After nodding off few a while, Nick awoke in the brisk night air. He noticed that his symbiotic clothes had covered Aisha too, and were keeping her warm. He looked to the horizon and saw the slightest touch of pink across the skyline. He picked Aisha up gently and carried her to the maintenance vehicle and set her in. He carefully climbed in the dark and started off.

By the time they reached the other side of the field, the sky had become well illuminated and Nick had to be cautious that he wasn't seen by any workers or guards. But it was still pretty early and he made it there without incident. He parked the cart where he had found it but noticed it was now low on gas so he put a couple wong on the dash and got out and retrieved Aisha. Fortunately for him, the shop was only a few blocks away, so he started walking with Aisha in his arms.

He was nearing the front door when Aisha stirred and he let her stand on her own.

"Hey fuzzball, you get enough sleep?", Nick taunted playfully. He had just recently started calling her that...

"Pfff, not nearly... A delicate flower like me needs AT LEAST 8 hours", she informed him

"Well, I'll be sure to remember that your highness"

Just before they entered, Aisha faced him, "I had a good time last night and I hope we can do it again", she jumped up and gave him a quick kiss and went inside.

He stood there a moment longer and suddenly burst out in a victory dance. He had to admit that things between he and Aisha had been going well, even since the day he first set eyes on her. But even he didn't think he would have gotten this far. Her playful personality complimented his in a way that no one else's had before, and it made him feel whole.

He took a look at the sky and saw that there wasn't a cloud to be seen, and it made him feel even better. He walked into the shop and into the living room and fell back onto the broken-in couch. His eyes looked over to the swimsuit issue calendar of Gene's and noticed that his month was nearly over. His heart sank. Where had the time gone? He had reveled in the time he spent with each of his new friends and never thought about the future. He got up and headed towards the small mechanics garage that was on the side of the shop. Jim must be in there he thought, he usually was at this time of day.

He entered to see Jim's car parked inside and a small pair of legs poking out from under it. Jim likewise noticed a familiar pair of boots stroll into the garage and he rolled out from under the car.

"What's up?" Jim said, obviously glad to have company

He responded with a sigh, "Oh nothin, I just now realized that my month of training is nearly up."

"Really? Time really does fly fast."

"I'd really like to go on at least one more job before I go... I've been thinking...", he said

"Yeah?"

"What if..." He hesitated for a second but then continued,"...what if we went to the temple I came from and see if there's anything of value in it?"

"Loot it? It's from your own people!", He said unbelievingly

"Yeah but they're long gone, and besides, I'm the last so wouldn't that make it some type of inheritance?", He said defending his plan

"True, point taken. But do you remember where the temple is, or the planet for that matter?"

"No, but if we found the ship that I came here in, would there be a chance that it's log would still have the locations in it's records?"

"Yeah sure... wait a second? What makes you think that there's anything of value in the temple?"

"Well, if there was something like me guarding it, then there must be SOMETHING of value in there, besides, when we get there, there shouldn't be anything to worry about now that I'm not in the pod anymore. I also forgot to mention that there is a small city around the temple. We may also find something there"

"This sounds almost foolproof, let's go talk to Gene about it..."

They walked out of the garage and into the house. They searched upstairs and down but couldn't find him. Jim came across Melfina, and asked her. She said she saw Gene leave around 2' O'clock. Nick and Jim looked at each other with knowing looks and said, "The bar..."

They walked outside and down the street. They reached the corner that the bar was on after crossing a few blocks and went in. Right away, they saw Gene up at the bar with glass in hand. He had a strange habit of drinking just after noon, but then again, it's better than getting drunk at night then stumbling off in what you THINK is the right direction.

"Hey Gene", Jim said pulling up a stool.

Gene turned slightly surprised, "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Nicks got a plan for the next job, and it sounds promising", Jim said excitedly

Gene ordered a drink for Nick and something non-alcoholic for Jim, "Let's hear it then"

Nick took his time laying out the details of his plan to return to his home planet, all the while, Gene sat rubbing his chin.

"Well, it sounds pretty solid except for the fact that we'd have to find that ship. For all we know, it could have been scrapped, but we'll look into it. Do you remember anything special about the ship? Decals? Special equipment?" Gene asked while setting his empty glass down. The bar tender instinctively filled it back up

"All I remember is that it was specifically outfitted for science research and space exploration, but other than that I can't remember anything else", he confessed

"Actually that may be all we need to know", said Jim

The other two looked at him awaiting explanation.

"If an entire exploration team went missing, there might have been something in the media. I could try and dig up something on it when we get back. If I find anything, it may give us a clue as to who funded the expedition or owned the ship."

"Good thinking Jim!" Nick said with renewed hope

They finished their drinks and headed back to the shop.

As soon as they returned, Jim hopped onto his computer and pounded some keys and within minutes had an article on the missing expedition.

Nick and Gene stood behind him and listened to him read aloud:

"Yesterday authorities were baffled at the disappearance of a crew of explorers that were collecting data on a planet on the farthest reaches of our system. The case would have normally been thought as no surprise as these sort of things often happened, due to pirates and the many other dangers of space, but it seems that overnight the ship had suddenly appeared in port here in the city. No bodies have yet been found inside the ship, but the search for clues continues. The owner of the ship," Everyone suddenly perked up, "which is the Agency of Scientific Development, or ASD, has had no luck in finding even the location of the planet in the ship's log due to technical issues..."

