Startropics: Follow The Southern Cross Chapter 7: The Peace of Two Hearts, a startropics fanfic

STARTROPICS: FOLLOW THE SOUTHERN CROSS

By Eric 'Erico' Lawson

CHAPTER SIX: THE PEACE OF TWO HEARTS

"By natural order or by a continual quirk, every heir to the legacy of Sellarus was a daughter; a daughter of Sellarus, as the Princesses and Queens of Argonia have been called for generations. It is said that, beyond the incredible and unfathomable intuitive grasp of Shilivre that they carry, they are the inheritors, the keepers of wider truths that help them to rule as no other could. An old legend kept by the temples to the stars says that they are the light of Argonia…and that without that light…The light of Sellarus…

All of Argonia would forever fall into ruin. Even in modern times, we fear the consequences of this doomsaying prophecy. Queen Tanelia was threatened by a terrible act of treachery once; had she died, would the little Princess Seremichaela have been able to carry the burden of Argonia's light all by herself?"

-Wellurn Teslin, Argonian Royal Historian

June 30th, 1990 A.D.

6:23 A.M.

Outside Howduyadocola

Any other day, Mike would have made his way through the confusing mess of small islands and reefs to stop at Howduyadocola for a glass of cold milk and some lighthearted conversation. He had on his first trip through this area.

Today was not such a day. Nav-Com sat diligently at the helm, leading Sub-C through the reefs with a precision that only the mechanical autopilot could master. And Mike, still very aware that he could not allow himself to fall asleep thanks to his countless prior injuries, sat up on top of Sub-C, his eyes burning a constant fire beyond Howduyadocola…and to the large land mass which contained everything that was most precious to him.

The Super Nova, still hanging at his side, had been quiet since they had passed Miracola late last night. Even as the chain links bounced off of his hip with the gentle sway of the ocean, Mike could sense it wanted to say something…but kept silent, out of respect or to save its energy.

Clenching a fist, he drew on the unstable, uncontrollable cord of energy that dwelled somewhere within him. It was resonating more strongly this morning than it had at any time the night before. It too, sensed something that the Super Nova did.

The time was fast approaching. The time for what, Mike didn't know exactly…but he had a fair inkling. Zoda would be in there. And whether or not he was waiting for Mike, he would find himself at odds with the boy.

It all ended here.

"Michael Jones?" Nav-Com called up from within Sub-C. The Earth native turned his head away from the rising sun, his thoughts breaking. "We will be approaching the dive point soon. Please return belowdecks and seal the boarding hatch."

Mike dropped his hand to his side, his fingers brushing by the coiled chain of his Super Nova. It pulsed against his fingertips for a moment, so brief that at any other time, Mike would have thought it nothing but errant static electricity. In his fire, he saw it as nothing less than the strange power the Argonians had left in it…or had been there all along.

"You want me to be afraid of you." Mike said quietly, looking out over the horizon. The blue was fading fast, and the sun looked ready to burst open at any moment. "Even after you should have died…you still haunted my dreams." Mike's eyes burned. "Maybe I was afraid of you once. But I found Mica. And I'm not afraid of you any longer."

The sun crested over the skyline at last, bringing the first rays of true morning light to bear. Mike turned away from the horizon and moved to the ladder, quickly stepping down and closing the hatch.

"The hatch is secure, Nav-Com." Mike said dully, tightening the seal until it would go no farther. "You can dive."

"Confirmed." Nav-Com chirped in his usual fashion. "Beginning diving sequence."

Slowly, Mike moved over to one of Sub-C's padded seats and sank into it, closing his eyes and letting his imagination play out. He shuddered when he did so, but he didn't turn from it. Fear would solve nothing, and it never did for him.

He couldn't be afraid of Zoda.

He couldn't be afraid of what he would do to Mica.

He had to focus. Prepare.

So when he stepped off of Sub-C…and into the ruins of Rellini-Uros…

Not a blessed thing would stand in his way from rescuing Princess Mica, and stopping Zoda. There was newfound courage that flowed through him. It had been a spark before. Absently rubbing at his weapon again, Mike realized that having the Super Nova was the cause of it.

"You're looking forward to this." Mike mused, chuckling as he realized he thought that the mace might talk back.

He said nothing as it pulsed against his leg again.

Giskard Rorth stirred for a moment, mumbling and frowning in his sleep as he rocked on the ground, trying to find a comfortable space to doze back off. A drip of water came down from the ceiling, crashing against his wrinkled nose. With a snort he bolted upright, jarred awake enough to realize the severity of his situation.

He looked a few feet away, to where he had left Dr. Jones leaning against the melted Argonian escape ship with Princess Mica. The archaeologist's eyes were open and quiet, and Mica still curled up against him, seeming all too fragile and pale in the dim light of their surroundings.

"Morning." Dr. Jones mouthed, barely speaking at all. No smile. No frown or moping stare. Just a quiet acceptance of the coming dawn…and Giskard remembered…their fate.

"Morning yourself." Giskard muttered back, running a hand through his unkempt hair. "How did she sleep?"

"Restlessly." Dr. Jones replied. "But she slept."

"And what about you?"

"My boy, a train accident couldn't wake me up when I bed down." Dr. Jones said, a small trace of humor in their otherwise humorless situation. "I woke up a little bit before you did." Dr. Jones looked at his watch. "It's almost 6:30. I suppose we have a little time before Zoda returns."

Giskard looked at Princess Mica, disheveled but still hauntingly beautiful, like a doe in a hunting field before the killing bullet. "Should we wake her?"

Dr. Jones ran a hand down her hair, soothing her back to slumber from her stirrings. "Let her sleep." He replied sadly. "So she can escape this as long as she can."

Giskard bowed his head. "Lucky her." His hand came up to tug a knee against his chest. "There's something about all this that I'm missing."

"What's that?" Dr. Jones asked in reply.

"It's Zoda." Giskard growled, looking back up. "There's something about him…something familiar. Like I've met him before, but I just can't place it."

"Well, he did destroy your planet." Dr. Jones commented. "Is that what you were thinking of?"

Giskard leveled a glower at him, and Dr. Jones offered an apologetic shrug. "I'm serious. I swear that…sometime before, I met him. I'm getting a strange uneasy feeling…and it's not because he's the genocidal maniac that destroyed my civilization. It's something else. Something…deeper." The boy struggled for the words, but he knew they sounded right. They felt right.

Dr. Jones thought about it for a moment, then exhaled in frustration. "I'd love to help you, but I don't have the mental strength right now."

"He's the unlikely son." Giskard continued, oblivious to the archaeologist's frazzled state. "He went to Argonia. Sometime. And he did something that was so horrible, that the records of Rellini-Uros were erased."

"And you think you know him?"

Giskard shook his head. "It's not in anything I've read; if it was, I'd have this. But…No. Like I met him sometime in the past." The boy rolled his eyes. "But that's impossible, right?"

Dr. Jones shrugged. "Four years ago, I would have thought that the presence of alien ruins on earth was a laughable concept of pseudoscience. That's changed."

A low trembling shook the ground, and the two explorers turned towards the source of the disturbance, a sense of dread running through them. Sure enough, it was Zoda, dressed in his full gear and as menacing as ever.

"You're awake." He said simply. "That is good." His red eyes flickered for a moment as he stared down at the Princess. "Wake her." Dr. Jones' eyes betrayed the first signs of rebellion, so Zoda raised an armored claw. "Wake her…Or I will." Steve Jones' resolve faded and he gently shook Princess Mica awake.

"Mica." He said softly. The girl groaned, but came to with the same despondent look on her face that she had had the night before.

"He's here for me." Mica whispered, looking up at the archaeologist with an empty gaze. "Isn't he?"

The archaeologist's eyes blurred in tears. "Yes…he is."

Mica pushed his shirt off of her and rose to her feet, smoothing out the deep purple and blue garments of her royal heritage; the clothes Zoda had forced her to wear again. She bent over and pulled Dr. Jones into a hug, kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you for trying to save us." She whispered, one last act of gratitude in her final moments among friends.

Dr. Jones shut his eyes against the blur and hugged her back. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more." He sniffed. Giskard looked at her for a moment, then dropped his head to the floor and said nothing. There was little else he could add.

Zoda folded his massive arms and glowered. "Come, Princess Seremichaela Argos, last daughter of Sellarus. Your time has come." The Princess pulled herself away from the Doctor and turned to face him, no fear left. The Alien Invader chuckled a bit at that. "Even in death…It must be a family trait." He pulled his cape over his arms and turned about. "Now come along."

Mica followed, her head bowed and all resistance sapped away. It all amounted to the same thing in her eyes. She had been destined to die. From the moment she had emerged from the stasis cube and seen Mike…the Prophecy had taken hold. And this was its final, gruesome chapter. They had tried to fight it. She had tried to fight it. But nothing could stop Zoda, or fate.

Zoda's voice echoed through the caverns as he led Princess Mica out of the escape pod's chamber. "Keep working on that cipher." He growled, his message meant for Dr. Jones and Giskard. The two men just sat there and watched the tyrant and the maiden disappear into the ruins.

Both had little doubt that it would be the last time they would see her.

Coralcola Village

7:30 A.M.

Ezilian Ranuforte had roused early in the morning, groaning through his broken ribs with a fervor that had left Amethyst, loyally tending to him at his side stunned for words. Wheezing as he shook, his forehead laced with sweat from a latent fever, Ezilian struggled to hold onto consciousness.

Amethyst bit her lip and pressed a cold rag against his forehead, the second one so far today.

"He's killing her…" Ezilian rasped, his hands clenching and unclenching the sheets. "Mike…You have to stop him…"

"Be quiet already." Amethyst whispered, hoping that some part of his delusional mind could hear her. She hoped desperately that Ezilian wasn't losing his mind. The fever had only gone up since yesterday, and she had to do her best to keep the swelling down around his head.

If Mica were here…

Amethyst fought the urge to let out a choking sob.

If Mica were here, she could heal him in an instant, and Ezilian wouldn't have to suffer like this, struggle to hold on. He hadn't been this bad last night, either. The fever had come out of nowhere, perhaps not as linked to his injuries from Zoda as she had first thought. But he still groaned the same, trembled the same.

Little Rozlyn, who had said very little since Bana died, poked her head inside of the cabin and risked a glance at her sister. Her pleading eyes said everything that Amethyst needed to realize the question.

"He's fighting to hold on." Amethyst offered to her sister, wiping a tear out of her eye. "I can't do much more than keep him comfortable."

Rozlyn looked more downcast than before as she slowly nodded her head, then disappeared out of the reed covered doorway for somewhere else.

Ezilian's eyes, frantic, wild, and wide open, locked onto Amethyst. "He's there. He's fighting. It won't be enough. He won't be strong enough. She'll die. He'll die. They'll all die!!"

Amethyst held him down, shaking her head furiously. "Stop saying that!" She chastised him, whistling it through clenched teeth. "It's the fever talking, Ezilian, so be quiet and try to relax!"

They were empty words, and she knew it. Thankfully, his exhaustion did what a complete loss of rationality made impossible, and he slipped back into half whispered mumblings, fitfully wheezing as his hands trembled at his sides.

Amethyst dipped her cloth in the bucket of cold water beside the bed and placed it on his forehead. "Don't fail, Mike." She said, half wishing, half praying. "Please…bring her back alive."

Come back alive.

Come back.

Hapo Omoy, the Chieftain of Coralcola Island, stood at the edge of his domain's northern edge. The waves crashed up against the high cliff walls of his precipice, angry as red morning skies overtook everything. Nature added one last ill omen by sending a breeze out of the north, chill and biting.

Still, he stood. His sister was dead…if she were here, she could have interpreted the signs. As it was, Hapo now had to find a wife to bear him children. It was the only way her legacy…and the role of shaman, which belonged to the females of his line…could be carried on now.

Bana would have known what the omens meant. She would have turned to the stars, fading and faint, but still there in the slow morning light for guidance and received all the answers necessary to save them all.

Hapo's mustache bounced as his lip twitched…He was done crying, but the sudden loss still left a void in him. Bana would have known how to interpret it all.

As it was, maybe she had left him a little bit of her mystical strength in her last moments. Hapo couldn't understand the sensation that resonated from his heart, but he knew what it meant.

"He's there." Hapo whispered, nodding to the rising sun. "Mike's at the ruins."

Hapo blinked, amazed at his awareness. His mouth opened again, and what he said next came with no forethought, no mental speech. He just said it, as if something had forced him to. Like he was merely a vessel.

"And the stars are with him."

Hapo's hand clenched into a fist at his side, and he shook his head. "Bana…you're still with me, aren't you?"

The feeling lingered in his heart for a moment longer, then faded away.

Hapo looked to the surf, falling mute.

Maybe she had been, last night.

But she was gone now.

Hapo looked to the north, grimfaced and determined. "Do it, Mike." He said forcefully, hoping that the boy many nautical miles distant could hear him. "Avenge my sister."

The Ruins of Rellini-Uros

The reanimated corpses of Rellini-Uros' inhabitants shuffled about the ruins aimlessly, having no purpose assigned to them other than to patrol their home. Their master had given no other orders, outside of making sure that the two living beings in the chamber with the large misshapen lump were kept from escape. Only those closest to them worried about that; the others kept to themselves.

One zombie's shambling patrol was focused solely in the area of the ruins that led to the slightly fluorescent pool of water at the southern edge of Rellini-Uros' domain; the region where ruins met natural alcove, and nature took hold.

It had been quiet for some time, and that was good. But with what little sentience the zombie had left, it realized that the quiet sanctity of its patrol was being disturbed.

With water flowing off of its hard and gleaming scales, a bright fish of yellow hue rose up in the middle of the pool, letting out a low rumble of dissatisfaction as it pushed up against the shore of the alcove's bay. The zombie turned, its petrified bandages curling about its ankles, unsure of how to respond. The fish's growling went silent, and the creature watching it with a half rotted brain loosened its poise. Whatever it had been doing, it had gone quiet.

It noticed the sudden scuffling…almost clanking noise that came soon after. The top of the fish popped open…and out from it came a human figure, as if the fish had eaten it and now was regurgitating it back up again.

Then the corpse stopped thinking and moving altogether when a silvery mace with wicked points along its every axis whistled through the air and tore half of its head away, twisting the rest of it horribly out of alignment. The sentry fell into a seeping pile of its own decomposing juices, and the mace flew back, slicking the pus away as it returned.

Mike's eyes, hard and hot like the coals after a roaring fire stared at his first opponent as the Super Nova's deadly striking ball swung back and retracted, hanging innocently by its gleaming chain link neck. "If they were all that easy." He murmured, turning back down to look at Sub-C's interior. "Nav-Com!"

"Present. What is your command?"

"Lock down Sub-C in forty-five seconds. Do not open the hatch unless you receive voice confirmation of an authorized user."

"Security protocols in effect…Sub-C will go into standby mode in forty-five seconds. Please clear the hatch to allow hydraulics to function."

Mike hefted his traveling satchel of supplies over his shoulder and stepped completely out of Sub-C, jumping down easily to the cavern floor below. "What I wouldn't give for a few healing potions." He muttered to himself, remembering how ill prepared he was for this. He was pretty sure there would be no more 'hidden treasures' in these ruins, either. When he'd come through here a month and some odd days before, he had been in his prime for cavern diving in the islands. He'd likely found…and used…everything there was to be had in these caves.

But perhaps there were a few surprises left to Rellini-Uros. Perhaps.

He paused at the exit to the subterranean cavern and turned about, watching as Nav-Com ordered Sub-C's hatch closed. The hydraulic hinges pulled the metallic port closed with a hiss, then fell silent as the locking clamps set into place. "Good robot." Mike said, pleased that Nav-Com wasn't entirely useless.

He swiveled back about, chewing at his lower lip. He had gone through these ruins once, and while it was a little blurry now, he had a decent recall of how he'd gotten through the first time. That would do him little good if he didn't know where he had to go. Which meant finding Mica.

Which meant using Shilivre.

Which he was horrible at.

Mike tightened his grip around the Super Nova and closed his eyes. "Help me find her." He whispered, hoping that the pulsing resonance within his weapon would respond as it had in the past.

His mind reached out, and the walls and soil and rock of Rellini-Uros seemed to become transparent and vanish, his sight soaring through them, looking, searching for a certain glowing light…the light of the Starseer, carried through the line of Sellarus.

She was there. He drew in a breath with amazed vigor, reaching out and actually sensing her. A part of him didn't think he was capable of doing it…

But maybe, when it came to Mica…it was just easier to accomplish the impossible.

Mike opened his eyes. She had sensed him. He couldn't see her, but he could feel her…a gentle green glow, reassuring and clear just as the third stasis cube…Mica's cube…had been.

Mike blinked, his Shilivre aided vision revealing something else. Beside her glowing green aura, there was another force.

Dark. Black. Enveloping.

"Zoda." Mike said, his heart knowing the answer before his mind could process it. Both had sensed him.

Both turned. Both paused.

The black light flared up, and even though it wasn't at all possible, Mike could have sworn he heard a ferocious roar of surprise and dismay.

He stumbled backwards, one hand at his head as he was jarred by an invisible wave of energy that had come from Zoda's backlash. "Unghh…" Mike grunted, shaking his head as he tried to refocus. The Shilivre vanished, and his normal sight returned.

"So much for surprise." Mike said, knowing full well that both Mica and Zoda knew he was here now.

And if Zoda remembered nothing about Mike, it was unlikely he would stand long for an interloper with even a minimal understanding of Shilivre. Hefting his satchel a little tighter over his shoulder, Mike set off at a jog.

It was going to get interesting.

Zoda led her through the sprawling hallways of Rellini-Uros, arms folded behind his back and hidden from view by the thick purple cape he wore. There was little in his poise that suggested worry to Mica, and the reason was clear. He had won, after all.

"You don't know how long I've waited for this moment." Zoda commented, something in his voice gloating and mirthful.

"Twenty years." Mica responded tonelessly. "That's how long."

"Oh, no no." Zoda cackled, still humoring her. He stopped and turned about, facing her with his glowing red eyes and dark horned helmet. "Longer than that, my dear. You probably don't remember, but we knew each other long before I destroyed your planet."

Mica looked up at him, blinking and curious as her mind tried to grasp for the conclusions he was offering.

Zoda leaned in a little closer. "You really don't remember me, do you?"

