Book One - The Beginning

## Prologue

"What do you mean, 'humans'? What is a 'human'?" A male, somewhat regal voice demanded.

"Humans are more genetically similar to us than most species. I thought it would be advantageous to create a new heir with one?" A female voice, also somewhat regal, answered.

"Genetically similar to us? Does that include physically?" The male voice demanded, his anger rising. "They just sound like an inferior version of us, unable to do anything right if they cannot access Ether, and I doubt they can. At least I knew what I was doing with the Netraxian Queen. To us, the Netraxians are physically godlike. And our son, having immense physical, intellectual and Psychic power, is unquestionably a perfect heir." He continued, declaring, "This heir you will birth from the 'human', they will not be able to compete in the royal challenge!" The male voice retorted.

"What are you two arguing about, now?" A younger, somewhat regal like the parents, and somewhat arrogant voice inquired.

The two Socqreath royals turn to see their son, the Prince, standing there and looking at them with a confused expression. Because of the minimal light filling into the dark room, all they could make out were those orang eyes, the pupils narrowed to a slit.

"Atlas, what are you doing up?" The King asks.

"I went outside, and when I came back in I heard you arguing." Atlas answers, asking his own question. "Those 'humans' don't sound very good, why not just conquer them?"

"We're going to, but right now I'm wondering if it would be worth it." The King said, looking at the photo of the Queen's mate. He looked utterly worthless, and, given that he didn't have horns, clearly incapable of interfacing with Psychic aura. How could his wife think this was advantageous. He would have been fine with the cheating if it was a species he deemed worthwhile, but these 'humans' looked worthless. There would be no point in conquering them.

"Atlas, you really should be off to bed. Mommy may have to visit our Medic soon." Every word the Queen said sounded strained, and Atlas could tell that she was indeed in great pain.

"Yes, Mother." He replied, as he walks away.

"Cepheus, we have to...agh...visit the Medic, *now*." The Queen says. "I don't approve of your choice, but this will be our Heir nonetheless. I'll help you there, Cassiopeia." Cepheus helps Cassiopeia up so that they may visit the Medic. They did so unaware of whatever Atlas was doing.

The king thought he probably was studying, after all...

...there was no way in ⎍⋏⎅⟒⍀⍙⍜⍀⌰⎅ this heir Cassiopeia would birth, could ever defeat Atlas in the Royal Challenge, and he knew that even Atlas knew that.

## Chapter 1 - The Beginning

It always seemed to rain in Weepmire, as if the sky, as the name suggested, was weeping into it. People didn't like to go outside, and when they did, they always wore raincoats and held umbrellas. Children typically played with their neighbors online if they could as playing out in the nigh-eternal rain was nigh impossible.

Everyone knew what had happened.

Supposedly, the machine that controlled New Earth's weather cycle had been damaged in some way, most likely its navagation system. Due to this, it ended up always displacing a large amount of rain in Weepmire, which made the town resemble a swampy slum. People who lived here were miserable due to the conditions, but were too scared to move out. The only visitors this slum got, aside from the inevitable patrolling soldiers, came from the delivery of supplies such as food and maintenance.

It wasn't surprising that in these harsh conditions children would be abandoned.

A lone man walked throughout the town, a man whose cheery outlook, despite the misery of the place surrounding him, earned him the title of insane, by the people of Weepmire.

That man was by far the wealthiest man in Weepmire, and the owner of the town's orphanage.

He was a blonde man, with eyes almost completely obscured under the shadow of his shaggy hair and blue denim fedora, the fedora having a green denim band wrapping around the rim. He wore the same kind of blue denim shirt beneath the same kind of green denim trench coat, with Somewhat futuristic green denim boots protecting his feet from the eternally swampish ground. He held a metal cane above his head as it projected some sort of transparent orange field, acting like an umbrella to keep the rain from touching him.

The man was Amaya Kiyomasu.

Kiyomasu had heard tales, whispers, of a girl with blue skin and hair, her eyes yellow, and grey, crownlike horns rested on her head. She seemed to always be crying, although the rain made it hard to tell of course. It was for this reason that Kiyomasu was patrolling the town that morning. He kept going until he heard despaired whimpering and noticed the girl matching that description curled up in an alleyway. He begins to slowly walk towards her, crouching down until his black eyes were level with hers, and looked into her eyes.

"Hello, there. I'll assume you suffered the same fate as many children here." Kiyomasu says, his voice sounding mildly high-pitched. The girl, still whimpering as she hears him, nods shakily. In fact, she was always trembling, and clearly had nowhere close to enough to eat.

Speaking gently to her, Kiyomasu said, "My name is Mr. Kiyomasu, I own an orphanage in this town. I'll make sure to take care of you as if you were my own child."

"B...but...I...I'm...a m-...monster..." The girl says shakily, her voice cracking.

"Maybe," Said Kiyomasu. "But you're also a scared little girl who won't last much longer under this weather." He notices a card made of an unknown substance, although it looked like some sort of paper or cardboard, in the girl's hands. He makes a subtle movement to swap the card with a candy bar as he reads the one word on it.

Andromeda.

"I'll guess this is your name?" Kiyomasu asks. The girl, Andromeda, nods shakily, as she notices the candy bar in her hand. Kiyomasu gives her back the card, knowing it likely has sentimental value, as he helps Andromeda up. "I have a feeling..." Kiyomasu says.

"...that you could be the hero this world may need."

## Chapter 2 - Outcast

Despite efforts to make it look cheerful, the ancient, crumbling Orphanage retained its terrifyingly somber façade. It was falling apart, and much of the paint, which looked like it may have once been in cartoonishly pastel colors, was washed off by the Weepmire rain. Large metal gates surrounded the Orphanage for protection, and possibly for intimidation. Andromeda was still shaking, barely able to stand, let alone walk, yet the man that was holding her hand, Mr. Kiyomasu, was bringing her to this place to treat her like a daughter. It made no sense. Every other person she met was terrified of her, so why not this man?

"We're here, Andromeda." Mr. Kiyomasu says. Thunder rumbled in the storm as Andromeda tries to huddle closer to Mr. Kiyomasu's leg.

"I-I'm scared..." Andromeda whimpers.

