After the girls turned back into seeds, I ran home as fast as I could. School would have to wait. I ran upstairs and opened my bedroom door.
"Kyabe, we-" I started to say.
"THIS IS TERRIBLE!" she shouted, cutting me off.
I ran over to her. She had the TV on and was watching the news. It showed hundreds, if not, thousands of Hedoros moving around in parks and cities all over the world. This was bad.
"This is just like what happened before! I failed again! I'm sorry Hana!" Kyabe cried, tears rolling down her face.
"It's ok. Why don't we storm their base? If we beat them there, maybe they'll give up. Maybe we can save your king while we're at it too," I said reassuringly while petting Kyabe.
She looked up at me with tears in her eyes.
"Really? You'd do that?"
"Your planet's not the only one that needs saving. Do you have any idea where they are?"
"Um… I have no idea. How are we going to find their ship? It could be anywhere!"
"Worry not! Master wants to see you!" a familiar voice said.
We turned around to see all of our past enemies in the doorway. I reached for the Pocket, ready in case they decided to attack.
"Calm down, cutie. I see you're as feisty as ever. As long as you don't try anything funny, we'll take you there," Mosho said coolly.
"YEAH! YOU JUST GOTTA GROOVE ON OVER WITHOUT A FIGHT, YA DIG?" DJZ shouted while dancing.
I looked at Kyabe. She looked to me, curious as to what I was going to do.
"Fine. I'll go. You have to promise you won't hurt me, Kyabe, or the seeds," I said while looking at each and every one of them.
"We won't hurt you! Master wants you to get there in one piece! Too bad! I really wanted to torture you some more!" Shimogoe said brightly.
I got up and walked over to them. Kyabe was right behind me. It was time to meet the final boss. I really hope that nothing goes wrong.
They led us to an abandoned aircraft hangar near the center of the city. Inside the massive structure was their cloud-like airship. Or was it a spacecraft? I hope I don't find out.
When I got close to it, I realized just how big it actually was. It was humongous! The craft filled the entire hangar! The group led us to some stairs leading up into the ship. When we got to the top, they motioned for us to stay put. Shimo left, going into the encroaching darkness.
"What's the deal? Do you not have enough power for lights or something?" I asked, confused as to why the ship was so dark.
"No, cutie. Ya see, Master doesn't like the light that much. It causes him to get a seizure or something. At least, that's what Kagaku says," Mosho answered.
"Kagaku? Who's that?"
"He he he! He's the smart guy!" Gesui burbled.
"Don't listen to him. He's an idiot. He's our top and only scientist," Kuzu explained.
Something about this Kagaku guy bothered me. I can't place it though. Suddenly, I saw two round lights floating toward us. When they reached us, I saw they weren't lights at all, but the lenses of large round glasses.
"Why hello! It's a pleasure to meet you, Hana!" the guy with the glasses said warmly.
"Who are you?" I asked, not falling for the hospitality.
"Why I'm Kagaku! I assume you've heard of me?"
"Sure. Whatever. Where's the boss man?"
"We prefer the term Master," Kagaku said, slightly aggravated. "Here, I'll take you to him."
Kagaku started walking back into the darkness. After glancing down at Kyabe, I followed, slightly nervous. We walked for what seemed like forever. I lost all sense of direction. I followed Kagaku closely, not wanting to get lost in the darkness. Finally, he stopped.
"Sire! I have brought them to you!" he called into the darkness.
Suddenly, a small round light appeared in front of us.
"Very good. I see those buffoons didn't fail this time. You may go. I want to speak with her privately," the light said haughtily.
"Is that wise, sire?"
"Leave!" the light shouted angrily.
Kagaku cowered and left quickly.
"So… you're the boss man, huh? Must be nice," I said, trying to lighten the mood and hide how terrified I was.
The light laughed.
"You amuse me, Hana. Why must we be on opposing sides? I will give you anything if you join me. Fame. Power. Fortune. You name it."
"I'll pass. I don't really care for the whole 'pollute the whole world' thing. It's not my style," I replied, trying to be nonchalant.
The light laughed again.