"You're Zoda." Mica said, shaking her head and glaring defiantly at him. "That is all."

The Alien Invader laughed at that, his head swiveling left and right. "Oh, you wish it was that simple. No, my dear…I suppose I owe you a little enlightenment before we carry this ritual sacrifice to its end."

Mica took a few steps back, wary of the man. His hands pushed up and out of the billowing cape he wore, reaching up to grip at the sides of his thick helmet. A mechanism hidden from view clicked open, and he twisted the helmet to the side before lifting it off.

His face was pale but rugged; the marks and scars that adorned his stubbled visage spoke of a hard and haggard life, and countless surgeries. Maybe at one time he would have been considered attractive, but there was something barely beneath the surface of his visage that left her with a feeling of dread.

He seemed a mixture of Argonian and human, if such a thing was possible…his ears were more pointed than a human's, but did not have the elongated lobes that her people did. But she had heard the conversation the night before that Zoda had had with Giskard and Dr. Jones, so that wasn't surprising.

It was, at the end of her examination of his face that she found his most unusual characteristic. One piercing green eye, and one brown that glowered his spirit's inner darkness. Without his helmet, his eyes didn't glow red; didn't need to. Maybe it was an effect he was suppressing now.

Whatever it was, his eyes…one brown and one green…were enough to make her muddled memory kick in a sudden realization, and she stumbled backwards away from him.

Her eyes shone with the horror and fear that only the past could bring. "No…It…You can't be…"

"At last you remember me." The Alien Invader growled, pushing back his short and wiry black hair. His human hair. "As I've said…I've been waiting for this moment longer than you know. And at last you know who Zoda was. It was no coincidence that I destroyed your world."

Zoda leaned in closer. It was revenge.

Mica let out a choking sob, unable to stop it. "It's you." She whispered. "The one who nearly killed mother when I was just…"

"When you were just a little girl." The maniac finished for her, grinning in his own sick fashion. "So say my name. Say it, Princess Mica, and know your destroyer completely."

"Zodus." Mica hiccoughed, sinking to her knees.

Zoda…or rather, as he had been many years before, Zodus, smiled and put his helmet back on.

"And now she remembers."

Ten Years before the Fall of Arruk-Sen (1960 A.C.E. Earth Relative Time)

Arruk-Sen

The Chamber of Atonement

He knelt in chains, but even as a prisoner he exuded a newly discovered malevolent air and superior presence. It was a side of him that nobody in the room would have ever expected…and it was because of that surprise that made the charges all the more grievous.

He was dressed in his simplest clothing, all the markers of his former office and alliance torn away. His black hair was mussed and tousled from the near sleepless night he had been given, but his brown and green eyes blazed as fiercely as ever. He ventured a look around the dark room, the only main light coming in down from the ceiling's singular hole centered upon him. He could make out everyone clearly enough, though.

King Hirocon, younger but just as powerful as he would be ten years later, pounded the gavel from his throne high above the platform where the accused knelt in iron. At his side was Queen Tanelia Argos, heiress to the legacy of Sellarus. Despite her dull pallor and weak appearance, she had insisted on being at the proceedings. There were others there, of course. The usual hierarchy of Argonian nobility, a few emissaries from the headquarters of the Starseekers, the royal archivist and recorder, and a select group of the planetary magistrate. But the prisoner on trial found only one set of eyes worth looking at; The young girl with deep red hair and piercing eyes that stood up beside Queen Argos' lap, looking down at him in wonder and fright.

He grinned at her, knowing that if she would recall nothing else of this day, he would make sure she could never forget his malevolent gaze. It worked, of course. She recoiled from the sight and hid her face from his view. Princess Mica, he recalled. Only six years old, and a fetching child. She would be a real heartstopper when she grew up.

And she would also be heiress to Sellarus' line.

"Former Minister Zodus, stand." King Hirocon said, his voice echoing about the chambers with stern force. The man with the differently hued eyes seemed to consider it for a moment, then rose up and stood with the same defiant gaze in his eyes.

Hirocon shook his head at the sight. "Zodus, when I brought you from Earth, from the Starseeker's colony known as Rellini-Uros from the time it existed, I thought a foundation had been laid between our worlds. I brought you out of obscurity, granted you power and respect and status. I trusted you…made you my advisor. Knowing what I do now about the darkness in your heart, I have come to wish that I had never done so."

The black haired man sneered at that. "And yet you did all the same…"

Hirocon's face darkened, and a bolt of energy lashed out from his fingertips in the shape of a glistening star, crashing solidly into Zodus' chest and knocking the wind out of him. "Silence. You are charged with treason against the royal family, and against Argonia at large." Hirocon pounded his gavel again to quiet some of the murmurings in the room. "While it does not change anything, what is your plea?"

"Guilty, of course." Zodus said flatly. His eyes burned up to Hirocon for a moment, then glanced over to Tanelia Argos, who paled even more under his burning gaze. "I admit wholeheartedly that upon discovering the incredible mystical strength carried by the line of Sellarus, I plotted to claim it as my own."

The room fell into louder murmurs of disapproval, but Zodus continued on, unabashed and unafraid. "I did indeed try to claim Queen Argos' power for my own purposes…a process which, if I had succeeded, would have left her dead. I was regretfully stopped at the last moment by yourself, of course." He noted, looking back at Hirocon with some measure of disgust. "So instead of your dear wife being dead, she is merely weakened. But make no mistake…the power of the Starseer beats in my veins now."

The room fell into uproar at that, and King Hirocon pounded his gavel again, shouting for quiet. After a few moments, the room settled down, but the effect was done.

Fear and open rage towards Zodus now existed where hidden venom and quiet distaste had existed before.

"But you are right, of course." Zodus continued. "My plea doesn't change anything. You have brought a serpent into your garden, my dear friend Hirocon. So now I put it to you…just what exactly will the 'civilized' punishment of Argonia be?"

Hirocon bristled at that. "Were it up to me, and not the laws, I would destroy you here and now for your treachery." He snapped. His eyes glowed for a moment, then settled back down. "As it is, such barbaric acts are beyond us. Henceforth, Zodus, this is your punishment."

Hirocon stood up and set the gavel down, leveling a pointed hand at the man who he had once charged to be his most trusted advisor…a man he had once called friend.

"You are to be exiled from Argonia, never to return. Nor will you be allowed to return to your Rellini-Uros. All records of the Starseeker's exploits involving Earth will be stricken from public record. Your name, your family's heritage, will be dissolved and forgotten. In short, former Minister Zodus…your punishment is that you will have never existed. Ever."

The man who had been called Zodus since he was born took it in stride, not bowing or hunching at all as his life was shattered in a few sentences. Hirocon let his sentence ring through the room, and it brought a deadly silence that nobody was willing to break. At least, not until Zodus himself let out one singular burst of laughter that finished with a glare.

"Then I will finish what you have started." Zodus growled. Arms tied behind his back, he seemed as if he wanted to point straight back at his judge and jury. "I will no longer use the name you deem so abhorrent. Zodus is no more, indeed. So from now on, I will go by another name, and I hope it will haunt you to your grave." He looked around, the same sick and malevolent grin returning as his eyes danced across every face in the room. "Let my name haunt you all. One day, I will return and finish what I have started…I swear, I will cast you all into oblivion. And when you go, carry my name on your lips. ZODA."

Hirocon shook his head at that. "May the stars have mercy on your wretched soul, traitor."

A pair of guards came up beside the prisoner and clamped down on his arms, preparing to lead him away to the sole spaceship that would be set adrift into the sea of stars above with no way to return home.

Zoda, grinning as he was led about, reached out with his newfound strength and broadcast his thoughts.

The strength of Sellarus' line shall be mine. If not today…I know many things, and you will never be rid of me!!

Fighting against the pull of his captors, Zoda whirled about, his eyes flashing a flickering red as he laughed up to the balcony where Hirocon, Tanelia, and Mica now all stood.

"I'll come for you again, Tanelia!!" Zoda roared, insane and straining against the guards. The Queen whimpered, pulling behind her husband to try and shield herself from his maniacal presence. Zoda's gaze flickered down to the young and all too helpless girl who clung to her mother's leg. "And if I can't have you, then I will take your precious daughter!!"

Mica sunk to the floor, covering her ears and whimpering even louder than her mother had, closing her eyes tightly. She wished that the bad man would go away…

That everything would go away. That this was just some nightmare.

No, that man couldn't have hurt mommy. Mommy was strong. Mommy was very strong. Nobody could hurt mommy.

Years from then, her memories…and the records…of that day, of that man, of his past, would all be forgotten and suppressed.

But she could never forget the hideous laugh and grin of his…or the way his wild eyes of different colors sparkled with madness under his thick black hair.

Mica looked up at him, her fear returned. That had probably been his intent all along, to wipe the feeble resistance off of her face and leave her entirely helpless.

"If you wish to blame someone for this, then blame your father." Zoda said darkly. "He was always too trusting of non-Argonians. I was not his only contact beyond Argonia, I imagine…but I was the only one he brought to his world. Were it not for his influence, I would have been lost to obscurity in this place, and you and all your people might still live." The red eyes inside of his helmet flickered. "I find it quite amusing."

Mica trembled a bit. "If you're only half Argonian…how can you use Shilivre?"

"She asks the critical question." Zoda commented, motioning for her to follow. "Not like it will matter when you are dead. But I suppose we might as well solve all your questions before you enter the void."

He pulled his cape around himself a little tighter. "I did have Shilivre…but my version of it was far different. Useless. I could not use it to communicate with my thoughts, nor for combat or defense. I could not shape the world, enhance myself, or do any of the great acts that were so common to those of your blessed line. No, I found that my Shilivre was good for one thing only…" The alien paused and tilted his head about, catching Mica with an offhanded gaze. "To absorb the life energies of those around me."

Zoda shook his head and kept walking, Mica following as she had been for countless minutes. "Of course, that gift would have been disconcerting, shall we say, to the Starseekers that raised me. So I kept it hidden, thinking it a horrifying flaw. I pretended to be a mule, powerless in the ways of Shilivre. No one was the wiser. And then your father came, looking for someone to bring back to Argonia…a contact from the lost and distant band of Starseekers that had come here to Earth. He chose me. And once I was there…I learned of the truth behind the stories of the Starseer. I learned that Shilivre wasn't just something that all Argonians had…it was a rare and precious gift, and its most potent form was carried through the royal line. The daughters of Sellarus."

He seemed pleased with himself as he delved back into his past. "On the surface, I was everything that your father and mother could have hoped for. Loyal, bright, observant, resourceful. But beneath it was a thirst for power, for dominance that they could not see. Back then, I had no great hatred of Argonia and its people, dear Princess. I was simply driven to possess the power of the Starseer…and I learned through my research, and through a few late night outings, that on a world filled with far more Shilivre capable beings, my own 'useless' gift of leeching the life from those around me carried an added benefit. When I absorbed their essence…I absorbed their power as well."

Zoda chuckled lowly. "And if ultimate power was to be mine, it could only come from one person…your mother. When the time was right, I struck. I would have succeeded, save for the intercession of your bothersome father once more. He banished me from Argonia, cast me adrift in the stars." He paused, looking back at a still stunned Mica. "You're no doubt asking yourself…How did I survive to become the menace before you today? Well, my dear Princess, there are many worlds who were loyal to the Argonian people and their ideals…but there were others who despised them. All they lacked was a leader with suitable charisma and…coercive abilities. I united them. Thus was the birth of the Space Pirates…and their leader, Alien Invader Zoda. Stronger than I ever was, I returned to Argonia with two thoughts; the utter destruction and revenge upon the planet that had cast me out, and the final reclamation of the ultimate gift denied me. But we did not expect your mother to be on that space station…So she died, and I lost my link. I thought all was lost on my second goal until I remembered something."

Zoda turned and looked at Mica. "When I came to kill Hirocon, I found you. And I remembered that Tanelia had had a daughter…so even without her, the power of the Starseer could still be mine to wield."

Mica shook her head at him, numb with the revived horror he had given rise to. "How can you do this?" She mumbled, looking up at him. "You're Argonian…why would you do all this?"

"You could call it misplaced aggression, perhaps." Zoda shrugged. "Or maybe I truly am inhuman, and it is a sheer desire for power that has guided my life. Of course, you could always call the revenge card." His red eyes flickered again, all humor lost. "I could care less, myself. The line of Sellarus dies with you today…and this discussion is long since done."

Zoda motioned for her to follow him on farther, but Mica's feet seemed to freeze to the ground. Blinking in shock, she concentrated her thoughts on the sensation, which seemed as a gentle nudge against her. A familiar and comforting nudge.

In the cold of the ruins of Rellini-Uros, Mica's heart awoke with the stirrings of a sensation she hadn't felt in seemingly forever.

Hope.

Mica…

Stunned, the girl turned in the direction of the voice, thinking it a hallucination. No, he couldn't be here. There was no way…

…Mike?!

MICA!!

MICHAEL!

He was here. He had come. He had come for HER. Zoda turned about, grim and annoyed at her disobedience. "Blast it, wench, stop dawdling and come along!"

"I'm here!" Mica screamed, reaching out to him with everything she had. His watchful and worried presence, carried on the breeze of Shilivre expanded…and danced across Zoda's form as well. Mica could sense his gaze turning.

Zoda felt him stare as well, but his response was nowhere close to hers. Hissing in surprise and dismay, his clawed hands clenched into fists. "What…?! Who is that?!"

Mica whirled on him, hope singing in her heart one more desperate time. "It's Michael Jones, the boy who rescued us from your clutches weeks before!"

Zoda growled. "But he uses Shilivre…how??"

Mica's grin answered nothing for him, but Zoda's flashing eyes revealed that he already knew the solution.

"You think…you really think he is the Starseer reborn?" Mica's grin grew wider still.

"He has come to destroy you, Zoda…And to rescue us in our darkest hour!"

The Alien Invader seemed to think on that for a moment, but relaxed with another dark chuckle. "Oh, but if the Prophecy really is true…then you fell in love with him, didn't you?"

Mica's grin vanished in an instant, and disbelief took its place. "How can you…"

"Oh, I know of the Prophecy, Princess Seremichaela Argos. The FULL prophecy, not just the story told over evening fires." Zoda growled lowly. He tapped the side of his helmet, red eyes burning low. "That was something else I learned…when I attacked your mother. I got more than a portion of her strength…I received her knowledge as well. Including the hidden details of that ancient legend. So before you go off and celebrate my demise…remember that it is your destiny to die." He pointed a clawed finger at her. "And so help me, you will die today."

A rolling black locus of energy erupted around him, then slammed hard against the tentative psychic reach of Mike far distant in the ruins. "I will not tolerate interruptions." Zoda waved his hand, concentrating thickly for a long moment.

Around them, the ruins seemed to come alive, humming and glowing with lights and noises not heard for thousands of years.

"This place was a stronghold of the Starseekers, long ago." Zoda commented, glancing over to his captive princess. "I've reactivated the dormant defenses…They should be more than enough to deal with this upstart."

Mica bit her lip. "It will only slow him down."

"You have incredible faith in this boy…" Zoda commented softly. "But you will be dead before he ever reaches us." His hand extended out at her and he fired off a blast of tremendous force, stunning her cold.

He lifted her unconscious form over his shoulder and took off walking through the awakened corridors of his long forgotten home. "It wouldn't do for you to be doing anything stupid, like trying to resist me." Zoda commented to her prone frame. "I'd prefer not killing you until I can do it right."

Despite his bravado, Zoda did feel shaken at that moment. He had remembered the Prophecy, an errant memory that he had inherited from Tanelia as he had drained her life force and powers away. Mica's sudden resurgence of spirit in her hopeless situation seemed to mark how clearly she thought it was coming true.

But surely she was mistaken…that old woman had used Shilivre as well, and she was not the Starseer. That was likely the case with this 'Mike' as well.

And heaven help him if it wasn't. Because nothing was going to stand in Zoda's way.

The caverns of Rellini-Uros had long been quiet. Even when he had come through the first time and fought against the few undead and rockformed sentries that wandered the ruins, it had maintained its eerie quality of silence. The only time that the ruins had seemed to come really alive was when he had fought the inner guardians; the strange Turboss, the statue guardians, 'Broken Joe', the floating Easter Island head, and of course, the twin statues that shot fire. Mike had anticipated much the same on this trip.

He was met with a rude awakening when a faint and glowing luminescence, the byproduct of an age lost long ago, came to shimmering existence and the low hum of rusted, hidden machinery.

He stopped his jog, tensing up and reaching for his Super Nova reflexively. "This didn't happen last time…" He growled, looking for any immediate signs of danger. But aside from the flooded state of the ruins' opening section, which was more blended in with the rock and underground grass than later portions of Rellini-Uros would be, little seemed changed. At least when it came to the terrain. He knew he wasn't far from another room of tiny platforms over open water, and there would likely be some resistance to be found there. He would run into some dangerous vermin along the way; variants of typical shellfish and squid that were dangerous, but weak. And he had the Super Nova as well…something he hadn't had on his last trip through. If things had stayed the same, he'd also have to tangle with a few mutated bipedal monstrosities and some rotting mummies to boot.

If he was lucky, the strange humming that was being produced didn't mean that any larger creatures had reawakened. But this hadn't been a particularly lucky day.

As if to confirm his suspicions, the bend of the corridor not far off echoed a slow shuffling and groaning. Mike drew his Super Nova and exhaled. "More walking dead. Perfect."

A horde of five shuffled into view, moving with a sluggish but determined pace towards him. Wasting no time to ponder his circumstances, Mike swung the deadly ball above his head and let it fly. His first shot slammed hard into the lead corpse, knocking him back against the one following him and stopping the march cold.

"Dang, this thing's radical!" Mike whooped, exhilarated by the raw and unstoppable power that the Super Nova offered. The bandaged foes tried to recover from the first blow, but Mike pulled his arm back and swung the chain back again for a more powerful attack. This time, the spiked mace blasted through the first corpse and obliterated it before crushing the second bandaged zombie into a useless heap of barely preserved flesh and bones.

The others were undaunted and came after him with their unceasing gait…but they didn't stand a chance either, and fell like their two comrades.

Mike listened a little harder, then exhaled when he heard no more coming. At least for now.

