and snatched the ice bow from the novakid. He drew back the arrow, and aimed it at the star on the novakid’s face. “I said no more, spirit!” Winston shouted, and fired. The novakid exploded into a huge cloud of mist, and swallowed Winston whole.

Winston burst awake from his sleep, gasping heavily. He looked around, and found himself back in his room. The window, however was open, and he rushed to it; closing it. “It was just a dream...” Winston mumbled, and he quickly returned to his bed. But just as he had begun to fall into slumber, another bright light shone on him. He gulped, and covered his head.

“Hahaha!” laughed a familiar voice. “Get up, Winston!”

Winston slowly sat up, gulping.

“Get in here man, so I can meet you!”

“C-Coming!” Winston called out, and slowly walked to the door to the main room. As he approached the door, it slid open on it’s own, and a bright light shone through. As the light faded, Winston gasped at the sight before him.

The lobby was covered by piles of food. Silver automatoes, which sparkled beautifully, bright chilies that shone with an array of warm colors, occulemon, whose eyes glittered like that of a high school anime girl. And the smell! Patters upon platters of food were on the tables, the scents of greasy fish mixing with the herbal garden salads and soups. The walls too had decor, ranging from wreathes to holly. Streamers of red and green hung about, and multicolored balloons filled the ceiling. It was the spectacle of celebration.

Past the food however, the spirit itself is what surprised Winston the most. Sitting at the opposite side of the lobby table was someone quite familiar to him. “Hello Winston,” Tomoe said, kicking her feet onto the table. She at a large ham shank, chewing happily.

“T-Tomoe?” Winston stammered.

“That’s me!” Tomoe said smiling. While she was obviously a spirit now, she had a far different wardrobe. She wore a green kimono, trimmed with white fluff. She wore it, however, very loosely. She also had a crown of holly on her head. “Hello Winston.”

“W-Why are you here!?” Winston asked.

“Duh, I’m the ghost of Christmas Present,” Tomoe replied. “I signed up for it cause I was told I’d have the ability to make food out of nothing, so why not. But anywhosen, I’m here to show you going on right now.”

“Very well...” Winston said.

“Grab my kimono,” Tomoe said, walking over to Winston.

“Uh...” Winston said, looking over Tomoe.

“Not like that, unless you’re a necrophiliac...” Tomoe said. She grabbed her kimono by the base and gave it to Winston. He reluctantly took it, and the food in the room began to melt into slime, and evaporated. Tomoe then snapped her fingers and the pair vanished

They reappeared inside a small run down apartment. “Daddy, daddy!” cried a few small avian children. Winston looked to the door, and saw Ratchet enter.

“Happy. I’m home!” the glitch said, picking up one of the avians. “Curious. How is dinner coming along?”

“It’s coming along well, papa!” called a small avian boy. He leaned on a crutch, his left leg almost dead.

“Cheerful. Ah, Tim!” the glitch said, putting the avian down, and picking up the small, lame avian. “Curious. How are you feeling?”

“I’m doing well, papa!” Tim said happily. “Mama’s working on the pudding now, it smells so good!”

“Pleased. Well, lets all go see it!” Ratchet said, and he and the children ran into the next room, where Ratchet’s wife, an avian woman, stood cooking. She greeted the glitch happily, and kissed him. Then, the room exploded with laughter.

“This... This is Ratchet’s life?” Winston asked.

“It is,” Tomoe said. “He married the avian to help her support her children. She was a slave to pirates before Ratchet and his crew stopped them and saved her.” Tomoe sighed. “Even me of all people feared being THAT kind of slave.”

“Tell me, spiri- er... Tomoe...” Winston started. “The lame boy... Tim... Will he be alright?”

“Follow me...” Tomoe said, and she lead Winston into the dining room. It was quite small, barely enough room for the table and chairs. “See that chair in the corner?” Winston looked, and saw a small chair with Tim’s crutch leaning on the wall next to it. “I see that seat will be empty very soon. The clutch will be lonely, and that corner will be preserved until the end of time.” Tomoe turned to Winston. “IF things don’t change...”

