Chapter 7: Aim For The Stars

"Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the Universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don't just give up."

– Stephen Hawking

Jack and Evie walked several days and yet the forest seemed to have no end. Evie wasn't an outdoorswoman. At first, it was a fun experience, getting to camp beneath the stars and listening to the peaceful sounds of nature. But it didn't take long for Evie to wish for a roof over her head and a nice soft warm bed for her to sink into. Oh, and actual plumbing! The young woman was desperate for a proper toilet!

Evie scratched at the mosquito bites that covered her neck and hands. She enviously glared at Jack, who the mosquitos conveniently seemed to ignore in favor of her. He looked perfectly at ease in the forest, as if this was something that he did everyday.

The blonde young woman did her best to not complain, because honestly- what good would it do? But occasionally she would let out a sigh or two when they have been walking for a particularly long time or a frustrated whine when they had to find a way across a ravine.

Once again, it was rather difficult to strike up a conversation with Jack and to be honest, it started to bother Evie. She understood that he was a man of a few words, but considering that he was her only sole companion during this journey- it made the adventure rather dull.

"Hey Jack, we should talk about something," Evie tried one evening as they camped around a fire.

Jack rotated a chunk of wild boar meat on a spit over the flames. He looked up at Evie and said, "Very well. What do you want to talk about?"

"I-...I'm not sure."

Crickets chirped as the awkward silence filled the air.

Evie began to sweat as Jack silently turned the rod. Good grief, did she have to be the one who always came up with a topic? Usually when she did, it ended up becoming a one sided conversation about her touring Japan and her failures in ballet class when she was a young girl. Both were subjects that Jack had very little to comment on. "Umm… what do you like to talk about?"

Jack considered her question before saying, "anything that you want to talk about is fine."

Evie was half tempted to faceplant into the ground. "That's… very kind of you, Jack- but I think that the things that I like to talk about are probably things that you don't understand most of the time."

Jack looked sheepish and kept his eyes trained on the fire. "Forgive me. Ever since I was a young boy, I have traveled all across the world and was trained in combat from different masters. I have always been surrounded by other men and have little experience with conversing with a lady." He pinched at the meat, checking if it was ready.

"Oh," Evie looked down at her folded hands, her fingers playing over her knuckles. This made things much more clear as to why Jack was so difficult to talk to. He didn't know how to speak to her. "Well, that's alright. I'm not that much of a lady. Besides if you'd like, I would love to hear about how you traveled the world. Where did you go? Seeing how skilled you are, you must have learned a lot!"

Jack smiled at Evie and the ice between them began to melt. He told her about how Aku had escaped from the seal that his father had placed years ago. He told her about how his mother had grabbed him as a child and took him out to sea where he was placed on a merchant's ship.

Evie listened with rapt attention, barely noticing that the meat was done and that Jack had handed her portion to her. She mindlessly bit into her food while Jack spoke. He told her how he had learned to navigate by the stars as well as the use of cartography. Then after several months out at sea, they had arrived at the Arabian Peninsula where a friendly sheikh (who also had four children of his own) taught Jack how to ride and care for horses. Once he was ready, he and the sheikh rode into Africa where Jack met his third teacher, an African chief. There under the sweltering heat of the sun, Jack began to learn how to fight for the very first time using polearms. Jack admitted that he struggled quite a bit at first before he got the hang of it. After he had mastered that skill, he and his teacher ran all the way across the desert to Egypt.

"You ran all the way? Wow." Evie had finished her meat and was now sitting with her face leaning on her hands.

"Yes," Jack was amused by how amazed Evie was and he eagerly continued his tale. An Egyptian scholar became his fourth teacher where Jack had learned to read ancient hieroglyphics and other important skills such as mathematics, geometry, medicine and even battle strategy alongside the Pharaoh's son. By the time Jack was a teenager, he had traveled to Rome where he learned hand to hand combat such as wrestling, grappling, locks and throws.

Then once he came of age, Jack had traveled to England where he learned archery from Robin Hood-

"Wait! You were taught by Robin Hood? THE Robin Hood?" Evie exclaimed as her eyes widened and she leaned forward. "The same one who stole from the rich and gave to the poor?"

