...And we're back!

Congrats to Doomforzombies, Abby, AllAmericanSlurp and BTRlover1122 for your answers! I'll take London, too, because they did kind of imply that the trio had gone there.

Many thanks to RandomGirl and Lady Cougar-Trombone for your comments! They're also much appreciated.

Please enjoy this new chapter!

Episode Tag to: Alien Gladiators

Chronicle #039

"Binary"

10/21/14

8:09 PM

Ms. Daily said it will make me a well-rounded author if, from time to time, I step out of my comfort zone and tell stories in a different way. I'm not too sure how this would work out. I have a feeling it might end up being tragic, but it's just the Chronicle and more than likely, I'm the only one who's going to be able to read it.

So here's what had happened this week in a non-first person, unusual, and fanfiction-y-but-not-quite-fanfiction-or-fiction Chronicle.

...

"Binary"

(As retold with the Alien Gladiators Universe)

The small diner located somewhere deep in Zone 90-210 is slowly filling with people, Prince Landor notices. He looks around, keeping an eye out for any persons of interest because he heard that some of them visit that place from time to time. When it becomes apparent that there are none, he leans back on his seat.

The past three days has been very interesting. Enlightening, he should say, because he has learned much in that span of time. He had been given leave from the Academy upon Elder Lumina's and Lady Adira's requests. The Zarkanian Task Mistress at the Academy was not very cooperative at first and seemed to lean towards denying those days off, but Lady Adira was adamant. She said that she would file a thorough report to the Board if the request was rejected again.

Thankfully—and surprisingly—the Task Mistress reconsidered and approved the leave.

Prince Landor had never gone anywhere near the Star District before now that he thinks about it. There had been plans years ago, but the interest had been passing, and after that summer rolled out, he and Lady Adira had abandoned the idea altogether. But, with the invitation he and Elder Lumina received recently to come there, the idea had kicked up the excitement all over again.

That feeling had been shared among the inhabitants of Hangar D. The night before the departure, Gigabit gave Prince Landor specific instructions about the valuable items that he had packed for him to take. He told him that each should be signed by specific persons whom he might come across while they were at the Morf Quarters. Space Dog, meanwhile, made Prince Landor promise to give the Director the petition he had put together. Queen Andromeda only asked for pictures of anyone interesting, along with a garment of some kind if it was possible.

Lady Adira showed her support by telling Elder Lumina that she would make sure that everything would be taken care of in his absence. She even said that she had plans of spoiling Space Dog, Queen Andromeda and Gigabit a little while they were gone.

At the docks, before boarding the ship, Lady Adira hugged Prince Landor. "Thank you," she told him quietly when she was sure that Elder Lumina couldn't hear her.

Prince Landor smiled when she let go. He nodded.

Lady Adira kissed him goodbye before also saying goodbye to her husband.

The travel did not take long, but Prince Landor supposes that was due to the fact that he was asleep the whole time. Elder Lumina, on the other hand, seemed to have stayed awake, reading the script that the Director had sent to him a few days prior.

Their first day in Zone 90-035 was filled to the brim with activities. After breakfast, they were taken to the Morf Quarters for a tour of the camp where a Monitor named Kendric was assigned to guide them. The Monitor was very patient with them even when they interrogated him endlessly about a highly classified battle site that only a privileged few knew about. He answered all of their questions with a smile, waited for them when they took countless of pictures ("Remember, fellas, no posting online, okay? Someone from the cast had made the mistake of even teasing about a prop while shooting the last movie, and fans made his life miserable because they flooded him with so many questions. He even got death threats when he wouldn't give," Kendric reminded them), and then politely told them to move along when it was time to go to the next location.

Two hours later, Kendric took Prince Landor and Elder Lumina at the Base, where the Director and a few members of the Company were. The timing couldn't have been better: everybody was on break, and because of the time-off a lot of the people they spoke to were relaxed and were very willing to talk.

The first member of the Company they met was Princess Karina who was as breathtaking up close as she was onscreen. She smiled when Kendric introduced their visitors. Prince Landor wasn't very sure whether he was blinded more by the many lightbulbs lining her vanity mirror or by her perfect teeth. "Oh, that's right! We were told we're going to have our guests of honor coming today!" she said. "We're so glad to have you guys visit with us."

"Thank you. We're happy to be here," Elder Lumina said. "It's just… There are so many things, and I can't believe it."

"Alien Gladiators fan, huh?" Princess Karina asked.

"You have no idea," Elder Lumina said.

Princess Karina nodded. She then turned her attention to Prince Landor, whose heart almost caved into his stomach after being taken by surprise again by how pretty she was. "So I heard you were Prince Landor at the convention," she said.

Prince Landor just nodded.

