At the moment I'm a bit busy so I uploaded this chapter as I had it as I didn't want to let people wait. Before writing the next chapter, I might upload an edited version of this chapter.

Please forgive Ulgar, he's just clumsy with words. And you know Luca, he says things that no one else would...


"Using Aries' recording and the dictionary from the Astra's database, I developed this translator", Zack explained, a small device of the size of a mobile phone in his hands. "It automatically detects speech and provides a written output on the display – "

"Never mind the details, what did you find out?", Ulgar impatiently interrupted the genius.

"The way the Nemesians talk about us is very interesting", Zack replied. "They refer to us as 'those who descendent from the stars' and generally talk about us with deep respect."

"You mean just enough respect to kidnap Aries and Luca", Ulgar corrected.

"Well, it's true that they did treat us well", Kanata gave to consideration.

"This is what I don't understand", Zack remarked. "Their words do not reflect their actions. Based on the recording, it appears they plan to sacrifice Aries and Luca to their ruler. They say that this is the only way to end the cycle of sacrifices."

"A savage king for the savage planet, makes sense", Quitterie commented. "Seriously, whose idea was it to come here?"

"What do we know about their ruler?", Charce asked, more rationally.

The bespectacled student shook his head. "Not much. Apparently, his name is God."

"How much time do we have left?", Kanata enquired. "Is there a way to this God person?"

Zack put up a map on the main screen. "Based on the geographical features described in the audio file, they should be somewhere around here." His finger pointed on a woody area not too from the Astra. "If we fly there, we should make it in time. The only problem is that it will be hard to land as the terrain over there is very rough."

xxx

Suppressing the tiredness following a sleepless night, Ulgar could only hope that they were not too late as he climbed down the rope connecting the Astra to the ground. A barren hill with a lone rock at its top, surrounded by an endless sea of trees. The place where Luca was held captive.

"I wonder what the ruler of this planet is like", Charce, already on the ground, wondered.

"I'd rather not know", Quitterie responded sharply. The hill was cold and uninviting. Below them, there was a small barren area and beyond that the woodland that seemed to cover much of the planet. Fog limited the girl's sight and the moist air gave her chills. "Let's find Aries and Luca quickly and leave this place."

"We'll find out what kind of guy he is", Kanata said and signalled to Zack and the Astra that they had reached the ground. "For now, let's split and search the surroundings. Aries and Luca shouldn't be far."

The others nodded. Too much time had passed already, although the Astra was faster than anything the Nemesians could possibly possess, they had started a day later than the aliens.

"Luca!", Ulgar shouted. Entering the fog, his sight was limited and a sudden feeling of solitude overcame him, even though Kanata, Charce and Quitterie were nearby. Unlike rain, the water did not hurt him, but felt uncomfortable and itchy. One more reason to find his missing teammates quickly.

The cold sound of clashing metal. A shadow waving at him. It felt as if the fog was deceiving him, manifesting his thoughts rather than reality. Yet the purple-haired teen was there, right in front of him.

"Luca!" Unable to express the overwhelming relief he felt, the black-haired teen was at a loss for words, as so often recently. "Are you ok? … Wait what's this?", he asked noting the chain preventing Luca from moving much further. Without waiting for an answer, Ulgar grabbed the teddy's claw and separated the metal.

"Aries too", Luca whispered and pointed towards the girl.

"Aries! Luca!", Kanata shouted as he spotted the two missing students, attracted by Ulgar's voice. However, as he attempted to approach them, he felt Quitterie's hand on his shoulders.

"We better leave those two alone for a minute", she whispered nodding towards Ulgar and Luca. A smirk on her face, she added, "in the meantime, why don't you make sure Aries is ok?"

"I know you would come."

There was so much Ulgar wanted to say but the other's smile, as so often, stopped him from thinking. There was also the fact that Luca was still dressed for a wedding with his legs bare exposed where he had cut off the dress. "I'm sorry you had to suffer so much", he finally managed to say.

But Luca only shook his head. "I didn't suffer at all. Well, for a second I thought we were done for when the teddy attacked us. But don't worry, it has left and we're safe now."

"That's not what I meant", Ulgar replied. "You know your conversation with Aries—I listened to it." He paused, unused to voicing his feelings and guilty about his invasion of Luca's privacy. "I made you suffer and I didn't consider how you were feeling… ."

"Is this… are you turning me down?" Luca had no idea which conversation the black-haired teen was even referred to. Confused, his only indicator was the other's unusual tone and his awkward search for words.