"Don't worry, it will hopefully be better inside." Mr. Kiyomasu replies, as he unlocks and opens the gates before bringing Andromeda over to the door and unlocking it with a key he had pulled out of nowhere, before opening the door and leading her inside.

The rooms were relatively more well-kept than the outside of the house, at least from the one room Andromeda could see. Metal chairs and tables were present and the walls seemed more structurally intact. However, everything still seemed shabby, and, given how little there was here, this had to be an entrance room of sorts. At the blow of Kiyomasu's whistle, many various boys and girls of all shapes, sizes and colors began to enter a room, each of them staring, appalled, at Andromeda, no doubt horrified at her alien appearance.

"What is that?!"

"What's it doing here?"

"ARE YOU INSANE?!"

Andromeda begins to shy away, as Mr, Kiyomasu raises his hand and the other orphans fall silent. "Please, have some respect. This is Andromeda, our newest resident--" Mr. Kiyomasu starts, before being interrupted.

"That thing can't stay here! Why are you bringing a freak here!" A boy with greenish hair tries to interrupt, but is silenced again.

"Jeffrey, please. We're in this together." Mr. Kiyomasu says sincerely. "Tsunoi, can you please show Andromeda around the orphanage?" Mr. Kiyomasu asks.

"I can, actually." A boy with whitish-grey hair, warm black eyes and glasses on replies, as he walks over to Andromeda. Tsunoi seemed to be a bit older than her, and had a small smile on his face. If anything it had a hint of arrogance, not fear or anger.

"Hello, Andromeda." Tsunoi says. "Welcome to the Kiyomasu Orphanage. Here, you'll be treated like a fellow human being...regardless of what you actually are."

Andromeda looks at Tsunoi with less fear in her eyes. He really seemed to not care that she wasn't human. He was taking the situation far more seriously than Jeffrey, who no longer seemed to be present.

"Please, everyone, treat Andromeda kindly how siblings should treat each other. Monsters aren't born, they're made. Please remember that when you're with her." Mr. Kiyomasu says, as Andromeda notices Tsunoi looking at him.

"Sir, what about--" Tsunoi starts, before Mr. Kiyomasu finishes his sentence for him.

"The Trolly Problem, right! Glad I remembered it." Mr. Kiyomasu says. "Follow me, Andromeda and Tsunoi, it's time for a simple morality test."

## Chapter 3 - The Trolley Problem

She was indeed fascinating, this little alien girl who Kiyomasu had brought to the orphanage. The blue skin, grey horns, yellow eyes. This girl was so obviously not a human being, and Tsunoi was intrigued, fascinated. He and Andromeda followed Kiyomasu into a room which appeared to be like a playroom. Toys were verywhere. Planes, dolls, action figures, comic books, all littered the large space. Tsunoi wondered where Kiyomasu had gotten all of these toys, yet already knew the answer. That cane he carried around, it must be what makes these toys, but how?

In the center of the playroom was a table with a train set sitting on top. Kiyomasu removed a few tracks and a train out of the set and laid them on the floor, while also grabbing action figures to place on the tracks, before placing the train on the tracks, facing the action figures.

"Now, Andromeda. These people are trapped on the tracks and the train's coming for them. Are you going to save these five people or this one person?" Kiyomasu riddles.

Tsunoi watches as Andromeda gets on her hands and knees before crawling over to the little set. She grabs the train and prepares to move it, to Tsunoi's surprise and supposedly also Kiyomasu's, towards the five people, before she paused.

"What's going through her head...?'" Tsunoi wonders. As he waited for Andromeda to do something, anything. Andromeda's pause continued for a little while, until she started to move the train again. However, she grabs the one other action figure and places it with the other people, as she moves the train through them all.

"Are you serious...?" Tsunoi wonders, as he watched Andromeda with an appalled look on his face.

Andromeda began to cradle one of the action figures, as Kiyomasu walks over to her."

I'm not sure you quite understood this test, but at least you were having fun with the toys." Kiyomasu says.

"He knows she wasn't just having fun...is he going to let her off that easily...?" Tsunoi wonders, as he walks over to Andromeda. "Just so you know, I chose to save everyone." Tsunoi's words were harsh in Andromeda's ears, as she looks up at him with tears in her eyes. He saw her gently holding the figure, and looked at the other figures and train.

What an enigma. She killed all those hypothetical people, yet was cradling them, or at least one of them. Those two things didn't make any sense. Tsunoi helps Andromeda up, more curious than ever, as he begins to show her around the Orphanage. "Jeffrey is just very racist. Seeing someone like you must have triggered his innate xenophobia. No one likes him but he's too much of a moron to do any harm." Tsunoi says, as Andromeda, still listening, continues to cradle the action figure.

"Elizabeth is nicer, but easily confused and not very enlightened. You may have noticed when she wondered what you were doing here. Don't mind Steward, he's scared of everything. I'll introduce you to the rest."

Andromeda heard this, and Tsunoi knew what she was thinking. She was wondering if she could be friends with the people here, possibly considering himself as a friend.

Good, he didn't need this horrifying yet interesting monster to hate him.

"Another thing is that this town in general may have nicer people if you just look for them." Tsunoi remarks, as he wraps a piece of paper around Andromeda's arm and staples the paper into a band, all with the use of a single hand. Tsunoi did this because he knew. The moment he turned to look...

...Andromeda had disappeared.

## Chapter 4 - Friendship

Dinnertime was not too long away. Mom was making roasted alligator tonight. A pretty good catch considering what they had caught yesterday. Yuck, swamp snakes. Jack never wanted to think about them again. He kept walking along a somewhat less swampy part of Weepmire, as he thought of ways he wanted to improve the livelihoods of of those living here. He knew, full-well, that there might be only one way to do that.

He kept walking until he heard a splash and a yelp. Jack turns his head to see who it was. He was appalled, as he saw a girl with blue skin and hair, with yellow eyes and grey, almost crown-like horns protruding from either side of her head. He begins to walk carefully over to help her up.

"Just grab my hand, I'll help you out of the water." Jack says, as the girl notices him, and, shakily, grabs onto his arms tightly, almost painfully so. Jack winces a bit as he pulls the girl up.