"Yes, that is correct," Jack didn't understand why this was such a big deal.

"Huh," Evie sat back into her usual position, "I never knew that he was a real person. But that is super cool!"

She listened to Jack as he told her that he learned how to sail in any weather by the vikings. He told her how he learned how to aim and throw weapons while on the ground while the Mongols taught him how to do it on horseback. Finally, Jack was taught by the Shaolin monks in China how to fight using Kung Fu. Once he had mastered that, he was finally deemed ready to fight Aku.

"Wow…" Evie breathed. "No wonder you are so good at everything." She then blinked as a question popped into her head. "Wait a minute, you've been to so many places… does that mean you can speak that many languages?!"

"Yes, I learned to speak, read and write in all those languages too."

Evie was mind blown. "I can only speak English…and very little Japanese."

"Really?" Jack was intrigued. "What can you say?"

"Uh…" Evie scratched her cheek as she thought. "A few things. Like… I can say, arigato and… sayonara...and kawaii?" At Jack's amused smile, Evie's cheeks became pink. "Like I said, I speak VERY little Japanese."

Jack laughed quietly. "You have very good pronunciation."

"Thanks," Evie blushed a little more and played with her ponytail. "So do you."

Jack smiled. He didn't say it, but Evie was pretty kawaii herself.

From that moment on, Jack and Evie spoke more frequently. In fact, Jack offered to teach Evie how to speak his language, something that the young woman was more than eager to agree to. As they traveled, Jack pointed out different things to Evie and told her their names in Japanese. A tree was called 'ki,' the sky was 'sora,' the earth was 'chikyu,' and water was 'mizu.' Some of these words were familiar to Evie from her vacation in Japan, but Jack taught her many other words that did not know.

This development in their friendship made their journey much more pleasant for the both of them. Sometimes, Evie even forgot that her legs hurt when they were walking for too long because she was enjoying her lesson that much.

It wasn't until they came to a stop at a waterfall that they both decided that they needed a well-deserved break. Evie knelt down to fill up her water bottle while Jack drank from his hands. Once Evie closed the cap on her bottle she leaned down to drink from the stream too. She looked at Jack when she suddenly felt his shoulder press against hers.

"Stay still and don't make a sound," he whispered.

At first Evie thought that they were in danger but Jack just continued to drink like nothing was wrong. Confused, Evie followed suit and nervously cupped her hands into the water again. That was when she heard the gentle sound of hooves and a doe appeared next to Jack. The doe lowered her elegant neck and began to drink from the stream as well.

Evie stared in awe. She had never seen a deer this close before! She looked at Jack and saw that he was grinning at her from behind his hands. Evie smiled toothily right back. This was amazing! Then she heard more hoof sounds and right next to her came a fawn. The fawn wiggled its ears and looked straight into Evie's eyes before also taking a drink.

Evie couldn't help but reach out a hand slowly to the fawn and noticing her movement, the fawn looked up at her once more. It stared at her curiously but did not run away. Evie's hand softly landed on the fawn's soft coat and gently began to pet it. The fawn closed its eyes happily and continued to drink as Evie pet it.

Jack watched them with a smile. Seeing Evie so happy momentarily made him forget that he was on a quest to vanquish Aku.

Unfortunately, the peace wasn't to last. There was a deafening crash in the distance that jolted them all. Crows scattered from the trees, cawing in distress. The deer and her fawn bolted out of there, leaving Jack and Evie alone.

Evie felt Jack grab her by the hand. "Run," he ordered and pulled her after him. Evie ran as fast as she could, trying to keep up after Jack. It was hard considering how extraordinarily fast he was! Evie stumbled a few times but she luckily didn't fall. Evie looked behind them, trying to see what it was that they were running from, but all she saw was trees. Looking back ahead, Evie gasped as she realized that they were heading straight for a cliff!

"Jack, wait!" She cried.