"I'm not!" Why did his words have the opposite effect of what he had intended? Back in his room, everything had been so clear, but in front of Luca, nothing was. "What I mean is … " Looking into Luca's questioning eyes, Ulgar took his hand and put it on his lower abdomen, letting the other feel his arousal. "This is how you make me feel, whether you want to be a guy or a girl."

Almost instantly, Luca shrieked, withdrawing his hands. "Pervert!" He could not believe Ulgar's boldness, both inappropriate and out of character.

"That's not it!" Not anymore. There was so much more to it. He wanted to protect Luca, to understand him, to be with him.

"Hm?", Luca made. Ulgar's clumsy behaviour and his obvious embarrassment were a temptation he could not resist "Hard to believe coming from someone with a cock as hard as a rock."

"Don't say it like that!" Seriously, what if someone had heard them? Luckily, looking around, Charce was busy investigating footprints, Kanata was giving his raincape to Aries and Quitterie was too far away to hear.

"You're the one who started this", Luca replied, the relief still audible in his voice. While Ulgar's choice of words and his method had been poor, the message was clear. Gender was an arbitrary categorisation that had no relevance for them.

"Here, take this", the black-haired teen switched to a safer topic. Mirroring their captain, he handed his raincape to Luca. His light dress was inadequate for the current temperature and Ulgar was embarrassed that Kanata of all people had realised this before him.

"Thanks", Luca responded and wrapped the cape around himself. "You know, I didn't suffer", he said then. "I enjoyed this journey with everyone… with you."

Ulgar was about to reply when his newfound sense for impending danger alerted him. Something was not right. He opened his mouth to warn the others but it was too late. A giant shadow jumped at him out of nowhere. Its deadly claws directed at him, Ulgar could do little else than jumping back, barely evading the attack. The animal must have used the fog and their distraction to sneak up on them and waited for its chance. How could he forget that they were on Nemesis, a planet where predators never seemed far?

"Get back everyone!", Kanata shouted, ready to come to Ulgar's help, even if unarmed.

Standing between Luca and the monster, the black-haired teen readied the gun. However, before he could should the beast lashed out at him, aiming directly for the metal weapon. It was fast and agile like a cat yet standing on two legs. Before Ulgar even realised what had happened, the gun had flung out of his hand, landing in the grass behind him.

Now eye to eye with the animal, the feeling of familiarity overcame him. Last time, it had been dark and he had fought against monstrous shadows, now the threat felt more real but was just as dangerous. "It's the nightmares!", the black-haired teen shouted, now understanding why he had been the object of the monster's attention. It had remembered the gun, remembered that it was their only meaningful weapon.

"Kanata, they hunt in groups, there should be at least two more", Charce shouted, having reached the same conclusion as Ulgar.

As if on his commando, the other two nightmares attacked, targeting Kanata. Unarmed, the odds stood against the Astra's captain, but giving up was not an option with Aries, unable to defend herself, behind him.

"This time I'm not gonna be useless again!" Quitterie knew that she could not fight the beasts, but at least she would not stand around waiting for her demise like last time. "Aries!", the girl shouted, "we need to find something that can be used as a weapon!"

From the corner of his eye, Ulgar saw his teammates fighting against the other two beasts. Yet he had little time to help, fighting for survival himself.

Without the gun, the nightmare thought him defenceless and jumped forward again, attempting to land the killing blow. Ulgar blocked the attack, claw hitting claw. The beast, surprised, paused his attack. Yet the black-haired teen was unable to turn the tables. The force of the impact sent him flying backwards, landing in the grass.

Before he could get up, the animal was already on top of him, pressing down his body with its own weight, its opened mouth just above him, crying triumphantly. The black-haired teen could see its teeth, sharp and deadly and flinched under stench emitted from its mouth. Pinned down by the nightmare, there was nothing he could do to avoid the deadly bite.

Yet the deathblow did not come. Instead, the animal was hit by a sudden flash right into its mouth. The nightmare stumbled, fell. Dead. Unable to process what had happened, Ulgar freed himself from the carcass.

There was Luca, shaking, and the gun in his hands. "Ulgar, I … I killed it."

The two remaining nightmares cried out, enraged and furious.

"This is bad", Kanata remarked.

Ulgar jumped up, ignoring the pain, and took the gun of Luca. "Are you ok?", he asked. An unnecessary question, Luca's was still shaking and looked like he had seen a ghost. Still, it was a miracle that he had managed to hit. Taking into account the nightmares' agility into account, it was unlikely that they would hit a second time.

"I'll take over from here!" Jumping down from the trees on the woodland edge and holding a large sword, a mysterious stranger suddenly stood in front of them. And he spoke perfect English.