After school on Friday, Selena went to Xander's house.
His eleven-year-old brother, Jaime, answered the door with peanut butter smeared all over his face.
"Hey, Jamie!"
He beamed, "Lena! What are you doing here?" he tried wiping the peanut butter from his face with his shirt, but he smeared it in, making it worse.
"I came to see Xander. Is he home?"
Jamie nods, "Yep. Upstairs, working on some project, he said. You can come in." he walks back into the house and shouted, "Zane! Your girlfriend's here!"
Selena blushed, "I'm not his girlfriend."
"Mhm. Could've fooled me." Jaime skipped into the kitchen, "Want a sandwich?"
"Sure." Selena looked around the house for Mrs. West but didn't see her. "Where's your mother?"
Jamie scooped some jelly onto a spoon. "She went out with some friends."
"Oh."
While Jamie was slathering on the peanut butter, Xander came downstairs.
His eyes widen when he saw Selena. "Jamie, what did I tell you about opening the door when-"
"You told me not to. But I looked outside before I opened it." Jamie scowled. "I'm not dumb 'ya know?"
Selena took her sandwich, "But you sure are a mess!"
"Go on upstairs and wash up 'kay?" Xander dumped some papers on the counter. "Maybe I'll let you watch television."
Jamie narrowed his eyes, "Why are you trying to get rid of me so fast?" he smirked, "I know why. It's 'cause-"
"Jamie." Xander growled, "Go. Upstairs. Now."
"Sure, whatever." Jamie turned and stalked upstairs, slamming his room door closed.
"You know was just joking around, right?" Selena bit into her sandwich. "He's a kid, don't be so hard on him."
Xander opened his mouth to say something, but he shook his head and pulled a paper from the stack.
"Oh. This is the list?" Selena nods, "Ok. Did you happen to do any research? Are any of these planets like Earth and Zion?"
Xander sat beside her, "Some of them are. But some are occupied by alien species. Remember the Amourus king we were talking about?"
Selena nodded.
"His kind lives on the planet, Oceanu. A few days' trip away from this planet." Xander cocked his head to the side. "When do we plan on leaving?"
Selena put her sandwich down, "I'm not sure, those two men have a bomb, and heaven helps us. Who knows what they'll do with that thing."
A large earthquake answered her question.
Jamie screamed.
Xander and Selena raced upstairs and threw open Jamie's room door. The bomb must have landed close by because half of Jamie's wall was missing.
"Jamie!" Xander screamed. "JAMIE"
"Right-coff-here. Help! Please, help!"
Selena walked to the gap where Jamie was hanging, holding onto a piece of his bed. She reached down and hauled him back into the room before the rest of the floor gave way.
Xander scooped him up. "Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Jamie, are you hurt?"
Jamie shook his head. "I'm fine, what's going on? We're not at war again, are we?"
Selena looked out the gap and saw another bomb hit another part of the neighborhood. "They're onto us, Xander. We've got to get out of here, now."
"What-" Jamie started.
Xander shoved Jamie towards Selena. "Take Jamie. Go to docking station 29. I need to grab a few things."
"Xander, we don't have-" another explosion shook the house, and she stumbled forward.
"Go!" Xander shouted.
Selena nodded, clutched Jamie's hand, and raced downstairs and out the front door.
People were running around screaming, people were lying in crimson puddles, and some had served bodies. Most of the neighborhood had been destroyed.
Selena took the recording device from her pocket and threw it into the distance. She no longer needed it since she took a recording on her phone.
Then she and Jamie raced towards the docking station. Jamie was looking around with a panicked expression on his face.
"Mom?!" he cried, "MOM!
Selena kept running until they reached the entrance to the docking station. It didn't look like it'd been bombed yet.
"What's going on out there?" Kai asked, coming out of the guarding booth.
"The Oakwood neighborhood's been bombed. I-my friend, Xander is still in there, and I-"
Kai waved them inside. "Go on. I think I know who you're talking about. Xander West, correct?"
Selena nodded, "Yes."
"And my mother. Amanda West." Jamie blurted.
Kai nodded and took off.
Selena snatched up Jamie and ran to docking station 29 as Xander requested.
A ship named Versatile was sitting in the docking space. Selena dragged Jamie inside.
"Lena? What's going on?"
Selena started pacing the room, muttering to herself.
Xander had to be fine.
He's smart, strong, and fast. He would have made it out.
"LENA! Please, just tell me what's going on. I'm scared." Jamie sat down and curled up into a ball.
Selena crouched beside him. "I know you are. I am too."
A shadow loomed over her. She jumped up and stood protectively in front of Jamie.
