It had been a week since the tragic event in New York and the final day of the call-out. In the early hours of the morning, a funeral was held for Sir Tim, attended by all the Izigans' captains, officials, and head staffs. Only Kenneth of the Furious Three was present, as Stella was still unconscious due to the unbroken seal that remained in her.
Everyone was in their black suits, standing before the holographic display of Sir Tim and a presentation of his achievements. All the captains gave their remarks and shared memories of Sir Tim. It was a sad day for everyone in Galaxia.
The emergence of a new threat sparked awareness of what must be done moving forward. Tim's body was being used as a vessel, and no one knew the limits of The-Void's power now.
Kenneth stood at the funeral, observing and hoping to spot Cole, who he believed was responsible for predicting the event beforehand. Kenneth was the only one who believed Cole was capable of so much, though he could be frightening sometimes. He just wanted to know what went wrong this time. He knew he did the right thing, even if someone died, and he tried to prevent that. As he planned with Cole, he executed it well, but he still tried to recall if he had missed anything, yet nothing came to him.
Meanwhile, in Galaxia some few hours after the funeral, the fresh Izigans, who had been transported from Earth and had been there for a week since the call-out, were living in a huge megastructure until assembly day. The place had rooms and other facilities for them to stay and roam about. They all wore white, body-tight suits, which they could make baggy by pressing a button on their wrists.
The new Izigans all had smiles on their faces, showing their comfort. Most of them were already getting to know each other, but not all arrived happy. Hina, on the other hand, had not talked to anyone since she came. She was quiet and just watched everyone do what they did. Most of the Izigans were aged 10 to 45 and were present in large numbers. The older Izigans were taken to a separate place.
Hina walked alone, always ignoring many people who approached her. This time, the fresh Izigans were all going to eat at a huge opening with chairs and tables with amazing designs, where robots served their food. Soon after, they finished eating, and most of the Izigans had already left, but Hina remained, still wearing a sad face and looking down.
"You should smile; your beauty is wearing off," someone said, who sat just opposite her at the table.
"Get lost; what do you know anyway?" Hina said, still facing downwards.
"Well, for me, it seems you are still locked up in the past. Whatever happened, you need to let go and fight ahead, something my mom used to tell me," Derek, who sat on the other side of the table, continued.
"Look, I don't care. Just quit talking and leave me alone. You have no idea what I am going through right now. I don't need company," Hina muttered.
"Come on, look, we are in Galaxia now. That should give you some ease. Where is that light in the dark?" Derek said, trying to brighten up the mood.
"Look, whatever you are doing, it's not working," Hina said, still facing downwards.
"You look like you lost something or someone dear to you. I don't know who it is or what it is, but let your pain be your strength," Derek stated.
His words moved Hina as she realized she could no longer mourn her dad. She remembered his last words, and she knew he wouldn't want her to allow what happened to hold her back. Hina slowly raised her head to look at the person who had finally brightened up her day, but she wasn't ready to see who it would be.
Hina's eyes were full of shock and disbelief as she stared at Derek, Dave's bully back then. She threw herself back from the table while Derek still sat, unsurprised by Hina's reaction, but he had something to say.
"How... when... wait, what's going on? How are you here? Why are you here? You are not even an Izigan," Hina shouted, still in shock.
"Yeah, yeah, I understand you are surprised. Yes, I did awful things, but that was who I was. I have changed," Derek explained.
"You expect me to believe that? You tried to kidnap Dave, and what other awful things have you done? Kill, maybe?" Hina protested.
"Dave saved my life, I will confess. I was able to kidnap him, but I was foolish and craving power. Some creature attacked us in that cave and killed everyone, even my friends. When it was about to kill me, Dave intercepted. I was surprised at Dave's strength. It's nothing I have seen before. He carried me like I meant something to him and killed it with his enormous power," Derek narrated.
Hina was surprised at his story and slowly approached the seat to sit down.
"Dave? You mean he was able to use his powers now? Speaking of Dave, where is he anyway?" she asked.
---
"When I came here, he was the one I wanted to meet first, but I haven't seen him since. I've searched everywhere but still can't find him," Derek said.
"When was the last time you saw him? Was he okay?" Hina asked with concern.
"He was okay. He told me he needed to find his mom. That was what he said before we went our separate ways. He should be okay," Derek replied calmly.
"I swear to God, I will kill you if I find out you're lying about this," Hina said.
"If I were lying, I wouldn't have come to you willingly to tell you about this. Like I said, Dave changed me, and not only that, my mom helped me realize I've been living just like my dad. Sadly, I killed my dad trying to protect my mom."
"That's sad, does he really have to die or was it an accident? And you're huge; your dad must have been huge. How did you manage to do that?" Hina asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That's when my Izigan markings appeared all of a sudden—lightning everywhere—and I sent my dad flying," Derek explained briefly.
"Wow, that's a sad yet good story, sorry about that your dad. But we need to find Dave. Or did he miss the call-out?" Hina asked uneasily.
"We should tell the Izigan authorities about it," Derek suggested.
"I doubt that. The call-out is over. If he's still out there, I'll find him myself. First, I have to go now. Nice chatting with you," Hina said as she left the table, ready to depart.
"We could hang out sometime if we have the chance," Derek suggested.
"I don't think so. Thanks for brightening my day and helping me realize I need to wake up. See you later," Hina said as she walked out of the meal hall.
"I really said that at the wrong time. She's still traumatized, maybe. I should ask her when I get closer to her," Derek whispered to himself, alone at the place.
Not too far from the hall, in a wide-open space where most of the fresh Izigans were, there was a challenge duel. Someone stood on top, boasting about having beaten most of the Izigans who came to challenge him.