She immediately hugged him, Jack, feeling a bit shocked, thought to himself, *"Must be trying to get warm after falling into the swamp..."* He thought noticing the ragged state of the girl's clothing. She must be new to that Kiyomasu guy's orphanage, he believed.

"Th...thank you...for...saving me..." The girl says, as Jack hears her voice cracking.

"You're welcome." He replies, as the girl stops hugging him and looks at him with a face full of tears.

"N...no human ever...treated me like this..." The girl says to him.

"Uh, okay. My name's Jack, Jackson Holland." Jack says back. The girl hesitates for a moment, before responding.

"I'm...A...Andr...Andromeda..." The girl, Andromeda, replies.

"That's a nice name." Jack responds.

"Thank you...Jack..." Andromeda says, as a small smile forms on her face.

"Hey, maybe we can be friends?" Jack wonders.

"Really?" Andromeda becomes even more interested as she hears this. "Wh...what's a friend?"

Jack ponders this question for a little bit, trying to come up with an answer. "Uh, a friend is a person who you put great trust in and who puts great trust in you. You value each other greatly. It's not as close a relationship as a romance or a family, though." Jack answers.

"I...I want to be friends." Andromeda says.

"I'd like that, too." Jack responds, as he remembers something. "Agh, it's dinnertime. Uh, see you tomorrow?" Jack says.

"Uh, sure. I think I should get back, too." Andromeda replies, as they begin to part ways and each wave goodbye.

Jack walked back home, arriving just as he sees the food ready.

"There you are, I've been wondering what adventure you've gotten off to." A woman, Jack's mother, says.

"Yeah, actually. I made a new friend." Jack says back. "Oh? Maybe you can tell me about this new friend of yours a little." Jack's mother responds, as Jack sits down at the table and begins to tell the story of meeting his new friend, Andromeda.

## Chapter 5 - Scorn

Andromeda was walking back to the orphanage. Feeling happier than she ever remembered feeling. Although that wasn't saying much, as she couldn't remember all the way back when she was an infant. She shook that final thought off and pushed it to the back of her head, as she walked back into the orphanage, just as the heavy rain began to pelt the town again.

"Oh, there's the little monster!" Jeffrey's voice snarls, as Andromeda tries to make herself look smaller. She notices Tsunoi and walks over to him. He felt like the only friend she'd ever have in this orphanage, and right now only one of two other friends. She hoped Jack wouldn't be hurt for wanting to be friends with her.

"Ah, you are back." Tsunoi says, as he sees Andromeda still softly smiling. "I'm assuming you made a new friend?"

Andromeda nods. "He's so sweet...Jack talked to me like...no one else ever did...like I was a human..."

"Then he's a looney!" Jeffrey responds, as he dances oddly while twirling his finger around beside his head in the feign-insanity motion.

"Stop it!" Andromeda yells, as she runs off.

Andromeda's face was wet with tears. She couldn't bear her friend being talked about like that...mocked...just for being her friend.

"Andromeda!" Kiyomasu calls.

Andromeda considers just laying there and ignoring him, as the door bursts open and Kiyomasu is standing there.

"Aah!" Andromeda yelps, curling up under a blanket and trembling. She notices the blanket being lifted off of her as she sees Kiyomasu sitting there.

"I heard about your new friend." Kiyomasu says to Andromeda. "Jack, right?"

"Y...yes...Jack Holland..." Andromeda answers warily.

"Then don't let Jeffrey or anyone else tear your friend down like that. I'm happy that you found a friend, and this soon after coming here, too. Maybe it's fate, maybe it isn't. Either way, he's your friend, and one of your first friends too. The first friends we make, no matter how obscure they may become, will always hold some place in our hearts." Kiyomasu said kindly.

Andromeda nods shakily. "Th-thank you, Mr. Kiyomasu..." Andromeda says, as she begins to feel tired from her day's adventure.

"Don't mention it, it's literally my job to be like a father to you all. Well, good night." Kiyomasu says, as he leaves the room and closes the door slowly. Andromeda begins to drift off to sleep.

The nightmare was almost the same. Humans were being split open and slashed apart, their blood showering the air almost like a fog. Andromeda had dreamt this so many times that she had become almost desensitized to it, yet still understanding what she was seeing was wrong. Then, in her dream, she saw, among the chaos, Jack, Kiyomasu and Tsunoi. She took a step forward and felt her foot step in something. She looks down and sees Jeffrey's severed head. Andromeda, realizing what she was seeing, leaped back and screams, as she then notices. Although many of the corpses were those of men wearing some sort of full-body black armor she didn't recognize, some of the corpses belonged to the other orphans in the Kiyomasu Orphanage.

Andromeda wakes up shakily, her face wet with tears and sweat. She was breathing heavily, so hard that her lungs began to hurt a little. She felt her brain was tormenting her, taking any good or bad experience she had and putting it into the nightmare. Just once, she wanted to have a good dream. But she couldn't stop worrying...

...what was Jack going through after meeting her?

## Chapter 6 - Varied Rain

It was dark inside his room. They didn't have the money to change the main lightbulb. Jack looks out the window, staring into the rain. Somewhere out there was his new friend. His mother wanted him to stay inside from now on, because he had told her about Andromeda. She was furious, calling Andromeda 'alien scum'. The words made Jack flinch, it sounded so...inhumane. He was now confined to his room nonetheless, all because he had made friends with an alien. He knew why she'd hate them, they were the reason Dad was drafted into the army. Jack wondered where he was now, as he continued to stare into the rain, wondering where his father was now.

Suddenly, he heard a tornado siren and yelped, startled. *"What?! A tornado?!"* Jack exclaimed in his mind, breathing heavily. Then, the loud boom of a megaphone message pierced Jack's ears.

"Everyone, evacuate the town immediately, this is not a drill! We are experiencing a Class-1 Emergency!" The soldier boomed into the megaphone.

*"Class-1? That means..."* Jack springs to his feet as his door opens.

"Jack, we have to get out of here!" His mom says.

"Okay!" Jack slightly shouts in panic, as he follows her outside.

A platoon of soldiers were waiting along with a few armored vans, as, indeed, everyone was being evacuated from Weepmire.

"Who was it?!" Jack yells, breathing heavier still. Please, please don't let it be Dad...

A body was indeed present, and inside a body bag, likely waiting an autopsy."