"Congrats on winning the Firestaff Challenge," Princess Karina said. "We saw the video of the finals, and that was just awesome."

Prince Landor just nodded again, because he could only manage having the vocabulary of a three month old at that moment.

Princess Karina looked up at Elder Lumina, still smiling nicely but was evidently unsure on how to approach Prince Landor's instant admiration of her.

"Well, um, we've probably kept you long enough," Elder Lumina said. "We should go. It was nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet the two of you too," she said.

"Wait!" Prince Landor yelled, which must have been louder than how he intended it to be because a number of the crew walking by looked around alertly. He took out his communicator from his pocket. "Do you mind if…" he then gestured towards the camera lens. "My sister…"

"She wants pictures?"

Prince Landor nodded.

Princess Karina smiled. "Okay." She waved both of them over while Kendric took the communicator.

"Thanks," Prince Landor said as he looked at the picture afterwards.

"You're very welcome! Nice to have you here again," Princess Karina said. "See you around."

The Monitor promptly led Elder Lumina and Prince Landor away after they said their goodbyes, with Prince Landor stealing one last glance before they moved on to the next location.

The three made a few more stops, with Elder Lumina and Prince Landor being introduced to a few other members of the Quarters like Mind Melder, Gallea and Markarian IX, before they met with the Director. The Director had been pleasant enough, but he seemed a little irritated. Not because of their visitors, at least not if his comment of "You two are the only ones on time today" was anything to go by. He summarized what needed to be done in preparation for Elder Lumina's involvement in the battle scene. Then, he told Prince Landor that, meanwhile, he would get a chance to spend some time in the props department so he could examine the old and new Firestaffs, as well as other items and devices.

Like Kendric had done, the Director insisted that everything he would see should remain under wraps.

Which, as Prince Landor thinks back on that solo tour, was a very weighty request. The room he was taken to was equipped with dozens of newly-designed Firestaff that far outdated the one he had. He also saw Queen Andromeda's new crown, Gallea's atomic compass, and the Centauri blue heirloom ring—all of which had only been rumored to exist but was then confirmed true.

At least I can tell Gigabit about it, Prince Landor had thought, already anticipating how excited his older brother would be once he learns of what would make an appearance in the next Quest.

When he came back from his visit at props, Kendric took him to the area where the Director, Elder Lumina and a few others were getting ready. After showing Prince Landor where he would be sitting, he told him that it was time for him to leave. Prince Landor thanked him, and then began watching the battle scene.

For Prince Landor, having to witness firsthand something that the rest of the world would not see for a few more months was incredible already, but what made it most remarkable was the fact that he was able to see Elder Lumina be a part of something he had always loved since he was younger. His excitement was obvious, of course; he had been grinning from ear to ear since the moment he stepped out in his Morf attire. But the little things when Elder Lumina and the others began the battle, like how determined he was to give the job his all (well, mostly, at least, because he did try to make some revisions on the directions given to them—much to the annoyance of the Director and the other Prince Landor) and the bright attitude he had from that day to the last day were more telling of how much he was enjoying their journey.

Now, on their last day in the Star District, after two days of shooting, a day of touring Zones 90-035 and 90-210, hundreds of pictures, and signed memorabilia, Prince Landor realizes that he, too, has enjoyed that trip.

"What."

Prince Landor looks up and finds Elder Lumina smiling at him. He shrugs. "Nothing," he says before leaning forward and finishing his dinner.

Elder Lumina knows that he was thinking of something, but he doesn't press for it. Instead, he checks his communicator and says, "We have to leave in a bit. If not, we're going to miss our flight. Are you done packing yet?"

"Yes."

"Okay. That's good."

They're silent for a while, both of them just listening to and being surrounded by the noise in the diner. Then, Elder Lumina speaks again. "Did you have a good time?" he asks, and it's evident in his tone that he is really concerned about the answer.

"Of course," Prince Landor says. "I mean, I'm a little bummed that they wouldn't tell us who the Spherus warrior is, but other than that I had a great time."

Elder Lumina nods then turns his attention back to his food.

Prince Landor's brows wrinkle. "Why'd you ask?"

Elder Lumina smiles up. "Because I had a blast. I just wanted to make sure you did too," he says.

"Well, between getting to meet many cast members, having an unbelievably mind-blowing lunch with the Zarkanian Grand Master and Era the Huntress, taking away a Gladiator t-shirt and a Gamma Signus bracelet as souvenirs, and watching you butcher eight straight scenes—" Prince Landor grins, "I honestly enjoyed our time here."

Elder Lumina rolls his eyes. "Alright, alright."

The bell at the entrance of the diner chimes when four girls come in. They head straight to the host's station, who asks how many are in their group. The girls follow him when he leads them to a table. Prince Landor looks around as he tries to guess where they will be seated. In doing that, he notices an empty booth at a far corner, next to a table where a couple is taking turns in feeding their two year-old child.

