"Mother's log: It has been 42 delsons since we crashed on Earth and I am still, as the humans say, 'grounded' as in incapable of flight. Since our arrival, I have scoured my databases for information to better understand human emotion. The young emperor has proven to be a rather valuable source in the matter, from love to anger, from hurt to hope; but I did not understand the importance of human connection until today"

Mother wandered through her hallowed halls in the dead of night, searching the rooms in an effort to both check on her inhabitants and to have something to do. If these few short months on Earth had taught her anything, it was that they could have undoubtably been snatched from their beds or snuck off with friends in the middle of night with no one the wiser. And with Morando on his way, emotions were running all over the place.

In the living room she found Commander Vex asleep in the Lay-Z Boy with Luug tucked into his chest and the fireplace roaring beside them. The adjacent couch held the snoring form of Dan Masters who bathed in the glow of the glow-in-the-dark stars glued to the ceiling. Out on the patio, the flittering shadows danced beneath the moon's light and revealed the hunched form of Lieutenant Zadra as she warily patrolled throughout the night with serator grasped tightly in her hand. Further into the home, she found the young royals asleep in their beds. Aja, with her hands tucked neatly under her cheek & a gentle smile upon her face. Whilst Krel laid back against his pillows with one pair of hands tucked beneath his head & his beloved orb clutched close to his chest like a teddy bear in the other.

"Let me start from the beginning, with last night when trouble came to town. With trouble can come heightened emotions, such as frustration or fear. These feelings can tear a family apart or it can bring a family together through love and co-operation. And my royals were about to be tested yet again, by trouble"


Tensions had been running high since the impromptu rescue mission to the moon some days ago; mostly between Vex & Zadra; although there was also the whole thing regarding the tyrant Morando and his subsequent journey to Earth in search of something that was supposedly hidden there. Because, y'know, why not add more fuel to the fire? The tension in the Tarron household had reminded the halfa of his own family's problems that had plagued them—mostly in the days after the asteroid and before his unannounced departure (read: runaway)—and he'd more or less ran for the hills because of it (both times).

With shoulders hunched up around his ears, Dan had chosen to evacuate the house long before anyone had awoken and gone for a walk just to clear his mind & decided on what to do. At first, he'd considered picking up a few extra shifts at the taco truck before he remembered that Stuart was an enthusiastic morning person and throughly decided against it. From the bridge to Trollmarket, the canal to Arcadia High, Dan mostly just wandered wherever his feet would take him until eventually he found himself balancing on the outermost edge of the collection of boulders that overlooked Make Out Point and stared down at a Ghost Portal that sat sizzling above the town

"Hm, may as well" Dan shrugged before he took a running jump and dived off the end of the cliff with an unneeded flair that had him tumbling out near Princess Dorathea's castle. He knew that he was always welcome to visit the draconic princess (courtesy of Sam), but he didn't particularly feel like talking people today. "Plus, there's all that paperwork I've been putting off…ugh! Guess I'm heading home"

Home—more specifically, his lair within the Ghost Zone—was a great big hulking castle that stood proudly upon a floating rock and bore this medieval look that made it appear like something straight out of Arthurian legends. Pariah Dark, the previous king and his predecessor, had had a rather old & dark aesthetic which could still be seen in the various gargoyles & portraits lining the halls. Even all these years later the cold & dark feeling still remained, no matter how much sprucing the halfa did to assuage this.

Alighting down on the outermost edge of his property, the two transformation rings slid up & down his frame which left him in the 'Causal Ghostday' outfit he had worn at the Hunter Guild's: Lunar Outpost and not the pyjamas he'd left the house in. It was always odd walking in through the front door, seeing as he was so used to slipping in through an open window or just landing upon the outcropping balcony that bordered his bedroom, but his court-appointed manservant had pressed to him time & time again the scandalous image he presented whenever he did so. What kind of king had to sneak into his own castle?

A nod here at the guards who snapped to attention at his arrival, or two there at the servants who bore gleaming white smiles full of fangs and pledged loyalty, followed Dan all the way through the twisting hallways. Until he eventually found himself pushing aside the heavy & ornate door that barred his room from the rest of the castle in the uppermost tip of the blackened tower which sat snugly on the western side.