But the samurai did not stop. Instead, he pulled Evie into his arms, scooped her up and jumped! Evie screamed as they fell, wrapping her arms around Jack's shoulders and shutting her eyes. She did not want to die! The wind whistled in her ears as they descended. Jack reached out with one hand and caught a branch. He swung them both around it, stalling their momentum before letting go and expertly landing on the ground in a crouch.

Evie held onto him with a death grip, her eyes wide in terror. 'We're still alive!'

They both heard the sound of familiar metallic stomping and Jack made a sudden leap, avoiding an arrow. He grabbed Evie by the hand once more and pulled her after him as they sprinted as fast as they both could. Trees exploded the instant the arrows struck them as they wove around every stump and tree.

Finally they came into a clearing and Jack skidded to a stop, causing Evie to run into his back face first. "Ouch!" She rubbed her nose and looked over his shoulder. She gasped, understanding why Jack had them stop.

In front of them stood a giant space rocket… right in the middle of the woods too! It even had the tip of a pine tree on the very nose, disguising it from above somehow….

"What is that?" Jack breathed.

"A rocket ship?" Evie answered in bewilderment.

That was when they noticed that they were not alone. A group of tiny men and one woman in spacesuits stared at them wide-eyed, frozen in place. They all looked frightened by the sudden appearance of the two strangers and Evie had a hunch that they were caught doing something that they were not supposed to.

The earth shook beneath their feet and the sound of metallic legs came closer. They turned around and Jack quickly moved in front of Evie. Out of the forest burst out a gigantic praying mantis drone! Evie couldn't help but scream in fright. No, there wasn't just one but three of them! She watched as their robotic bodies began to shift and guns, lasers and missiles began to appear out of them.

All of which was aimed straight at Jack and Evie.

Evie whimpered as she clutched the back of Jack's white kimono.

"Uh-oh…" One of the spacemen uttered.

His voice drew the attention of the drones and they noticed the spacemen and their ship. They stood there silently before speaking in deep electronic voices. "You have been found guilty of breaking Aku law 101 and 203. Habitation in an unauthorized facility and unauthorized construction of an escape vehicle. Your punishment is extermination."

…

The spacemen began to panic and scatter while screaming for their lives. Both Jack and Evie were forgotten by the mantis drones as they marched over them and began attacking the station. They sliced at the construction, causing it to go up into flames and open fire at the poor people.

"No!" Evie yelled, covering her mouth with her hands- horrified.

Outraged by the slaughter, Jack leapt into action. With his sword, he cut off one of the drone's firearms causing it to topple over and explode as it hit the ground. Noticing the attack, the other two turned on Jack and began to shoot at him instead. Jack dodged the bullets by running out of their way. Thinking fast, he jumped in front of one of the drones, causing the bullets to hit and destroy it- leaving one mantis standing.

Pulling out his sword again, Jack raced towards the final drone- avoiding the bullets. With a mighty leap he aimed right when one of the spacemen shrieked:

"No! Don't!"

But it was too late. Jack sliced off the drone's head, causing it to rocket off into the sky before disappearing.

Everyone stared after it in a stunned silence.

A spectacled spaceman pulled out his tablet and began madly pressing buttons, "Well, according to my calculations, our chances of escaping are now 6,352,271 to 1," he announced in a Russian accent.

A stubby fat spaceman clutched at his helmet in dismay, "Oh, no!" he cried in a German accent. "After all these years, to go back to work for Aku! I can't dooo iiit!" he began to sob and his tears began to fill up the helmet like a fish tank.

"Oops?" Evie said quietly and looked up at Jack who winced. He did not mean to make things worse.

"Calm yourself, Frederick." One of the younger spacmen tried to sooth his friend only to be pushed away.

"Oh, easy for you to say! You were just a baby when the rest of us were forced to use our scientific knowledge, to build Aku's robot armies und other evil technology!"

"My age is irrelevant here!" snapped the younger one. "We shouldn't just give up. We still have a chance!" he optimistically insisted.

A spaceman in a green helmet rather than the typical blue spoke up, "Well, actually, there is substance to that theory," he mused. He pointed up at the rocket ship, "if we launch our escape rocket before the fail-safe warning head informs Aku of our whereabouts, we will succeed." He paused and then added, "On the other hand, Aku is quite brilliant, and knowing our position would not only send his ground troop to destroy us- but would also block our escape route, thus forcing us to surrender."

