Finally got this chapter done! It was my birthday last week so I went to see my family. I also moved places so everything is in a state of chaos right now... Chapter 14 is also still in its raw state, perhaps I will just leave it and do a full edit of the story once I'm finished writing.


"I can't believe that everyone listened to our conversation", Aries commented after Quitterie had summarised the recent happenings on board of the Astra. "How embarrassing!"

"But in the end, it worked out, didn't it?", the blonde replied as she was giving her friend a check-up in the infirmary.

Aries blushed as she thought back to earlier in the day when Kanata and the others had rescued them. "He said he also likes me … maybe."

"How about you and Ulgar?", Quitterie asked directed to Luca who was sitting on a chair nearby.

"As if I'd know what's going on in the head of that pervert… ." Although his reply was only partly true. Now knowing what conversation Ulgar had listened to, the strange behaviour of his friend made slightly more sense.

"Guys … ", the blonde replied shaking her head.

"Are you coming?", Yun-Hua asked as she entered the room. "The meeting with the … ", she paused looking for words, "the guy who saved us is about to start."

In the lounge, the mysterious stranger examined the Astra's interior, a blank expression on his face. He did not look much different from the students, short brown hair, medium stature, and plain but ordinary clothes. The sword, his most distinguishable feature, was tied onto his back, reminding them to treat the stranger with caution. "My name is Elsyon", he introduced himself as everyone had gathered.

"Thanks for luring the teddy away from Luca and me", Aries said before anyone else had the chance to speak. "And you also saved us from the nightmares."

"Teddy? Nightmares?", the stranger wondered. "What interesting names you have given to them. But I'm sure you have invited me because you have questions for me."

"Do you have showers with hot water?", Quitterie asked. "I'm sick taking cold showers because someone thought we needed an electric fence."

"I'd like to know more about the underground base", Zack added, oblivious of Quitterie's words. "How do you manage to keep the rooms ventilated?"

Charce continued. "I'm interested in the predator-prey relationships of the local fauna. Could you tell me more about Nemesis evolutionary history?"

"What kinds of food do you eat?", Kanata enquired. "Do you have meat?"

"Are you an alien?", Funicia wanted to know. "Quitterie said you live in the stone age. Is that true?"

Aries smiled. "I just want to know whether you'd like to be my friend."

Somehow, Ulgar was not surprised by the questions of his teammates. By now, he was familiar with their lack of caution. "There is only one question we need to ask", the black-haired teen said. "What's your agenda? Was your plan to infiltrate our ship to spy on us?"

"Please ignore him", Luca added quickly. "He had a traumatic childhood."

"That's got nothing to do with this!", Ulgar replied just as quickly.

Elsyon looked confused. "Well, I guess there is a lot to tell you", he said then. "For starters, I'm just as human as you are. And so is everyone else on Nemesis. We left the Earth, or planet Astra as you call it, about a hundred years ago."

"It's true that you don't seem to be much different from us", Zack remarked, his tone neutral.

"But why would you leave Astra to live on such a hostile planet?", Kanata asked.

'To ensure peace, religion was forbidden", Elsyon began. "However, my ancestors were not prepared to give up their religion. They were peaceful people and did not agree that religion was necessarily a source of war. Many other people joined them, even those believing in different gods, and they escaped together. In Nemesis, they found the perfect hideout with vast underground caverns and monsters that deterred anyone from following them."

"So, who's this God? Is he the same guy who rules this planet?", Ulgar asked. "If so, he owes us an apology."

"These are two different things", Elsyon explained calmly, ignoring the other's aggressive tone. "God is the creator of life, although different cultures have different concepts of God. On the other hand, this planet is pretty much ruled by the Disturians whom I believe you have met already. They are certainly no gods."

"One of those weirdos?", Luca asked thinking back to their capturers. He could hardly believe the ruler had been hiding amongst them.

"I believe you call them 'teddy'", Elsyon replied. "When my ancestors first arrived on Nemesis, they also mistook them for mere animals. However, in fact, they are much closer to humans and we believe they are at least as intelligent as we. They have their own culture, language, and rules."

"Does it mean they are people?", Funicia asked.

"I guess so. And the same is true for the other predators you encountered."

"This can't be right", Quitterie objected. "We saw them fighting with each other and even eating their own kind. Humans would not do that."