He spared a passing glance at the Primordial Gifts that sat neatly displayed on the dresser against the wall to make sure that they were still there as he made his way to the oversized bed and threw himself onto the green sheets. Starfished on the large bed, he happily sank in the folds of the mattress as it slowly enveloped him like a warm hug with ashen pillows sending sad little feathers flying up into the air upon impact. "Oof! What a day!" His head lolled to the side where he could see the Ring of Rage glistening in the light like a disco ball.

The Primordial Gifts were items of great—terrible—power on their own & infinite when used in tandem. Not much was known about them, but they were said to have been given to the very first Emperor by the Ancients—as in, the very first beings who had ever walked the Earth. Even less was known about the Ancients; some said that they were creatures that had erupted from the hands of Gods, whilst others said they were themselves, Gods. The only one who truly knew them was the first king—Pariah Dark—and that was because he had been born of their hands. Dan didn't know which story to believe; they were all about as fantastical as the other. Although the stories had been shared across the ages, forever changing & adapting, there were consistencies within each of them that had lasted. Consistencies, that told you what rang with truth within the legends.

Three gifts were given, three tokens of the Ancients presented to the first born Emperor to lead the dead in a realm untouchable by even them. One gave the Crown of Fire, a volcanic thing that appeared to carved from the Earth's core and gave the wearer unrivalled power in all realms. Two gave the Ring of Rage, a chunky thing made of the smoothest ice and glistened like diamonds. When worn, a thing layer of ice tended to coat the wearer's hand and a cloud of rage blinded them even as they commanded the Eldritch creatures that resided in the deepest pits of Tartarus.

And finally, there was Three who gave them Soul Shredder Sword. This was a blade of green that teleported the injured party to an alternate reality where they had to live out their days in a Hell so very personalised to each soul. Dan found, as most did, the sword most trustworthy of the three because he had used it on many an occasion without any major repercussions/drawback that affected his own person. The same could not be said for his enemies, however. The best part? When all three Primordial Gifts were used in conjunction, it was said that the wearer would be able to access the farthest reaches of the realms with their power. They would be ultimate—infinite—in all aspects.

It was because of this, that these highly coveted items had been the prized goals of many a burglary attempt. All failed, of course, the gifts would not respond to any but the High King. And thanks to Pariah Dark's punishments after the fact, many were far too afraid to try again with the newest king, something for which Dan was silently grateful for (it was one of the few things from Pariah's reign that the halfa was thankful for). He wasn't quite sure what he'd do if he found someone trying to steal the gifts—he didn't know if he could follow through with the same punishments as his predecessor because they were all about as dark as his name.

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Sire?" The terse voice of his manservant echoed through the door. "Sire, reports from the Eastern kingdoms speak of demonic entities pestering the peoples, The Garden has finally replied in regards to the newly acquired souls and there's still the matter of your engagement…"

"Ugh! Speaking of punishments!"


"Mother's Log:…Despite my best efforts to bring the family together, anger and frustration would continue to pull the them apart, both literally and figuratively"

Mother worriedly watched from the window of their house as everyone parted ways. Krel, Vex & Luug had adorned their human vessels with the help of the transduction chambers before they disappeared off in the direction of town. The former traipsed the streets in search of the Durian's place of residence in regard to spare parts that may help to fix the Mothership, whilst the latter shuffled through the town square with a sour expression and a happy corgi that pulled at his leash.

In turn, Zadra had all-but frog-marched the young Queen-in-waiting off towards the more suburban part of town wherethe buildings were packed in closely together like sardines and helped to serve as a good obstacle course, despite its primitive nature. Which finally left the most recent addition to the household, Daniel, who had left in the early hours of the morning under Mother's watchful eye with hunched shoulders and tension running throughout his entire body like lightning. Darkness had fallen and the halfa had yet to return; Mother tried to not to let it worry her so, but that was easier said than done.