"This place is waking up." He said softly. Moving up ahead and out of the corridor, he found himself in the room that served as the junction between the flooded hall ahead of him and the way to the exit behind. Two pools at opposite ends of the chamber exploded with movement as deadly flying squids hurled themselves from one puddle to the other. Mike bared his teeth.

That's new.

He tightened his grip around the Super Nova's base, readying himself for another attack. "Bana told me when I stopped Zoda last time, that the monsters were disappearing. Now that the real Zoda's here…This place is more heinous than before."

Like he was controlling it all.

A few squid collapsed into stunned piles on the floor from a series of quick strikes from the few baseballs he had on him. Retrieving his projectiles from their twitching and dying bodies, Mike dodged the rest and pressed on. The next room was the one that worried him.

It seemed much the same as it had been on his first trip; a great hollowed out hall in the rocks with no floor to speak of. Completely opened to the floodwaters of the cavern access, there were only a few sparsely placed pedestals that jutted out from the water to jump across. Another person might simply have swam across; the water was calm enough to allow for such a thing easily.

But the dread that rose up in Mike unconsciously reminded him of one very important fact that made his own journey through this mess all the more difficult. He couldn't swim. He'd made that fact abundantly clear to Marlin, a long time ago. Had it not been for Ezilian's efforts after the fight with the C-Serpent's mate two days ago, he would have drowned then as well. And now he faced the same problem.

He swallowed down a bit more of his fear. "Here goes nothing…" Tying the Super Nova tightly to his jeans, he made cautious hops from platform to platform, careful of the timing for the ones that rose and fell from the water. The arrangement seemed much the same; Drawing back on what he remembered from his last trip through, Mike avoided the obvious path and forged on through a more obscure pathway through the maze of stepping stones. Even though it would have seemed impossible from a distance, his route allowed him to jump the shorter distances between havens. What made him worry, though, was that there were none of the aggravating shellfish vermin jumping around from block to block. They had been through on his last trip through these ruins, and he doubted very much that they would simply be dead. No, there was a reason they weren't here.

"There were monkeys in Coralcola." Mike growled, clearing another two pedestal wide jump. "So what's here?"

Worried as he was about what might be running beneath the waves, Mike failed to notice how something had changed in the room's configuration. He landed solidly on one block, stumbling for a moment and cursing himself as he regained his balance. What he failed to notice was that he had triggered a hidden switch…and activated a red pressure sensor on the block ahead of him. His head was turned sideways as he made the next jump, but when he landed, he finally realized something had gone wrong.

The sound of depressing a red switch was all too noticeable to ears that had never forgotten the sound of them.

Mike glanced down to his feet, caught off guard. "That wasn't there before." He commented, tensing up and looking around.

The wall to the north of him opened up, revealing a hidden doorway he'd never before found. "That wasn't either."

His blood ran cold when he heard the sound of rushing water…coming from the hidden doorway that had just opened.

And that SURE AS HELL WASN'T THERE BEFORE!!

Mike's eyes jerked towards the exit; it wasn't far, but it wasn't anywhere close. The rushing water poured into the room, and the water level raised at an incredible rate, soon rising up and lapping at his sneakers.

"Ohh, CRAP!" Mike screamed, tearing towards the exit. Already he could make out a hidden doorway beginning to slide down, seeking to seal off the room's exit. That wasn't exactly moving at an accommodating speed either. It seemed like Mike had two options, as much as he hoped. He'd either fall in the water and drown…or he would be trapped in this room, and he'd still drown.

Drowning wasn't exactly something he was looking forward to doing. He jumped another platform, cringing as he splashed through three inches of water before hitting the platform. Only two more jumps, and he'd be clear…

Two more jumps…

The water came in faster, up to his knees.

Oh, please give me the strength…

Slogging through the water, Mike made another defiant jump. But unlike before, he was treading enough of the seawater that his jump was hindered. Screaming in dismay, Mike could do little but fall short of his goal, sinking and thrashing into the water that continued to rise.

Drowning was more than a reality for the Seattle native; sure, he sank like a stone, and he couldn't do a stroke for his life. Those were things any person could have overcome. But for Mike, it was just as much an irrational fear…the water, the fear of drowning was a phobia.

He doomed himself, in other words, more because he was so afraid of drowning that it really did happen. And unlike the last time he'd fallen into the drink, there was no Ezilian to save him.

Numbly, he was aware of his fingers scrambling and reaching for the pedestal a foot away from his outstretched arms, and of his legs frantically thrashing about. For the most part, he was lost in his own thoughts. Remembering the last time he'd been in this situation. Remembering everything that he was fighting for.

I can't swim…but then…how did I get out of the escape capsule from Zoda's ship…

Mica…No, I can't die yet…I have to save Mica.

I have to stop Zoda. I can't die.

Truth be told, Mike would never be an expert swimmer. He'd never become even a novice swimmer. But at that moment, none of those things mattered. All he needed to do was stop worrying about drowning long enough to do something about it.

Worrying about Mica was enough of a distraction to accomplish just that. His thrashing legs developed enough of a forward momentum that he was able to crane his arms out and grab the sides of the platform he had tried to jump to. Holding his breath tightly, Mike pulled with everything he had and shot himself through the water, kicking off of the platform with his legs as they passed by for one last boost.

Even as the room finished flooding, Mike's desperate blast through the liquid propelled him far enough towards the door that the current of water flooding out of the rapidly closing exit picked him up and shot him through the narrowing crack. As if to add one last reminder of how grave his predicament had been, a bit of his shoelace that had come untied was caught between the shutting door and the ground, dangling him for a moment before it snapped free.

Mike coughed up what felt like a few lungfuls of water, soaking wet from the immersion and slowly coming back to his senses. Monsters, he could fight. But overcoming something that had been an obstacle all his life…was something else entirely.

Behind him, the room he'd barely escaped from began to drain the floodwaters, the trap sprung and calmly undoing itself. Mike ran a hand through his hair, checking all his gear. Strangely enough, he'd survived the deluge without losing anything.

"Sorry Zoda…but if you're trying to get rid of me, you'll have to try harder than dirty tricks." Mike wheezed, standing back up. He winced for a moment, then pulled a fish that had somehow wriggled into his jeans' back pocket out and tossed it aside.

I don't have time to worry about drowning or dying anymore.

He's going to kill Mica if I don't hurry!!

When Mica came to, her body was still sore from the impact of the shot that had been thrown at her. She tried to reach for her stomach to feel if there was any permanent damage from the starbolt Zodus…no, Zoda…had thrown.

He had been Zodus. But that had been a long time ago.

She couldn't feel herself, though. Shaking her head to clear the last vestiges of confusion, she realized that she had been tied down on an altar. Zoda's back was turned to her, busy looking at a flashing display panel that had kept its sheen after thousands of years of disuse.

Of course, Zoda was observant, even with his attention divided. "Awake at last. That's good."

"Just what are you doing?" Mica asked, straining against the tarnished metal chains that kept her from escaping the room's altar. She lay in the center, a ray of sunlight coming down upon her and providing the bulk of the room's illumination. "Making some last minute preparations for your sick ritual?"

"No, there's little more I need to do for that." Zoda responded, his voice subdued. "I'm actually watching the progress of your friend…Mike, was it?"

Mica's blood ran cold. Zoda, perhaps because he was just attuned to darkness, and its role in emotions, sensed it and chuckled. "Oh, that's sweet. You fear for him?"

Zoda turned about, his red eyes glowing from inside the depths of his helmet. "Well, he's not dead yet. For a time, I thought he might…he triggered one of the old ruin's traps I reactivated. It seemed as though he might drown…But he managed to somehow pull himself together long enough to escape it." Zoda folded his arms, watching Mica carefully. "Tell me, has he always had such a problem with water?"

Mica glared at him. "I'm not telling you anything, you monster."

Zoda let out one of his low chuckles at that, shaking his head. "Why, my dear…you already have." He shrugged his shoulders. "Sadly, water traps aren't one of the things I remember having a lot of in Rellini-Uros. Still, if he thinks he can rescue you, he'll have a few other…surprises."

"He will rescue me." Mica stated defiantly, shaking her head.

Zoda cocked his helmet to the side, red eyes narrowing at her. "You cling to these dreams, even though they will never come true. He will not survive the ruins. There are too many defenses…too many of my servants, and the old protectors of this place for him to overcome."

"He will overcome them." Mica said shakily. "He is the Starseer."

Zoda's hand clenched into a fist. "He is most assuredly not."

"Of course he is." Mica whispered, a tear rolling from the corner of her eye. "I love him." The look she sent him carried a mental message. And if you know the Prophecy…the full Prophecy…then you know that it was destiny for me to fall in love with the Starseer reborn. Not just any boy.

Zoda held his tongue for a moment, even though his breathing indicated a great deal of barely controlled anger. Even if he is the Starseer…Which I will never believe, my dear Princess…You will not live. Even if he makes it through Rellini-Uros alive, you will die. And there is nothing that he can do about it. The alien smirked at that. If the Prophecy is as right as you say it is…if you believe in it that much…then you know that that is the truth.

Mica closed her eyes. Zoda's words, fueled by knowledge stolen from her mother many years ago, struck her worse than any starbolt ever could. For she knew he was right.

And when you lie dead at my feet, and your strength is mine…Then he will die as well.

Zoda stepped away from the monitoring console and stepped up beside Mica's defeated form. His arms extended out and hung above her, hovering in the air as he collected himself.

"And now it begins…" Zoda murmured, closing his eyes.

Mica didn't have the heart to open hers.

The natural part of the tunnels was starting to disappear; Mike climbed out of the the first section of Rellini-Uros and into a grandiose chamber with abandoned humanlike statues, more akin to something from the Olmecs, jutting up everywhere. There was a faint echo from slow droplets of water that came down from the ceiling, and the gigantic structure glowed as it always had with phosphorescent lichens along the walls. Beyond this point, Mike knew, there was no turning back. Beyond this point began the true ruins of Rellini-Uros…And the bulk of Zoda's surprises in these awakened tunnels.

He had to shake his head as he jogged on, moving at a brisk pace that wouldn't overexert his stamina. His Uncle couldn't have had any idea a year ago that it would turn out like this. He couldn't have known when he invited Mike to come help him explore the ruins…that it would lead to an adventure that still wasn't over.

He kept moving, but his thoughts stopped suddenly. Uncle Steve…

Was he still alive? Was Giskard alive?? They had been on their way to the ruins…they had arrived and been here. Something had caused them to send Sub-C back. They had sacrificed escape to give him the chance to save Princess Mica and stop Zoda.

Refusing to fall into panic, Mike desperately hoped that they hadn't sacrificed more than that as well.

"Because if you've hurt them, Zoda, I swear…" Mike growled. "You're just going to hurt everyone I know. And you will pay."

This portion of the caverns was sheer maze. Mike recalled how on his last trip, he had wandered about for nearly an hour, hitting dead end after dead end trying to find the path that would weave through the water surrounded walkways and take him to the far shore of the cavern's seawater lake. Of course, that stumbling had resulted in him finding one of the powerful relics left in these islands; a small fruit shaped like a heart that didn't spoil, and when eaten, restored one's vitality and added to it.

Somehow, Mike imagined that he would have no such luck or findings on this trip. But he would kill for another set of those spiked cleats…and barring those, he'd take a pack of those double shurikens that he'd been forced to use to take out the giant fire-breathing statues.

At least, he consoled himself, he hadn't met Turboss or that "Broken Joe" on his way here.

"Kind of makes you wonder just exactly what else Zoda has planned." He muttered, darting through the wider tunnels with a speed only his experience could grant him.

Take the leftmost route. Hang a right. Follow the trail. And there you reached the opposing shore to the cavern's lake…and the wall of gigantic statues that signified how deep inside Rellini-Uros you truly were. If he followed the trail, he would reach the center of the ruins…

The gigantic melted mass of metal that he now knew as the Argonian escape pod. A craft which had carried the three stasis cubes over hundreds of thousands of light years, to the other side of the galaxy…From Argonia to Earth.

"Where it all began." Mike said quietly, offering up another prayer to the welfare of his Uncle Steve and Giskard Rorth. The statues, a near bronze brown in their polished and unmarred stonework, stood silently watching and guarding the tunnel leading farther in. They had stood there for ages, speechless observers as time had passed and left Rellini-Uros to fade out of existence.

And yet today…they moved. Inexplicable as it was, the two statues closest to the doorway began to shudder and rumble, shifting on previously hidden rails to block the passage leading to the ruined escape pod and the next chamber. Mike drew himself up short, hand reaching to his waist and pulling the Super Nova up at the ready.

"Oh, I really don't like the sound of this…" He hissed, eyes darting around for any sign of trouble.

And trouble came. Echoing a strange noise, a pile of rocks danced along the ground towards him. Mike jumped up into the air and let it pass harmlessly overhead, his instincts reminding him of what the beast was.

A sentinel of rock, who excelled in hit and run attacks. Still, if you knew how to dance around them, they were weak and useless. Sure enough, it reached the end of its run and exploded into being out of the ground, the dancing rocks scattering in all directions like shrapnel.

"Game over!" Mike yelled, hurling his Super Nova with deadly accuracy as he jumped over the wave of its attack. The rock monster, built for surprise and speed, collapsed quickly under the weight of Mike's strongest weapon.

Mike looked about. "Where there's one, there's more." He said softly, gripping tighter on the Super Nova's grip. Sure enough, more explosions of rocks began to dance along the ground…but unlike the last time, they didn't streak towards him. Instead they swirled about him, as if the sentries were observing him. Mike tensed up; a wrong move on his part could buy him a great deal of pain if they all decided to emerge at once and fire together.

That wasn't what they did, though. Instead the dancing pebbles and rocks swirled away from him, meeting in one spot. The ground shook, more than it had when the statues themselves moved to block his exit. And more shocking to Mike was how the small dancing piles of rubble combined…

The rocks grew larger, into boulders…

And when Mike thought they could grow no larger, they exploded outwards in all directions, flying missiles the size of clothes dressers. One headed straight for him, and he knew he couldn't jump it.

He fell flat on his face, squeezing his body tight against the hard and rocky soil and suffering bruises in the process. But it worked, as the projectile soared bare inches above his head and missed him cleanly. Mike scrambled back up to his feet, his hand tightening around his Super Nova even more as he saw what had come from that explosion of rock.

It was another one of the rock skirmishers, sure. Only this one was four times as big, looking nearly twelve feet tall…and as bulked up as it was, its lumbering arms lurching back and forth, it was clear that speed had been sacrificed for something far more dangerous to him.

"This isn't good." Mike muttered to himself, knowing full well it was the greatest understatement said yet today. The Super Nova in his hand hummed in agreement, reassuring him that he didn't stand alone.

The beast let out a roar, even though with no vocal cords, that should have been an impossibility. It stepped forward with a lumbering, crushing step, and Mike barely threw himself clear of the foot before it came down. As it did, the smaller rocks about the Golem's foot exploded outwards, much like the rock skirmishers fired off their outer shell when they emerged from the ground. Mike winced as the sharp edged rocks gashed across his back and shoulder, a grim thought reaching his mind. This thing could do that every time it stepped…and that was none too good.

Mike ran between its legs and swung the Super Nova up between them. Even though it made little logistical sense, he hoped that a hit to the rock beast's metaphorical 'babymakers' might wind it a bit. Slow it down enough so that he could muster a more formidable attack.

It took the blow and certainly felt it; bits of rock flew in all directions from the impact, and the hole Mike had smashed into the creature refilled with a shuffling mixture from the rest of its body. It lumbered about on Mike and brought its foot down, trying to flatten him. Mike jumped aside like he had before, but this time allowed himself enough space to jump the explosive shower of rocks that came from his descending foot. "You missed!" Mike shouted at the beast, hurling his weapon again. The spiked ball slammed through the side of its thigh and took another chunk of the monster with it, but just like before, it simply readjusted the rest of its mass to accommodate for the wound and repaired itself.

It was obviously growing annoyed. Its previous lumbering gait sped up with a faster step, and like before, Mike dodged the stomp and the spray.

He didn't anticipate the beast's fist swinging down to crash into his chest and hurl him backwards along the underground path. And it hurt. Of course, getting hit anywhere by a giant animated rock monster was going to hurt, but he hadn't been expecting the thing to come out swinging.

Mike skidded along the floor for a moment, his free arm coming dangerously close to the water's edge. Despite the pain and the scraped skin that would soon bring forth a rush of blood along his chin, Mike forced himself back up to his feet and shook his head.

"All right, you can hit." Mike slurred, focusing on the monster as it lumbered towards him at his slow gait. The Super Nova hummed in his hand again, eager for battle. And Mike knew all too well that range was one advantage he had over the thing…

"No pile of rocks is going to stand in my way!" Mike cried out, whirling his mace about his head before hurling it out. Unlike before, he tapped into the Super Nova's hidden skill. At the apex of his swing, the ball disconnected from the chain and slammed like a cannonball into the Golem slowly moving towards him. Just as soon as it had hit, it reappeared on the rest of the Super Nova as if it had never gone missing.

Mike grinned and hurled it again. And again. It was the Super Nova's greatest asset, the range and the speed of blows that it could create, as long as he had the strength to perform the motion. And while he was injured, he was certainly fully capable.

The Golem roared under the powerful series of blows, pieces of itself blasting out in all directions. Struggling to its feet, it pulled itself together, but thanks to the number of pieces Mike had destroyed, it shrank in size, standing now only half as large as it had been at the beginning.

"So, you're not invincible." Mike grunted at the thing, waiting to see what it would do. "There's just a lot of you to destroy." The Golem roared in response and lumbered towards Mike, moving faster now after having fifty percent of its body shredded away. Mike rolled to the side and threw the Super Nova again, but the rock monster slammed itself into the ground, and the shot flew harmlessly overhead.

The Golem had disappeared as if by magic, but there was a shaking in the ground underneath his feet. Before Mike could even begin to realize what had taken place, it burst out of the ground underneath him and swept him up into the air, its thick hands threatening to pull him apart.

Mike let out a scream as the Golem tried to stretch his body out, one hand on his arms and the other on his legs. The Super Nova fell to the ground at the rock monster's feet, loosed from Mike's grasp and no longer a threat.

The beast roared triumphantly, loosening its grip just enough to prepare itself to end Mike's life and quell the threat to Rellini-Uros. Borne of the latent mystical and technological strength in the ruins, summoned by a long forgotten master, it knew only that the trespasser in his grasp was the one that he had been created to destroy. Now his purpose would be fulfilled.