"No, it does make sense", Charce disagreed. "I was wondering why the nightmares attacked the Astra. Normal animals wouldn't waste their energy attacking a piece of metal. However, now we can assume that they attacked us to damage the Astra and trap us on this planet. Perhaps they did not want us to report back to Astra that we found aliens."

"Humans kill each other all the time", Elysion replied with a sad tone. "The Disturians have a strong hierarchical system and their punishments can be severe. We also have to keep in mind that food is scarce, so perhaps the ones you saw were simply starving."

"In the end, Luca and I were being sacrificed to the Distopians who rule this planet?", Aries summarised, bringing the discussion back to the original topic.

"Disturians", Elsyon corrected. "But that's pretty much it. Nemesis is not a friendly planet and when my ancestors arrived, they had no choice but to hunt for food. As a consequence, most animals went extinct. Now we are paying the price by offering sacrifices to the Disturians."

"But you saved us", Charce stated.

"I think the system is wrong. We shouldn't sacrifice people and pretend it's for a good cause. I'm sure we can find a better solution that makes everyone happy. However, nobody agreed with me."

"What about the people we met earlier? The ones that wanted to kill Luca and Aries?", Ulgar asked. "We have nothing to do with your problems so why did they drag us into this?"

"As I said, there are people of different origins and with different beliefs living on Nemesis", Elsyon explained. "The people you were with are called 'naturalists'. They deny that we came from Earth, or Astra that is, and believe Nemesis is the origin of humanity. They live in primitive caves outside the city and see the Disturians as their god. I think they probably thought sacrificing you would change this system."

"I knew they weren't evil", Aries exclaimed with relief. "We –"

"Wait, there is a city?!", Quitterie interrupted.

Elsyon nodded. "You should go and see it. It may help you to understand this world. Though I can't come with you because I'm a criminal."

xxx

"It's a real city!", the blonde girl exclaimed excitedly as team B-5 found themselves in a busy market place. Around them, merchants were praising their goods and people were shopping around for the best deals. In the middle of the square, there was a fountain and children playing in the water. "I changed my mind, Nemesis is the best planet!"

Elsyon had led them through an unassuming staircase hidden underneath a giant tree. After descending for what felt like an eternity the students had reached the market square, seemingly in the centre of the city. Next to them was a pillar that connected to the ceiling high above them and contained the staircase. There were numerous other pillars dotted around the city, acting as support for gigantic cave they were in and as housing for the Nemesians. The similarity to the skyscrapers on Astra was astonishing, although the materials differed.

As the city was deep underground, there was no sunlight; instead, darkness loomed above them. It stood in stark contrast to the brightness on the ground, created by the trees surrounding the market square. And not only here, all over the city, plants seemed to be the sole source of light. Their intensity rivaled the sun, being almost as bright as daylight.

"Look, there are so many shops!" Funicia pointed down one of the roads leading away from the square. "It's just like Mousanish."

"Ehm… Aries, would you like to have a look at the food stalls with me?", Kanata asked. "I mean just so that we know what food we should take with us."

"I wonder where Zack has wandered off to", Quitterie said as the pair left the group. "We came all the way here, he could at least take his fiancée on a date… ."

"How about we look at the shops that Funi pointed out?", Yun-Hua suggested.

"We might as well", the blonde replied, assuming that Ulgar and Luca would want to go off on their own as well. Charce had already left the group to investigate the mysterious flowers and their ability to produce light.

"We need to gather more information. I wonder what kinds of weapons they have and what their weaknesses are", Ulgar wondered as he and Luca were alone. Dressed in casual clothes, the members of team B-5 perfectly blended in with the crowd. Nobody would suspect that they were visitors from another planet, making it easy to sneak around. Once they had a general idea, it would be easy enough to verify Elysion's claims.

"What are you saying?", Luca replied. He smiled. "It's a date. It's about having fun together."


Hope everything makes sense! I tried to make it look like everything perfectly fits together and was planned from the start when in fact for most of the time I was just writing whatever came to my mind. Please let me know if you find any plot holes so I can sneakily edit this chapter to make it fit. Any questions please also let me know so I can clarify things for future readers. Anyway, reviews are always appreciated!

Also, if you want, you can submit your fun date activities for Ulgar and Luca, although I don't give any guarantees.