All we know is the identity of the deceased. Leon Reynolds." One of the soldiers answers. Jack felt a bit relieved, Dad wasn't dead. But his relief was tempered, because a soldier was killed in this very town. Jack notices Andromeda walking over to him with fear in her eyes, as she tries to hug him.

"Get the Hell away from my son!" His mother roars in anger.

"Wait! They're friends!" A male voice shouts. Jack immediately recognizes the voice and turns his head to see Kiyomasu standing there.

"Oh great, it's you." Jack's mom growls.

"And the rest of us." Says a much younger voice. Jack notices a white-haired, black-eyed boy standing next to Kiyomasu. He looked a bit older than the rest, including Jack.

He thought he could tell something was off, but it could just be a random glare from the glasses. After all, in this light anyone could look shady with the right interpretation.

"Hi, there." Jack says, which the white-haired boy notices.

"Ah, hello. I'm Tsunoi Eizan. Are you 'Jack Holland'?" Tsunoi asks and answers.

"Uh, yes? How do you know me?" Jack, himself, asks and answers.

Tsunoi pushes his glasses upwards a bit, letting them reflect more light. "I know a lot of things. Try not to nose around in that answer." Tsunoi says, leaving jack confused.

As Jack ponders the meaning of Tsunoi's comment, someone nearby fell over, dead. This was enough to induce mass panic. Everyone present began to scream and run to find cover. Immediately, someone who looked to be a shopkeeper dropped dead.

*"Is that a blow dart?"* Jack wonders, as he and the others try to get to safety. However, he noticed a spider grenade had attached itself to the engine.

"It's going to blow!" Another one of the civilians, looking somewhat like a tailor, screams, as everyone tries to get away. The grenade then explodes, a fiery explosion engulfing a large portion of the area, as does the van it was attached to.

"No!" Jack yelps, as he feels someone catch him. He opens his eyes and becomes aware of Andromeda's presence, as Kiyomasu was standing there, supposedly looking around for the assassin.

Jack didn't look around, but began to think. If the assassin was the weight of an average human, and ran as fast, then he would be...*there*.

Kiyomasu had already begun to run towards the slight left of the location Jack had guessed, as they heard another gunshot and saw a woman fall over, the baby she was cradling falling onto the helmet of a soldier knocked unconscious by the blast.

The baby's screams were earsplitting as her head had been cracked open. Jack couldn't bear it any longer, but he couldn't preform surgery. Andromeda was collapsed on her knees and shaking as she heard the baby screaming in sheer agony. The screams soon became fainter as they were forced to hear as the baby lost consciousness. It wouldn't be long before she was dead without medical attention. Jack's mother had a hand on her mouth, and looked in shock.

Jack's hands were balled into fists, as gunshots were heard from the outskirts of the town. He wouldn't take it any longer. Jack with effort picked up the rifle the unconscious soldier had been carrying and begins to run over to the action as fast as he can.

"Jackson Holland, get back here!" Jack's mother screamed, but Jack didn't listen. He wasn't going to stand by and let such a small and innocent baby go unavenged. Andromeda began to follow him, as did Tsunoi but the latter was running across rooftops in pursuit.

The soldiers still alive and conscious were calling for backup as they began to run in various directions to prepare a formation against the assassin.

The gunshots became louder as they got closer. Jack was too enraged to be held back by the terror he felt, as he and Andromeda came to a stop when they saw Kiyomasu dodging gunfire from a man, maybe a woman, it was hard to tell in this light, or lack thereof, wearing full-body pitch black combat armor and holding a pistol with a broken silencer at the tip. Jack pointed his confiscated weapon at the figure and fired, remembering to aim for the center of mass. But it did no good, the bullet was knocked off-course by the rain and slammed into a door instead.

"Ack!" Jack exclaims, as he remembers the rain. If he could fire in the right direction, he could hit the center of mass with the rain guiding the bullet, but he would have to aim so carefully. The figure leaps back and throws a combat knife at Kiyomasu, who is struck by it as it becomes lodged in his shoulder.

"Gah! You three, get out of here!" Kiyomasu shouts, as the soldiers get into formation, forcing the figure backwards up against the broad trunk of a nearby tree. "Move and we will shoot!" One of the soldiers shouts at the shrouded figure, who paused for a moment. Jack watches closely and noticed that the figure was also holding a large pistol, whose long barrel contained a grenade!

*"If they fire that..."* Jack had heard about terrorists. They were willing to kill themselves if it sent a message. He realizes that he will have to fire at the grenade pistol. The other soldiers were aiming at the figure's head, as they held up their hands and revealed their pistols. Jack aims carefully, looking at the rain to see where it was falling, and watching the figure's movements. Kiyomasu was tending to his own injuries as he looked at the figure with an unknowable expression, thanks to his hat shrouding his eyes in complete darkness. All Jack could see was that he wasn't smiling.

As the figure prepared to fire the grenade pistol, Jack, wet with sweat, tears and rain, fires his own weapon, as the bullet travels through the rain and is sent straight at the grenade pistol's opening. In an instant, the figure became aware of this and drops the grenade launcher, beginning to leap back right when the grenade is fired, right when they pulled the trigger, but it was too late, Jack's aim was perfect!

The grenade struck the bullet as they collided in a fiery explosion, searing against Jack's skin in a way he had not experienced with any previous blast, this is the closest Jack had ever come to a blast of this power. The rain was blown away by the force of the blast, and the soldiers, who had been the closest to the explosion, disappeared in the bright orange fire. As the flames subsided, Jack realized Andromeda was hugging him protectively, as Kiyomasu was sitting against a wall. The soldiers' armor had been burnt to a crisp, and they themselves were close to death it seemed. The burnt armor of the wounded and dying soldiers lay discarded along the darkly singed earth beside them. The figure lay motionless on the ground with half of the original armor blown off.

Jack and Andromeda slowly walked over to the figure, as the absence of the armor revealed the gender of the assassin. The mysterious attacker was a woman with red hair, whether she was human or alien was unclear, due to the extent of her burns. He thought it looked a bit darker than white, but to the extent he did not know. Regardless, she was now dead, with no way of knowing what had happened, or why...