"Well, well, well, just who I'm looking for."
Selena scowled. "You."
"Me." Marcus sneered. "So, a couple of kids found us out, uh? I'll show you what you get when you poke your pretty little nose where it doesn't belong."
Before Selena could lift a finger, Jamie jumped up from behind her and moved faster than she could follow. A moment later, the man was on his knees, howling with a knife sticking out of his eye.
"What-?" Selena started.
Jamie grinned back at her. "I learned from the best."
A robotic voice overhead announced, "We take off in five minutes."
Selena raced towards the open ship door, scanning the docking station for Xander. She couldn't see him through all the smoke.
Selena turned around to see Jamie tying the man up with some ropes. He looked up and nodded, he must have seen the desperation on her face.
Selena ran onto the docking station, jumping over bodies.
People were everywhere screaming. Mothers were scooping up their children, and men were grabbing their families.
It was every man for themselves.
"Xander!" she searched the crowd for his white-blonde hair. "Xander!"
Selena stopped when she saw a woman face down on the ground with her black hair splayed around her.
"No," Selena murmured. She knelt next to the woman and slowly rolled her over. Selena gasped.
It was her mother. Her eyes were wide and glassy, and her mouth was open.
All Selena felt was emptiness. The feeling of numbness ate at her from the inside. She placed a quivering hand on her mother's chest, where a wound was bleeding freely.
She heard someone call her name, but they sounded far away. Xander and Kai crouched in front of her, both of them were saying something, but she couldn't hear them.
Someone helped her up and was guiding her back to the ship.
She felt a burning sensation in her arm, another explosion.
Then nothingness.
For the first two days to the planet Oceanus, Selena stayed in her room staring at the ceiling.
On the third day, she got up in the middle of the night to go see Marcus. Why she didn't know, but she thought he might have some answers.
They had secured him up and thrown him in storage. He was thrashing against his ropes when Selena found him.
He sneered up at her, a patch over his right eye. "Hello, pretty. Come to watch me flail around like a fish?"
"I've come to ask you some questions." Selena's voice was raspy from not using it over the past few days. "About the attacks on Zion. Why?"
Marcus snorted. "Wouldn't you know the answers to those questions? You listened to the recording device, right?"
Selena picked up the nearest object and whacked him across the head. Marcus yelped. "Wrong answer. I'll give you one more try before I do something impulsive." Selena sat in front of him, "Why did you attack Zion? What is Megedagik planning?"
Marcus spat out blood. "I'm not saying shit."
Selena had expected this, of course. She pulled a blade from her pocket and held it to the man's throat.
His eyes widen.
"Talk," Selena growled.
"I can't possibly do that with a blade to my throat, can I?"
Selena glared. "You just did."
Marcus licked his lips. "Alright. Alright." he sighed. "We bombed Zion because Megedagik instructed us to. I'm not sure why, but I know it has something to do with Mecha." his lower lip trembled. "I don't know much more than that, honest."
"But why did you do it? Did he force you?"
"I was sort of pressured into it, I guess. Henry just went with it because Megedagik promised him prosperity."
Selena took the blade from his throat. "Pressured into it, how?"
"Megedagik has my wife and two children." Marcus ducked his head, "He said if I didn't do as he asked, he'd kill them."
Selena stared at Marcus for a moment, wondering if she should believe him or not. After a moment she said, "So how did you get caught up with Megedagik in the first place?"
"I was dropping off some things at his palace when I overheard him talking about some plan of his. It involved Mecha."
Selena nods. "What kind of plan?"
"I... I don't remember. He wiped my memory."
"So then how do you know it involved Mecha?" Selena asked, confused.
Marcus points to one of his pockets. "I wrote it down."
Selena reached into his pocket and pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper.
In Marcus's handwriting, it said,
To seize Mecha, I will have to travel to the ends of the universe. I will search through every galaxy and destroy every planet or rebellion that stands in my way. I'll start with Zion then-
The note was cut off, and Selena looked up at Marcus. "That's when he caught you?"
Marcus frowned. "I think so."
Selena scowled again. Confused. She thought back to the list of planets Xander found online. The thought hadn't occurred to her that the information would be fake.
"Xander found a list of planets online of where Mecha might be. Was that fake?" Selena crumpled up the note and put it into her pocket.
Marcus nodded slowly. "It was. I made the website and the list. But the planet you're heading towards now, Oceanus. That's where the Amourus king's daughter lives."
Selena peered at him. "And?"
"And she'll be willing to help you find Mecha. She hates Megedagik and will do anything to avenge her people and her father's death."
