Act VI: Renaissance, Chapter IX: ALIENS (A Space Adventure)

July ... What Was The Date Again?

Linka shot her eyes up at the date sequence. "Hey, isn't this the 20th?"

July 20th, 2030

"Much better! See, I'm essential to this fic like food delivery drivers are during the pandemic of good old twenty-twenty!"

"A, who are you talking to?" Leven never looked back but had his eyes center on the front mirror of the black van they had been driving/riding in for the past two days. He and Caroline Pingrey were on the front, while Linka and Carly, the younglings, sat in the back with a mounted minigun dividing them both. Thanks, Patriot Division.

"Fourth wall perks!" Linka cheered throwing her hands into the air. When they came down, her smile became a frown. "I am generally displeased with this new timeline shit."

"New what?" Carly rubbed her eyes and yawned. "When can we stop? Ride's too bumpy for a nap."

"Can't stop just yet, we have to find a good spot."

"We're all around clearings," Caroline proposed, "that means we can pull over and go far onto the grass. Pull over already!"

"Girls?"

"Do it!" Linka and Carly both begged in unison.

Leven steered to the right, exiting the long highway and drove onto the long fields of grass all around. He stopped just about over a mile away from the road and set the vehicle into park and killed the engine. "Stretch your legs, maybe get some rest. Might do us some good to relax for an hour or two."

Caroline stepped foot outside and smelled the air as the winds blew the three-inch grass at her feet. Linka and Carly made their way out through the back, finally relieved to be out. Linka fell onto the spot where the van cast shadow and laid down there. Carly did the same but laid opposite to her, from the other side. Nice and cool here, and their legs were feeling much better like this. "Finally feels good, doesn't it?"

"It does!" Carly agreed. "About time we took a break."

"I hope you don't mind if I touch myself inappropriately."

"What- Gross!" Carly raised a leg and hit Linka with it. "Don't you dare!"

"I need my happy hour."

"A, no!"

"A, yes," Linka mocked.

"A, don't act foolishly," Leven instructed, not wanting to take any weirdness from her. "We'll make you walk."

"NYAH, BUT MY LEGS ARE-!"

"Behave."

"Arghhhhh, always the party-pooper!" She brought her arms under her head and glared at the sky. "I guess I'll just look at the clouds."

"You do that."

Caroline went further away from the van, moving into the breezy grass. She removed her shoes and socks already, leaving them at the base of the van's fender, letting her feet feel the cool, soft freedom of touching grass. It was just as nice, not as hot as she expected. Nothing like those times at the beach. "Hey, you lazy bones! Come have yourself a shoeless experience over here!"

Leven faced Caroline's direction and looked down at his feet when he saw her skip around bare feet. The clones wore no shoes; their own spandex suits came built from the toe to the neck. But he improvised greatly by ripping at the suit where it met the kneecaps, making two spandex leggings that way. He put them over the hood and followed Caroline, embarking on the grasslands. "Hey, this feels good!"

"That's what I'm telling you!" Caroline stopped and bent down to touch the grass. "Nice and cool as it should be."

"No kidding!" He looked past her and saw no end to it. "How long do you think it goes on for?"

"I don't know, maybe fifteen miles?" She raised her shoulders and plopped them down. "Hey, maybe we should find out together! I'll race you!"

"Huh?" Leven wasn't sure. "We shouldn't separate too far from each other..."

"Hey, learn to live a little!" Caroline went back and forcibly led the thinking Leven further ahead. "They'll be fine! We're far away from the base and there is no way we can be tracked. No phones or cameras here."

"I guess so-"

"Hey, I'm happy to see that you're protective of her but there is a little thing called being overprotective, you know?" Caroline had become an expert salesman trying to relieve Leven of his current fear. She had her arm around him and did her thing. "Ninja girl can fight, and I think A can hold her own. They're both with that big gun, too! Tell me I'm wrong."

"Okay, those are fair points," Leven agreed.

"We need to clear our heads from this," she further added. "We're never gonna get this lucky again, I feel."

"Maybe not..." Leven closed his eyes and concentrated his body and senses to the atmosphere around. "You're right, we should make the most of it."

"That's the spirit-" Caroline panicked when Leven revved up and ran ahead. "YOU CHEATER!"

"Talkers are losers!" Leven laughed merrily.

"I'M SO GONNA MAKE YOU EAT MY DUST!" Caroline vowed, giving chase.