As Jack had thought that, he noticed on her right breastplate an eight-pointed star, with each point actually being a diamond separated from all the other points. He thought he could make out a D on what remained of the woman's left breastplate. His first thought was Darkstar, seeing the symbol. Kiyomasu, still injured, was standing behind them and looking down at the woman, also seeing the symbol. Jack only knew by hearing his breathing, as quiet as it was. Jack turned around and was able to confirm it being Kiyomasu, but also saw Tsunoi looking at the woman from atop the nearest building.

"Does anyone know a 'Darkstar'?" Jack asks.

## Chapter 7 - Confusion

Although no longer raining due to the weather regulators, everything still seemed bleak because of what had happened. Andromeda had seen Jack in action, she didn't know if he knew the baby beforehand, but he still had taken out that soldier of this 'Darkstar'. She felt weak for not being able to stop this, and also felt something else, a piece of resentment for humanity. It wasn't just that humans could be afraid, they could torment each other, hurt each other. The thought terrified her. What if she came into contact with one of these violent humans and had no protection? She'd surely be dead in a heartbeat!

"I...can't believe that happened..." Jack says. "Thank you for reminding me you're barely thirteen." Tsunoi replies. "Because that happens all the time. This is a war and wars are ugly." "Humans...why are they like this?" Andromeda asks nervously. "Thanks for confirming you aren't human, and it's because of evolution." Tsunoi states. "This is a world where the strong and violent survive, because those too peaceful and weak to fight back died and could not reproduce." Tusnoi's words unsettled Andromeda greatly. Humans, they...evolved...to be like this? And yet, Tsunoi, Kiyomasu, Jack...none of them seemed violent or horrible.

They were like 'friends'. Jack and Tsunoi, they were her friends. And Kiyomasu...he was something, but she didn't have a name for it. "Jack?" Andromeda asks. "Uh, what?" Jack replies back, clearly having his own thoughts on what had happened as she asked. "What's a person who takes care of people like us?" "Uh, a dad, or father. Or mom or mother." Jack answers. "Dads are the male grownups that take care of us, and moms are the female grownups." Andromeda listens to Jack's answer. "Is that...what Kiyomasu is?" Andromeda asks, Jack nodding in response. "Yeah, he is." Jack says.

Andromeda looks over to Tsunoi, who notices. "Are you going to ask me about my parents?" Tsunoi asks, sounding a bit annoyed yet amused. "The Eizan family is known for high intelligence, and I'm considered a prodigy among them." Tsunoi pushes his glasses up with two fingers as he says this, letting them reflect light. "Uh, okay." Jack responds, as he turns to face his mother. "Uh, Mom...are we going to see Dad again?" Jack asks, sounding a bid sad. His mother seems to think for a bit, before answering. "Yes, dear. We'll see him soon." She says, as the armor van they were in continued to drive onwards.

"To get on another topic," Kiyomasu starts. "We're actually going to visit the main government of New Earth to discuss this 'Darkstar'. I'm hoping we can piece this mystery together soon, especially after seeing just one of their members in action." "I think they might be a terrorist group." Jack's mother replies. "They never sounded too dangerous, but after seeing that woman wipe out Weepmire..."

Andromeda became more desperate to find a way to protect these humans. Jack's mother was just afraid of her, there was no ill will, she thought. And she was still Jack's mother. Andromeda wanted to protect them all from these bad humans. That word, 'terrorist', it sounded like a label given to monsters. Humanity would always be confusing to her. Some were so good, and some so bad. Andromeda also wondered what else the world might have. This was her first time out of Weepmire, and she had a real curiosity to see what else this world had to offer.

The van suddenly stops, shocking Andromeda a bit as she yelps. "We're alright, the van just stopped." Kiyomasu says, as he walks over to the door in the back. "I'll see what's going on, alright?" "Alright." Jack's mother says. Kiyomasu opens the doors and walks out of the vans. A few seconds later, he calls out. "It's alright! We're here!" Everyone sighed in relief, Tsunoi seemed to sigh a bit differently, forced? Andromeda didn't ponder on it, Tsunoi was clearly a bit odd, just like her in a way.

As they all got out of the van, they looked up to see a massive concrete castle with a wall made of some kind of metal surrounding it. The gate too was enormous, and the sheer size of this building was almost dizzying. "Dad works there..." Jack breathes.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Royal Palace!" The van driver shouts, shocking everyone.

"Well...I guess it's time to go inside?" Jack remarks.

## Chapter 8 - Meeting the King

As they walked towards the massive gate, Jack couldn't help but feel many emotions. Terror and awe at the very sight of this structure, a feeling of smallness, and excitement. His father was here. He only hoped that Andromeda would be treated fairly, that his father was a good person like he always imagined. And the king, Rosenstock. How would he react to seeing her?

As the gate opens, they see a whole platoon of soldiers standing on either side of the path, staring forward. These soldiers looked the same as the previous ones--wearing blue, gold and in some cases green and silver, but they also looked more well-trained, and their attire was better suited for combat. "Who are these guys? I think I might have read about them before." Jack says. "The Royal Guard Soldiers. It's their job to keep out anyone unauthorized." Tsunoi answers.

They continue to walk, the silence and stillness of the guards unnerving Jack. He feels Andromeda grab his arm and stay close to him as they make it to the next entrance, the entrance to the castle.

Inside was an extraordinarily ornate welcoming room, which too was enormous. Curved golden plating was winding around rainbow-colored glass pictures, mosaic. It was beautiful, yet Jack knew it couldn't be the throne room. A man with grey and white hair along with brown eyes, or rather one it seemed, given the eyepatch, and wearing a gold, blue and red uniform was walking towards them, along with a dark-skinned, black haired woman with purple eyes, wearing a shoulderless, nearly form-fitting uniform with cone-like sleeves and a long dress skirt that went down to her legs and a man with the same black hair and near-turquoise eyes as Jack, undoubtedly...

"Dad!" Jack shouts, as he runs over to his father, who turns towards Rosenstock. "I don't see the harm in it." Rosenstock says, as Jack is hugged by his father. "It's been years! And you've grown up so much! Henrietta!" Jack's father runs over to hug Henrietta. "Joyful as always, Fred." Henrietta says with a laughing tone in her voice. Rosenstock turns his attention towards Andromeda, who was peeking at him from behind Kiyomasu, who was waving at the woman, who was waving back.