"How do you know this?"
Marcus pursed his lips. "Because she told me."
The next day, they arrived at Oceanus.
Jamie was jumping with excitement. "I can't wait to meet the princess! Do you think she'll be pretty? Will she have blue skin? Maybe even green?" he gasped. "What if she's an elf!"
"Calm down, Jamie." Xander shook his head. "She'll probably be too old for you, anyway."
Selena glanced over at Kai, who was holding Marcus. "It's alright, Kai. Cut him from the ropes."
"But-"
Selena gave him a look, and he sagged, cutting Marcus's binds. Marcus rubbed at his raw wrist. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it," Selena responded, cleaning out the bullet wound in her arm, "But don't think I won't strangle you if you do something stupid."
Marcus snorted. "I don't doubt it."
Xander jerked his head. "Come on, Marcus, lead the way."
They stepped out onto the planet, and Selena's jaw dropped.
Everything was made out of crystal and glass.
A young woman approached them. She had tan skin, pale green eyes, long pointy ears, and long silver hair.
"Hello, my name is Irwen." she held a hand towards Xander.
"Pleasure to meet you, Irwen," Xander said, flashing a bright smile. "We're here to talk with the princess. Would you mind showing us to the palace?"
Irewn's eyebrows went up. "Meet with the princess, whatever for?"
"I'm afraid it's something we must discuss with her," Selena said. "Can you take us to her? It is urgent."
Irewn pursed her lips. "I'm not sure how the princess will take to sudden guests." She turned on her heel. "Follow me."
Selena and the rest of the group followed after her into the seemingly empty city.
Things were in the middle of the street as if everyone had left in a hurry, and some buildings were torn down.
Selena turned towards Irwen, who had a dark expression on her face. "Can I ask you a question?"
Irwen nods.
"Who... did this?" Selena gestured at the destroyed buildings. "And where is everyone?"
"When our king and Megedagik went to war, this planet was in shambles. My people barely escaped with their lives, and they're residing on an allied planet until we can get this one livable again." Irwen sighs.
"Were you alive when your king made Mecha?"
Irwen glanced at her with raised eyebrows. "I was young, but yes. How do you know about Mecha?"
Xander interrupted, "That's something we're sharing with the princess." He gave Selena a look that said, What the hell is wrong with you?
Irwen shrugs. "The princess shares everything with me, you know? Why not tell me now?"
Xander opened his mouth to respond, but Selena said, "Xander and I found a recording from Ionia."
She took a deep breath and told Irwen everything from the recording devices to the bombing of their planet, and the list she and Xander found.
All Irwen said was, "Interesting."
They were silent for the rest of the walk to the palace. When they reached the palace doors, Irwen placed her hand on the door and opened it.
"Cool!" Jamie exclaimed. "How'd you do that?"
Irwen beamed at him, "We have special markings on our hands." she showed him the star marking on her right hand.
Selena held back a gasp at the sight of the marking. She had one similar to that on her left hand, as did her mother.
The room was massive and had huge sturdy columns on each side of the room.
On the right side of the room was a dark hallway, and on the left was a grand staircase.
"Irwen?" came a soft musical voice, "What is all of the dins about?"
The princess had come down the stairs wearing a long white gown that flowed out behind her. She saw Selena and cocked her head. "Hello, little sister."
Before Selena could answer, a little boy came running down the stairs wearing a white suit. He saw Selena and gasped, "Nova?"
Nova?
Selena shook her head, baffled. "I'm sorry. I think you have me confused with someone else."
The princess smiled softly. "Irwen, why did you not tell her?"
"I ... wasn't sure if it was her, princess," Irwen murmured.
Xander looked between the princess and Irwen. "Uh... can someone tell me what's going on?"
"Selena's princess Nova whos' been missing for hundreds of years." the princess answered. "Our mother and father separated when I was young. She took you but left Nym and me."
"Was this when the planet was being attacked?" Selena whispered.
If it were, that would explain the dream she'd been having ever since she turned ten. She'd told her mom about it, but she just said it was from watching a horror movie.
"Where is mother?" the princess cocked her head.
"I'm so confused, can someone please explain everything to me?" Selena hid her face in her hands. "Please?"
The princess nodded. "Follow me, Selena."
Selena glanced at Xander who gave her a nod of encouragement. Jamie looked stunned.
Selena followed the princess down the hallway, and she led her into a room with pictures on the walls. A desk in the middle of the room.
"What is this?" Selena asked.
The princess smiled. "It's a gallery of somesort. Ah, here we are."
Selena looked at the painting she was gesturing to.