Bleeding from his lip, bruised and somehow feeling that one of his arms was already dislocated, Mike brushed through the pain-induced haze of his endorphins and wheezed out a stale breath of air. "Not like this." He rasped.

No…It's not time yet…

Fully aware of himself, Mike would have struggled and fought the only ways he knew how; brute strength, his short bursts of speed, and his unreliable jumping and weaving. That and hurling whatever weapon he had at his side, which in this case, was the Super Nova.

But the Super Nova lay at the creature's feet, and Mike was clutched between its hands, only seconds from being torn apart. All his usual avenues were gone.

It was there, in his hazy perception, that something else took over. Something deeper and older than even his most basic tricks.

Something he still hadn't been able to reconcile.

The Super Nova on the ground hummed angrily, sensing something beginning to stir in its master. The Golem paused for a moment, confused as a locus of white light briefly flared around Mike's weary body.

Mike's lips parted, and a single word escaped them.

"…Fly."

The Super Nova jumped up into the air, moving under its own power, but compelled and driven by something else entirely. Whistling faster than it had ever before, the spiked mace that the Argonians had thought to be Ellini reborn slammed up through one of the Golem's legs, sending it toppling to the ground. The beast roared in pain, but the Super Nova did not stop. Still faintly glowing in the same white light, it turned about and exploded through one of the rock monster's arms, turning about and burying itself deep into the beast's reassembling torso. Fragments of rock and tiny boulders rumbled through its mass, trying to heal the damage it had sustained. Mike was released and rolled to the floor, his dull eyes looking almost lazily at the section of the Golem where his Super Nova was hidden.

The rock monster paused its movements, whimpering as the faint glow intensified and began to peer through the cracks of its body.

In one single bright flash, the rock monster exploded in a shower of stone and ceased to be. The Super Nova collapsed to the ground, pulsing a few more times in its light before growing cold and dormant again.

Mike swung himself back up to his feet and stared around at the carnage, feeling exhausted and confused at the same token.

"…I could never do that before." He whispered to himself, coughing up a lungful of dust. But even as he finished saying that, he knew that it wasn't true.

A flash of something…a dream, or a memory, one of the two…

Seemed to tell him that such a thing had happened a long, long time ago.

Back when the Starseer had saved Argonia.

He picked up the Super Nova and trudged on, moving back towards the wall of stone statues that had moved to block his path. With the Golem destroyed, they now acquiesced to his approach, rumbling and grinding back to their original positions and opening the doorway once again. Mike trudged through, feeling his injuries beginning to get the best of him.

"…Mica…" Mike groaned, trying to remember what she had told him to do in order to heal himself.

Somehow, it was easier now, even if it was taxing on whatever reserve of hidden power he'd recently obtained. New energies, healing and gentle, pulsed through his body with another faint white glow, and he walked on. He was still tired, but no longer the battered warrior he had been, when he emerged into the chamber with the massive melted Argonian escape pod etched with the cipher.

He was relieved to find two individuals waiting there, crying out his name as he approached. He knew them…he had worried that they wouldn't be alive.

But now he knew they were.

Tears filling his eyes, Mike began to jog towards them, and didn't stop until the larger one had drawn him into a tight hug.

"Uncle Steve…" Mike choked out, glad for the embrace.

The old man ruffled Giskard Rorth's hair as the Argonian youth moved beside the two Joneses, admiration and relief in his eyes. "You came." Dr. Jones replied, failing to retain his composure. "You came."

Mike leaned up against the ruined Argonian escape capsule, resting his weary body as his mind tried to heal his injuries further. It seemed to hum in the back of his mind; on, but not requiring the full amount of his concentration. Much like breathing.

Giskard looked over at Doctor Jones, a realization sinking into his expression. "When you sent Sub-C back home…you were planning on Mike being able to make it back here, weren't you?"

Dr. Jones nodded, respect in his eyes. "My nephew is strong." He agreed, patting the boy on the arm. "Stronger than I had given him credit for. Strong enough to save you all once."

"But is he strong enough to do it again?" Giskard rumbled, eyeing over Mike's injuries.

The Earth boy finally opened his eyes, one hand lazily brushing up against the Super Nova at his side. "Whether or not I'm strong enough…I have to." He slowly pulled himself up, standing erect. "It was the last promise I made to Bana before she died…I promised I'd bring Mica back. I made that same promise to Ezilian, too. He's not going to kill her."

"The process will kill her, yes…but it's not just her death that he's after." Dr. Jones replied, his voice stern.

Mike looked up at him and frowned. "What are you getting at, Uncle Steve?"

"He's after the power of the Starseer. Shilivre." Giskard explained, deadpan as ever. "Mica is the strongest source of it; she became the inheritor of the Starseer's legacy when her mother was killed."

"He's going to start with her." Dr. Jones affirmed sadly. "Then, when he's taken everything from her…he'll turn to the others. It's genocide with a purpose, he's driven with a desire for power."

Mike's hand clenched into a fist, and the Super Nova hummed at his side in its faint white light. "I won't allow that to happen. He's not going to hurt her, I swear it."

Giskard smiled sadly at him. "You love her, don't you." It was a statement, not a question. Mike nodded once, no hint of doubt in him. "She told us…She had tried to keep herself from falling in love with you. But it didn't work."

"The Prophecy, Mike…It said that the Starseer would return and save them…But that the daughter of Sellarus would fall in love with him, and she would die at the hands of a new evil." Dr. Jones was calm, presenting the facts as he knew them.

"She's not going to die." Mike answered hastily. "I won't let her. I'll kill Zoda before I let him kill her!"

"You can't change fate." Giskard mumbled, slowly shaking his head. "You're the Starseer. You saved us. And now she'll die."

Mike stood up and slowly marched over to Giskard, his hand coming down like a snake to pinch down at the juncture between the Argonian's neck and shoulder. His eyes flashed with fire. "I don't believe in the Prophecy like you do, Giskard. And I still don't believe that I'm the Starseer. I don't believe that it's over. Not by a longshot."

Giskard winced for a few moments, but Mike released him after a time. The Argonian rubbed at his neck and looked around, shaking his head. "You use the Super Nova…The closest representation to Ellini there could ever be. And the way your eyes flashed just now…That's Shilivre. It has to be." The youth sized Mike over. "And you're looking a lot better than you were when you first came in. Humans don't heal that fast; not without help."

Mike looked at his Uncle, then at the boy. "Do you think I'm the Starseer?" He asked evenly.

Giskard thought about it for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders. "What I think…is irrelevant. Princess Mica thinks you are. That's all that matters."

The hair on the back of Mike's neck rose up. "What makes you say that?"

Dr. Jones took his glasses off and rubbed at them, paler than before. "Giskard is right…Even if you are not their mythical hero reborn…to Princess Mica, you are. Which means she will let the Prophecy unfold as she knows it." The archaeologist looked at his nephew, hiding his worry. "She will not try to stop Zoda…from killing her."

Mike tensed up. "Blast it all…That's completely bogus, and you know it!"

Dr. Jones said nothing, and the boy exhaled. "You're right. You're right, I know it. There was always something she was afraid of…something she never told me. And this was it?"

"It seems likely." Giskard nodded. "So are you still going to try and save her?"

"I always was." Mike agreed, looking around. "That's what heroes do."

"But I thought you didn't believe you were the Starseer." Giskard retorted, lifting an eyebrow.

Mike closed his eyes. "I…I don't want to." He said quietly, remembering all the strange visions he had been having in the past few days. "But I'm still figuring that out." He pointed to the doorway leading north. "Did he take her that way?"

Dr. Jones shook his head and motioned to a previously unseen doorway going west from the room. "There's more to these ruins than you and I saw in our first adventures through here. He's in there somewhere."

Mike nodded. "And with him…Mica." He glanced back at them. "I've got Nav-Com waiting in the alcove harbor. You two run back there and get inside; lock Sub-C down and wait. With any luck, I'll be back with Princess Mica."

"But what if you don't come back?" Giskard asked, pointing out the silent question.

Dr. Jones settled a hand on his shoulder. "If Mike doesn't come back…then we'll have prevented Zoda from getting to Hirocon."

Mike blinked at that. "Say what?"

The archaeologist shook his head. "It's a long story, and there's no time for it now. Suffice it to say that there's more to the cipher than the instructions for how to undo the stasis cubes you found the children in! Now get going already! Every second you stand here is a second more that threatens the Princess' life!"

Mike had begun to dash off when Giskard remembered something. "WAIT!" He called out, and the Seattle native ground to a halt.

Giskard looked back to Dr. Jones. "Where's the yo-yo?" He asked, patting himself down. "I don't have it anymore!"

Dr. Jones smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out the object and tossing it to Mike. "Giskard, that's not a bad idea. Every little bit…"

Mike fingered the object for a moment, marveling at the less powerful, but still useful weapon he had given Giskard at the beginning of their trip. It was nowhere near as strong or as effective as the Super Nova…But Uncle Steve was right. He was going to need all the help he could get.

"It will need a new string, but otherwise, it's undamaged." Dr. Jones explained. "The best of luck to you, Mike…And please. Come back alive. I don't really want to tell your father that you died under my watch."

Mike smiled and tucked the yo-yo away. "Farthest thought from my mind. Your trip back should be easy; I've cleared out the monsters. Just be careful of the traps along the way; there's a water trap you should especially be careful of."

Mike could have said more, but he didn't feel the need to. He gave the two one last nod, then charged off down the western hallway to his next goal.

Dr. Jones turned to Giskard and exhaled. "I feel like I've sent him to die." He said, miserable and guilty.

Giskard put a hand on the middle-aged man's shoulder and led him away from their now broken prison. "Mike will come through. He'll do it."

"Because he's the Starseer?" Dr. Jones asked.

Giskard smiled, a rarity, especially given their situation. "No." He said softly. "No, not because of that…"

"…Just because he's Mike."

It was a new set of corridors that Mike ventured into as he headed west; The rest of the ruins had been just that, but here time's ravages had not been as severe. Here, hallways still stood made of the same stonework that they had back when it was truly Rellini-Uros, and the forces of nature had not yet invaded it.

Runes, ancient Argonian script that he didn't have a chance of translating, glowed faintly against the walls in blue light. This was the home of Zoda, though it seemed so far out of character. It gave the impression of a calm and placid environment, not the sort of place that a destroyer of worlds could come from.

The Super Nova hummed at his side again, nervous and growling. Mike noted the reaction, and understood it.

It doesn't like this place. These ruins are too old. Too watchful.

A lumbering figure up ahead groaned and began to shuffle towards him. Another one of the ruins' undead inhabitants, soon dispatched with a well placed shot of the supernatural mace. How many more would he strike down before they stopped coming? Would they ever stop coming?

Mike gritted his teeth and kept charging.

Trying to slow me down. Trying to buy himself time. He knows that nothing here can stop me. The Super Nova pulsed in agreement, no doubt between them. Not as long as I have you.

The shadows in the corridor grew wider in a patch of darkness…a section detached, whirring as it disengaged from the wall and came at him, some manner of rock-covered automaton hidden away until he came close. It tottered for a moment, then shot out a hissing projectile. Caught by surprise, the shot sunk into Mike's left shoulder, earning a gasp of dismay and anger from the boy before he swung out with his right arm, smashing the defensive mobile turret into stone and scrap.

Wincing, Mike looked down to his shoulder and examined the wound. A small needle of metal, sharp enough to pierce but not sharp enough to go all the way through, was embedded into his shoulder. Reaching up weakly with his good arm, he tried to pull it out, but it was too smooth for his sweaty fingers, and it refused to budge. "Heinous." Mike rasped, trying again. His fingers failed again, and he shook his head. "Totally heinous."

The Super Nova pulsed in his hand, and Mike chuckled.

"I'm going crazy. That's it. You're not actually talking to me. It's impossible. I've just been pushing myself for so long that…I'm going crazy." The Super Nova pulsed again, and Mike shook his head. "All right. Assuming you can actually think, you're trying to tell me something. But what?" The Super Nova didn't say anything, for it really couldn't say anything. But it didn't pulse either.

Mike closed his eyes. "You're telling me I can use Shilivre to take this thing out?"

The Super Nova pulsed again, brighter and stronger.

Mike kept his eyes closed and focused on the wound. It wasn't a hard thing to do; it was the strongest sensation in his body right now, the injury and the pain that came from it.

If Mica were here…she could take care of this in an instant, I think. But, Mike reminded himself, Mica wasn't there. Mica was somewhere up ahead, and if he didn't speed up things, it would soon be the end of her.

You can do this. You know you can, Jones. You stopped Zoda once. You saved them once. You just fought off an animated golem, for crying out loud. You're not going to give in to a needle in your shoulder. You're NOT. You can use Shilivre, so USE IT.

The mystical force he barely understood responded slowly, edging its way around the foreign object embedded into his shoulder, gently nudging it back and forth while the needle slid out.

About fifteen seconds later, it collapsed to the ground in a small trail of blood droplets from the now gaping wound. Mike gritted his teeth against the sensation and focused more. He had to move fast, so a complete heal was out of the question. But Mica had taught him enough about rudimentary healing, he hoped…

As it stood, his head was hurting from the intense concentration when the glowing aura of Shilivre finally mended the wound shut. It didn't do much for the pain, and his arm would be sluggish…but it would work. It would work well enough, and it wouldn't make him bleed to death. There was little else he could ask for.

Short of a miracle??

"We've only got a few of those today." Michael rasped, grinning at the dark joke as he jogged on, swinging quickly to eliminate the rest of the hallway's autonomous needle cannon guards before they could fire at him. Chunks of metal and mortar, stone and broken needle ammunition flew up against the dark walls, and he ran on.

No sense wasting them on a fool like me.

The Center of Rellini-Uros

Mica had experienced a variety of sensations throughout her life; she had felt the pain of losing her mother in an explosion, the grief of knowing that her father was leaving her, and all the others to fend for themselves. She had felt fear from the monster known as Zodus, and the demon known as Zoda. She had suffered complete isolation and loneliness, the kind of sleepless nightmare that drove lesser souls mad. She had felt the return of warmth and caring hearts from the people of Coralcola.

She had known the dread of watching as her life unfolded exactly how the Starseer's prophecy had said the daughter of Sellarus' would…the heartbreak of trying to convince herself that Michael wasn't the one for her, and then the sweet oblivion that came with accepting his tender feelings and embrace.

Nothing prepared her for what this was. Chained down to a raised platform in a room of Rellini-Uros, she felt something entirely new. The exhausting, tiring, and mind numbing ordeal…that accompanied her Shilivre and her very life essence being drained out of her body, and being drained into Zoda.

Her eyes were beginning to blur around the edges, just enough for that haze of dozy sleep to threaten her. She felt weak. Before, she could have strained against the chains, even mustered a weak defense against his overwhelming brutal force…But now, even shifting her wrist seemed exhausting. She was dying, she knew, and there was little she could do about it.

This was the worst feeling of all.

I've failed you, Mike. I've failed everyone.

Father…

Forgive me…

Zoda was too busy using every ounce of concentration he had on his gruesome task of draining away her essence to notice her faint struggling and saddening mental state. Mica's eyes glanced up to his glowing red eyes, and the face of the human/Argonian half-breed hidden from view. A monster had been born, out of nothing more than jealousy and a thirst for power.

Mike had wanted no part of any of this. She had dragged him into it. Her father had dragged them all into it. And when Zoda triumphed today, he would not only kill what little remained of her world…but he would then start on Mike's.

No, that was the worst feeling of all. Even worse than dying, she decided.

Knowing that Mike was coming. Knowing that he would do everything in his power…die…

To save her. And knowing that, by the Prophecy…he would be too late. She would be dead, and then Mike would be at the mercy of Zoda. Entirely and completely supercharged with the vitality and essence of the Starseer.

A tear rolled out of the corner of her eye, wailing and screaming when her body could do little but tremble in silent paroxysms of grief. Zoda paid no notice to it, and continued his work.

Forgive me, Mike…

I love you too much to lose you. And I know what he'll do.

Somehow, someway, she could sense him. He wasn't that far off, and he was blazing through Zoda's defenses at breakneck speed. Something had awakened in him, she realized. The Starseer had awakened in him.

Just like it had countless thousands of years ago. The Star Devils hunted…and the Starseer came to hunt them.

He was going to be too late to do anything. She wanted to scream out to him, to let him know that everything in his path was mere distraction…and that by the time he would finally arrive, it would be too late.

But she didn't have the energy for that. She didn't even have the energy anymore to cry.

Her vision blurred out, worse than before. Despite her grief, exhaustion overcame her. Mica's eyes drifted shut, and as they did, the last image on her tortured spirit was one of Zoda standing over her lifeless shell, ominously glaring at Mike with all the demonic ferocity he was capable of.

She would be dead. And he would die as well.

That was the last thought Princess Seremichaela Argos had before she slipped completely away.

Compared to the pain that this life brought her, oblivion was a welcome route. And unlike in the cubes…

This time, she truly did sleep.

The Star Devils were monstrous both in temperament as well as appearance; a deadly combination for those facing them. Still, that didn't stop the Starseer.

His people were hidden below the soil of their planet, far from the reach of the lifegiving sun, but also out of sight from the beasts that came from the very stars they worshipped. One stood beside him, though. Out of all the teeming masses that he had been chosen to protect, one single person had chosen to go with him.

Maybe the stars had spoken to her too, though he felt no touch of the divine spark in her. Just a raw, determined force of will borne from grief and bitter forged hatred…and a trust and attraction to him that even somebody without Shilivre could have seen.

The Star Devils had created a stronghold on the surface of their world, in the middle of what had once been a lush and teeming field of grain in the temperate midplains. Had been. Now, dead and stagnant soil was all that remained, ominously guarding the unhallowed edges of the towering black spire that the leader of the Star Devils kept watch in. Countless rows of the lesser minions sent by the singular Star Devil had fallen before them as they charged at it, the Starseer's Ellini snapping out in all directions to destroy the beasts it had been forged to fight. The young woman that fought beside him, the daughter of the former chieftain of some destroyed village known as Sellarus Argos did not have his divine gifts, but she fought with as much courage as he did, her sword and force of will somehow strong enough to fell the lesser beasts that escaped his notice. They moved and fought as one…and in those dark days, that kind of companionship, that level of friendship and trust was rare, and all the more powerful for it.