"Well, if it isn't a Socqreath. You have some guts to bring something like that onto my premises." Rosenstock says. "Sir, please. She's only a child and means no harm to us." Kiyomasu says back. "I suppose she can stay if she doesn't pose a threat, but I want her guarded at all times." Rosenstock replies. Andromeda timidly walks out from behind Kiyomasu and runs over to Jack. "Please keep me safe." Andromeda says to him. "I...sure. I'll keep you safe, Andromeda." Jack tries to comfort Andromeda as Kiyomasu smiles again. "This is Dione. She's a long-time friend of mine, and one of His Excellency's Royal Guard." "No need to give that away, Kiyo." Dione says. "Anyways, we should show you around."

Jack was impressed about Dione's status, but shared her confusion as to why Kiyomasu would just give that information away. Regardless, he had met his dad at last, and Andromeda was allowed in. Things were definitely looking up from Weepmire.

He only hoped things would stay that way.

## Chapter 9 - Reunions

Andromeda didn't quite know what to think of this new place. In fact she didn't know in the slightest. All she knew was that King Rosenstock held the same hatred towards her as all others, and he called her a...Socqreath? The others seemed okay with her, but the king himself, she thought he wanted to...kill her. Was he only not doing so because of witnesses?

She looked over to Jack, who was staying close to her to keep her safe and catching up with his dad. She then looked over to Kiyomasu, who was having a friendly chat with Dione. She didn't quite understand what they were talking about, and would probably have had to enter the conversation while it was starting to do so. All she caught wind of was 'Darkstar'.

Darkstar...that person who attacked Weepmire? She didn't want to think about it, and soon they ended up coming into contact with a man who had brown eyes and black hair. His suit was mostly a golden white, with metallic bronze and gold plating all over it. He also had blue gloves on.

"Hello, everyone." The man says. "I know at least a few of you don't know me. I'm Demetrius, another one of the Royal Guard." Andromeda tried to make herself look smaller and less dangerous, but Demetrius was barely paying attention to her. When he saw her, a look of interest appeared on his cocky face. "Ah, this is interesting." Demetrius says. "You're not even going to hide the fact that you're a spy?" Dione looks over at Demetrius, as do Kiyomasu and Jack. Demetrius shrugs. "Probably no reason to worry. You're pre-pubescent which means you can't be a detriment to our kind right now." Demetrius says almost placidly.

"De...triment...?" Andromeda asks timidly, as Demetrius shrugs. "I don't think I can explain it to you that easy. You'll probably know what I mean when you grow up. Anyways, I bet you're here for the tour." Demetrius beckons for everyone to follow him through the halls, as they do so. Andromeda continued to look around at the architecture, and when she looked over at Jack again, she saw he was as well. It occurred to her that she and Jack might be the only ones who never saw this splendid design before.

"Aaaaaaand...we're here. This is where another Royal Guard likes to sleep, Grimwald." Demetrius says, as he opens the door. Grimwald was sleeping it seemed, as Demetrius quickly poked him in the eye, making him sit up and yelp. "Do you know what an alarm clock is?!" Grimwald shouts in pain, as Demetrius laughs. "I do, but it's not like you'd wake up from one." Demetrius answers. Grimwald then sees Jack, Andromeda and Kiyomasu. "Guests, huh?" Grimwald says, as he gets out of the bed, Andromeda thinking she sees some sort of firearm poking out of a pocket in his golden-white trenchcoat.

As they got into better light, Andromeda could make out that his hair almost looked a bit glossy and dusty, but was brown nonetheless. His eyes were an emerald green and he had something of a goatee. He also wore an orangish-gold shirt beneath his trenchcoat, and from his body language didn't seem fully awake.

"I'll take them from here, and actually show them around." Grimwald says a bit sleepily. Demetrius shrugs as Grimwald walks over to begin showing everyone around the castle. "We have a moat made of toxic acid that doesn't emit fumes surrounding the castle, only a holographic drawbridge can let others in." Grimwald says. "I'm guessing you walked along that drawbridge, and saw the guards." "Yeah, we did." Jack answers. "And they were a little scary." Grimwald sighs. "Yes, well, I guess intimidation is an acceptable weapon."

Grimwald continues to show them around. A kitchen with mechanisms to feed those serving in an underground dungeon, a training room, a general living quarters and a treasure room among things. "Oh, I should probably have mentioned there's another Royal Guard." Grimwald says. "But it's best you don't meet him with her here."

Andromeda, knowing who Grimwald was talking about, bowed her head down, as Jack asked why, to which Grimwald answered "His name is SPT7. He's a knight hellbent on protecting His Majesty, and greatly despises Socqreath to a murderous extent.". Andromeda became frightened just from this, but became even more so when Grimwald added in something else. "He's also the strongest one of us all." He finishes.

"Wh-what happens if we do meet him?" Jack asks. "Then you'll probably be dead in seconds." Grimwald answers. "I really don't want you wandering off, I know SPT7's routine so I can keep us from bumping into him."

They continue their walk until they come back to the living quarters. "You'll be living here during your stay." Grimwald says. "I wish you a good time here." He then walks away, supposedly to get back to sleep.

Andromeda looked around. The living quarters were as well-designed as anything else in the castle, with multiple rooms that each served their own purpose, almost like living in a one-story house. She was amazed at the architecture of this entire structure, and wondered how long it took to build it. She then begins to feel sleepy as she quickly lies down on a bed. She then turns to see Jack already asleep. Jack, one of the first humans to treat her like a friend instead of an enemy.

She realized that Tsunoi had disappeared, but she was sure he simply left to do something important and would be back soon. She began to softly smile as she felt herself fall asleep.

## Chapter 10 - Darkstar

Jack began to slowly wake up, partly not wanting to due to how comfortable the beds were. He saw Andromeda still sleeping and felt a small shock, as he fully wakes up and quickly gets out of the bed. "Not what friends do..." Jack remarks, before noticing he was the only one awake. He begins to walk around as quiet as he could, which wasn't that hard thanks to the carpet. Everything looked peaceful and perfect here, so much unlike Weepmire. Why did he and Mom even live there if Dad lived and worked here? Something was odd about this.

