Prologue
I found Chaos, and I asked him, "So, this is where you came from?" I gestured towards the fields of alien grass and the strange liquid creatures that inhabited the planet. There were no buildings, no statues, nothing to suggest sentient beings lived there, except for the cuboid crystal too perfect to be a natural formation.
He nodded, and I heard his voice for the first time. It sounded as though someone were speaking from underwater, and yet I could somehow hear every syllable clearly.
"Yes. This was my first home," (the name that followed is something that can be neither spelled nor pronounced in our language). "In English, it means, 'sunlight circle.' But this cannot be the question you wanted to ask."
Wondering what his reaction would be, I said, "The Echidnas...how did they become what they are today? Did they separate themselves from the humans for some reason?"
He stared at me for what seemed like hours, although I'm sure it was only minutes. After this, he said,
"Very well."
He stood up, and explained,
"My species has found more quick and effective methods of communication than the manipulation of sound waves. It is also how I know much of what I know...in reverse, of course. Its use is reserved for occasions where language just doesn't explain it well enough."
He placed his hand on top of my head, and it began to melt. I resisted the urge to resist. When it had melted completely, forming a sort of membrane around my head, I was surprised to find that I could comfortably breathe through it. After a few seconds, images began to flash before my eyes while what seemed to me sound was coming from them. It was like watching a movie in super fast forward, and yet I somehow memorized every gesture made, every word said, every bead of sweat produced the moment it came onscreen.
When it was finished, the membrane reformed into Chaos' three-fingered hand, which he took off my head before sitting down again. After a few seconds, I let three words escape my lips:
"Oh my god..."
Chaos looked up toward the judge. He wanted to break free of the plastic bubble that imprisoned him and rip his brain straight out of his head. One of the leaders of the corrupted government that ran his planet, Kremnir (as close as the Roman alphabet can spell it) was about to hand Chaos one of two things: exile or death.
"Chaos Uunthar," said Kremnir, "for twenty-one counts of treason, including the continued allegiance to one of the main rebel forces against the government, I hereby sentence you to live on the third planet from the Zarkos Three. If you should give any information that leads to the capture or execution of one or more persons important to the rebels' cause, you shall be allowed to return on maximum probation."
Chaos was incredibly glad. He would be allowed to live. He didn't listen to the formal drone of Kremnir; the only thing that mattered was that he would be able to continue serving the rebels. No matter how long it took, he would return to this planet, Bliaras Two, and continue to serve the rebellion.
Hours later, he was taken from the bubble and put into one of the crystals his race used for travel. As soon as he got in, the crystalline spaceship zoomed away from Bliaras Two and toward Zarkos Three. As he came close to the planet, he could see the individual planets of the system. A small, red one, then a medium, tan one. Next to it was the green and blue sphere that was to be his home...