The doors had fallen in moments, an explosive blast of energy shot forth from the Starseer's palm too much for the dark energies of the gate to handle. The closer they came, the closer to the leader of the Star Devils, the Star Devil himself that they came, the fiercer he fought. The more his talents emerged, the more wicked they became. Not even the most dreadful of the Devil Guardians could stop him, and soon she realized that she was falling behind…and that there was nothing more she could do to assist him. Reluctantly, she fell back and trailed behind him, unable to do anything but watch as he tore through the last remaining barriers and took them to the top of the black spire which the Star Devils had used to gaze over their land.

He was breathing heavily; despite the awesome power he wielded, the continued exertion was growing to be too much. There was nothing left in their way, outside of the doorway which would lead to the Star Devil himself and he still did not stop.

Sellarus felt her breath catch in her throat as he straightened himself and glanced to the door. "He's waiting for me." He said, his eyes distant and seeing. "I must go alone."

"No!" She cried out, suddenly afraid for him. In that moment, everything snapped into focus. Why she followed him, why he inspired her, why she had listened to her heart…

She loved him. There was no denying that.

He turned about and looked at her, a quiet pity and knowing in his eyes. He knew. He knew. Unable to stop herself, she took a step back and raised a hand to her throat, not wanting to gasp again.

"Sellarus…Where I'm going, you can't come with. Who I'm fighting, you can't hope to destroy. And if I don't do this, then your people will never be free. Never." He stepped towards her, Ellini hanging at his waist as he set his hands on her shoulders. Already beginning to feel her eyes burn from yet unshed tears, she looked up at him.

"I don't want to lose you." She whispered. "I…I…"

He drew her into a tight embrace, silencing her. "I know." He answered gravely, and she could tell her was fighting back tears as well.

They stayed like that for what seemed an eternity, but she would have had two. Eventually he separated from her and nodded solemnly. "Get away from this place…Whether I live or not, this spire of the darkness will not stand." He concluded.

Despite that warning, Sellarus could not move from where she stood as he turned about and pushed through the final doorway.

The greatest challenge of his life lay beyond. And he was doing it for her people, truly…

But in her heart of hearts, she felt a feeling, a strong belief that had never been there before. Perhaps he had given her a little of his gift in that moment.

He was doing it to save her.

Mike's voice was silent as he charged through the last lines. He knew he was getting close; the prior defenses had fallen, and every last stop that could be pulled had been. Countless rockformed sentries blasted from the ground in their skirmishing runs, and in the larger antechambers along the route, he faced upwards of six or seven of the 'Hoodoo Doll' guardian sentries at a time. They fought hard, and if he had seen such odds on his first trip through the ruins, he surely would have fallen. But that was then, and this was a different trip, a different reason to fight…And a far more important one.

His Super Nova was silent, not pushing its thoughts towards him. It merely attacked as he wished, and did that well. Running on Shilivre, adrenaline, and his own enraged emotions, Mike was unstoppable. It didn't help that the more he used the Super Nova, the more that flashes of a dream…or his past, the doubtful side of his mind urged…Kept rising up to the surface, whispering that this situation was not too far different from a battle that had been fought long ago.

I'm not the Starseer. I'm not. And in his mind, he wasn't. He couldn't believe it. The Prophecy was just that, but it had no bearing on him. Even now, after everything that had happened, a part of him struggled with it. Finding his Uncle and Giskard had been wonderful, but it hadn't eased his doubts any.

I'm not.

The Super Nova hummed again, talking for the first time in their newest fight.

I'M NOT! Mike thought angrily, hurling the silvery mace and bashing another Hoodoo Doll's head clean off of its shoulders. What remained of the guardian collapsed onto the ground and fell silent, and Mike realized how hard he was breathing.

Sweat dripped down from his forehead into his eyes, not hard enough to keep him from seeing that the room had been cleared of every last foe. A sudden pain lanced through his head, causing him to choke out and slump to his knees, cringing in the headache.

The pulsing of the Super Nova slammed into his brain, time and time again.

Oh no, all the concussions…Frantically, Mike realized that the severe trauma he'd endured over the last few days was finally taking its toll. His fight with Ezilian, barely surviving the second C-Serpent, and then being tossed aside by Zoda had all been far too recent. All his athletic training told him that he should barely be moving from all the damage he'd incurred…yet clearly he was, and probably in no small part to Mica's…and his own…ministrations.

She thinks you are.

The pain cleared up in a moment as a new voice, singular, quiet, and ethereal, floated into his mind.

W…what?

Even if you don't think you're the Starseer, she does. And that's all that matters.

Mike stood up, shaking his head. This isn't happening. Not now.

You've never been good at listening. That was as true then as it is now…but even so…I've missed you.

Who are you?

Mike turned about in every direction, glaring his eyes. Blast it, I don't have time for this! I have to stop Zoda, and save Mica!

The voice sighed in agreement. You won't like what's coming. But you must go. And I will go with you.

Mike rolled his eyes as he started off running again. He was close now.

I didn't ask for your help.

The voice seemed to smile at that. Actually…you did. Mike thought on that for a moment longer, but not willing to stop his maddening quest, he pushed it aside. The voice fell silent, content for the moment.

Somehow, he could sense Zoda beyond this next, last stretch of hallway. Every defense had been breached, every barrier broken.

Mica was there. She was weak. She wasn't even awake anymore. In his sight, given to him by Shilivre, Zoda's aura was a massive black, and hers was a faint and paler green light. It flickered for a few more moments…And then fell completely silent.

"No…" Mike called out, stunned as he lost his concentration and the vision as well.

She was…He couldn't have…

MICA…

"MICA!!" Mike screamed out, his lungs burning from the oxygen he denied them.

It only made him run faster. Every part of him burned now, he didn't care about his lungs. Every part of him was left quivering in terror, hoping and begging with the powers that were, to God and to the stars that the Coralcolans and the Argonians worshipped…

That he hadn't seen her flame die. That it wasn't too late.

It couldn't be too late.

Not like this.

No.

NOT

LIKE

THIS

The Center of Rellini-Uros

She had gone quietly. At the end, her eyes had fallen shut, her tremblings had ceased, and her skin had grown cold. Every mote of her Shilivre, every part of her life's strength had been torn from her by the cold void that was Zoda's one great gift of the Starseer's legacy. His strength had been a lack of it; too long had the madman thought himself simply a defect, a child half of Argonia and half of Earth that could not use the gifts promised to his people, by luck of his mixed heritage. Only after coming to Argonia, invited by King Hirocon had he found that his was perhaps the best…and most dangerous…gift of all of Shilivre's talents.

To drain the strength of the Starseer from others, to his own benefit. It had been easy the first few times…Assaulting nobility on their way home from operas and balls as they crossed by dark alleys. Even with their talents, they had been no match. And when their bodies were found the next morning, dead to the world…well, the wounds left on them clearly pointed to assault. Nobody ever suspected that they were actually being killed by having their energies torn from them. No, not ever.

His great mistake, Zoda had come to realize in his drifting years of exile in space, was that he had been too greedy. He had attacked Queen Tanelia Argos too soon, without planning it out entirely. She had survived, and the true darkness of his spirit, his malevolent desires were exposed. All his plans were destroyed, and he had nothing but vengeance.

It had left him with something more. At first, he had hoped only to claim the truest powers of the Starseer from the most pristine lineage of Sellarus. By a stroke of odd fortune, he had found that the drain, while it had not killed her, had lent him insight into her mind, and the deepest secrets kept there. To the REAL prophecy of the Starseer, not just the heroic tale told to the children over the fireplace. When he had been picked up by a roving band of space pirates, a ragtag group of marauders months later and far beyond Argonian space, he had thought long and hard. His revenge would be poetic, by their deepest hidden fears…and absolute.

He returned, altered and mutated and forever changed. Forevermore, never as Zodus, but eternally as Zoda, the Prime Invader, the warlord of a dreaded Space Pirate fleet he had carved from that single crew with ruthlessness, tenacity, coldhearted intelligence, and the gifts which made him all but a God to those who served him, and those who would serve him. His one great fear was that the prophecy WOULD come true, that he was the great evil returned…and that the Starseer would also return to quell his ambitions.

But no threat came. Argonia burned.

And then Hirocon ruined everything. He had helped the last survivors of Argonia, the six noble children and his daughter Seremichaela escape from Zoda's clutches. And somehow…he had then escaped himself, far beyond the reach of Zoda, somewhere in the mists of the temporal realms Hirocon had often wistfully described. He knew that now; Hirocon was somewhere in the time stream, beyond the modern age. Hiding. Waiting. Biding his time.

And now all had fallen into place. Rellini-Uros was reborn. Princess Mica…dead.

And lurching up, drunk with the rush of power and roaring with the revelry of it, Zoda the Prime Invader had at last won. The power of the Starseer was his. The stars were with him. And this world…all worlds…were now his.

A flash of light beyond his normal vision stopped him. With his newly gained power, Zoda detected in all that he gazed upon one glaring flaw in his well oiled plans.

The boy. Michael Jones. He had survived all that Rellini-Uros could throw at him. And now he was here.

Zoda stepped back from the raised pedestal where Mica's lifeless body lay. About him glowed Shilivre…But a Shilivre tainted and dark, all his own.

"The hero comes for his Princess." Zoda rumbled, gazing down at his clawed gauntlet as he curled it into a fist. "Only this time…The hero is too late."

Beneath his helmet, the glowing red eyes burned brighter.

"We shouldn't disappoint him." He said, the malice in his voice dripping as he gave Mica's empty shell one last sneer.

Zoda turned about and left the chamber, heading for the anteroom where Mike would soon enter. Oh, he would enjoy murdering this fool.

And then…truly then…the Prophecy would be complete.

It will be a love adored by the stars, but pitied.

In the hour of darkness, at the hands of a new Devil from the stars, our love will bring death, and your candle will be extinguished once more.

If this boy was the Starseer…

Then it would be by his own power that he would die this day.

Chamber of the Stars

Rellini-Uros

The stone door slid up to allow him passage, and Michael Jones stepped through. The room was large, long, and without traps, foes, or hazards. It was, for all purposes…just a room. On one side of it, he stood tall and firm. He had to, if only for Mica's sake. The stone door slammed shut behind him, and his hands reflexively clenched and unclenched into fists.

Sixty feet away, in the hollow chamber lined with fluorescent lichens and weeds that gave it its own bluish green glow, the target of his rage, his vengeance, and his quest as a whole stood as menacingly as he ever had.

"You've come a long way, boy." Zoda announced darkly, folding his gauntleted arms as he stared at the impetuous youth. "Farther than I would have expected."

"What have you done with Mica?" Mike demanded, his voice trembling.

Zoda looked at him for a long moment, his red eyes smoldering in his helmet. "How quaint. Heroic to the last, he cares only for the welfare of his beloved." He sneered those words, relishing them.

Mike's hands shook, not in fear, but in an emboldening rage. "I don't care if the you I beat before was a fake, Zoda…When I'm through with you, you're not getting back up!!"

Zoda unfolded his arms, the long purple cape that he wore billowing behind him from the movement. "Brave words, boy." Zoda growled. "But can you really muster the strength to hope to defeat me?! I destroyed Argonia, I overwhelmed the strongest users of Shilivre from the Argonian refugees on your little island. I even destroyed that old woman."

Mike shook his head. "And you will pay for every death…To save Mica, I have to defeat you."

Zoda laughed, darker than he had all day. The black aura that surrounded him blazed to full life, overwhelming Mike's senses. But something in it struck at his core…something in that roiling mass of Shilivre was a presence and force he knew, intimately so.

His heart stopped. MICA.

"It's too late to save her, BOY. Your Princess Mica is dead."

"No…" Mike rasped, not wanting to believe it. "That can't be…it's impossible. NO. NO!!"

Drunk on his power, Zoda let out a long throaty warbling laugh. "The Starseer's strength lies in ME now!" He roared, the dark light flaring around him all the stronger. "The line of Sellarus is dead…And this world, all worlds are MINE TO CONQUER!!"

Mike bit his lip, fighting back the tears. "You killed her." He choked out, his voice strangely hollow. "I promised everyone…I promised them…And you killed her…"

His hand numbly went down to the Super Nova at his side, feeling its pulsing strength rush up through his arm.

Where you go, I go with you.

"I'll never forgive you." Mike uttered, looking to Zoda with empty eyes. Fingers tightened around the glowing silvery mace, drawing it out. "And I will stop you. I must stop you."

"You couldn't stop me if you had Ellini itself." Zoda rasped, tiring of the boasts between them.

The darkness of the room was shattered in an instant, and the Super Nova blasted out peals of light in all directions. All his bravado was melted away as Zoda cringed from the light, hissing and covering his eyes.

When the light had died down enough for him to look up again, the Super Nova in Mike's hand pulsed light, now visible to all. More curious than that, more intimidating than that was the fiery aura of Shilivre that flickered about him…and eyes that shone a solid radiant white.

"Maybe I do." Mike uttered, and in that moment, his voice trembled with a resonance that had never been there before. Zoda stood up and looked at the boy in shock and dismay.

"No…You're not the Starseer. It's impossible!"

"The Prophecy said the Starseer would return. It said that Sellarus reborn would perish by a new Devil…And Mica is dead." Mike took a step forward, and the Super Nova blazed brighter.

"The Prophecy stands correct in that…And by that, you will die as well."

"You're not the Starseer!" Zoda exclaimed again, insistent.

Mike continued to walk towards him, heedless of the power Zoda wielded.

"And yet I must be." His shifting voice lulled. "For we've done this before."

Argonia

Fall of the Star Devils

The leader of the beasts from their beloved stars was a brute; four heads taller than the Starseer and broad as a sun, he towered over his foe. But that fact escaped the young man of the glowing aura. It didn't matter that the Star Devil, as he called himself, had decimated his people and poisoned the land with the presence of his kind. It didn't matter that just to look at him would inspire fear and terror in all who looked.

He had been chosen by the stars to save his people…to save Sellarus' people. That mandate had forever changed him…for he now saw things as they truly were.

He saw how the stars shimmered and sang, anxiously waiting for their champion to dismiss the fallen warrior. He saw the Star Devil for what he truly was…an exiled celestial being, once of the light, but now and forevermore of eternal darkness. There was no fear in his eyes, for that had been burned away by the Shilivre he had been given. Ellini in his hand, a teardrop from the youngest star in the sky, he fought the Star Devil's attacks with his own ferocious blitz.

And he was winning.

Angrily, the Star Devil hurled a cloud of his enveloping darkness at the Starseer, hoping to engulf him and snuff out that celestial flame once and for all.

That was all the Starseer needed. After endless rotations of a clock's dial, the Star Devil had exposed himself. In his superior fashion, he had thought the Starseer nothing but a carrier, an instrument to wield Ellini and the star's grace. It was his pride that ended his life…for the Starseer did have Ellini, and it was a celestial weapon, but he had his own strength as well.

In the total darkness of the chamber, lit only by the light that poured forth from Ellini's shimmering tines, the Starseer's eyes shone clear.

"Fly." He whispered to the chained mace, hurling it out before the cloud of darkness engulfed him. Caught off guard, the Star Devil was dealt a serious blow, and he fell to a knee wheezing for his life. Ellini, its attack concluded, fell to the ground. Through his pain, the Star Devil managed an insane grin.

He had won…even now, the cloud of the void's darkness was shrinking, crushing the Starseer within its maw. The Starseer's battle for his people, for his planet, was ended.

And then everything the Star Devil knew to be true exploded into pieces.

The shadow stopped and trembled about the hidden body of the Starseer, as if contemplating its next move. Out of the cloud flashed a tremendous light, and the Star Devil's crushing attack was blasted to shreds.

The Starseer slowly stood back up, a thick and powerful aura of white energy about him. The Star Devil cringed in horror and dismay; it had known such power once, and had lost it. Now, that strength was anathema. Awestruck, realizing his end was at hand, the Star Devil looked up to the youth.

The stars were with him.

"Sellarus' people will forever be safe from you." The Starseer proclaimed, extending his hand out. Eager and loyal, Ellini leaped through the air to rejoin its master. "Never again will they ever fear your kind. Never again will the stars be anything but friend and ally to them. You sought to eradicate us…but because of you, Sellarus' people will spread throughout the stars, and bring light to every dark corner."

If the Star Devil could have spoken something in response, it would have cursed him. Weakened and defeated, it realized too late its horrendous error. Soon, the void it had pledged itself to would claim him as well. The Star Devil closed his eyes, and the Starseer threw Ellini one last time.

In a cloud of vapor, a pool of sludge, the Star Devil collapsed and disintegrated under the blistering rage of the stars' might. Ellini flickered a few more times in the Starseer's grip, then fell silent.

The Starseer himself was also weakened…but had enough strength, as he felt the black spire of the Star Devils begin to shake apart without a master, to will himself beyond its walls.

So it came to be that as the black spire collapsed, the man known only as the Starseer and the weapon known as Ellini reappeared beyond its dustcloud. Waiting for them as they gave out and fell to the barren ground was a woman of impassable beauty and a heart of the purest spirits.

Crying as she held him close, Sellarus Argos trembled with the joy of countless years of suffering ended in one triumphant moment.

"You did it." She whispered, feeling a burning sensation along the back of her neck as the skies cleared…and for the first time in years, the sun above their world shone down in its blinding might. "You've saved us all."

The stars above, invisible in the restored day but always present, still whispered their secrets to their champion.

The Starseer closed his eyes and fought the urge to cry. They had told him a great deal in his time as their elected messenger.

There was only one last message they had to give to him, now that the Star Devil was destroyed and Sellarus' people were free to live and thrive.

For the first time since he had been given the strength of the stars, the Starseer cursed them.

For he had won their happiness…by foregoing his.

Sellarus wanted him to stay, to be with her. To raise a family, to stay as one spark the rest of her days.

Only the stars knew what destiny was truly meant for him.

Earth, Rellini-Uros

June 30th, 1990 A.D.

11: 44 A.M.

As shocked as Zoda was, he had the sensibility to fight back. And fight he did. Growling angrily, he pulled the laser pistol from his waist and pointed it at the boy.