Winston gulped. “Tomoe, take us else where.”

“Very well, but we’ll have to walk.” Tomoe winked, and the pair found themselves out side on the snow covered streets. They walked through the town and Winston saw many people having fun within their homes and shops.

“Tomoe...” Winston started. “What’s it like to be dead?”

Tomoe giggled. “Well, I get to see my family again, so that’s good.”

“Ah, your seventeen brothers?”

“More like seventeen thousand,” Tomoe said. “When you’re dead, all spirits are your brothers and sisters.”

The walk continued quietly, until the pair eventually reached the farmhouse. Inside, there was joyous singing. “Look, Winston. These farmers, who toil from dawn until dusk, have miserable pay, difficult work. They have near nothing, but are still happy day in and out.”

They continued their walk. After what seemed like hours, they reached the scrapyard at the end of the road outside of town. The young novakid family was singing inside, covered in grit and grime. They were singing happily, probably more so than the farmers.

“Look at these poor people, Winston. They sing with such jolly and happiness, even though their work can kill them!” Tomoe said. “Is it that hard to help these people, who have Death on speed dial?”

“Take me away from here, spirit...” Winston said.

Tomoe turned to Winston, and the sceneries melted away, revealing the empty marketplace around them. The heavy snow was building up quite heavily, and harsh winds were blowing through. “Look under my kimono, Winston!”

“I thought you said-”

Tomoe lifted her kimono, but there were no legs. In their place stood too, young, floran children. One boy, one girl. They were mangled and tattered, covered in filth.

“Observe these children, Winston,” Tomoe said.

“Are they... Were they... Yours?” Winston asked.

“They are not mine, they are man’s,” Tomoe said. “The boy’s name is Ignorance, the girl’s name is Want. They cling to me safety and warmth, for even such hideous children as these deserve a second chance. Be wary of these children in your future, Winston, especially the boy.”

“I understand you’ve taken responsibility, Tomoe,” Winston said. “But can’t others take care of them? Give them a home?”

“Why bother?” Tomoe asked. “We can just send them to the farms, or the mines. Hell, even the workhouses.”

Winston cringed at his own words being used against him. “Please, forgive me for the words I had used. I did not think then-”

“You do not think ever, Winston!” Tomoe shouted. “My time here grows to end, and very soon at that!” She slowly began to wrinkle, and her scales began to slowly fall from her body. Her colors began to slowly fade to a grey. She reached for Winston, and grabbed his face. He wanted to scream in fear, but had no voice. “I hope you’ve learned something, Winston...” She began to laugh maniacally, and the two children vanished into a dust. Her skin and scales then fell from her body, leaving only bone, but she still laughed. Her bones collapsed into dust, but her haunting laughter remained until the dust blew in the wind.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Winston looked around, finding himself still in the marketplace. “Please wake up, please wake up...” Winston muttered, pleading to the air. “Allow me to please wake up in my bed like the last spirit let me...”

He then quivered when he felt an uneasiness go through him. He glanced up at the snow covered buildings, and saw a dark shadow slide across a nearby rooftop. He watched the shadow, and it travelled from roof to roof, down the sides of the buildings, almost surrounding Winston. The shadow then shot from the building, no longer flat, but a three-dimensional darkness, and lunged at Winston.

Winston screeched and ran towards one of the stalls, but the shadow instead splashed onto the ground, sliding across the floor once again. It slithered beneath Winston, into the stall before him, and the stall exploded into the air, splinters of wood and metal scattering around Winston. A large, billowing figure rose out of the wreckage, and loomed over Winston, who was slowly back up from the creature until he fell.

“You must be the ghost of Christmas yet to come...” Winston mumbled, and the shadow remained silent. “Please, spirit, make your trip with me fast, I just want to go home...” The shadow then collapsed over Winston, sending his vision into darkness.

When Winston opened his eyes, he found himself inside Ratchet’s apartment again. But there was no laughter. Looking around, Winston wandered into the dinning room, and saw the avians all gathered around the table somberly.

