Chapter 7

The room was silent until Delphox walked in. Xeexi and Ghubar bowed while the other Mutradi of various species stood at attention.

"What do you report, oracle?" A burly Nephilimite in a blue cloak asked. His eyes were a bit bigger than most of his race's.

"Joyous news, and glad tidings," Delphox replied. "The one we have been seeking for an eternity is here."

"It has not been an eternity!" a Mucolox corrected him. "Do not exaggerate the passage of time!" A small smile appeared on Delphox for a moment before he resumed seriousness.

"Quite," he went on. "The Achillacasus will be placed on each of them tonight. I believe that the one with the simian face and chin-furs that branch in two shows the most promise. He did not bow before us." The other Mutradi murmured a bit, discussing among themselves the implications of this action and how they felt about it.

"You have all observed the prisoners," Delphox went on. "Are there any others which you believe have the potential to be the one we seek?"

"None do to me, oracle!" barked the Nephilimite. "Forgive me for disagreeing with you, but one alien's lack of bowing does not indicate prominence. Only a defiant personality. I did not bow when you entered the room, for example, yet you know that I respect you. I simply choose not to be so docile when I do so. It is unbecoming."

"Only my closest associates and clergymen are required to bow," Delphox reminded him. "Anyway, what would you suggest instead, Amontulatus?" he asked the Nephilimite.

"Simply place the Hat on the heads of those who you wish, in any particular order," Amontulatus suggested. "Pick whoever seems the least afraid. What good to us are these aliens if we know so little about them?"

"What good to us is an interplanetary war?" Xeexi countered. "They are our first visitors, and they likely come in peace…despite their weapons. Perhaps their home would miss them, and bring reinforcements. If they found out we had killed them, what a diplomatic calamity this would be for our planet! Do we even know if our cities are fortified enough from attack by the aliens? We should do as Delphox has suggested. I can attest that the simian-faced one is the most prominent of the group."

"But if he does not work, then who goes next?" the Mucolox asked.

"The one with the head of the crescent," Ghubar replied. "He seems to be respected among the aliens. Perhaps it is he who is meant to put on the Achillacasus."

"You fool! That is their king!" Xeexi replied. "Do you wish to see him die? The people of his planet would surely send more of their people after us! As I said before, I do NOT want an unnecessary war!"

"I didn't know!" Ghubar said, raising his hands defensively. "Not all of us have your talents, Xeexi. But what if he is indeed the one we seek? A leader of two worlds?"

"I believe such a thing would be unlikely," Delphox replied. "In all of the writings we have left over from before the Great Rain, nearly every commentator interprets the message of a liberator as a being that does not necessarily have to be in a position of power. He or she could be an ordinary citizen."

"Are the commentaries before the Great Rain reliable?" Amontulatus challenged. "They could not have guessed that such a being would come from beyond our world." Delphox sighed.

"We do not know for sure unless we try," he told the group. "The great spirit proclaimed that he would send a being to free us and restore us, to give us a better world. Beyond us lies a world that might be better—surely it is if they are advanced enough to fly to us—and now we have beings that have been sent from it. Is it not an act of the great spirit? And if not, has our right to try been denied?"

. . . . .

"Back up!" Lance cried. "Great spirit? Great Rain? Chin-furs? We're not Mutradi, this isn't common knowledge to us!"

"I know, I will explain later," Ranaron said. "You did not seem to be interested in the origins of the Achillacasus or the history of my planet, so I skipped that part. I am merely transcribing word for word the scene that took place on the day of your fellow Galalunans' capture."

"How are you aware of the exact words?" Octus asked. "You say that Ghubar had a memory capable of preserving this meeting, and clearly his words can be verified and are accepted as factual in your society. But how do you remember? Even if you read a book which contained Ghubar's account of these events, how do you remember its contents?"

Ranaron paused. How did he know all this? He was getting an idea when he felt a gentle jolt of electricity. Closing his eyes as he winced in pain, all he could see was bright green.

"I—I must continue," Ranaron insisted.

"Wait, if you don't want to, you don't have to," Ilana reassured him. "Is everything all right? You looked like you just got hurt a second ago there."

"I am fine. This story must be told!"

. . . . .

"Therefore," Delphox went on, "I am putting this to a vote. Your first option is to first start with the simian-faced one. Your second option is to first start with the King, as they are our prime suspects." The Mutradi went around the room, each deciding on the first or the second by simply saying, "First," or "Second". Delphox voted first, going to Ghubar on his left. Xeexi was last, casting the deciding vote in favor of starting with Modula.

. . . . .