"You talk nonsense, boy…And this time, you shall die." He rasped, the darkness in his voice pulled away. He would need every bit of Shilivre he had taken to defeat this boy, the boy who walked with…

Angrily, Zoda pulled the trigger. "YOU ARE NOT THE STARSEER!!" A fiery bolt of superheated gas shot out, ready to burn a hole clean through Mike's chest.

But as it had twenty years before…With Hirocon on the other end back then…The laser blast stopped in midair, roiling angrily as it was frozen.

Mike lifted a hand up to it, marveling at the strength that flowed through him.

This is your strength. The same power you had then. The same power you've convinced yourself you do not have.

Because I thought I wasn't the Starseer.

That's what Zoda thinks, the gentle voice in Mike's head replied. But you know better.

"Impossible…" Zoda rasped, firing again. The second bolt was halted right next to the first, as did the third and even the seventeenth. Angrily, Zoda threw the gun itself at Mike, which froze in midair as quickly as all the other blasts. "Blast it, how are you doing this?!"

His eyes still bathed in the same blinding white light, Mike could feel every bolt of laser energy in the air as keenly as if he had shot them himself.

I don't want to be the Starseer.

You didn't then, either. But you were. And you are now. The Argonians believe you are. Bana believed in you. And Mica…Mica died because she believed you were the Starseer so badly, she died to maintain a Prophecy she had been cursed with since her birth. Only Zoda didn't believe you to have such potential…So prove him wrong.

Mike's eyes fluttered down to the Super Nova at his side, a sudden realization flashing in him. You're…

A tool by which you will restore peace to the stars. Nothing more, nothing less. The Super Nova pulsed another wave of light, and Mike couldn't help but let out a cackle of disbelief.

All this time…All this time, you really were Ellini…

Was I? It teased him lightly. That is what the Argonians called me. You named me 'Super Nova'. I just am. But Mike…this isn't the time. If you are to do this…you must let nothing distract you from Zoda.

Mike looked up and away from his weapon, back to Zoda. The demon was building up his strength, and a field of enveloping darkness was quickly blooming.

"Stop this, you fool." Zoda growled, lifting his hand.

Mike blinked at Zoda, and waved his hand with a fierce slash. Every laser blast he had stopped reversed direction, and Zoda's attack quickly turned into a defensive shield against the torrent of his own attack. Most were stopped short, but a few sank through and singed off pieces of the thick armor Zoda wore. Hissing angrily, Zoda lowered the shield and let his baleful red eyes glow all the brighter.

"A cute trick…Hirocon used it as well. It did him no good in the end." Zoda let his black aura flare up again. "The power of the Starseer resides in me, and it will crush you."

Mike readied his Super Nova for another powerful strike, and the light in his eyes died down. It was draining him too much to maintain the effect…and like Zoda, he needed every ounce he could muster.

"Funny thing." Mike retorted, speaking in his own voice again. The Super Nova flew, straight, fast, and unrelenting. Zoda brought his gauntlets up and deflected it aside, wincing as the spikes dented the strong metal. "I've got the power of the Starseer too."

The Super Nova returned to his hand, and Mike shook his head at the beast. "And unlike yours…Mine wasn't stolen."

Zoda growled at that. "You mean to tell me that you had access to Shilivre all along?!" He lunged at Mike and swung with his wicked clawed hands, but the youth quickly darted out of range, another swing of his Super Nova stopping any pursuit. "You're a fool!"

I've been called a lot of things.

Even for as much power as Mike had, he had no mastery. It was a skill he had only begun to touch on, and only with Mica's help. He had failed, according to Ezilian, to use even the most basic of its aggressive powers. And the trick with the laser blasts…Now that his mind had cleared, Mike placed the success of that solely on the Super Nova…which had somehow learned how to talk to him.

Everything told him he was the Starseer. And still, he couldn't believe it.

You're cute sometimes, but this isn't one of those moments.

Why don't you just keep in mind which one of us is the weapon, and which one's the person, Nova?

Nova…An acceptable name. Well, then. Don't just stand there. Throw me already.

"Way ahead of you." Mike finished, swinging the mace about his head and hurling it at Zoda. The alien darted underneath it and sent out a slashing wave of black energy towards him, which Mike jumped. The Super Nova reeled itself in, and Mike threw it out again.

"You'll never hit me with that weapon, boy!" Zoda goaded him with a dark laugh. "Come now, where's the might of the Starseer you were boasting about earlier?!"

Mike gritted his teeth. He could feel that strength pulsing in him…but for as strong as it was, as much as he doubted it, it loomed all the darker in Zoda. Dark and thick.

Zoda halted his attack and addressed him with a low chuckle. Uneasily, Mike edged backwards away from Zoda. The alien was far too comfortable with the situation…and the laugh didn't help one bit.

"I think I'm beginning to understand you, boy." Zoda rumbled. "You may have the Starseer's strength as I do…but it's an untrained skill. You can't use it. You never could."

Mike's eyes flashed, and he gripped the Super Nova tighter.

Yes I could. I didn't think I could, but I did. I have.

You will.

Mike roared and charged at Zoda full tilt. The rush caught the beast off guard, and he backpedaled before throwing a few quick bolts of crackling darkness outwards. Mike, inflamed and beyond reason any longer, charged on. Most of the shots missed. One hit his free arm, another burned into his leg. Somehow, Mike didn't feel any pain at all. He just got closer to Zoda, closer to those glaring red eyes and the darkness that swallowed his vision.

Close enough to swing his mace at last. Close enough that for the first time in the entire night, Zoda had no recourse, no way to avoid it. The Super Nova flew true from the hand of the injured youth and buried into Zoda's gut.

Zoda gasped out in pain as the long and glistening silvery spikes embedded deep into him. Mike whirled in closer and laid a tremendous powerhouse to the side of Zoda's helmeted head, jarring him sideways.

"I don't need Shilivre to kill you again." Mike rasped, his eyes glimmering in the warspark.

Zoda's own eyes, cringing from his wounds, still widened at that sound. The boy meant it.

Every last word.

Zoda roared out in pain and flung his arms backwards, the nightshade aura about him exploding viciously for a long moment. The Super Nova hesitated and detached from Zoda's wound, and Mike stumbled backwards, reeling from the sudden burst.

Zoda took advantage of that, giving no quarter and no longer expecting any. He charged straight into Mike, his clawed gauntlets slashing viciously through the front of Mike's shirt and cutting deep into his skin. Wasting no time, he slashed his other hand across Mike's throwing arm, and Mike dropped the Super Nova with a cry of pain.

From there, the alien invader picked up Mike by his other arm and tossed him as a mother would a child's rag doll. Unable to stop, Mike flew across the room and slammed hard against the thick rock wall of the chamber. The gasp he let out couldn't cover up the sickening crack of bone or the dislocation of muscle and cartilage; as he collapsed to the ground, Mike realized through his dulled, adrenaline rushed senses that Zoda had crushed his left shoulder blade and dislocated his entire arm. To make matters worse, a few of his ribs were bruised…or worse.

Mike rolled to the floor, balancing himself on his right side as the pain ran through him fresh, paralyzing him entirely.

It hurts, oh GOD it hurts…

Zoda wheezed in and out a few times before letting out a tremendous and horrible laugh. His aura was as strong as ever, and slowly his own wounds began to seal up. "It's over, boy." He echoed darkly. "You've failed. You put up one Hell of a fight, but you have failed."

Gasping for breath in short rasps, Mike forced himself to keep his eyes open against the tears of pain to look at Zoda. His body still writhed, but there was little that could be done for that.

"You were a persistent one." Zoda continued, any humor fast vanishing. "You've been more trouble than I could have ever anticipated. But you obviously aren't the Starseer. You never were. A delusion, a fairy tale. An old story used by the daughters of Sellarus to maintain their hold over Argonia, and every last spirit in their reach. If the legends were true, then you would have been able to stop me. And none of this would have happened."

Somewhere in his mind were the lingering, nagging doubts that Mike still held about his own destiny…about the Starseer, and the Prophecy, and all the damnable rest. Somewhere was far from his mindset. Those doubts, fickle things as they were, were driven away by the intense pain of his wounds.

And an even worse pain. The pain from his heart…the pain Mike felt, knowing that he had failed Mica. He had failed everybody.

You don't have to. Again, Nova spoke, in that soothing and wise voice that implied some hidden knowledge the boy would never acquire. Get up. Get up and fight. FIGHT, damn you. You're better than this, STRONGER than this. Now, more than ever!

In ultimate darkness, cowering at death's door with his enemy above him, a single voice was all Mike needed.

He closed his eyes. He pushed aside the pain. The pain had pushed aside his doubts.

All that was left…was just tranquility, acceptance, and a will fueled by the wishes and hopes of those who had died believing in him, and in something greater than all of them when he never could.

Perhaps Mike wasn't the Starseer, some foreign observer might still argue.

The renewed and flaring aura of white that glowed about Michael D. Jones as he lay prone in the cavern of Rellini-Uros, though, told a different story. If he was not the Starseer, Mike fought and lived as him. If Mike did not believe in the Starseer, he nonetheless accepted, in that moment, that he had to put everything aside for this one moment.

For this one minute.

For this one fight…

To kill Zoda.

Zoda, lost in his gloating, stopped when the white aura reappeared around Mike, no longer a gentle shimmer, but a hot and blinding fire. "What…?" He stuttered a moment later, confused and dismayed.

On the ground, discarded but never forgotten, the Super Nova hummed and trembled where it lay.

Make your arm whole.

Mike thought of it, thought of bones mending and muscle and tendon and socket reconnecting…And just as if an artist had redrawn him, the injury was gone and he had use of it.

Now get up.

Mike slowly raised himself up to his feet, still immolated in the white field that scorched the rock at his feet.

"Impossible…" Zoda rasped, not for the only time that day.

His eyes nothing but flickering orbs of intense radiance, the boy slowly shook his head back and forth.

"I don't care…about what's impossible. I don't care about destiny." Mike lifted a hand up, a steady and unshaking hand pointing directly at the beast that had once been Zodus. "But I made a promise. A promise to see you dead, and to save all the others. Bana believed in me. Mica believed in me. They all did."

He took a step towards Zoda, the spirit willing even as the body, repaired though it was, grew weaker still. "They believed I was the Starseer. And right now…The truth doesn't matter. My name isn't BOY."

His hand jerked down towards the stones at his feet, and the Super Nova flew up to meet his grasp eagerly, responding to the call.

"The truth of me and the Prophecy doesn't matter." His white aura crackled and sent off peals of jagged energy bolts. "As long as you're alive…I'll be whoever I have to be to kill you."

Zoda drew back, urging his own aura forth to its full fury, feeding that unnatural and stolen strength deep into his body for the battle to come. "You'll regret this foolhardiness, Jones! I'll tear you to pieces and bathe in your blood!!"

The Super Nova lashed out. It struck across Zoda's face with tremendous force, and the alien invader cried out. So ferocious was the blow it knocked his protective headgear clean off…Stunned, Zoda looked with his own eyes and cruel face towards Mike, now horrified.

Mike hadn't moved his arm at all, or swung even the tiniest bit.

The Super Nova had flown on its own.

Mike stood before him, tall, enfused with Shilivre's radiant white light, and now and forevermore, unafraid.

"I'm not Mike.." He said, in an empty voice that made the bastard half-Argonian shudder involuntarily. "I AM the Starseer."

The Super Nova swung back through the air on a return course, but Zoda recovered from his disbelief enough to snarl and duck his gashed head away from the deadly weapon as it flew back into Mike's hand.

His aura flashed into its full darkness, tendrils reaching out and lashing angrily with the white wisps of Shilivre that Mike put off. "You're just a damned CHILD." Zoda roared, hurling a shattering bolt of darkness at his foe. Mike lifted a hand up, and Zoda's shot dissipated on contact. The Super Nova snaked out, moving with just the barest flick of Mike's wrist, and Zoda dashed underneath it, his clawed hands burning with his energy as he flew across the distance between them and slashed at Mike's chest. The boy grunted as the front of his shirt was torn even more, and thin lines of blood from the claw's scratches rose to the surface. Mike swung up with his offhand and leveled a powerhouse blow to Zoda's chin, sending the alien stumbling back a few feet, and just in time to have the returning Super Nova bury into his back. Zoda arched up and screamed in pain, jerking himself free of the wicked mace and building a distance between them.

Mike's eyes were fire as the Super Nova returned to his hand again. "You will die." The gashes across his chest bled, yet he took no notice of it.

"You can't presume to tell me my future!" Zoda roared, his common sense blinded by pain and fury. "The power carried by the daughters of Sellarus is MINE. MINE!!" To emphasize the point, he threw a hand in front of him and fired off another blast of energy. This time though, it wasn't a single bolt, but an unrelenting beam.

Mike's aura flared up, white Shilivre met black, and the boy cringed. The part of his aura that Zoda's attack slammed against began to weaken and flicker, and Mike lowered his left hand down in front of it.

Zoda, sweating and burning through the power he had been given, laughed again. "I can see the look in your eyes, boy! You've lost! You have no idea how to use your power to strike back, to meet my fury!" Mike grunted and dropped to a knee, fighting against the force that tried to push him back. "And all you can do is sit there; sit there and watch your defenses weaken until it is too late!"

Mike drew his eyes shut. Energy attacks…The one thing I never could get.

The Super Nova, having already said enough, kept silent. This challenge was for Mike to solve on his own.

Zoda drew closer, forcing the source of his attack towards Mike's weakening defenses. "I'm done taking chances." He growled, and the beam grew larger, heavier, hotter. "No second winds. No last heroic moment. When I'm done with you, you'll be atoms in the void of space."

Mike's chest felt tight from the strain of his defense. He's right. I can't keep this up forever. Strong as he was, it was untrained. It was imperfect. And Zoda, even with stolen power, would triumph if they left it at this.

Mike could not look outside of his own problem. He could not step back and look impartially upon the situation. But at its heart, his duel with Zoda was just another classical bout of good versus evil. In the darkest hour, the hero fought the villain, struggling and not winning by any measure. The two exchanged blows, brought steel and will against one another…

Yet, it was a story like any other. As in any story classically told, it would be good who triumphed. In lack of overpowering Zoda entirely, Mike reached within himself…and found an answer that would fit the bill. Through the ruffled and sweat ridden strands of his brown hair, his eyes of burning white looked up to Zoda.

"But I'm not done with you." Mike retorted, allowing his voice to take on the shimmer he gained from his power. His right hand pulled back for a moment and then shot forward, hurling the Super Nova out of his shield. His body swung about to compensate, and his left hand dipped down to his side from the momentum.

Zoda seemed to smirk at the move. Still keeping his blazing attack going, he sidestepped the silvery mace as it flew by, the chain dancing along his underarm. He was confident, seeing that Mike's attack had failed.

It was only when he tried to reset his arm that he noticed something was wrong. Frowning, he tried to move his hand again. It didn't respond, as if some great weight kept it down. Zoda looked at Mike, to find the boy looking at him in fiery defiance. From Mike's forgotten left hand was a long length of string…leading to a small double-sided discus colored red that was looped tightly around his wrist, keeping him from moving his hand and arm.

"Surprise." Mike growled, yanking hard on the cord of his island yo-yo. Zoda could do little else but yelp as he was pulled in close to Mike, his attack ended by the loss of concentration. Mike's left hand swung up from its pullback and rammed hard into Zoda's face, making a terrific cracking noise that likely meant he had broken the alien's nose. The yo-yo detached and a stunned Zoda stumbled backwards, his hands reaching up to cradle his injured face. Mike then yanked his right arm back…and the chain he held, connected to the forgotten Super Nova.

There was another sharp blast of pain into Zoda as the silvery mace connected solidly into his back, and his vision went white for a long moment. Dully, he could make out the sound of Mike screaming and charging at him. His vision cleared just in time to make out Mike up in the air, hurtling down at him feetfirst. Zoda, wheezing from the pain of his injuries, managed a halfhearted swipe that still struck home, the claws slashing deep through the clothes and skin of his left leg. Crying out in his attack, and then the pain, Mike still did not stop. Gravity demanded he didn't.

The boy connected solidly into the alien, and the two fell towards the ground, Zoda on the bottom of the bloody pile.

Impact.

The world went white. A gasp rose up, followed by short rapid breaths.

Mike's sight cleared, and he groggily shook his head. Beside him, Zoda withered and gasped for air. Strangely, his arms and legs remained limp, though his face and chest shook madly. Blinking a few times, Mike realized why the alien invader's eyes were so wide, and why his torso was so out of alignment with the rest of him…

The silvery spines of the Super Nova, coated in blood and tissues from his chest cavity, poked clear through all of Zoda's purple and black clothing, and thick armor. His breathing was erratic, and a dark red spot blossomed from the base of one spine that had been fortunate enough to pierce his heart.

More than that, Mike realized from his studies of anatomy…There was a reason that his face shook and trembled, while the rest of his form laid mute.

The Super Nova, that glistening star given from the sky, had crushed through his back and severed his spine from the force Mike had created when he drove Zoda into the floor.

Mike cringed, feeling his leg go numb. Zoda was dying, but he'd sustained his own injuries. Broken ribs, bruises, bumps, exhaustion, fatigue…and a leg that bled profusely, and refused to work properly. Zoda and Rellini-Uros had exacted a toll from him.

"Not…like this…" Zoda gasped, his eyes blinking frantically. He focused in on Mike, disbelieving, horrorstruck as the black aura about him began to dwindle and fade. "No…Impossible…You…not…arseer…"

Mike stood up and balanced himself on his good leg, looking down with empty eyes to the alien invader. His white aura grew quieter, and his blue eyes returned to normal.

"I was today." He uttered softly. "For Bana. For the children. For Mica."

Zoda's eyes shut, blinking out hot tears as his breathing came up more shallow. "Never…believed…just…a myth…Even Tanelia…delusion…but you…"

Mike looked down at his hated foe. The source of his every nightmare. "You didn't want to believe it. Even as you lived it out, you didn't believe it. And it killed you."

Zoda drew in a breath to say something more, but his failing body gave out, and his last breath exited his punctured lungs silently, carrying nothing but the final wisps of his spirit as he expired. Mike glanced down at him for a long moment, then kicked the body over and retrieved his Super Nova with a powerful yank. It flickered in his hand, relieved and enthused.

And because you chose to finally believe…You succeeded.

Mike took a look down at Zoda, remembering for a moment the history that his Uncle and Giskard had shared.