"Gentlemen," the sole space woman in a pink helmet pointed at a giant monitor that showed their position. "The orbital guard has begun to close in around our escape route."

Tears began to leak out of Frederick's eyes once again. "You see? There is no escaping now!"

"No! There has to be a way!" The younger one shouted.

Jack got down on his knees and bowed before them all. "I humbly apologize," he said with his hands pressed together, "it was not my intention to bring these troubles upon you."

"Yes!" Frederick pointed accusingly at Jack, "It is all your fault!"

"Hey, that's not fair!" Evie came to Jack's defense as she stood in front of him. "If it wasn't for Jack, you would all be dead by now!"

"And who's fault is it that we were discovered in the first place, hmm?" Frederick placed his hands on his nonexistent hips challengingly.

"Well… we … uh…" Evie looked sideways guiltily. He had a point there.

The younger spaceman placed a hand on Frederick's shoulder, "Come on, lighten up! We were bound to be discovered sooner or later. If anything, he saved our lives." He swung his fist in the air to show his enthusiasm, "Didn't you see the way he defeated those robots?"

"Yes, it was quite impressive," the Russian nodded while staring at his mini computer. "The odds of one person with a sword defeating three mantroids were 6,923 to 1."

"Hold it, gentlemen!" The young spaceman threw his hands into the air, "I think we've found our solution! If we follow this warrior through Aku's blockade, he might create enough of a distraction to give us a chance to slip through!"

"Say what now?" Evie exclaimed. How was Jack supposed to do that? By the looks on Jack's face, he didn't look so sure either.

"That's impossible. No one can do that! Let us surrender." Frederick whined.

The Russian however disagreed. "Actually, Frederick, the odds are promising. It's only 5,437 to 1!" He showed him the mini computer.

"Yes!" The younger spaceman cheered.

"This is quite a predicament," the man in the green helmet tapped his glass in thought. "On one hand, we have to trust a stranger to battle for the fate of our future. On the other hand, the inevitable capture by Aku and a lifetime of slavery. I say we give the stranger a shot!" He crossed his arms.

"YES!" The younger one cheered again, looking like he was about to burst with excitement.

But Frederick, ever the pessimist said, "This is all pointless, he probably wouldn't even do it."

"Wait-" Jack held up his hand, wanting to get a word in. "I will gladly help. But from what I understand, your battle is in the sky. I am grounded. I cannot fly."

The spacemen however only smirked in response.

"Leave that to us," the younger one said.

"And I'll help in any way that I can too," Evie offered. "I can't fight but… I'm sure I can offer some manner of support."

"Oh, da!" The Russian smiled broadly. "Comrades, the odds have just improved!"

They wasted no time in getting ready. They hooked Jack up to a machine and had him run on the treadmill. They tried to have Evie do the same thing… but… her stamina was so flimsy that she practically flew off the treadmill once she collapsed after ten minutes.

The spacemen winced as she crashed into one of the machinery and looked at each other in worry.

Jack continued to work out- this time on a bicycle. Underwater. Upside Down.

Evie in the meantime just rode circles around the rocket ship on the ground, right-side up.

The spacemen shared another concerned look and one of them shook their head. The Russian man even whispered that the odds just fell back down to 5,437 to 1.

Finally, they strapped Jack into a centrifuge chair and spun him around at a great speed. Once he was done, he walked around a little disoriented and dizzy, but he stood his ground. Evie on the other hand… threw up after a couple of spins and had to lay down on a stretcher that was prepared for her in advance.

"Ugh…" She groaned, green in the face as she watched the sky spin above her while the space woman, whose name turned out to be Mina, placed a cold wet towel over her forehead.

"You did wonderfully, dear," Mina patted her hand encouragingly.

"No I didn't. I sucked." Evie shut her eyes and covered her face with her hands to try and stop the spinning. "Ugh, make it stop~"

Jack walked over to her side, adorned in a custom-made spacesuit that fit him perfectly. There was a small rocket strapped to his back. He looked worriedly down at his friend. "Will she be alright?"