Linka and Carly rested in the shade, now trying to take naps. Linka had begun to lightly snore, and Carly clamped a hand over her mouth, otherwise trying to get shut-eye herself out here. It was a peaceful five minutes before a knight of silver and gold plating had appeared, looking down at the sleeping girls.

This knight, with weird markings on his chestplates, let out a groan and struck the van with a fist. Linka and Carly both awoke, and Linka had bit into the Asian girl's arm, making her scream. "YEOW!"

Carly retaliated by slapping Linka, making the clone let out a whimper too. "Ouchie!"

"Greetings-"

"ROUND TABLE'S REVENGE!" Linka cowered behind Carly. "They found out I stole one of their cups!"

"Who- Holy shit-" Carly raised her arms up as if she were under arrest. "Okay, we surrender."

"CARLY!" Linka screamed into her ear. "ATTACK!"

Carly kept still, but Linka picked Carly up with both hands abd heaved her like a log. She struck against the metal knight but the being inside had caught and held her in his arms. "Wait, I have come in peace."

"Wow, gee!" Carly pouted at Linka. "You're some friend! Asshole..."

"Peace! You'll be leaving in pieces! Ha, I've been waiting to say that never!" Linka ran towards the knight and failed to attack; he dropped Carly into her arms and had her fall down with the force of his throw. "Okay, I'm listening."

"Who are you?" Carly rolled away from Linka and got up, not to help Linka. "I know you're not Black Network."

"I am not from around these common parts," the knight vaguely answered. "But I have been monitoring the affairs of... Humankind for the past few months. Up until then, there was never the existence of superb beings with remarkable abilities. You see, you-" he pointed at Linka, "are of interest to me. There are certain phenos, as you call them, that I wish to join me in a very special quest that I cannot accomplish alone."

"You're seeking to recruit me?" Linka repeated.

"You and the other two who are with you."

"What, no Carly?" Carly blew her lips. "Fine."

"Forgive me, but this mission requires the supers planet Earth has to offer. The three out of the four of you meet this requirement, and the other is where you know to fight."

"Yeah, we know our way around guns and stuff. As for Caroline, she's a pair of blades. So, what does this quest about?"

"Do, A," Carly corrected.

"I have brain farts, I'm sorry."

"This quest is a coup, a seize of power."

"Taking over a country?! Where are we going, Venezuela?!" Linka clapped her hands cheerfully. "Dictators are canceled!"

"Negatory, this is another place."

"Whatever, give us more information, Forlorn Hope."

"But of course..." The metal knight placed a finger to the side of the van and made three circles arranged in a triangle position. One circle right above the other two. "There is a kingdom among three... Nations. These three nations have lived in peace of prosperity up until the royal princess had staged her own coup and killed the Royal Pair, her own parents. She used the Scythe regiment, the guards that live to serve the Royal Family, and they conspirated to take control."

"So..." Linka scratched her head. "This is like Princess Azula taking over Ba Sing Se with the Dai Lee?"

"The who and what?"

"A!" Carly elbowed the clone. "Please continue."

"The nation of Calagitos resides over a gold mine, as you say it here. I mean that in the figurative sense, it isn't actually gold. Princess Virescium and the Scythe regiment has since declared war with the two other nations the Royal Pair had connections and influence with while their own people enter a tyrannical state. I've done my research, best I can compare this to is... It is the equivalent of... Uh, Norf Konea?"

Linka snapped her fingers. "North Korea! God, if I've ever seen a big forehead-"

"A!"

"Right, I'm interrupting for my smartass remarks!"

"So, this war, it is this Calagitos versus the two?"

"At first it was, the neighboring nations had unified to restore order. Sometime during the war, they turned on each other because they begun to feel they deserved they needed to sit on the throne and the riches Calagitos sits on. As of right now, this war is a bloody three-way."

"Hm, I've never heard of this nation. What country is this Calagitos in?"

"That is the thing..." The metal knight removed his helmet to reveal that he was not human. "This war is on Quadrant Four of the galaxy."

"You're- A, that's an alien!" Now it was Carly's turn to cower behind Linka. "An alien!"

"Yes, I am an alien, and I was a Scythe regiment guard as well, but I have denounced that title as I would not serve the princess for her cold-hearted betrayal. My fate was to serve lr die, she told me. I have made a third fate, and that was to escape. However, I'm not the only escapee from Calagitos. I am aware that there are others out there, scattered across the universe. And there is a chance some are here. If I'm here-"

"Right..." Linka nodded slowly. "Aliens on earth, that's crazy. Hey, do you know E.T.?"