He then thinks he hears footsteps, before slowly opening the door as quietly as he could. He saw a large, bulky, knight wearing silver and gold armor. Although most of it looked appropriate for this time, the helmet resembled that of the Medieval Era. "That must be SPT7..." Jack thinks out loud, which catches the knight's attention. SPT7 looks in Jack's direction and sees him. "Oh, no..." Jack exclaims worriedly; he couldn't let SPT7 see Andromeda.

"You are identified as Guest Number Six Thousand Eight Hundred Fifty Two, Jackson Holland." SPT7 says in an almost monotone, reverberating voice.

"Yeah..." Jack replies, trying to stall long enough for him to come of with another plan. "You're SPT7, the strongest Royal Guard, right?" Jack asks, to which SPT7 only nods. Clearly not too much of a talker. "I heard you uh...hated Socqreath?" SPT7 still doesn't respond for a while, before saying "This room has not yet been examined.". "Uh, yeah, about that, nothing too interesting is going on in there, it's just the guest room, that's all." Jack nervously chuckles when he gets to the end of his sentence. "Definitely no Socqreath there."

SPT7 seems to ignore Jack as he walks towards the room and begins to push the door open, Jack trying to stop him. "There seriously isn't anything in there, please don't go in there!" Jack shouts desperately.

Suddenly, they both hear a faint clatter. SPT7 immediately takes his hand off the door and begins to run towards where the sound was coming from, Jack following and hoping everyone would be okay. As he reached where the sound was coming from, he saw SPT7 staring at a small device.

Jack wondered what it was, as it began to glow and send a holographic grid throughout the area, before stopping a little while later. It beeps twice before seemingly turning off, as SPT7 grabs it ad begins to run off, supposedly to where Rosenstock was. Jack looked around, wondering what had just happened. "Is it Darkstar...?" Jack thinks to himself. Maybe Tsunoi would know, all he'd need to do is find him. Jack began to walk around the castle, looking for both Tsunoi and any sign of Darkstar.

Then, Jack saw a silhouette standing there and began to walk towards it. "Uh, who is that?" Jack asks, as he gets closer and is able to make out more details. It was clearly Tsunoi, but he was wearing something different, like full body armor. "Oh, there you are, Tsunoi. Haven't seen you in a little while." Jack says. "I'm surprised you care, considering how little we've known each other." Tsunoi responds, while pushing two fingers up against the middle of his glasses again, once again reflecting some light to momentarily hide his eyes, and whatever expression was behind them.

"Yeah, well, we should probably get back." Jack says. "I found something." "Oh, you did, did you?" Tsunoi asks a bit scathingly. "Then I'm sure it will be interesting." They begin to walk back towards the room, as Jack thinks about the device, Tsunoi's armor, SPT7, Darkstar and Andromeda. It was all quite a bit to process, but he began to piece something together. "Uh...Tsunoi...what would a device with light grids do?" Jack asks. "Simple, they're a type of scanning device." Tsunoi answers. "You just happen to know that?" Jack again asks. "Yes, the Eizan family is innately intelligent." Tsunoi answers, beginning to sound a little irritated.

"That doesn't explain how you know what that device SPT7 found was." Jack responds, as he thinks Tsunoi breaks a sweat but he isn't sure. "I like to study in my free time." Tsunoi replies. "In an orphanage in a swamp slum?" Jack asks, as Tsunoi goes silent for a little while.

Then, without warning, a slash mark had appeared on Jack's chest. Jack screamed as loud as he could in agony, the sheer pain of it was unthinkable. He began to hyperventilate and he knew his expression must have been one of horror. He then finally notices Tsunoi holding a curved black dagger with a glowing red blade, before feeling his arm and cheek get slashed, the searing pain only growing to a dizzying extent. Jack felt close to passing out, but is forced back to being fully awake by the agony of feeling Tsunoi stab into his chest. Jack felt blood spurt from not only the wound but also his mouth, as he fell to the ground.

"You're a smart one. I underestimated you." Tsunoi says to Jack as he takes the dagger out of his chest. Although the wound was somewhat cauterized, it was still immensely agonizing. Jack couldn't respond beyond groaning weakly. He thought he would die at any moment, he had just met his father, he had just met Andromeda, he...he...he couldn't put into words what else he thought, or even clearly think it. He was too woozy from blood loss, as he sees Tsunoi about to walk away.

"Jack?" Andromeda's voice, which was cracking, asked fearfully. "Wh-what did you do to him?!" "What I had to do." Tsunoi answers coldly. "For Darkstar--GAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!" Tsunoi falls on his knees and holds his scapula. His entire elbow and forearm had been cut off and only a bleeding stump remained. "You damn monster!" Tsunoi roars at Andromeda, who only glares ferociously at him. Tsunoi quickly takes out a flash bomb and detonates it to escape. When the light dissipates, Tsunoi had vanished, and Andromeda was already running over to Jack.

"Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay, please be okay..." Andromeda whimpered over and over again, crying harder and harder each time she repeated it. Jack feels her hug him gently and sob hysterically, as everyone else had come to see the commotion. Jack feels Andromeda no longer hugging him and a metal clang. SPT7 had kicked her off of him, surely. No...no...he couldn't let that happen...but it was...he thought he heard his parents call for him...but who knew...

All he could think of before passing out was just how bad the situation had become.

## Chapter 11 - Aftermath of Betrayal

The heart monitor was beeping.

It was beeping so steadily, yet Andromeda feared it could flatline at any moment.

She hoped, so badly, that Jack wouldn't die, her only real friend after what Tsunoi had done.

Andromeda looked at Jack fearfully and solemnly, having a bandage wrapped around her head. But Jack's condition was far worse. He had blood bags and a breathing apparatus linked up to him to keep him from dying. He looked paler than usual, and a strand of his hair had turned white. His wound had been bandaged, but that didn't mean it had healed, and it didn't seem like it could heal. She was crying, whimpering. She didn't want to see her friend die. "...My best friend..." Andromeda shakily whispers. She resisted the urge to hug Jack only because she didn't want to accidentally kill him.