He was huge and tall, about six feet tall, in his twenties, and his green Izigan markings kept glowing as he urged people to come and challenge him.
"Come on, don't be scared. Show me some of your gifts," he said as some of the Izigans he had beaten lay on the floor.
"You lack battle strategy, and you fight like an angry gorilla," a female voice said from the ground, drawing everyone's attention. The crowd parted, revealing Belle.
"Oh, look who's talking, you tiny ant. Why don't you come over here and prove my fighting strategy wrong?" he said, looking at Belle as he came close
Everyone laughed, looking at Belle, comparing her size to his, wondering why she uttered such words.
"Well, I would be delighted to do so," Belle said. Suddenly, a shimmering veil of crystal ice encased the challenger, freezing him in a rigid pose, trapping him. He couldn't move as the frost was too hard.
Everyone was surprised, covering their mouths in amusement at what Belle had just displayed.
"You insect, free me from here now, and let's have a real fight," he shouted, thrashing about, his muscles straining against the unyielding ice, but it held fast, a frozen shackle, while everyone else laughed at him.
"If you can't break through this, you have no chance against me. Who's the ant now?" Belle sighed.
Soon, a holographic figure appeared at the scene. She surveyed the commotion and looked around to see what was going on, only to find a frozen person struggling with the ice.
"Who did this?" Kate asked.
Everyone turned to look for Belle, but she was nowhere to be seen, leaving everyone confused about her sudden disappearance.
"Fin, there's been a situation at the dome building. I'd like you to come and look at it," Kate said, speaking through an earpiece.
"Alright, Izigans, welcome once again to Galaxia. Today, we will begin your separation into different clans during the assembly. It will be announced, and all of you are to move to the Megatorium, just up ahead. There, you will meet the captains and the council. While entering, you will go through a scanning machine that will determine your clan color, and you will stand on the corresponding color space on the ground. Thank you for your time," Kate concluded, everyiwas happy and excited when they heard they would be meeting the captains.
"And you just hang on; people are on their way to get you out of there," Kate said to the boy still encased in ice as her holographic figure disappeared.
At the head Izigan building, Kenneth was in the room where the unconscious Stella lay with some scientist doctors wearing white lab coats. He had a sad look on his face, having learned there was no progress in Stella's case.
After a while, once the scientists had gone, he remained at the glass window, looking at Stella. Cole joined him, standing on the other side of the glass, also looking at Stella.
---
"What are you doing in the head Izigan building, Cole? You shouldn't be here," Kenneth said softly.
"My captain made me vice, so I guess I have access to the head building now," Cole replied.
"Oh, congrats on that," Kenneth muttered.
"Aren't you going to prepare? Today is the assembly day; your presence would be welcome," Cole continued.
"No, I am not welcome. One of us is dead, and the other is in critical condition. I can't go there wearing the face of defeat. The captains are most welcome since they have more work than the Furious Three," Kenneth said softly.
"A lot is going through that head of yours," Cole said.
"I've always been the odd one out ever since I was born. The first time I awakened my power when I was ten, someone took the necklace I used to remember my mom, and he wouldn't give it back. I got angry and burned down a billion-dollar mega structure, and seven hundred people died that day. It was like a rain of lightning that night; my dad died too. Ever since that incident, none of my family accepted me. I was alone until I was brought to Galaxia," Kenneth said with a low tone, sadness written all over his face.
"Wow, that's the saddest story I've ever heard, sorry to hear that. Well, you're not the only one with a sad story. If you think it's your fault Tim died, it's not your fault at all," Cole said.
"I still remember it like it was yesterday. I couldn't control my powers," Kenneth added.
"Then what went wrong? What happened? It's not supposed to happen, right?" Kenneth lamented, looking at Cole in confusion, waiting for answers.
"It was not supposed to happen, but it happened, yes, but the possibilities were reduced and fixed," Cole said.
"What do you mean by that?" Kenneth asked with curiosity.
"We weren't the only ones who knew about the prediction. Due to that, the possibility was reduced," Cole continued.
"Who was it? I remember you telling only me that day. No one else knew," Kenneth added.
"Kenneth, we should have stayed vigilant. Stella knew about it. She was right behind us the whole time. She was backing us, so we couldn't see her. She didn't even make herself known; she just listened," Cole said.
"Wait, you can't be serious, right? How did you know?" Kenneth asked.
"Precognition in time. My clones are everywhere in the alternative reality. All I needed to do was switch bodies with a clone, which potentially took me back in time for just a few seconds. That was how I saw her right behind us."
"Shit, shit, shit," Kenneth said in anger and frustration.
"How... how did it reduce the possibility of it happening?" Kenneth asked.
"It goes like this: Three people, A, B, and C, are warned that one of them will die in an upcoming fight. A is told directly, and B overhears it without A or C knowing. Both A and B, aware of the risk, take steps to protect themselves, while C remains unaware. As a result, C is more vulnerable and ends up being the one who dies. Initially, each had a one-third chance of dying, but once A and B took actions to avoid their deaths, the probability shifted, making C the most likely victim.
You know who A, B, and C are. So it's no one's fault, actually, even though it looks like it's Stella's, but it happened for a reason I can't presume. We have to be concerned about Stella's case now. She's being held by her own seal she can't undo."
"The seal was meant for the void. She didn't expect things to turn out like that, but Cole, if you had just told the three of us, what would have happened?" Kenneth asked.
"Then the three of you would have died because Tim would definitely have changed the plan you guys already had. The rule at that time was that only one should know, not two or three," Cole explained.
"That's why Stella didn't use most of her powers. She relied on the sealing arts she learned from Henk and the light energy she learned from her best friend, Emma," Kenneth said.
"Sometimes, not all things that are planned go well, but the void should be celebrating victory," Cole said, smiling.
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