There was a man she barely recognized standing behind her mother who was holding her in a bundle of blankets. The princess was standing on her mother's right, clutching her arm.
"This painting was made a few months after you were born. Nym hadn't been born yet."
Selena had a hard time digesting all of this information. "So why didn't mother tell me about you, Nym, and father?" Selena cocked her head. "Is your name Arel?"
"It is."
Selena stared at the picture for a moment, shocked into silence.
"I know this is a lot to take in," Arel said. "Did you have something urgent you wanted to tell me?"
"How did-?"
Arel smiled. "I know everything. Even the way you think about-"
"Actually, yes," Selena said, cutting her off.
Then she proceeded to tell her about the message she and Xander found. Arel looked grim when she finished her story.
"I feared this day would come, but I had hoped it would've been later." Arel ducks her head. "Megedagik knows that we are defenseless. He'll take us out quickly and easily."
"So, what do we do?" Selena asked. "How are we going to find the lions?"
Arel's smile brightened her face. "I have something you show you. And your friends."
Without another word, her sister left the room and went back to where Xander, Jamie, Kai, and Marcus were waiting.
"I have something that I need to show you all, follow me please." Arel turned and walked out the palace doors without waiting for a response.
Xander raised an eyebrow at Selena. "What's going on?"
"I haven't the faintest clue. I think it has something to do with Mecha."
Jamie frowned confused. "What the hell are you two whispering about? What the hell is Mecha? And what the hell is going on?" Jamie hissed. "Nobody's answered that question!"
Arel answered before Selena could, "Because that would be a very dangerous question to answer, Jamie." she looked back at him. "But long story short, this galaxy is in danger, and we're going to do everything we can to prevent anything from happening."
Arel led them towards the docking station where their ship sat alone.
"Uh . . . what did you want to show us?" Marcus asked, looking around bewildered.
Kai pointed up into the sky. "Was it that?"
Selena looked up to see a silver ship coming to land in a docking station. It looked a lot like the palace.
When it landed, Nym emerged with a big grin on his face. "Welcome to the ship palace!" he grinned wider at their stunned expressions. "Cool, uh?"
Jamie gasped. "No way! That's so incredible!"
Nym grabbed his wrist. "Come on, I'll show you around!"
When Jamie looked back at Xander nervously, Xander gave him a nod of encouragement.
After Nym and Jamie took off, Arel led them onto the ship. It didn't look much different than it had been when it was a palace, but there was now a huge controlling system in the middle of the room that controlled the ship, and a large glass window.
Irwen turned from the controllers and beamed. "Would you like to take over, princess?"
Arel nods. "I would. Irwen, do me a favor."
"Yes, princess?"
"Call me Arel."
Irwen beamed.
"Anyway," Arel said quickly, "What I want to show you is over here where we store our battleships."
Arel led them down the hallway and down a flight of stairs that opened up into a huge room that held little battleships and a large . . .
"Lion?" Xander gasped.
In the middle of the room was an orange lion.
"This is one of the lions that my father kept with him for safekeeping because it is the one Megedagik wants the most." Arel pursed her lips. "There is no telling why."
Jamie and Nym entered the room. Jamie stopped in his tracks and gasped.
"Holy shit!" Jamie sighed. "That is so cool!"
The eyes on the lion glowed a bright yellow, and Selena gasped.
"It looks like the orange lion has chosen its pilot." Arel smiled at Jamie.
Jamie blinked. "Who . . . me?"
Arel nods.
"Wait, there is no way I'm allowing Jamie to ride that thing." Xander spat, shaking his head. "He's too young."
Jamie shot Xander a dark look. "You are not my dad, Zane." he folds his arms. "Speaking of, is mom dead?"
Xander's face darkened, and he turned away. "Yes."
"How did the lion know to pick Jamie?" Selena asked, changing the subject.
"Good question, Selena. Do you know what the color orange symbolizes for a person?" Arel asked.
Selena shook her head.
"For a person, orange means to be bold, witty, optimistic, and eager," Jamie answered, "Right?"
Arel nods. "Right, Jamie." Arel turned towards Xander. "If it makes you feel any more comfortable, I'll train Jamie how to use the lion before he has to fight or go into battle."
Xander opened his mouth to protest, but Selena put a hand on his arm. She knew how he felt, but she thought he was doing too much.
"He'll be fine, Xander, with the proper training," Selena said. "Trust me."
Xander nods.
Jamie did an excited whoop. "Ah man, this is going to be so awesome!"
Selena glanced at Arel. "What do we do now?"
Arel turned towards her with a blank expression on her face. "Now we must recover the other lions before it's too late."