"I don't understand." The alien rubbed his light-red face, looking at the grass with his bright yellow eyes, and touched it. "This is a creature we don't have back home."

"That's just grass, it isn't alive... Is it?" Linka rubbed her chin, pondering.

"So you're a Calagitos alien?"

"The proper term is Calagitorian, and no, I'm of another race. The Scythe regiment is not of any of the three races, and this is to avoid personal issues that could cloud our judgment when we're put on the front lines. There have been those who did not like how the Royal Pair ran the kingdom."

"That's smart... I suppose."

"Uh, sorry but..." Carly raised her index finger. "How did you learn to speak our English?"

"Universal translator on my suit."

"Cheap writing, S-M-H," Linka groaned. "I don't know if I believe you. Gimme more details."

"Well, the Royal Palace is also known as Flegorensce, named after Flegor, the Calagitorian who established the kingdom and its monarchy government."

"Flegor... Consensus, A?"

"He's a good liar."

"What is this gold mine that Calagitos has?"

"A very special substance that glows and upon consumption will transform an ordinary Calagitorian stronger, faster and smarter. Its properties make it valuable to mine, but the substance has not been found for a long time. The peasants fear that it is gone for good. And I've been around to see the princess try to find it with her guards, myself included."

"So they need to find that and everyone could rise up?"

"That or we attack the princess and the Scythe regiment head on. I am thinking of using the good people of earth, such as yourselves, to aid me. Calagitos must be freed so that all three planets-"

"Wait, planets?! I thought it was three races?!"

"Each on a planet." The alien pointed to the circles. "These are planets."

"What the fuck?"

"Oh, wow, three times the effort."

"We just need to take Flegorensce in a coordinated attack. Considering I know how Scythe moves and who its members are, it shouldn't be too hard."

"Nice, but are you really not going to find other refugees around the galaxy? I feel this is their battle, not ours." Carly had voiced her opinion on the matter. "And we have our own fight here."

"Wait..." Linka had an idea. "Carly, we're all being hunted, so... Why not just take a break from the planet?"

"Huh?" Carly stood up. "W-wait a minute, are you insane?!"

"They can't catch us if we're not on the planet!"

"Hey, okay, I know I was feeling left out but this is different!" Carly slapped her hands on Linka's face. "Space! Allens! We might not even be able to breathe their toxic airs! Fatal to us!"

"Are you telling me you... Believe it?"

"It's- It's too descriptive to make up!" Carly pointed to the ex-Scythe guard's face. "Look! Red skin and yellow eyes! No hair! Bald alien!"

"Scythe is also the name of a terrorist cell here on earth."

"What is a terr-ist cell?"

"Huuuuuh?" Linka goofily murmured.

"He doesn't know about this earth's Scythe! How does he know what an actual scythe is?! It cannot be a universal tool!"

"What's a scythe in your world?" Linka questioned.

"A melee weapon, what is it here?"

"Death's favorite toy."

"Not so different, are they?" The alien put back his helmet. "We are compatible with each other's atmosphere, I can breathe here so easily. I do thank you for letting me explain myself before I... As you say, drop the ball on-"

"Never you mind the phrases!" Linka shared a triumphant grin. "The four of us are going, my friend here knows how to fight, but I hope you have armor for us all."

"It can be worked out if the three of you vouch for her."

"And we gotta take this bad boy there." Linka slapped her hand on the van. "I've got a feeling we might just use this. Wait, you do have a ship, don'tcha?"

"Affirmative."

"So, uh, what do we call you? You do have a name, right?"

"When I wear this armor, I am Titan, but outside of it, I am Reng'r Klaar, ex-militant of the Alitor Armada."

"The what now?"

"The galactic peacekeepers. They are numbers by the thousands, but they do nkt extend to this part of the galaxy. Not yet at least."

"Why not?"

"The Allfathers have established at no race can cross over to the Quadrants that they don't belong to. This is far beyond Quadrant Four and I have broken one of their sacred rules by coming here, just like the others that escaped to live."

'Allfathers... Alitor Armada..." Linka felt giddy. "Alright, so what's this planet called? To you, I mean?"

"This is Terrenius, and you, the people in this civilization, are the beings Terrethians."