"I knew it would be tough persuading you. Oh well. I tried."
A chill went up my spine. He was being too relaxed. I didn't like where this was going.
"I guess you'll have to die then. It's a shame really. You would have made a wonderful minion, but alas, you decided to stand against me. Goodbye, Hana."
I heard footsteps approaching us. I reached into the Pocket and pulled out a handful of seeds. All of the girls appeared at once, causing a big flash of light.
"RARGH!" the light screamed.
The girls quickly started fighting the incoming enemies. All of our past foes were there including a dozen Hedoros. From what I could tell, we were greatly outnumbered. Over the fray, I heard Kagaku talking to the light.
"Sire! Drink this! It'll stop your seizure!"
I worked my way over to them. When I saw who the light belonged to, I gasped. The former king of Shizin looked like a mess. His hair looked like flames and his body was split. Half oil, half-smoke.
"What have you done to my king?" Kyabe shrieked, tearing up.
"Why I have made him better, of course. He was so weak and pathetic before," Kagaku cackled. "He said things like, 'No fighting,' and 'Let's grow this and keep our planet green.' It was sickening. That's why I created this ship and left Shizin. While traveling through space, I had an epiphany: what if I changed the king's personality to fit my ideals? It was brilliant! While trying to create the perfect formula, I created those pathetic excuses for minions! Soon, I was ready to invade Shizin and put my plan into action. Everything was going perfectly until they showed up!" Kagaku growled as he motioned toward the girls.
"They tried to protect him so I had no other choice, but to turn them into pathetic little seeds. I had Osen, my perfect creation, throw them into space. However, you had to go save them, Kyabe! You had to take them to this pathetic planet! You had to find someone to help you!" he spat. "I'm so close to becoming the ruler of the universe, but you had to show up and try to ruin everything!"
Behind us, I heard the girls cry out in pain. I knew things weren't going too well. We were too outnumbered.
"Looks like your little rebellion is about to end! There's nothing you can do to stop me!" Kagaku cackled maniacally
I reached into the Pocket, desperate to find another seed. Surprisingly, I did. It was a seed I had never seen before. I threw it up and hoped for the best.
"It's futile! What can one measly girl do?!"
Suddenly, a bright flash appeared where I threw up the seed. Everyone had to shield their eyes for fear of being blinded. Osen screamed and writhed in agony. I looked up, trying to see who I summoned. In the middle of the light was a girl. She gently floated down next to me.
"Hello! I am Kiku, princess of Shizin," she said cheerfully.
I looked down at Kyabe. She was staring at Kiku in awe.
"I-I thought I lost your seed, your Highness! I'm so sorry!" she cried, running toward the girl.
"It is alright, Kyabe. You did a wonderful job. If it weren't for you, all would be lost."
"Um… you never told me about a princess or about losing her seed. Mind telling me what's going on?" I asked, confused.
"I will tell you later, brave Hana. First, I must save my father from that evil man," Kiku said as she turned toward Kagaku.
He whimpered and backed away. Apparently, Kiku is scary when she's angry. Osen kept thrashing on the ground. As Kiku got closer to him, he started to calm down.
"It is all right, Father. I am here to save you," she said gently.
Osen relaxed after hearing her voice. Kiku turned to Kagaku once again. He was in the fetal position, crying to himself. Kiku raised her hands, palms facing up. Light started accumulating there, creating a giant ball.
"H-have mercy, your Highness! I-I won't do it again! I-I swear my loyalty to you!" Kagaku groveled pathetically.
Kiku paid him no heed. It was too late to apologize for everything he had done. Finally, once the ball of light was three times the size of a watermelon, Kiku lowered her hands. A huge beam of light shot toward the crying Kagaku. An instant later, he was vaporized. Note to self: don't get on Kiku's bad side.
After annihilating Kagaku, she ran over to Osen. She spread her hands out over him. A warm white light washed over his body until he looked like a normal person. Gone was his flaming hair and half oil half-smoke body. He now had short brown hair and a red regal-looking robe.
"Thank you, Kiku. Every waking moment was like a nightmare in that state. It was like I was a different person. I knew that if I saw you and your radiance again, I would be saved," Osen (is that his actual name?) said gratefully.
