With his newest addition to the group, Null led the ruler back to Theef's ship.
"Theef I'm back!"
"What took you so long man!" His voice echoed from the front of the ship.
"I brought us a little gift on the way back. Come check it out!"
A mess of cans and bottles rattling around and falling sounded as footsteps approched.
"Surprise!"
Null gestured at the excessively gold adorned ruler and watched as Theef's jaw dropped.
"We got ourselves a new member!"
Theef scowled and rebuked, "Well I didn't agree on it, so get him out of my ship!"
Null was stunned at the abrasive response to the good news.
"But he's really strong and knowledgeable."
"Oh, so that's what this is? Are you saying I'm not strong enough to protect my best friend?"
"That's not-," Null tried to console his friend.
"No," Theef was hurt about not being able to help Null out while he was just fooling around.
"You're right. I'm just a weak idiot." Theef started for his beer.
Null wanted to stop him, but an arm tugged at his shoulder.
"Let me," the ruler suggested.
And so, Null stepped back to let him try his method of consolation.
Smack!
The sound of a good slap shocked Null out of his thoughts.
'What the fuck!?'
Theef winced from the pain of having a hand studded with golden rings hit him across the face.
"Stop your bitching insolent brat. If it wasn't for him, you'd probably be rotting in my prison still."
"You mother-," Theef was about to scream, but was painfully interrupted.
Smack!
A swift backhand left Theef in more pain than the first time.
"You should be honored that one such as Sir Null's status would intermingle with someone as filthy as you."
"Enough already you brute!" Null was beginning to regret letting the violent ruler 'console' his best friend.
"So that's why you want him here? To call you sir and kiss your ass! Well count me out of it!"
Theef's eyes were watering both from the pain and hurt he was feeling.
"Dude! Are you seriously going to act like this? You're the one who left me behind for a stupid boomerang!
"It's not stupid!"
Theef's arm glowed with the same blue symbols that the boomerang had.
He reached towards the nearest throwable item and launched it at Null.
Clank!
A simple move of the scepter in the ruler's hand blocked the incoming can impeccably.
But then, as if the scene were being played out in reverse, the can bounced straight back into Theef's hand.
'Woah!'
Both Null and Barter's Ruler turned to each other and had the same look on their faces.
"Okay. Let me be the first to apologize for not getting your opinion on a new addition to the team."
"Apology accepted."
"And let me offer you an apology for not hitting you harder."
Smack!
Null hit the ruler in he calf.
"Ahem. Let me offer you an apology for not constructing a personal cell for the most conniving little thief this planet has ever seen."
"I'll take it," despite the blatant sarcasm in the ruler's voice, Theef was easily pleased by Null's actions.
"So, what's with the new get up on the new guy?" Theef asked Null directly.
"Just the newest addition to my arsenal, you want a taste?"
Null smiled and gestured for Theef to kneel down.
"You better not be tricking me," Theef said but obliged, nonetheless.
"Just tell me in one sentence little one," Null snickered as he pressed a finger on Theef's forehead.
"What is your purpose in life?"
"Are you kidding-," Theef tried as he was growing annoyed at Null's recent antics.
However Null quickly snapped.
Snap!
To which the unspoken ruler revealed to be behind Theef the whole time as he smacked him in the back of the head.
"Speak!"
Null hissed at the brutality of the man but Theef did nothing to retaliate.
"I already told you man! To the ends of the universe, you take your pick! Anything's yours free of charge as long as I can manage it."
Theef looked into Null's eyes with the same loner emptiness.
Null stopped to feel a resonating feeling coming from the cosmic structure.
A domineering orange glow emanated from a lone section of the behemoth structure.
The feeling that arose in Null made him smile even more as he took his finger off Theef's head and reached out his hand.
"Don't waste your time worrying about what I need. Just have my back alright?"
Theef's face lit up as he reeled back his arm.
"Who else but me?!" Theef readily clasped the Null's hand.
When the palms collided, the domineering orange energy was transfused through Theef's body and took it over.
The vast array of mutations appeared on Theef's normal form causing the unsuspecting ruler and kid to each raise a brow.
Then, all of a sudden Theef's skin wriggled in a grotesque manner before spitting out two thin tendrils from his upper back near his shoulders.
He now looked like a horrific chimera of some sort and to top it all off, the timely derision plagued Theef's mind.
His eyes glowed and his mouth dripping with saliva was curled madly.
"Now this...," Theef marveled at his new form, "This is what I'm talking about!"
"Ahahaha!" His ear-piercing cackle left Null and the ruler feeling a tug on their being.
At first, they thought it was an unusual effect of his deranged laughing, but what happened next changed their perspective of Theef immensely.
"Whew! Feels like a while since I had a chuckle as good as that," his rush finally coming to an end, Theef sighed.
"What's up with you guys?"
Upon noticing the weird looks his buddy and newest teammate, Theef tilted his head in confusion.
One slow point and Theef looked down at himself.
Immediately he realized he was garbed in a luxurious gold trimmed space suit unlike the previous one.
Only this one had what looked like some kind of designer fabric patched on where the past holes were making it look somewhat fashionable.
"Damn this fashionable new guy," Theef snorted.
He briskly went back to the navigation room in displeasure to begin preparing the ship for launch.
After Null had agreed to take the ruler along with him, he had asked for all of the maps he had pertaining to the constellations from his 'dream'.
It had turned out that even with everything he had, they only found one match that led to the cerulean flame.
And so, the trio set out for the first clue of the mystery behind the flames. What they would find, only time would tell.
In this case, the trip took about three years until the group had finally set their sights on the secluded planet, Mamon.