"Earthling term is so full of shit!"

"Allfathers..." Carly tried to keep up. "Those are your gods?"

"Yes, they were great, divine beings with immeasurable omnipotence. To this day, only one such Allfather exists, and this Allfather and his force ensure where even the Alitor Armada have no power. The Allfather and his own are above every living creature."

"What force is that?" The wind blew her hair into her face. "What is above us Terrethians?"

"The Silver Legion," Klaar ominously said. "Tall beings coated in chrome metal. They have no face, just a mouth. But when they open their mouths, you'd hear the scariest sounds you could not comprehend with your simple, primitive minds. They are hollow, lifeless beings that will not hesitate to destroy anyone who has broken any of the sacred rules. They can erase your mere existence at will, and in doing so, it will erase the memories of you in those you know."

Linka got scared. "Jesus... That is... Frightening."

"To face the wrath of the Legion means death upon the offenders."

"Now I don't wanna go-" Linka peed her suit, gulping. "Oh, god."

"EW!" Carly jumped back away from her. "NASTY!"

"Please, I implore you to see reason," Klaar begged. "I have not had much luck, but I have tried to covertly reveal myself by building a reputation here as a vigilante. Through your media, I had hoped that any Calagitorians would spot me and-"

"But how'd they know you're not with Scythe anymore?" Linka pointed out. "If I were one and discovered you, I'd keep being in hiding but that would be concerning. It would definitely terrify me."

"I think he meant to show his good nature through his good Samaritan role," Carly concluded. "Still... A war that goes three ways, a fight for throne and its power."

"What do these aliens look like?"

"They are similar to Terrethians-"

"Lazy writing!"

"But they are simply darker skinned and nocturnal. There is no such thing as a sun there "

"No sun?" Linka tried to dry herself off with her hands, wiping away among the grass. "There's a challenge."

"What are you even thinking?" Carly grew tired of the talk, not feeling obliged to the extraterrestrial stranger.

"Tell us how we'd need to attack to take the palace. Front side or backdoor?"

"I need all of you here so that I can go over this. Of course, there is still the matter of convincing-"

"ON TO THE NEXT SCENE!"

Some Time Later

Linka, Leven, Carly and Caroline had grouped together, eyes and ears surrendered for the alien knight. "I believe Flegorensce has had a remodeling as of late. There were numerous entrances leading to and from the palace, but those are sealed off by now, save for the main one. That's the front gates, but they're reinforced. We need three of me to break through, or... A bunch of phenos."

"Oh!" Leven yapped. "How strong are we in comparison to you?"

"We'll just have to find out the hard way."

"What's inside?"

"Just the entire Scythe guards between us and the princess," Klaar firmly answered. "No more than thirty of them wearing this exact armor."

"Got it," Linka nodded. "Thirty ground units and nothing else?"

"Yeah, that's about it, but the fight will not be easy. We're only five-"

"Five and a minigun!"

"But we need a sizeable number."

"Sounds like you need to turn the peasants of the nation into allies," Caroline suggested. "Have you considered that?"

"I have been, but it may prove to be folly."

"Hang on, your armor isn't just armor, is it?" Linka had an idea. "You've found us somehow, I think that's a suit that can do tricks. I mean, you did say you had a translator. You took off your helmet so I know the helmet wasn't making you understand."

"How perceptive of you..." Klaar raised his left arm. "Active and running since I've landed here. The battery runs for a long time but does die. The recharge is automatic but I am only left with the shield to protect my body in the meantime."

Then that means there are things I can tap into-" Linka jammed a finger to her head. "Although I won't know what anything means so I'll just play with their suits like I'm flipping switches that will do random things."

"That's good, it'll slow them down!" Leven agreed. "That's smart thinking."

"Earth weapons or not?"

"We'll acquire them along the way, but we must be heading off right now," Klaar pointed up. "Mind your heads."

"Mind our heads?" Linka grew confused. "Mind our heads for-?"

"WHOA!" Carly screeched, gaping away at the brown, oval object suddenly appearing in the sky directly above them.

"I'm so..." Linka had a nosebleed.

"Come, we must get moving now, time is not to be wasted."

"Is this really happening?" Linka suddenly felt a great deal of negative energy surge over her like a dark shroud. "Anything critical we need to know?"

"Don't die."

"Fair," she agreed.

"This is still freaky," Leven thought, "but A has a point. We need to get out of here for a bit. Trading a fight for another, I wouldn't be up for that but..." And he sighed, exhausted.