She heard footsteps and whirled around quickly to see Jack's parents having entered the room. Henrietta, she heard Jack's dad call her, walked over to jack and placed a hand on her mouth. "What kind of monster..." Jack's mother had trailed off, as she hugs his father, Fred, Andromeda remembered. They looked very worried for their son, and Andromeda thought she shared that worry, or didn't. It was meaningless to wonder, because it was still great worry. Jack was dying, and Andromeda couldn't bear it.

And then she had an idea, maybe those things she attacked Tsunoi with could fix...no. That would just kill Jack faster. She couldn't do that, and couldn't think of anything else. This only made her more sad as she cried harder and harder. She knew Kiyomasu was there by hearing his stressed breathing. He was clearly distraught about this as well, but was more reserved about it. He didn't make a single joke, although from where she was facing Andromeda didn't know if he was smiling or not.

But one thing was for sure, Tsunoi was evil, he was with those people who killed that baby and so many others, who destroyed Weepmire. She felt an urge she hadn't ever before--to kill Tsunoi, and Darkstar, in the most brutal way she could think of. She tries to shake the thought out of her head, but it remained. She wanted to kill, she thought that to destroy these monsters, she would have to become one...which meant...which meant doing exactly what everyone feared she would do. It didn't matter, if she refused to kill, these people would just continue their own evil acts. They had to die.

Then, she heard more footsteps and turned around to see Demetrius standing there, holding a syringe. "It'll temporarily speed up cell division." Demetrius says. "I can't guarantee it will work, but I can guarantee that it won't be anywhere close to a quick fix." Demetrius begins to walk over to Jack, as Henrietta tries to stop him. Fred holds her back and nods to Henrietta, Andromeda thinking this means its okay. She looked back and saw Demetrius inject the substance into Jack. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but his vitals seemed every so slightly, and slowly, improving.

"Th-thank you..." Andromeda says to Demetrius. "Thank you s-so much for saving him..." "He might not be saved, we'll have to wait and see." Demetrius responds, Andromeda getting to her feet and walking towards the door. "I'm not waiting." She says. "What are you doing?" Demetrius demands. "I'm going to kill Darkstar!" Andromeda answers fiercely. "Well, then...we'd like to help you with that." Demetrius responds. "But first thing's first, you're going to need to learn about your power, or you'll die in seconds."

Andromeda nodded. She didn't care what it took. She would destroy this organization for what it had done, no matter what. And no one was going to stop her, not even Rosenstock.

## Chapter 12 - Lesson in Photopsychics

Andromeda looks around at the vast, spherical room Rosenstock had led them to. The interior was carved with intricate images that seemed like they'd tell a story and give an explanation. Rosenstock walks over to a control panel and turns a key, as the images glow. "Are we sure we want to teach her this?" Fred asks. "There is no other choice." Rosenstock answers. "Even if this is a choice I never wanted to make."

The room began to quite slowly and visibly rotate, or perhaps it was only visible to Andromeda. She knew she apparently saw, heard, smelled, tasted and touched better than a human, and had a sixth sense that made her see everything in an ever so slight shade of orange. Regardless, Rosenstock began to speak. "Although I never wanted to give this exposition, especially to the likes of you, we are left with no choice now that we know that Darkstar has infiltrated our ranks." Rosenstock states.

The first image on the rotation was a simple dot. "That is the singularity from which the universe sprang." Rosenstock says. "It took at least millions of years for the universe to cool down enough for life to form, and what was left over was Cosmic Microwave Background radiation." The next image was that of a circle with smaller dots placed randomly inside it.

"Nextly, is the proven theory by Professor Bartrop that Ether, the theoretical light medium, the CMB and what is called 'Psychic Aura', the energy a Socqreath uses to form weapons, are all the same." Rosenstock goes on. "So that's what it's called..." Andromeda thinks to herself, as she looks up and sees an outline of a weapon, designed to look like it was made of light.

"It only takes understanding and practice to hone this power against Darkstar." Rosenstock says. "Which means you must now begin your path to train to stop them once and for all, to aid us in creating peace!"

At that moment, an explosion was heard. "Intruders! It can only be Darkstar!" Fred shouts, as they leave the room and quickly fend themselves off against a platoon of soldiers who came to fire on them. This only lasts a few seconds as Rosenstock was then standing there with the soldiers dead at his feet and his swords covered in blood.

"Did anyone see him move?" Fred asks. "I saw a blur." Andromeda answers, before wondering. "Did they come through the grates?" "No, they're too small for that." Fred answers, as he runs out of the room and through the corridor. Andromeda attempts to follow, as she realizes something. "Jack!" Andromeda yells, as she runs towards where the med bay is.

As she reached it, she yelled and covered her eyes from what looked like a massive lightning bolt passing through the castle. She ran into the med bay to see Demetrius holding off a few soldiers with test tubes. "Take this! And this!" Demetrius yells. Andromeda runs over to Jack to pick him up, and runs out of the room to try and escape the castle. Multiple other soldiers were following her, as she tried to run faster without hurting Jack. When they reached an elevator, it was hit by a blast of high-pressurized steam, sending the elevator plummeting to the ground below.

Andromeda was unsure how long it had been, but she woke up in great pain. One of her horns was broken and one of her legs felt the same way, she was bleeding from multiple areas, her blood being an almost sickly green. She looks over and sees Jack motionless on the ground, bleeding badly and looking as though many bones had shattered. She crawls over to put one hand on his chest, he wasn't breathing.

"No! NO!" Andromeda screams, as she holds Jack closer. "YOU CAN'T DIE! I WON'T LET YOU! P-PLEASE! LIVE! I'M BEGGING YOU!" It was no use, her words didn't reach him. She was sure he was dead, and began to sob uncontrollably as she held him still closer to her. "I..." Andromeda is never able to finish her sentence, as she looks up and sees multiple soldier standing there, along with a tall, muscular man with an eyepatch on. There were scars on his forehead, chin and nose, and his suit looked like a repainted military body armor. He seemed to be giving her a death glare.

"You're the one." The man says in a slightly gruff voice with an average pitch. She could make out a silver eye, and similarly silver hair, frighteningly similar to Tsunoi's silver hair in shade. "We can save his life, if you will come with us peacefully." The man tells her. Without a second thought, Andromeda nods. "Please...save him..." What the man did next Andromeda did not know, as she felt everything go numb and saw everything go black.