Prince Landor smiles. "You know, I only discovered Alien Gladiators because I found a VHS of the first Quest in a box of Mom's stuff when I was eight," he says.

"I didn't know your mom is an Alien Gladiators fan," Elder Lumina says.

"She's not, but my dad was," Prince Landor says. "She told me that a friend of his had let him borrow that copy, and ten years later we still have it."

"Ah," Elder Lumina nods. "Were you able to return it?"

"No. Mom said that he probably borrowed it from one of his college buddies. He has so many of them that Mom thought we'd just keep the movie until someone lays claim to it."

"It seems like your dad was a really friendly guy," Elder Lumina comments with a smile.

"Yeah, it seems like. To be honest, I don't really know what he's like. As a person in general, you know? I can't really remember much about him. I just know him through what Mom and other people say he is." Prince Landor frowns and narrows his eyes. "Wait. Does that sound like it makes sense?"

Elder Lumina chuckles. "Yes, it makes sense," he says.

"Oh."

"Prince Landor?" Elder Lumina speaks a moment later.

"Yes?"

"Do you know what a binary star is?"

Prince Landor thinks about it. "Binary means two… So that means two stars?"

"Right."

"Shouldn't it be called binary stars?" Prince Landor asks.

"Well, no," Elder Lumina says. "You were right, that a binary star is composed of two stars, but it's called a binary star because when other people look at it, it looks like it's just one, the reason being that both stars revolve around the same gravitational orbit, with one of them being brighter than the other."

"Okay."

"You and your dad are like a binary star. When people look at you, because you shine the brightest right now, it seems like they're just seeing you but really, they're seeing you and your dad," Elder Lumina assures him. "That's how you know the kind of person he was: when you see how you affect the people around you."

Prince Landor thinks about this. Then, he smiles sadly. "Yeah, but his light went out a long time ago," he says, "and sometimes it feels like I'm spiraling out of orbit. Like I have to figure out on my own where I need to be in the universe."

Elder Lumina says nothing, and Prince Landor begins to feel guilty because he knows he has said something he should have kept to himself. But then, Elder Lumina says, "You know, sometimes, a star can also be a part of a multiple star system. That system still looks like one star to others but in reality, there are many of them orbiting around that gravitational center." He smiles. "You are never alone, Prince Landor. There are many of us with you. And you never have to worry about falling out on your own. Your mother is with you. I'm also here for you. And I've never viewed it anything short of a privilege to have this chance of guiding you to the kind of man you can become."

Prince Landor looks at him. Then, he smiles.

Elder Lumina smiles back as a response to their unspoken conversation, to words not said but which speak and echo louder than the chatter and noise still going on around them.

...

As it turns out, the travel really wasn't that long. I found out about that because on our flight back home, I was the one wide awake and Big D was the one fast asleep. We got back to the house close to midnight, with Mom welcoming us. She knew we were tired, so she said she'd just have us tell what happened the next morning.

To date, this morning's breakfast was probably the loudest breakfast we'd ever had. There were seven of us at the table, and everybody was so caught up with both listening and talking at the same time. Big D was patient enough to stop in the middle of his story and answer questions when Douglas, Adam, Bree and Chase started throwing them his way. Sometime after he finished, we broke up in our own little discussion groups. When I gave Chase his signed Alien Gladiators collector's items, the guy freaked. He hugged me tightly despite my protests and then he marveled at the collection he now has in addition to the lunchbox that Andre Ethier signed. Bree, meanwhile, looked through the pictures I have on my phone and asked if the celebrities I met were nice. Adam asked if I gave the director the petition he sent with me, to which I told him I did, on our last day at the studios.

Douglas was just casually listening to us at first, but then he got really involved when he found out that the director had given me a Gamma Signus bracelet as a 'thank you for visiting us and not being a psychotic fan!' gift. Dude's still trying to con me to give it up no matter how many times I tell him no.

As I think of everything that happened in that convention now, I'm really glad I won. I'm glad I'd let Big D have that walk-in role, too. For one, both of us were able to experience the perks of winning. For another, we were able to spend some time together, which was pretty cool.

But, my favorite reason is probably that I was able to learn something from him, something that put who I am into perspective and that increased my respect and love for him as my dad. (Or stepdad. Whichever's better.)

Signed,

Leo Francis Dooley

10/23/14

9:09 PM

The Bree Chronicles

What's the name of the move that Donald taught Leo for the final round of the Firestaff challenge? Answers and reviews are appreciated!

I've been meaning to ask, does anybody have any favorite stories they want me to check out and recommend? I'm looking for new stories by new writers in the fandom, and if you know any or have any, please let me know!