Mina smiled kindly at him, "She will be just fine. She just needs a little rest."

"I won't be able to go to space with you guys, will I?" Evie muttered gloomily, her eyes still closed. She placed her hands over her face, feeling completely embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologize for, sweetheart." Mina soothed. "It takes years and years of training before anyone is ready to go up into space. Jack just happens to be… more physically prepared."

Evie sighed hopelessly as she opened her eyes and stared blankly at the sky. It finally seemed to stop spinning.

Jack knelt onto one knee next to Evie's stretcher. "Perhaps it's better for you to wait for me here on land. It's going to be dangerous and I don't want you getting yourself sick or injured."

The blonde avoided his eyes, still feeling ashamed. She had offered her help but in the end she proved to be completely useless. "Yeah... Sorry."

Jack wanted to say something to cheer Evie up, but the guy in the green helmet called for him.

"Jack, we need to discuss how you will operate the suit!"

Jack nodded before patting Evie on the head with a reassuring smile that said 'everything is going to be okay' before standing up and walking away.

"Would you like some water?" Mina offered Evie a paper cup.

"Yes, please…" Evie sat up and graciously accepted it. She had just placed it to her lips when there was a sudden blast - causing Evie to spill the water all over herself. Her eyes were wide as saucers as she looked up at the sky.

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Jack zoomed away until he was just a small speck in the sky, a cloud of smoke trailing behind him.

"JACK!" Evie screamed, jumping to her feet only to be met with another wave of dizziness. She leaned against a tree and shouted again, "JACK!"

"Oh dear…" Frederick pressed his hands to his helmet.

"That happened…" The young American, whose name was Travis, muttered.

Evie stumbled over to them in a wobbly run, "You have to do something! He'll get himself killed!"

"There's nothing we can do," the man in the green helmet- whose name was Kyle, said. "Except wait and pray, I guess."

They had no choice but to watch as Jack spun out of control around in loops and zigzags. Their heads moved back and forth, not daring to look away as Jack darted around like a dazed bumblebee while yelling.

Evie was terrified that Jack was going to crash and die as she watched, her fists pressed tightly to her cheeks while shaking like a leaf. "Oh, please! Oh, please!" When Jack appeared to be about ready to crash into the trees, Evie let out a scream and covered her eyes.

But instead of a crash and a boom, she heard the spacemen exclaim in awe. She peeked through her fingers to see the tops of the pine trees being cleanly sliced through. Jack was cutting a path through them with his sword! He then shot into the sky with direct precision, as if he had finally regained control. Evie slowly lowered her hands while the spacemen all simultaneously said, "Wow!"

Jack flawlessly flew through the sky with one arm outstretched like Superman. He flew around the clouds until finally he was caught in the rays of the sun, the glass of his helmet reflecting the light. He looked like a star up there.

Evie let out a relieved laugh and wiped away a single tear that had escaped her eye. "He did it…"

Travis smiled at Mina and told her to "send in the drones."

Mina nodded and after typing something into the keyboard, a trio of spherical drones emerged from the ground and shot up after Jack.

They all watched with bated breath as the drones grew closer and closer to Jack. He noticed them, pulled out his katana and sliced through them like butter. Burning pieces of the drones fell back to earth and Evie had to jump out of the way for one of them. Jack struck a victory post as the sun hit his back and everyone cheered.

But no one cheered as loudly as Evie. She clapped and jumped up and down in place, her ponytail bouncing behind her. "Yes! He did it! He did it!"

Jack gently returned back to the ground and turned off his rocket. He pulled off his helmet and breathed in the air deeply through his mouth. His entire face was wet with sweat. Everyone surrounded him, clapping and cheering. Evie threw her arms around him in a tight hug, catching Jack off guard. He stumbled back a couple steps with a grunt.

"You were amazing, Jack! Simply amazing!" Evie squealed before sliding off him and pointing a scolding finger at his nose, "But I swear, if you do anything like that to me again- I'll… I'll…" She had no idea what she would do so she just hugged Jack again. "God, I'm just glad you're safe."