"I'm glad you are back, Father! Now we can go back and heal our sick planet!" Kiku replied happily.
I looked back to see how the girls were doing. I guess Kiku's light healed them because there wasn't a scratch on any of them. All of their enemies were gone too. No wonder Kagaku was afraid of her. She was powerful!
When I looked back at the royal father and daughter, they were walking towards me.
"Thank you, young Hana. You have saved not only me but my planet as well. How can I thank you enough?" the king said after he made it to me.
"You don't have to thank me. I only did what was right. Besides, they attacked my planet too. Though, if you feel like you owe me, you could take me to Shizin. I could help you heal your planet. Plus, I'd love to see where you guys come from," I said, trying to be modest.
The king laughed heartily.
"I see why Kyabe chose you! You are one of a kind! Of course I'll take you to Shizin! I won't turn down help!"
"Just one problem though. I can't stay for very long. I have to be back before dinner and I have school five days a week. I'm not backing out or anything, but I'm not sure how I'd be able to get from here to there and back without worrying anyone."
"I have the perfect solution for you, Hana. Take this," Kiku said as she handed me a glowing seed.
"What's that? I thought since you beat Kagaku, you weren't bound by seeds anymore."
"It is a Warp Seed. It can warp you from Earth to Shizin in a matter of seconds and can be used an infinite amount of times."
"Wow! Are you sure you want to give something this important to me?"
"Yes. You saved our king from imprisonment and offered to help heal our sick planet. It is yours now. Take good care of it."
I smiled and took the seed from Kiku. She smiled back.
"Yay! We won't have to say goodbye!" Kyabe exclaimed, dancing around.
I nodded and looked to the girls. They were also celebrating. I couldn't wait to see Shizin.
"Now we must go. We have been away from our planet for far too long," the king said as he walked off.
"Where is he going? Can't you just warp back?" I asked, perplexed.
"I am afraid not. There is only one Warp Seed in the universe as far as we know. We must take this ship back. Father left to look for the control room," Kiku explained.
"Are you sure I should take it then? If there's only one…"
"You must if you want to help us heal our planet. You should go. We should be leaving soon. Goodbye for now, Hana Kojo. Thank you for everything."
"One last thing: how do you use the Seed?"
"It is simple. All you have to do is throw it in the air and say the name of the place you want to go."
"Got it." I looked down at Kyabe. "Bye, partner. I'll see you soon."
"Bye, Hana! I'll miss you! Come soon, ok?"
"I will."
As I walked toward the exit, the girls each said their goodbyes and thank yous. Finally, I had it to the exit and walked down the stairs. No sooner than I had done that, the ship's engine revved up. I looked at the cockpit window to see the king waving at me. I waved back, smiling. Then, the ship started to rise from the ground. It hovered there for a moment before heading out of the large doors. Once it got past the opening, it rose into the sky. I watched it until I could no longer see it.
After it had left, I looked around. The sky was once again clear and smog-free. I took a big deep breath. It was fresh and rejuvenating. Suddenly, a realization hit me. I forgot about school!
By the time I got there, school was over. I sighed and walked home, trying to catch my breath. When I got there, Mom was waiting for me in the kitchen.
"Hana! There you are! I was so worried! I got a call from school saying that you had gone missing! Is everything alright?! Are you ok?!" she exclaimed, running over to me and checking for injuries.
"I'm fine, Mom. I had to do something extremely important," I said as I pushed her away.
"What was more important than school? I know the move was tough, but you shouldn't ditch school."
"I didn't ditch because I felt lonely. I had to do something. I can't explain what. If I did, you'd think I'm crazy."
"Try me," Mom said, not buying it.
"I had to save the world from being polluted by evil aliens from another planet. Happy?"
Mom just stared blankly at me. Then she laughed.
"You and your imagination! Just don't skip school again. You know, you should write a book."
"Whatever. I'm going to go to the park to work on the flowerbeds. I'll be back before dinner," I lied as I walked out the door.
It's time to go to Shizin.
To be continued...