Jim gave up reading and threw his hands in the air.

"Damn", Gene cursed under his breath, "Well Nick, it was a good try, but this one ain't gonna happen"

Nick looked at his feet, "This kills me. I really wanted to go on one more mission before I had to go..."

Gene patted him on the back, "Oh well, you tried. Maybe something else will come up within your last few days", He said with more optimism than he felt

"Well, I'm gonna go back to the bar for a while. You wanna come Nick?", Gene asked, trying to lighten up his friend's mood

"Sure..."

"What about you Jim?"

"No, I'm just gonna hang around here for a while". Nick and Gene said goodbye and Jim did like-wise.

They walked back outside and headed back in the direction of the bar. By now it was starting to get dark and the stars were starting to show. About halfway to the bar, Nick looked up at them and remembered the night before with Aisha and a smile crossed his face. In the alley-way he was walking adjacent to, a shadow moved and a figure sprung out. He felt a sharp sting in the back of his head for a flicker of a second. Darkness overtook him as his face met the ground and the last thing he remembered was Gene turning around in surprise.

He awoke nearly half an hour latter with Gene standing over him. He realized that he still lay on the sidewalk, and his head felt like it were keeping a steady but painful throbbing pulse.

"Don't move", Gene said. His voice cut made the pain flare in Nick's skull, "It was just a normal thug. He saw my caster and took off. He got a nice hit off you."

Nick kept still and tried to make sure he could remember what happened. His mind scanned his memories as if he were never hit, and his eyes went wide as he started to remember NEW things. His life before the pod, his family, his selection to be the honorable guardian for the tomb of...", again his eyes widened

"I-I-I remember!", he stammered with amazement and sat bolt upright.

He started running back to the shop with Gene at his heels. He ran through the front door and shocked Jim and Melfina.

"What's going on?" Jim asked

"Ha! I remember!" He laughed slightly frantic

Gene came in behind him a second later.

"Ok Nick", he said panting, "You know the drill. Out with it."

Nick sat down and gathered his thoughts for a moment before speaking. His yelling had drawn Suzuka and Aisha into the living room.

"I was found in that tomb because I was a guardian, as you all know", they nodded, "well I was guarding the last of our emperors. His name was Emperor Tornachax, and he led our people during the golden years of our might and prosperity. He had recently died of a great plague that had been sweeping through our population, which had turned things into anarchy. The vault was made to keep his tomb safe from our own people. I believe I survived because I was sealed in the pod before I caught the infection.", His account slowed down but didn't stop, "I remember I was of the highest rank of soldiers in the emperor's guard, one of the most respected people in the empire, and my name was Rotox Cariotarian. That is why I was chosen, because I was not only to protect the emperor in life but also in death. I remember other things too. I now remember how to fight. The battles I've won for the empire have taught me well, and I think training with you, my friends, would be inappropriate, though I mean no offense, I'm sure you understand..."

Each of his friends sat and looked at him through new eyes. They weren't looking at the kid who they had grown to know for the past month who came in looking for help, but a young, honorable soldier that was now bristling with experience and power. His personality seemed to be mostly the same except that he had a new pride in himself and it shown through his ice blue eyes.

"One more thing" Nick said, "If you don't mind, could you call me by my real name from now on? Rotox?"

Gene gave him a thumbs up "Sure thing Ni… er, I mean Rotox"

"So you know where the planet is?" Jim managed to ask

"To the decimal...", He responded with confidence

"Awright!" Jim and Gene yelled at once. They remembered that the girls hadn't heard anything about the next job so they filled them in.

"This sounds big!", Aisha said

"Especially since it's the tomb of an Emperor!", Jim added, but he switched tones on the fly, "Are you still sure you want to loot this place, Rotox, since it's such an important place to you?"

Everyone else held their breath as they realized that Rotox may very well have refused to take them to the tomb since he WAS the guardian of it after all...

"It is as I have said before. My people are gone and have no need of it, I don't think they would mind.", they let out a sigh of relief," Besides, I could put it to better use," Again they held their breath at the thought of Rotox taking it all for himself, but he read their faces and said, "Relax guys, I haven't changed THAT much. It will be divided up equally." Again, a sigh of relief...

"So", Gene started, "What kind of goods are we looking to find?"

"Riches beyond your wildest dreams! We hoarded the majority of our wealth deep within the temple along with the secrets of technology that even I never knew about", He went on wearing the eyes of remembrance and pride," And there were statues made of the finest dragonite and purest quality and even ships that required no fuel, reserved for the Emperor himself!"

Gene wasn't the only one drooling, Jim and Aisha were also doing their share. Even Melfina and Suzuka's eyes were bulging uncharacteristically.

"Jim! Get the dock manager on the line now! Tell him to have the ship fueled and ready to go by dawn tomorrow!" Gene yelled... way too loud

"I'm already on it!" He said dialing the phone

"Melfina, Suzuka, Aisha and Rotox! You guys come with me! We need to get supplies!" He said as he searched for spare change in his pockets and under the couch cushions.

The five of them ran out the door and down the street as Jim yelled orders into the phone.