The door opened behind Winston, and Ratchet walked through Winston. “Somber. I’m home everyone...”

“Hi honey...” Ratchet’s wife said as he sat next to her. “How are you?”

“Somber. I feel better than I did before... I went and visited where he was buried... It was beautiful. Right under a large, green tree.” Ratchet said. “While I was there, I felt something, as if he was there, holding my hand like he always did... And it felt like he was telling me to not mourn over him; To happily live on with him in our hearts...”

Ratchet’s wife smiled faintly, and Ratchet did something Winston never thought could happen. The glitch began to cry. “Oh my poor Tim... Why...” The avians hugged him as he wept, and Winston turned away.

He looked to the shadows. “Spirit... Please, take me away...”

He felt the shadow take over him as everything went black. When everything grew lighter, Winston looked around, and found himself in the warehouse.

“Well, he finally did it, didn’t he?” one apex worker asked another.

“Yep, it was about time,” the other apex said. “Any word on a funeral?”

“There might be, but he probably would want a cheap funeral, I’m sure.”

“I’d probably would only go if lunch was provided.”

“Spirit...” Winston said. He looked up at a clock that read twelve o’seven. “This is when I patrol the floors... But I don’t see myself anywhere...” Winston turned to the shadows. “Spirit, where am I?” No response. Instead, the shadow overtook Winston once again.

Opening his eyes, Winston found himself inside of an unknown house. Looking outside a window, he saw that it was the junkyard house, emphasize on was. The place was in ruins, barely able to to stay standing on it’s own.

“Yeeehaaaw!” called a female novakid, who entered the house. She carried a chest that was rattling. “I cannot believe that we got to score all of this!”

“I agree,” an avian woman said, carrying a wooden crate.

“Statement. He won’t need it where he’s going,” a glitch said. “Question. Joe, you home?”

“I’m grabbing the paperwork now... Gimmie a minute,” called a voice from a back room. A loud clamor was heard from the back, and an apex exited, with a handful of documents under his arm. “Aight, I’m ‘ere. Show me whatchu got.” He sat down at a desk.

“I reckon I’ll go first,” the novakid said. She set down the chest on the desk, and Joe opened it, looking inside. “All silver furnishin’s.”

Joe counted it all. “One thousand... Seven-hundred... Sixty... Two... No three...” Joe said. “And not a pixel more...” The novakid sigh angrily at the offer.

“Statement. I’ll go next,” the glitch said, pulling out some shiny, yellow metal. “Proud. Solid gold watch, pencil case, and snuff box.”

“Five hundred and eight,” Joe said, taking the gold. The glitch almost shut down on the spot at the offer.

“Well, I’ve got the best out of all of yea,” the avian said, pulling out large amounts of cloth from the crate.

“Are those...” Joe started.

“Bed sheets?” the avian asked. “Yes they are.” The group gasped, and Joe nearly fell out of his chair.

“Ye took em right as he was just lyin’ thar?” the novakid asked.

“Sure I did,” the avian said. “Why, they would have gone to waste with him just lying there.”

“Spirit, I am confused,” Winston said. “The visions you have showed me so far... I have not seen myself in them. Where am I?” The spirit enveloped Winston again, and Winston found himself in a dimly lit room. Looking around, he saw it was the hospital. There was a body under a cloth on a nearby bed. “Spirit? Is this the poor soul who has been robbed? Who is he?”

The shadow slid over to the body, and for the first time, Winston saw what the spirit looked like under it’s robe; at least, partially. A large, yellow, metal claw emerged from under the robe, and gently poked at the cloth. It slightly pierced, and began to pull the sheet down. “Stop it!” Winston shouted. “I... Rather not know who he is...” The spirit then enveloped him again, and Winston saw himself in a graveyard.

“Spirit?” Winston asked, looking around. The shadow was gone, and Winston was quite fearful of graveyards. He wandered around the graves, the ominous stone statues giving Winston quite the dreadful feeling. Eventually, he saw the spirit looming over a grave. “Spirit!” Winston shouted. “I must ask you. These visions, as far as I know, have nothing to do with me. Where am I in this future!?”