"So, if Xeexi was the one who ultimately decided to start with Modula…" Ilana began thoughtfully. "Ranaron, would they have put the Hat on my father first otherwise?"

"Yes. And he would have died, because he was the choice of the Achillacasus," Ranaron replied.

"So that means…Xeexi saved my father's life," Ilana realized, her voice trailing off.

"Him? A good guy?! How?! Xeexi tried to kill you, and got his tentacles in my mouth!" Lance protested. "Just because he did something nice by accident doesn't make him good!"

"I didn't say it did!" Ilana replied. "I just didn't think someone like him was capable of thinking in peaceful terms. Why wasn't he the leader of the Mutradi? He sounds so much more civilized than Delphox. And he was trying to learn our language first!"

"Only because Delphox told him to," Lance argued.

"We can discuss the legacy of Xeexi later," Octus told them. "Continue on with the story."

"Indeed. This has been interrupted far too many times," Ranaron remarked with a sigh.

. . . . .

But what Delphox and the other Mutradi weren't aware of—at least, not at that moment—was that there was another meeting in another place in the great Mutradi city of Yersirin, in which an even more daring event was being planned.

"Our spies have confirmed that they are being held in the municipal prisons, in a wing isolated from the more conventional criminals," Litoria told the other Mutradi watching her. Her husband Bufonidus, covered in warts from age, held her hand gently to show the others that he was on her side.

"The Achillacasus is not a trustworthy master," Bufonidus told the group, "But such words among us are quite redundant. If we can pull off this heist—if we can rescue these innocent, peaceful aliens—then perhaps we can also unseat those in the Council of Representatives that favor Delphox too closely."

"But…what if the one promised to lead us to victory is among them?" a Somortite asked nervously.

"Preposterous! It's all a lie they conceived to justify the Great Rain!" A Formutoid replied gruffly. "The Hat was probably made by an ancient blacksmith, whose secrets are lost to us."

"There will be no further divisions on the nature of the Hat," Bufonidus told them. "Not on a night like this." He surveyed the Mutradi around him and his wife, some of them eager for revenge, others eager for justice, still more driven by bloodlust. Some of them did not believe in the prophecy of the Hat at all, like the Formutoid; still others, like the Somortite, believed that the being meant to save them was not yet here, and that the arrival of a few aliens meant nothing. But they all agreed on one thing; whatever the original message of the great spirit and the Hat had meant thousands of years ago did not matter anymore to Delphox and his associates. He was defying Mutradi democracy by having too much influence over too many members of the Council of Representatives. He had too much power, far too much for one being, and he had to be stopped before he sent the whole planet on a path that could lead to destruction. Bufonidus and Litoria had no idea just who the Galalunans were, but they knew that a society had gone made when it tried to exploit outsiders for its own purposes. All of the Mutradi knew this, Bufonidus knew, and that was why they were here. Though their opinions on what there could be in place of Delphox varied, they were all united in opposition against him and his savage treatment of these aliens.

"Everyone was briefed on the plan, I take it?" Litoria asked the group. Most of the Mutradi nodded, but a few didn't seem to be in on it just yet.

"To refresh your minds," Litoria began, "We will hold a demonstration in front of the prisons, demanding the immediately release of the aliens. Due to our various personal differences, we suggest that no one bring protest signs from home. Just use the ones our son Ranaron made. They essentially all say that the aliens are not the ones we have been seeking, and are not meant to wear the Hat. We have to get this argument out to them, and no others."

"But you know what I think about all this Hat nonsense," the same Formutoid from before protested. "It's utter crap! Delphox is insane!"

"I understand," Litoria told him, "But in public we must at least pretend to have a unified opinion on the matter. We're going with the moderate approach that none of the aliens are guaranteed to be to the Hat's liking, and that the risk is too great."

"I heard a rumor that Xeexi has a similar attitude," a scrawny Nephilimite spoke up. "Perhaps he will side with us against the oracle!"

"It isn't likely," Litoria argued, "And we shouldn't try and gain his support. This protest, after all, is a diversion. Bufonidus, Ctesiphone the Floraptikon, and Ribos the Formutoid—will break into the prison and smuggle the aliens out. Munqadi has a Goleborg ready outside the city walls, and hopefully we can get the aliens back to their ship."

"But we don't know their language!" the scrawny Nephilimite protested. "How can we get them to tell us where it is?"

"Munqadi has experience with manipulating minds," Litoria explained. "He will force them to transfer their memories of being taken from their ship to Yersirin, and he can trace the route from there. In the meantime, my husband and the others might have to hold off some troops."

"This is treason!" a Mutradi cried. "They'll kill us for letting their prisoners out!"