"I accepted it." Mike said softly, to the empty and lifeless room around him. Wincing, he tucked the yo-yo back into his pocket and retied the Super Nova at his side. He looked across the room behind Zoda and saw the door that led to the innermost sanctum…to where Mica lay, waiting for him in whatever condition Zoda had left her.

He shut his eyes against the tears, as he thought of her lifeless body, and the Prophecy that had decreed her demise through all the turmoil.

But I still don't want to believe.

She lay in the next room as Mike had hoped not to find her. Lying on a raised pedestal in the center of the chamber, no wounds or marks. Yet her eyes did not open. She did not rise. And no breath came from her parted lips.

Failing to hold back a shuddering breath, Mike stumbled towards her, his blue eyes blurry from the tears.

No.

"Mica…" He heard his voice break. "Mica, get up. It's Mike." Still, she did not stir. Choking a sob, Mike lifted a trembling hand up and brushed her cheek, pushing an errant strand of her deep red hair back. "Please." He said, and his voice cracked again. "Please."

Her face was cool to the touch; the room's dampness had seeped into her, and soon her lifeless body would be as cold as the air about her. Mike shut his eyes and fell to his knees at her side, and his fists clenched into vises. He leaned his forehead against her leg, and screamed.

All of Rellini-Uros shook from it, from the exit to the underwater entrance, and everywhere in between.

Princess Mica was dead. Zoda had spoken no lie. Her Shilivre, her very life energy had been drained from her. It had been HER power Mike had fought against, usurped by the most unholy beast he had ever known.

Mica was dead.

His breath gave out, his throat grew sore. Mike fell into sobs, and his hot tears sunk into her royal purple trousers. "No." He gasped. "No no no no NO." He pounded a fist against the pedestal where she lay. "You can't be dead, you CAN'T."

Yet she was.

The Prophecy is coming true. She lies, dead by the hands of a new star devil. And you, the Starseer reborn, have saved Argonia.

"She's dead." Mike blurted out, slamming his hand against the stone again. "What does it matter?! How does ANYTHING matter?!"

You have fulfilled your destiny.

"FORGET MY DESTINY!" Mike screamed again, wishing he could throw the Super Nova against the wall, shatter it, and never see it again. His heart bled, and no talk of heroes and fate would cure it.

The woman he loved lay dead. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else ever would.

You don't need to be the Starseer.

The Super Nova uttered that thought so plainly that it stopped all of Mike's spiraling grief.

"What?"

Zoda is dead. The Argonians are safe. The Super Nova reiterated. What need of a Starseer is there now?

In any good fairy tale, the hero does not kill the villainous sorcerer only to find his princess dead. The Super Nova, as driven and as committed to the Prophecy as it was, suddenly reminded Mike of a few other things. Things he had known before…but never connected. Had never thought of connecting.

He recalled how Dr. Jones had told him how Mica had fought to keep the Prophecy from coming true…by fighting her feelings, her love for him.

He remembered how long ago, when it was not the Argonians he had been trying to save from Zoda, but three 'magical' cubes…How the first had granted him the Super Nova, and the second, a tremendous boost in his vitality.

And lastly, he remembered that in all of this, he had never truly believed in the Prophecy, or that his life had been written out for him, and there was nothing that he, or anybody else could do to change it.

Numbly, the possibility ran in his brain. It was crazy. It was reckless. He probably couldn't even do it, for as much training as he lacked. He was just Mike Jones, a boy from Seattle who played baseball and had come here for vacation.

Yet baseball players didn't save alien races from an evil invader. He had. People from Seattle didn't visit the most rural of the island tropics. He had. And boys from Earth didn't fall in love with alien princesses.

He had.

Compared to all that…His idea wasn't crazy at all.

"You won't die." Mike said, still shaking, but no longer crying. He couldn't afford to now. He had to put everything he had, everything he was, every ounce of willpower and control into this. Miracles didn't happen everyday. Creating them…was something else. "You won't die. Not here. Not like this. Not because of him."

Ignoring the pain in his leg, the burn of his injured ribs, and the gashed cuts and bruises of his latest trial, Mike stood over Princess Seremichaela Argos' lifeless form, remembering the Prophecy.

Years will pass. My efforts and sacrifice will become legend, and the people will lose hope. You will not recognize me when I return, for I will not be born of your people. You will know me by the weapon I wield, and the courage in my heart. You, Sellarus…Will be reborn as the daughter of your own line, and there, beyond what we know, we will find each other. We will find love. It will be a love adored by the stars…yet pitied. In the hour of darkness, at the hands of a new Devil from the stars, our love will bring death, and your candle will be extinguished once more.

"If I wasn't the Starseer…" Mike whispered to her, a tear dropping from his face and rolling down her cheek, "Then the Prophecy couldn't be true. And you wouldn't have to die. You could live."

He bent over her, shutting his eyes and preparing himself for what would come next.

"Live."

He lowered his face down, and his lips met hers. In a kiss, all his hopes and dreams went.

All the power he had gained…all his knowledge of Shilivre, all his strength, all his excess vitality…Went into that kiss.

Around him, around them, a white aura flared to life. Around them, like a fire surrounds fresh wood, it grew hungry and vibrant. Around them, the fire turned from white to green.

The Super Nova said nothing. It had said all it had needed to, and it had been there for as long as it needed to. When it sensed its master's strength ebbing away, and sensed its purpose was ended, it shone at his side, content and knowing.

Long ago, the blue stasis cube had given Mike incredible strength and vitality. He did not know by what process the cube had done so. Not then, not now.

But still, he duplicated it.

Mica's cold body grew warmer, her skin gained color, and her heart and blood began to pump once more. Her lungs flexed, forcing fresh air through her nose.

None of these things Mike noticed. To him, his eyes shut and crying as he put all into one desperate move, there was only a slow and growing frailty and weakness. A sense of fatigue made all the worse, as he realized he was sacrificing himself to save her.

He didn't care.

He drained his life into her. Everything that had been given to him, in the name of the Starseer, he gave to her. He gave everything he had…except for the darkness.

And the darkness was his alone.

July 5th, 1990 A.D.

There should have been pain. Emptiness. A void without thought or emotion.

There was warmth. There was the gentle thrum of life. Yet there was no humming of that hidden, deeper power called Shilivre. He was blind to it, as blind as he had been long ago.

His breathing quickened, grew more shallow. Fighting against the burning of the light in his eyes, Mike opened them and glanced around. He lay in a familiar surrounding, and one he had never thought he would see again.

Still tired, but sitting in a fully healed body, Mike Jones found himself laid on the couch of his Uncle's living room…in his Uncle's laboratory. On Coralcola Island. Pillows were adjusted all around him, and a thick blanket covered him from the slight chill of the air-conditioned structure. Faint blue light, filtering in through the tinted windows, showed him a sight that lifted his heart beyond anybody's capacity to crush.

Kneeling at his side, fast asleep with her arms splayed over his blanket covered legs, a girl in a patterned red dress with deep red hair kept vigil.

He could sense no Shilivre. But Mike didn't need that strange and wondrous power to know that Princess Mica…alive and well…was kneeling at his bedside. He closed his eyes and leaned back into the pillows.

She was alive. Whatever he had done…whatever miracle had happened, she was alive. Zoda was dead. Mica was alive.

And they were home.

He rested there for a long few moments, taking in deep and contented breaths, his arms up behind his head. It was minutes before he felt Mica stir. He opened his eyes and looked down at her, smiling in that confident way he had almost forgotten.

She blinked her eyes for a long few moments, then glanced up at him in a mix of curiosity and sleep-given obliviousness.

"Hey." Mike said simply, unable to keep the grin in.

Mica transformed from a weary vigil keeper to an ecstatic angel in moments. "Mike!" She exclaimed, leaping on top of him and hugging him half to death. Despite the sudden weight resting on his chest, Mike chuckled and ran a hand through her hair.

"You don't know how good it feels…to hear you say my name." He said in a whisper, unable to stop a tear from coming out of the corner of his eye.

Mica kissed his forehead, crying as well. "I never thought I'd be alive to say it again." She uttered back.

Mike blinked a few times. "How…how long have I been here?"

Mica eased herself off of him and sat up, allowing him to do the same. "Dr. Jones and Ezilian were waiting in Sub-C…When you revived me, I managed to drag you out to them, and we sailed straight home. Baboo had gotten the radio working by then, so everyone was waiting when we got back. Four days ago."

Mica bit her lip and smiled at him, her mental state fragile. "We didn't think you would ever wake up." She uttered after a time. "You had suffered countless concussions before you fought Zoda. You were lost to us. Dead inside your mind. I couldn't sense you, or feel you."

Mike blinked a few times and looked down at his hand, flexing it.

The Shilivre was gone.

"I used it all up, didn't I?" He asked, looking up to Mica with a curious voice. "My power…Shilivre…" He pointed at her. "I didn't think it would work."

"You almost killed yourself trying to save me." Mica nodded, sniffling again. "It worked. By the stars, Michael, it worked."

Mike shut his eyes and drew her into another hug, kissing her fiercely. Her arms wrapped around him and she responded in turn, unwilling to break the bond. They had nearly lost each other.

Zoda was dead. Rellini-Uros was a memory once again. And Princess Mica was alive. Nothing else mattered.

Except for the slight fatigue Mike still had from being bedridden for half a week. Cringing, Mike pulled back and slumped against the couch, his exuberance winded. Mica's ears flattened against her head, worried. "What's wrong, Mike?"

"Nothing." He said after a yawn. "I'm…just really tired still."

A mischievous look filled her face and her ears twitched. "Oh, I think I can take care of that…" She lay herself over him and drew him in for another potent kiss that left him breathless. Mike's eyes closed, and for the first time in a long while, no longer had a worry or care. There was just Mica, sweet and mindblowing Mica, and the prophecy no longer mattered. He had shattered it.

She lived.

"A…HEM." Came a loud voice from the outside of the living room, clearing its throat with deliberate slowness. Mica and Mike broke their embrace and looked up to see Dr. Steve Jones leaning against the doorframe to the kitchen, half-smiling as he folded his arms and shook his head at them.

"Oh, Dr. Jones!" Mica said, blushing redly. Her ears went flat against her head again, a sign of clear embarrassment.

Dr. Jones calmly stepped out into the living room. "I trust I'm not interrupting anything?" He said easily. He couldn't keep a straight face for long, though. As Mike eased himself back up into a sitting position, and Mica chastely moved to the far end of the couch, Dr. Jones slapped his nephew on the back. "Damned if you didn't make a miracle happen again." He said smiling. "I'll never be able to figure out how you saved us. Twice now." He scratched at his head and sighed. "Maybe you really are the Starseer."

To that, Mike shook his head. "No, no I'm not." Mica threw him a glance, and the boy ran a hand through her hair, smiling in his own peculiar fashion. "Not anymore, at least."

Dr. Jones frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"The Starseer can use Shilivre." Mike answered, still looking deep into Mica's face. "Right now, Princess Mica is probably thinking a dozen thoughts about how glad she is…how relieved she is things turned out the way they did…But I can't hear any of that." He looked down at his hand, flexing it. "No, I don't hear it anymore. I don't feel it." He was a little softer at that, missing it for that one brief moment.

Mica looked at him, dumbstruck. "But if you can't…Then how did you…"

Mike shook his head. "Dumb luck? A wild guess?" He sighed. "Anything but Shilivre." He looked to Dr. Jones. "Zoda…he's dead this time, right?"

The archaeologist adjusted his glasses. "All indications point to the idea that the one that appeared before us was the true Zoda. Not a 'clone' of him, which was what apparently troubled us the last time."

Mike was relieved. "Thank God." He muttered, shaking his head. "I don't think I could take him on now."

"Not without your Super Nova, no." His Uncle replied.

Mike looked at the archaeologist, not believing what he heard. "…What?" He said, lifting an eyebrow. "You left it behind?"

Mica bit her lip. "…Not exactly."

Dr. Jones left the room and came back with a wooden box. When he opened the lid, a powerful chained mace lay inside…

But it didn't gleam with the silver of the stars above.

Mike pulled it out, staring dully at it. "It's the Shooting Star mace I got from the Shecolans." He uttered after a moment. He looked up to Dr. Jones. "But this changed into the Super Nova when…"

"We know." Dr. Jones nodded solemnly. "As to why it changed back, though…"

It came to Mike as clear as anything else in his life ever had. "It changed back because it was no longer needed." He whispered, fingering the redforged chain. "Because there was no longer a Starseer to use it."

Mica looked at him, judging his comment for a long moment before squeezing his hand. "I thought you didn't believe in the Prophecy." She said to him, smiling.

Mike looked back at her and nodded, sharing her gaze. "I don't. I changed things…And I'm not the Starseer now. If I ever was to begin with."

She pulled in close to him and settled her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "You could have fooled me."

Dr. Jones cleared his throat again, and the two looked up at him in minor irritation. "As much as I imagine you two would like to catch up on the last few days…I'm afraid the others want to see you as well. And besides, Mike…" At this, he gave his nephew a stern glare, "I promised your father I'd keep you on your best behavior. I doubt highly that wooing the leader from another planet qualifies under that."

Mike chuckled a bit from embarrassment and rubbed the back of his head. "Come on, Uncle Steve. I just saved Earth and what's left of Argonia from an evil alien. Don't I deserve some reward?"

Dr. Jones took note of the Princess sitting on his lap and rolled his eyes. "It seems to me you've reward enough for a lifetime of adventure." He took off his glasses and rubbed at them. "Mica, I'll give the two of you another three minutes. After that, you'll have to leave while 'Prince Charming' here gets ready to see everything he's missed in the last five days."

He gave the two one last look and shook his head as an afterthought, then departed.

Mike turned to Mica and gave her a small smile. "No rest for the weary, eh?" His expression turned serious when he began to think about the others. "The Argonians…how are they?"

"As good as can be expected. Even Ezilian's up and around, thanks to my healing powers." Mica explained gently. "But…Bana…"

Mike's head dropped. "Yeah. I didn't think there was anything you could do for her."

"No." Mica said. "I can heal wounds. But I can't bring people back from the dead." She looked up and stared him straight in the face, love mixing with adoration and awe. "Not like you."

Mike flexed his hand. He definitely felt weaker. Stronger than he had been when he first arrived at Coralcola, sure…but weaker than he had been when he returned to Coralcola's shores the last time. "I don't know how I did that." He finally admitted. He held up the 'Shooting Star' Morningstar mace and stared at it. "In the end, Mica…what the truth was, what I believed…was kind of iffy. But the one thing I never stopped believing was that I had to stop Zoda. And save you. And I'd do whatever it took to do both." The Shooting Star kept silent.

There was nothing magical in it now. It was as it had been back before Mike had touched the first stasis cube; a fine weapon, worked from metal by the hands of the amazon warriors of Shecola. Its silence was saddening. He put it aside and looked at her, his hands gripping her shoulders.

"The Prophecy…it said you had to die. But I saved you." He grinned at that. "Mica, don't you get it? I changed things. The Prophecy? It's wrong! Look! The Super Nova regressed! You're alive! Zoda is dead!" His hands squeezed her gently. "Don't you know what that means?"

Despite herself, Mica bit her lip. "I do." She admitted, on the verge of crying again. "It means that for the first time since Zoda was banished from Argonia…My life, my hopes, are mine again."

She held him close, burying her face into his shoulder. "So stay by me. Because any life I live…I want you to be in it."

Mike held her close, nodding slowly. "I'm not going anywhere." He said softly, comforting her. "I'm right here."

They all were. And that was good.

Coralcola Island

July 5th, 1990 A.D.

10:45 A.M.

The first two people they met on their trip out happened to be Giskard Rorth and the native boy Baboo, who were sitting outside of the good Doctor's laboratory and quietly conversing. When Mike stepped out of the front door, Giskard offered them a small smile, a rarity from the grouchiest Argonian. Baboo drew Mike into a bonecrushing hug, laughing all the while.

"By the Southern Cross, Mike, you rascal!" Baboo beamed, releasing his captive. "It is good to see you up and around again!"

Mike punched Baboo in the arm. "Of course I am!" He boasted. "Nothing can keep me down forever!"

Baboo shook his head. "Some of my people didn't believe you would come back alive. It's a miracle, for you were delivered by the stars."

Mike shrugged. "Yeah, well. Why don't you run on ahead and let everyone know I'm coming?"

"I'll have them prepare the fish specially in your honor!" Baboo chuffed. "The Chief would have it no differently."

Mica ran a hand through her hair, noticing the almost casual bounce of his head that Giskard motioned to her. "I'm going to go on ahead too, Mike." She said, catching the meaning of the only Argonian who did not have Shilivre. "We'll be waiting for you."

Before Mike could pose a question as to why, she dashed off with Baboo hot on her heels. The brown haired boy scratched at his head. "Now why was she in such a hurry?"

"Because I asked her to leave me alone with you for a while." Giskard Rorth answered, putting a hand into his pants pocket. Mike turned around and looked at him.

"Why?" Mike inquired. Giskard shrugged to the query.

"You're going to be a very busy…and a very popular…man over the next few days, Mike. And what I have to say to you, I wanted to do in private."

Mike turned to look at the usually morose Argonian. "What's on your mind?"

Giskard watched a laughing Mica vanish in the distance of the shoreline. "You know, Mike…until you came along, I didn't think I'd ever see Mica smile again." The boy glanced back at the Seattle native. "Even when we lived on Argonia, Mica had very little joy in her heart. She was a slave to her title…and even worse, as we recently discovered, slave to that damnable Prophecy. Her entire life had been planned for her. She would marry Ezilian. The line would continue. And then when Zoda came, she lost all that, and the fear of the Prophecy was driven into her. She lost everything…and you saved us. You saved her. She didn't really smile all that often before the fall of Argonia…but as I pondered and thought of how grief-stricken she had been over the 20 years we were in those stasis cubes, I thought her smile would be just a memory." Giskard smiled at Mike. "And then…she met you. Grief and all, you gave her joy when all she had was sadness and visions. Now you've freed her from the last vestiges of her planned future. There is no Prophecy, no arranged marriage. Even while we weep for Argonia…she is free, Mike. And you have taught her to smile again."

Mike blushed and scratched at the back of his head. "She's something else, all right."

"You care for her? You love her?"