"Across town, as the Colonel and Sergeant chased after the electrical blackouts and searched for the cause of the town's frustrations, my royals created their own. My young royal let impatience & arrogance guide her towards trouble, and I feared straight into danger"

Fed up with Zadra's coddling Aja raced after the presumed electro-thermal life form and prepared herself for battle. It was inside the city's museum that she—quite literally—bumped into Tobias and his friend, Aaarrrggh. It was also here, that the young royal was introduced to the electric bounty hunter for the first time, a painful experience, before Aaarrrggh intercepted and threw the electrical alien around like he weighed no more than a twig much to the foreigners' surprise. The electro-thermal creature quickly fled after that, trailing blackouts, spontaneous combustion & sooty skid marks in his wake.

"Soon enough, they all (reluctantly) returned to the Mothership and asked me to identify this latest bounty hunter. In my frustrations, I half-considered withholding the information, but knew that this would draw even more ire and attention from my young royals than before"

"He is Tronos Madu, an electro-thermal life form from the planet Voltar" Mother intoned as they all gathered around her floating icon and the projection of the bounty hunter in question.

"Voltar? That planet still exists?" Zadra exclaimed in surprise.

"Barely" Mother moved back to allow the image of an apocalyptic planet to show on the screen. "It's been reduced to rubble after a keltons long war"

"I saw this guy at the moon outpost…" Said Krel when he recognised the alien who had taken him hostage for a brief period. "He was drinking, gambling, killing Foo-Foos—! No class"

"You're valiant of Commander Vex would explain how this bounty hunter tracked us here"

"Forgive me for not thinking it was worth it" Zadra sneered from over Toby's shoulder.

"Perhaps now would be a good time to work together? Tronos is a dangerous predator"

"And he travels through electricity!" Aja piped up.

"Hence the power failures!" Vex clapped his hands in eureka, "He's no doubt using the power lines to infiltrate the grid"

"I came to the same conclusion myself" Zadra replied snidely, "Significantly earlier"

"Perhaps you should've shared this earlier insight with your allies!"

"Oh! Now the traitor is chastising me for withholding information"

"Varvatos should de-core your body with a dull spoon!" Vex stalked towards Zadra, intent on following through with his threat—something that Zadra seemed keen on replying to—but before that could happen, they were thankfully intercepted and pushed the two opposing side apart.

"Guys!" Aja snapped as the two trollhunters tried to push two elder Akiridions apart. "We have to stop him!"

"How? He's lightning fast!" Krel retorted, hands on hips. "That makes him impossible to stop!"

"That's it!" Toby suddenly perked up as he was ungracefully ejected from the gap between Vex & Zadra, before he struggled to his feet and trotted over to the two siblings. "The guy moves like lightning! And whose captured lightning before? In a bottle? Huh? These guys! Back with Jimbo & Claire! I've still got the bottle thingamajig! We could capture him in that!"

"Huh, for a human, that is shockingly, not a terrible idea" Krel's eyes gleamed in recognition.

"Ha! 'Shockingly' Am I right? That's a nice one!" Toby chuckled at the unintentional pun as he raised his hands, silently asking for a high-five. Krel, who clearly didn't understand the human custom, merely raised his own hand in response like he meant to wave but didn't know what he was waving at. "No? Okay, it's okay, buddy"

"Toby! You go get the thingamajig and we'll all meet up here, at this warehouse!" Aja chirped as she pulled up an electrical map of Arcadia & pointed to the one spot where the only red dot still blinked; she then turned to the others who looked like they were both chomping at the bit. In the background, Toby had to manually lower her brother's hand when no high-five was given, even if he looked totally confused at what the human was doing.

"Now, if we want to capture Tronos, first, we have to corner him" Krel shook off the odd interaction, mind working fast as he planned aloud for all to hear.

"So, we'll shut of all the power to the city except for one spot" Aja continued excitedly. "Where we light up the place to draw Tronos in"

"There, we'll be waiting for him with a newly modified—"

"—Lightning-Bottle-Blaster-Suction-Thingy!" Toby ended excitedly, practically vibrating in his little metal suit. "We really need a new name for that…"

"Let's go! It's time for some dividing & conquering!" Aja cheered, fists pumped in the air.

"Dividing and conquering is not what I meant by 'working together" Mother sighed despairingly as they all departed from the Mothership with a half-baked plan solid in their minds.

"Somedays, I envy the toaster"