"Yes," Bufonidus spoke up, "But it is a sacrifice that we must make to ensure peace between our worlds. We could take a chance and presume that none of the aliens here are the one Delphox seeks, and they would all die when he put the Hat on them. We could also take a chance and hope that they are not missed on their home world. Or…their people will miss them and declare war on us for killing them. Or Delphox is right, and we will be the aggressors in a war against them. I do not know, but so far our plan looks like the best option to me. Does anyone else have any better ideas?" No one else spoke up, except for Ranaron.

"Dad, can I go with you and help you break out the aliens? I want to see what they look like!" he said eagerly.

"No, son, you must stay with your mother," Bufonidus replied. "It will be much safer for you. Our actions later tonight could change the course of history—or cause another great tragedy to befall our race."

. . . . .

"Another great tragedy?" Lance wondered. "There's a lot we don't know about you Mutradi."

"So your parents were the ones behind my father's rescue?" Ilana asked Ranaron with a bit of unease.

"Yes. Did Lucius ever mention them?"

"No," Ilana said, afraid of hurting Ranaron's feelings. "He never mentioned them by their names, at all. He just said that some Mutradi saved him and brought him and most of his men back to his ship. Except for Modula. It's a shame that this was how our worlds first met."

"It also explains the state we're in now," Octus added.

"How did the escape go?" Lance asked, eager for more from Ranaron.

"I don't know all the details," he explained. "I obeyed my father and protested with my mother. Because I was so young, they simply ordered me home, and I fled while my mother was arrested and executed the next morning, along with most of the others that dared to speak out against Delphox. And yet, I forgive him. He did not know he was unleashing a great evil."

"I think I remember my father telling me parts of this story, when I decided I was old enough," Ilana said.

"Well, tell me!" Lance demanded. "I was never in a high position, all this top-secret stuff is new to me."

"Intriguing…Lucius did not make a mention of this account in my databanks, either," Octus told Ilana. "You'll have to fill me in as well. Perhaps Lucius thought it was irrelevant for me to know this."

"Ok, I'll tell you everything he told me," Ilana declared as 3 pairs of eyes turned toward her. This was good practice, she thought. Someday she'd be looking at even more pairs of eyes, all begging for some words of wisdom or inspiration.

AN: Yeah, I know, this chapter was probably tough to understand. But nobody answered the poll, and jerrynumbers said that he would rather hear about how Modula got the Hat than its origins. So you'd naturally be left in the dark about what the Mutradi were talking about :/

Basically Delphox and his group want to put the Hat on Modula, because they think he's the one that can lead their race to prosperity. They'll finally be able to control the giant Mutradi and take over other planets, if they wanted to. After all, Mutrad isn't exactly the nicest place to live.

Ranaron's parents, meanwhile, lead a group that opposes the idea of anybody putting on the Hat. Some of them think that just because Modula didn't bow doesn't mean he's automatically the one they're looking for, and if he isn't they don't want the rest of Galaluna to come after them (none of the Mutradi except Delphox, Xeexi and the others close to them know that Lucius just so happens to be the King, and that Modula is his top General). Others don't believe in the Hat at all; sort of the atheists/agnostics of the Mutrad. Others feel like Delphox is just exploiting the Galalunans to gain more power as a dictator of the entire planet. And Ranaron's parents personally believe that the Hat is too great and dangerous a power to mess with.

Obviously, given implied events in the show, you all know what will sort of happen, but I have to give the details anyway. The King's escape and Modula's capture will be the last chapters like that.

Next we go to the origins of the Hat itself, which can't possibly be filled with interruptions or questions from the in-universe audience. I'm sorry that this whole story is really long, but I figured it would have to be because I'm trying to give an answer to all of the unanswered questions in the show, just like I had to do with Edward and Solomon and how they met and formed G3.

The good news is, though, I've already thought up most of the backstory, so I can churn out the chapters quickly if I have the time and I'm not occupied with another fanfic. After this, I'm going to consider going back to shorter episodes. I really didn't expect Bright Side of the Moon to take as long as it did. I think it just had to do with me wanting to write more and more stuff.

Also, there will be more "backstory/history" episodes, but the next episode will be in the present and will focus back on Earth. I've actually written that one already! However, I need to revise it heavily and change the plot around. But when it all is finished it will all be ready at once J

Thanks to everybody who was patient! I'm sorry if you feel like I've neglected this. I almost NEVER completely abandon a story if I can help it.

BTW, Ranaron's mother is Litoria and his father is Bufonidus. ß- (SYOT readers, look here! It's your answer!)