The shadow simply turned, and pointed it’s claw again at the grave it loomed over, and Winston approached it. He read out the name aloud, “Winston Smith.” He gasped after he said his own name, bumping into the spirit. The spirit erupted with a clamor of ‘ERROR’ after ‘ERROR’, which frightened Winston. “Spirit, are these the things that will be? Am I doomed to this!? Are if I change my ways, will I be free of them!?” The spirit continued to spew ‘ERRORs’ left and right. “Spirit, answer me!” Winston said, grabbing the spirit’s robe. He tore it offer, and the sight shocked Winston.

The Fatal Circuit loomed over Winston, causing Winston to scream in alarm. He fell onto the grave, which opened beneath him, and he fell, screaming.

He crashed into the floor of his room, stunned. Winston sat up and looked around. “Am... Am I...” Winston quickly got up, and patted himself, overjoyed. “I’m still here!” He skipped merrily around, and regained composure. He ran to the window, opening it up, looking below at the new fallen snow. A small floran boy ran past, the window. “Boy!” Winston shouted. “Boy, what day is it?”

“Why... It’sssssssss Chrisssssstmassssss,” the floran boy replied.

“I haven’t missed my chance...” Winston muttered. “Boy! That fat turkey at the meat market. Is it still there?”

“Yesssssss, ssssstill there in it’ssssss glory.”

“Go there, and fetch the butcher for me, and tell him to bring me the turkey,” Winston said joyously. “I’ll pay you a thousand pixels.”

“A thoussssssand!?” the boy asked.

“Come back in three minutes, and I’ll pay you double!” Winston shouted, and the boy ran off eagerly.

Winston went to the nearby mirror. “I look like a wreck, I do. I need to clean up.” He began to shave, leaving behind a light stubble. He quickly got dressed, and ran out the ship.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Winston approached the home of his nephew, dressed in his best attire. He gulped and knocked on the door. The door opened, and an avian maid greeted Winston. “Mr. Smith! I never would’ve thought you’d show up. Please, come in!”

Winston nodded happily, and entered. He went up to the dining room doors, and heard merry singing inside.He went for the handle, but stopped. He turned back to the maid, he nodded, and Winston gulped, opening the door.

Winston’s nephew, his lovely wife, and all their friends sang and danced happily. The pianist, however, stopped when he saw Winston enter, which caused everyone else to turn and stare.

“Uncle?” Winston’s nephew asked.

“Hello...” Winston said sheepishly. “Is... Is your offer to dine with you still open?”

Nephew began to smile ear to ear, and happily took Winston’s arm. “You’re always welcome, uncle! Allow me to introduce you around!” The singing and dancing continued, as if there was no stop.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


“Panic. Panic Panic,” Ratchet said as he ran through the snow. The twelfth ‘bong’ from the large clock at the center of town marked noon, and Ratchet was late to work. He ran to the warehouse doors, opened them, and ran up the stairs to the office. He immediately changed his pace, and snuck in, making as little noise as possible. He snuck over to his desk, and sat down, relieved that Winston didn’t notice him come in late.

“Mr. Ratchet!” Winston called from his office, and Ratchet winced. “You were late.”

“Concern. I’m quite sorry, sir!” Ratchet pleaded. “I didn’t mean it, I swear!”

“This is a bad habit for you to pick up, Ratchet,” Winston said angrily. “Bad for the business, especially...”

“Pleading. Please, sir!” Ratchet said, collapsing to his knees.

“Only one thing can cure this sickness of you...” Winston said. “A raise...”

“Sir, forgive m-” Ratchet stopped himself at the words. “Error. A raise?”

Winston smiled, almost madly. “Yes, I will quadruple your pay, starting today. No, yesterday. Starting yesterday!” Winston laughed heartily.

“Concern. Sir, are you ok? Did you hit you head?”

Winston laughed even louder. “No, no. I just... Had a vision last night, and I seek to now help you and your family, Ratchet,” Winston said. “I truly hope you can forgive me for how I’ve treated you, Ratchet...”