"More than anything." Mike said without hesitation. That surprised him for a moment, but he realized he spoke the truth. He had risked his life for her, thrown everything away to save her.

More and more, she was his life.

"Good." Giskard said softly, pulling his hand out of his pocket. He poked at Mike's chest. "Because if I ever find out that you've been mistreating her, I'll come for your head."

Mike blinked at that for a few moments, caught off balance. "Why? To defend her honor?"

"Because I never want to see her heart broken again." Giskard answered quietly. "My own couldn't take it."

A realization hit Mike. "You love her too."

The knowledgeable youth shut his eyes and nodded his head. "Like a blind man worships a Goddess he cannot see. Fruitlessly." Giskard opened his eyes and smiled again, small but powerful. "Now get going. Ezilian's been asking about you, and you might as well pay him a visit."

"I'd be lying if I said I was looking forward to that." Mike complained.

"A lot has changed while you were sleeping." Giskard answered, assuaging his fears. "Including Ezilian." He nodded for Mike to depart and turned about, trotting off towards the house and Dr. Jones. Smiling, Mike turned and ran after Mica and Baboo.

Giskard paused at the door to the laboratory and watched Mike enter the treeline of the woods between the northern part of the island and Coralcola village. "You've saved us all, Mike." Giskard answered softly. "Starseer or not…you saved us all."

Ezilian Ranuforte's Hut

11:12 A.M.

Ezilian was still recuperating in his bed, regardless of Mica's miracle healing when Mike Jones knocked on the door and poked his head inside. Surprised, Amethyst and Rozlyn glanced towards the door, and Ezilian lifted his head up.

"Is Ezilian awake?" Mike asked cautiously.

"I'm recovering, not dead." Ezilian said gruffly. Rozlyn giggled at the joke she could barely understand, and Amethyst took her hand.

"Rozlyn, why don't we go outside and see how lunch is coming?"

"All right." Rozlyn agreed. "But afterwards, I wanna get back to work on that quilt…"

Amethyst glanced back to Ezilian. "Is there anything else you need before we…"

The older boy waved his hand at her. "I'm fine, Amethyst. I just want to talk with Mike for a while." Amethyst blinked a few times at Mike, but nodded and left, taking her younger sister with her.

Mike walked into the room and looked at the bedridden Argonian. "You still look like Hell."

Ezilian chuffed. "Thanks for the compliment. You look pretty ugly yourself."

"What did Rozlyn mean about the quilt?" Mike asked. Ezilian blinked a few times and rotated his thumbs.

"Back before Zoda…showed up…Rozlyn had been spending a lot of time with Bana Omoy. Apparently, one of the big lessons the shaman tried to impress on the youngest of our number…was the virtue of patience and hard work leading to grand accomplishment. In memory of, or maybe for guilt of the old witch doctor's demise, Rozlyn has faithfully spent almost an hour every day sewing that quilt together. It doesn't look like much…but a lot of feeling has gone into it."

"I see." Mike answered softly. He motioned to Ezilian. "So how much longer until you can get up?"

"My injuries were extensive…Mica can only do so much. Time is having to heal the rest." Ezilian grimaced. "The shortness of breath…is the worst. So. Did you come in here to poke fun at me?"

"No." Mike said simply. "I kept my promise. I brought Mica back alive."

"You did." Ezilian agreed slowly. "You did."

Mike pulled up a chair and sat beside the older boy's bed. "Did you think that I'd fail?"

"The betting odds were on you…Common sense was against you." Ezilian exhaled. He gave Mike a look. "All the same…thank you."

"You're welcome." Mike said, amazed the two had approached even that much of a common courtesy. "It wasn't easy."

"Being the hero never is." Ezilian agreed hoarsely. "But somehow, you keep doing it."

"You still hate me, don't you?"

"I don't hate you, Mike. Not anymore." Ezilian said, pointing a finger. "I sure as Hell…don't have to like you…but I don't hate you. And as to how Mica looks at you, your feelings for her…That isn't my concern anymore." The eldest Argonian let off a cocksure smile. "She dumped me."

Mike remembered how well Amethyst had been taking care of him. "Amethyst…you love her, don't you?"

"I do." Ezilian said easily. "But now I can love her honestly, without having to hide it."

"So all that time…Mica was just a way to power for you?"

"The King of Argonia carries tremendous strength in Shilivre…and command." Ezilian Ranuforte agreed. He shut his eyes for a moment and shook his head. "But…Seeing Zoda here…I got it all wrong."

Ezilian opened his eyes and stared up at Mike. "I was being corrupted…by my desire for power. Just like Zoda was." Mike lifted an eyebrow and the boy waved off the question. "I know now he was Zodus…the exiled adviser. Mica told me." Ezilian let his head drop back and stared at the ceiling. "He lost himself. Everything he was…Just because he was driven to acquire power at any cost. He let himself be corrupted by the dark space between the stars. But I can't. I'll never approach that barrier. Desiring power can only lead to madness." Ezilian smirked. "But…you knew that, didn't you?"

Mike nodded.

"We never did figure out if you were the Starseer or not." Ezilian concluded thoughtfully.

"Maybe I was. Maybe I wasn't." Mike retorted. "In either case, I'm not the Starseer now. And I never wanted to be."

Ezilian shook his head. "You're a weird one, Michael Jones."

"Not half as weird as you, you elf." Mike replied with a smile. Ezilian closed his eyes, smiling back.

"I've said what I needed to. So get out of here and let me finish recovering."

Mike nodded. "Ezilian?"

"Hmm?"

"Are we cool?"

The question was so simple, Ezilian couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yes…I suppose we are 'cool', if I'm understanding your meaning. I'm not going to beat the living piss out of you anymore."

Mike rolled his eyes at the ceiling and headed out the door, still smiling. Things had turned out well…even the pompous Ezilian had learned a few lessons while licking his wounds.

As for Ezilian, he felt his headache coming back, probably from being too honestly cheerful for too long. He pulled the covers over himself a little tighter and let his eyes fall shut.

Sleep didn't come long after.

The grave of Bana Omoy

2:47 P.M.

It was a quiet afternoon, with the sun warm enough to make Hapo Omoy's skin glow, yet not so harsh it would burn him. Bana had loved afternoons like this one when she was a little girl. Even when she had ascended, like all other women of their line, to the shamanhood, she had never completely forgotten the joys of a calm afternoon in the blessed islands of the Southern Cross. By the stars of the night sky, she had received her guidance and wisdom. But it was always the afternoon sun that left her at peace with the world.

"They live, sister." Hapo said quietly, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his frayed shorts. "You knew all along that they would live. It was your own doom that you had predicted all along."

I won't be around forever, brother. She had said that to him, long ago. Back then, as she grumbled about his weight, Hapo had thought it nothing but complaining. Only now, when time had revealed what the stars of the Southern Cross had foretold, did he recognize the sadder and hidden meaning in it.

"The islands have calmed down. The defeat of Zoda has put the spirits of the monsters below back to rest. The Argonians are safe, and Mike has finally broken from his own dreamless sleep."

The wooden gravestone at the head of the piled dirt mound said nothing. Hapo smiled and shook his head. "There were days I never could understand you."

He pulled a vegetable stalk out from his back pocket. "I'm holding to my diet more nowadays. It's slow going, but…Every bit helps. I'll have to watch out for myself now that you're gone." He thought about something else and winced. "I suppose I have to get married and have some kids now, eh? Just so we can have another shaman someday."

There was more he could have said, if he had bothered to ramble. But Hapo Omoy was a simple creature, with a simple outlook. He'd inherited that flaw the same as Bana, but in a different capacity. She had said very little and it meant worlds. He said very little…and it was just very little.

There would be other days. Hapo bowed his head in respect one last time and turned about, heading back towards the village. The vegetable stalk lifted up to his mouth and he began to chew on it, wincing all the while. "Something this bad has to be good for me." The island chief grumbled to himself.

The storm had passed; Coralcola was safe. Bana had died, but her spirit lived on in Hapo, in Rozlyn, and in all the others whose lives she had touched. It hadn't been a meaningless death, either, Hapo reminded himself.

She had helped two young people to find love. And in their traditions, there was no higher honor than helping to create love. For that was a celebration of life. And of the true message of the stars.

Coralcola Helipad (Southeastern tip)

2:58 P.M.

The noise of an approaching helicopter, the only rapid means of transport to and from the remote island of Coralcola, was an unusual one that prompted all manner of curious onlookers and adventure seekers. Usually, it was some manner of a package for Doctor Jones out of Hawaii, whether it was equipment or a few crates of the instant noodles he seemed to enjoy to excess. A little less than two weeks ago, it had come bearing the necessary parts for his electron microscope, the oddest piece of equipment in his entire laboratory.

Dr. Jones charged up the hill, smiling to himself. A lot had happened in those two weeks. The bulk of the mysteries surrounding the Argonians had been answered, and a few more had been created. Mike and Princess Mica had gone from being barely able to say two words to each other to being, for all purposes, deeply in love. And Zoda, not a clone, but the one true lost son had come and died in a failed scheme to usurp the last of the Starseer's forgotten strength.

All the same, he could use some more instant noodles.

The main rotor's noise began to quiet as the bright red helicopter settled down on the brightly white painted helipad. Ducking underneath the still spinning and all too dangerous blades, the portly archaeologist headed for the door. Amazingly enough, the rotors quieted faster than usual, as if the noise of their spinning had somehow been cancelled.

"Huh." Dr. Jones murmured, a little surprised. Modern marvels at work, indeed.

The side door slid open and a frail looking elderly man in a brown jumpsuit slid out, a package at his side, and with several larger cases waiting inside the helicopter. Dr. Jones walked over to him and nodded.

"Dr. Jones, I presume?" The old man asked, a twinkle in his eye. What really caught Dr. Jones' attention was his long and flowing white beard, which seemed to reach to his waist, and likely could have gone beyond it. The whiskers were well maintained and trimmed precisely, and the courier seemed for all the world like some archaic magician out of a storybook.

"That's me." Dr. Jones nodded in reply. "I don't recall ever seeing you out here before, though. Are you new?"

"This is my first flight." The old man answered, glancing around with a curious smile.

"Not used to helicopters?"

"Not ones like this, no." The old man agreed easily. "This one's definitely more stable than the contraptions they had back in the day."

"Aah, the autogyros." Dr. Jones assumed, lifting his glasses up a little higher on his nose. The old man didn't break his smile.

"Something like that." He jerked a thumb behind him. "You've got a few cases of goods here that you'll need some help unloading." Dr. Jones took the cue and motioned to some of the islanders who were standing nearby. Used to the procedure, they charged towards the helicopter and began to unload the supplies.

The old man in the brown jumpsuit hefted the package under his arm as they moved out of the way of the bustling islanders. "This one's special delivery, though. I had to deliver this by hand."

"Oh?" Dr. Jones asked, lifting an eyebrow. "What's so special about it?"

The old man with the long white beard handed the wrapped package over, but held it firmly until Dr. Jones waited.

"My instructions were to deliver this particular parcel to a Dr. Stephen Jones, archaeologist, to this island on this precise day." The old man cautioned him. "But you're not supposed to open it until I take off and leave."

Dr. Jones frowned. "Those are some odd directions."

"Those were the ones left to us." The old man said cryptically. "But, so it is." He released his hold on the package and took a step back, nodding politely. "Well, Dr. Jones, I'll leave it in your hands. I think you'll be able to figure out what to do with it."

"Wait a minute." Dr. Jones exclaimed suddenly. The old man paused and looked at him. "I never got your name, sir." The archaeologist inferred.

The old man stroked at his long beard for a moment, the twinkle in his eye all too grand. "My friends call me Mer."

"Short for Mervin?"

The old man just let his eyes twinkle. "Something like that." He extended his hand out. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Dr. Jones. It gives me something to retire on a high note with."

"I didn't know I was that famous." The archaeologist joked. The old man laughed.

"Why, my good doctor…you're more famous than you know, in some circles." He nodded one last time to Dr. Jones and walked back to the helicopter.

It didn't take long for the natives to unload the supplies and push them out of the way. Dr. Jones couldn't help but stare at the old man in the rear compartment of the airplane, who watched him with that same odd and knowing smile as the helicopter took off and left.

Only then did the archaeologist, still feeling the old man Mer's eyes on him from far above, open the package. Inside the tightly packed manila envelope and surrounded by foam was a single book with reddish brown binding, and golden yellow lettering.

Dr. Jones blinked at the title. "What's this now? The Oxford Wonder World book of History?" Frowning, he thumbed through a few of the pages midbook. "Odd." He muttered, as he flipped open to a page on Leonardo Da Vinci. Later on, there was even an entry about Sherlock Holmes and Victorian England. "REALLY strange." He grumbled again. "Some history book, they list literary characters as actual people." He closed the book and turned back towards his lab, the islanders with his instant noodles and other supplies following close behind.

Occupied as he was by other matters, and the rest of the curious cipher yet untranslated from the escape ship crashed in Rellini-Uros, it would be some time before Dr. Jones would thumb completely through the book and discover the cryptic ancient Argonian text in the front few pages.

But that was for another day.

High above and miles beyond, the old man in the helicopter watched Coralcola become a speck on the horizon, and then vanish completely. The pilot turned his head back to the old man who had been assigned to the flight just before takeoff. "So, what exactly was in that little package of yours?"

"A very confusing book." The old man known as 'Mer' answered just loud enough to be heard over the roar of the engines. "One which will take some effort for him to truly understand."

"Sounds like it may take some time!" The pilot answered with a chuckle.

The old man lay back in his padded seat and shut his eyes, still smiling that same odd smile.

"Once they translate that book…they'll have all the time in the world." Exhaling loudly, the old man began to mentally prepare himself for the harrowing journey he would undertake once they landed in Hawaii.

Well, my old friend…I've done what you asked. It's in their hands now.

The Northern Shore

10:16 P.M.

It seemed like forever since they had been able to go up to the north shore of Coralcola Island. The same forgotten log of driftwood hadn't moved in the slightest, and it sat there as patiently as ever. The warmth of the day had long since gone, and the stars glistened high above, praising its children below. Nestled in a thick blanket stolen from Dr. Jones' laboratory, the Princess of Argonia and her hero sat holding each other close and staring up to the stars. No longer with fear.

Never again.

"I remember the first time I saw you out here." Mike said softly. The girl beside him smiled and glanced over to him.

"Oh? Do you now?"

"Yeah." Mike replied. "It was the first night after I got back to Coralcola, and my Uncle Steve unlocked the cubes. You were dressed in your royal stuff, and you were just staring out to the waves. You just had the saddest look on your face. And I thought to myself, 'I'll do everything I can to make her smile'."

The Princess blushed a bit and her ears flattened against the sides of her head. "You can say the most flattering lies some days."

"Some days?" Mike asked, lifting an eyebrow. Mica couldn't help herself, and giggled at the joke.

He held her closer, feeling her shiver in the night cold. "We should get you inside. You're starting to get chilly." He muttered, rubbing her bare shoulders to keep her warm.

"In a while." Mica said. "For now, I'm just enjoying the moment." Truth be told, she was cold. Her red island dress given to her by Bana long ago didn't offer much in the way of protection against the night chill, for as pretty as it looked. That didn't stop her from reveling in the moment.

"So what happens now?" Mike asked, leaning against the rotting log.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"I faced my nightmares. And I destroyed yours." Mike said slowly. "I don't think we'll be seeing many more early mornings out here, just talking and staring at the stars."

"That doesn't mean we can't come out here at night." Mica smiled. "I enjoy our visits to this beach. It's a quiet place, Michael. A place that is ours, and ours alone."

"Now who's being a flatterer?" He asked, pulling her closer. She tilted her head up and kissed him for a long moment, his hand meeting hers in the air as their fingers danced and tangled.

He pulled away and exhaled loudly, stunned. "Wow."

The Princess pulled away demurely and leaned back against the log, her calm and contented eyes staring up to the stars above.

"Life goes on." She said softly, the wind playing in her deep red hair. "We live. All thanks to you." She frowned, a horrible thought coming to her. "Wait. Mike…didn't you say this was a vacation for you?"

The Seattle native nodded. "I don't live here. I came here to spend the summer with my Uncle Steve."

The girl looked crestfallen. "And that means…at some point, you'll leave us. You'll have to. To go back home."

Mike's hand reached to her shoulder, squeezing it gently. "Yes." He whispered. "When the summer ends…I'll have to leave for home." He picked himself up and looked down at her, a sad smile on his face. "But that's not for some time yet. Not until after my birthday. We still have the rest of the summer ahead of us, Mica."

"Just the summer." She whispered. "Is that it, then?"

"No." Mike answered, reaching for and squeezing her hand. "I'll come back. Somehow, some way, I'll come back. I promise."

The Princess said nothing for a while, choosing to rest her head against Mike's chest and think back on all she had once known, and all she had been freed from.

"Marlin's been practicing his pitching. He's looking forward to another game soon." Mica said after her pause. Mike kissed her forehead and held her close.

"We all are."

Mica closed her eyes and tightened her hold on him. "Don't leave me." She whispered, blinking out a tear. "Just let me stay here. Let me hold onto this memory, this place…this endless tropical night."

"I'm not going anywhere." Mike answered back, closing his eyes.

Mica held in her hardest tears, comforted by the beating sound of his heart next to her sensitive ear.

I'll love you forever.

Mica opened her eyes, but didn't look up. No, Mike hadn't said that. The voice was older, more mature, almost wiser.

But somehow, it was Mike. Smiling to herself, Mica thought of the Prophecy again, and let it drop from active conversation.

Mike sensed the stirring in her. "Is something wrong?" He asked her, leaning her up and off of him. Mica blinked a few times, sensing something in him that he himself was now blind to.

After a few moments, she smiled and shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. Everything's right."

"It looked like you heard something."

The voice of a long-ago lover, returned to his lady.

"The peace of two hearts…which have finally found each other." She answered, resting a hand over his chest. She smiled at him again, in that soft and gentle way she had. Mike smiled back and said little else.

In an hour, they would grow tired of watching the stars and whispering sweet nothings, and Mike would return to his Uncle's laboratory, and Mica to the cabin of the late Bana Omoy.

But for the moment, they remained on the beach, linked deeply. By time's own flow, soulmates, some would argue.

The future could wait until tomorrow.

The night was theirs.

And the stars were with them.