Jack stood there stiffly for a moment, not used to such affection. He soon relaxed though and smiled while patting Evie gently on the back, silently reassuring that he was okay.

"Aww…" Frederick sniffed, and uselessly rubbed a handkerchief on the glass over where his tears were forming. "That is so sweet!"

Travis pumped his fist into the air, "I say that this calls for a celebration!"

And celebrate they did. Once night had fallen, a party was held inside the rocket ship. Everyone was noisily conversing with one another and having drinks. Some of them were even dancing to the happy music that was playing through the sound speakers while a disco ball spun from the ceiling.

Jack and Evie sat in the middle of their new friends' attention while the small people chattered excitedly about their potential freedom.

"Oh, I am so excited!" giggled Frederick, his face red from the alcohol. "Soon we shall be at our new home."

"We'll finally be able to use our science for good!" Travis pitched in.

Mina nodded, "No more protection against polluted air."

"No more Aku robots," added Kyle.

"Yeah! And no more Aku!" The Russian, whose name was Sergei, cheered.

Frederick sighed dreamily, "home~"

The rest of them sighed happily as well, looking up at the moon through the skylight of their ship.

Evie sighed too, but not out of happiness. She wrapped her arms around her knees as she stared down at her shoes with melancholy. Home… she missed it so much. Oh, what she would give to return back to her world.

Jack closed his eyes, looking saddened as well.

Sergei noticed and his smile dropped. "What is wrong, friends? Odds are three to one, you should have fun."

Jack was the one who answered. "We too desire to find our home. You see, in days long past, where rockets and robots were near creation, a young warrior forged into battle with Aku. At the point where victory was imminent, Aku tricked the warrior and flung him from his own time to a distant time in the future. To reclaim his homeland and undo the evil of Aku, the warrior has to find some sort of time passage home for both himself… and his new friend." Jack opened his eyes slightly, looking sadly at Evie. "Such magic is difficult to find."

Evie looked back at him just as sadly.

Sergei gaped at the samurai with wonder. "Is that warrior you?"

"Yes," Jack said.

"Wow…" Kyle blinked.

Travis thought to himself, "time travel. Hm…" He grinned as he looked at his space friends. "What do you say, gentlemen?"

They all nodded with smiles, agreeing indistinctly.

"Wait, you mean… you know how?" Evie perked up, barely believing her ears.

"It's quite simple, really." Kyle shrugged like it was no big deal. He picked up an empty beer bottle. "Let's say this is the rocket. If you two get into the escape pod at the nose of the ship and-" he popped the cork off, "jettison when we hit sub-light speed, that should put you at faster than light."

"Which would easily send you back to your own time!" Mina beamed.

"This would work?" Jack asked, unsure.

Everyone nodded while speaking at the same time, saying things such as "Oh, yes!" and "This theory is very sound."

"Just make sure you're in the pod before we hit light speed," Kyle pointed at the cork. "The rest will take care of itself."

"I will," Jack nodded.

"Wonderful! So we're on for tomorrow mor-..." Travis trailed off when he noticed that Evie had curled in on herself further, looking completely miserable. "-ning? What is wrong?"

"I'm not coming with you," Evie said quietly.

"But why not?" Jack was distrubed by her words. "If what they say is true-"

"Then it wouldn't matter for me in the long run." Evie turned her big dark eyes to him. "I can't go to outerspace, Jack. My body isn't built for it."

"But-" Jack looked at their friends, hoping that they had a solution for that too. Unfortunately they all looked very grim and Jack's heart sank.

"She's right, Jack…" Mina affirmed their fears. "A person has to be physically fit before they can travel to outerspace. The microgravity wears away bones and muscle tissue. I am afraid that if she comes with us…" she did not finish her sentence.

"And even if I was fit for space travel, it wouldn't work." Evie added, her hands tightening around her legs. "I would be stuck in your time… not mine."

A/N: Here's another chapter, finally. And for those who are curious when Evie will learn to fight- well, you're going to have to wait for that. I have a specific episode in mind that will be the catalyst for Evie's progression. ;) I assure you, it will be worth the wait. On the upside, she is learning Japanese!