Ratchet nodded. “Happy. Of course sir, I forgive you.”

“Good! Now then, what are you doing here? You have payed leave, today! Now go!” Winston shouted, and Ratchet ran off, shouting happily.

From that day onward, Winston was known as a kind hearted, loving man. I hope you’ve all enjoyed this story. In the words of Tiny Tim, “God bless us, every one.”

 

Loving this already. Riddled by the airship name, but that aside for now. I keep my eyes open for any updates.

Alrighty then. When editing, spoiler should look like this:

Code:

[spoiler= primary title , secondary title ]
Stuff be here
[/spoiler]

Looks like:

Stuff be here

Titles are voluntary. By default, primary is "Show Spoiler" and secondary "Hide Spoiler". You can have only primary and no secondary, or no primary and only secondary.

 

Thanks for the Spoilers! By airship, I assume you mean the Avian one. It (should) is called the "Ungrounded". I decided this as 'grounded' is the term used for avians who abandon their home world. This avian colonists are (supposed) to be exiles, but themselves think they weren't deservedly exiled. Thus, they took "Grounded" and called themselves the "Ungrounded". Also, it's an air ship, so it's not on the ground. Thanks for the feedback! Hopefully Ch1 will be done tonight.

 

Ch 1 is now here! Enjoy! I also will be leaving for ten days tomorrow, but I'll try to get 2 done, and hopefully 3. Enjoy!

 

No problem! My last post was missing a part about the quote titles, fixed that.

The term 'grounded' actually refers to the free thinking Avians, those who have abandoned the Avian religion, not believing/denying Kluex. Both devout and atheist Avians live away from the Avian homeworld, the term having no connection to the home of the Avian individual.
That's why I got confused by the name. "Ungrounded" would mean 'devout', and that would slightly contradict with Sirocco's story of how they got attacked, as the majority of Avians are devout Kluex-worshippers and the atheists the usually offended party. I just thought there would be more backstory of how they got attacked, and who attacked them (like the atheist Avians, or alike). Well, now it feels much more clear.

Edit: I read the chapter 1, and realized the Avians in the colony are devout. Triple meaning yay.

 

Once I get back from my trip, I'll be doing a "Meet the Characters" thingy, and you'll see deeper meaning in everything.

 

I'm really liking this, can't wait till you get back from that trip!

 

Chapter 2 and I are both here! Enjoy!

 

I'll be adding a Meet the Crew to explain the characters a bit more. Might add pics. Keep in mind for possible spoilers.

 

Hey, look! Chapter 3! With humor! Now, to wait and see what these new human armors actually look like...

 

Chapter 4 is here! It's a bit shorter and a bit late, so sorry for both. Hope ya'll enjoy! Also, I'd like to hear where ya'll want the plot to go.

 

I'm sorry for no new chapters as of recent. My writing juices have ceased to flow, and i've just started college. Apologies, but this project will have to be put on hold.

 

Nice story mate.

 

Great story! I cant wait for more! Good job

 

This is good. If I could make a suggestion. Perhaps it would be more interesting in future stories to introduce the characters within the story, rather than as a "cast" at the start. Bring out their personalities and history within the story through dialog with the other characters. Everything else is nice.

 

I try to add the Cast after they appear in the story.

 

No criticism intended, but a more fun way for readers to "meet" the characters

Have fun writing this, or other stories. Bye!

 

I'll try in the future. My form of writing always seems to require an after explanation. Thanks for reading!

Also, I'm working on Ch5!

 

Chapter 5 is finally here! So sorry about the delay, I kinda got bored with the story. Chapter might be coming in a bit slower now, but seeing as I have a bit of a fan base (more of a fan settlement) I'll keep working on this.

Also, if anyone has any info on Starbound's new bosses, please let me know ASAP. Either here or PM me. It's important for the story's future.[DOUBLEPOST=1409723222][/DOUBLEPOST]Guess who did Chapter 6 in a timely manner? This guy Enjoy ya'll.

Also, do you guys think I should take down the "Meet the Crew"?

 

Seven *cough cough*