"I'm not looking forward to have an alien infection." Linka scratched her face. "Alright, I think I'm ready now. Guys?"

Far Away

The brown, oval spacecraft flew overhead, soaring past empty fields with triangular structures- tiny houses that were only at one-person capacity- all around in no pattern. The houses there were only ten miles away from the palace Flegorensce- or as Klaar said, one "Korthayip" whatever that was. Linka had moaned while the ship rattled. The four of them were semi-comfortably waiting in the van for the ride to end. According to the visitor, it wouldn't be long with the spacecraft he manned.

"Can't believe we said yes to this..." Caroline had begun feeling tensed up; she was mere seconds away from trying a cigarette. Who could blame her, really? "Ugh, I don't know if I can here. These beings aren't humans, and by the looks of it, we're not fighting pushovers."

"Worried?"

"Well, I don't wanna die on some foreign planet where bugs and creatures I've never seen before will eat my corpse."

"Talk about a Negative Nancy!" Linka joked- while she was secretly afraid all the same. "We'll get some plasma or gravity guns and we'll go ham on these Scythe guards!"

"Hey," Carly added, "I'm still the most vulnerable here. I'm not a pheno or a clone here, I know what Klaar said, and I have to agree that I'm not actually capable-"

"You're getting on the turret and you'll cover us!" Linka suggested. "That's as good as any assistance you can give here. Honk if you're in trouble, drive away if you're feeling cornered."

"Man... I don't know how to drive but alright."

The spaceship had come in landing near the triangle houses, and the four got on their defense. "Eyes out!"

The minute the ship had opened up- a circle underneath them slowly removing itself from the ship to lower them, Leven started the engine and found that the planet was as dark as the alien explained. He activated the headlights and gassed forward. "Is this the palace?'

"No, these must be the oppressed peasants here," Linka said. "The Calagitorians, just a portion of them at least."

Klaar clanked and clattered his way to the van, knocked on the window on Leven's side. He pointed at them to drive right up to the settlement. "I'll follow you."

Leven nodded and drove forward just thirty feet before the settlement had started, and set the van to park. The headlights could make out the beings of dark skin moving about, hiding and peeking over the weird eight-feet triangle homes. Linka and Carly conjoined each other in between Leven and Caroline, all four stunned in amazement to see more alien beings there. "They're actually real..."

"Real-" Linka had a joke but decided not to go through with it. "Bahaha, I'm sorry."

"We'd better get out." Leven and Caroline went out first. Carly feigned calmness when she felt undoubtedly nervous and scared. The settlers could be hostile and they'd never know it. Linka joined the pair but stayed behind her clone brother, keeping a careful position. "Scared, A?"

"Why don't you call me Linka instead?"

"Do not enter," Klaar advised, "stay beyond the settlement. They do not take strangers well."

"That's relieving..." Leven held Linka at bay like a child. "Stay put."

"Buzzkill."

Before Klaar went ahead to announce his business in being here, three of these dark-skinned aliens popped up and surrounded Caroline. They studied her, observing and touching her like some object of interest. They spoke in a foreign language, their own language, telling each other what they thought about her, most likely. Then, they insisted to pull her away, leading her forcibly into the maze of triangular tent houses.

Leven and Linka only watched- but then followed Klaar when he gave chase. "What are they doing with her?! Why isn't your translator thing working?"

"Hey, stop pulling me!" Caroline thought to meta her arms. "What if-?"

"Do not provoke them in any way!" Klaar wasn't close to the group of them to make a move. He wasn't aiming to try. "We cannot attack now if we wish to turn them into possible allies. We must see what they want."

"THEY MIGHT KILL HER!" Leven yelped. "WE CAN'T JUST-"

Linka ran ahead of them and made a leap onto one of the Calagitorian beings, wrestling them defiantly. "LEAVE MY WAIFU ALONE!"

"A!" Leven moved behind and caught her when she was given a brutal headbutt. "IDIOT!"

"Girl's gotta protect her harem."

"After them!"

Up ahead, a perimeter of six feet occupied a series of walls and narrow poles of what looked and felt like canyon rock. By the time Caroline was led here, they were away from the lights, and she lost their faces instantly but was forced on her knees. In front of her, she could make out the faint breathing of one of them. "What is this?"

Klaar, Leven and Linka stumbled briefly in the dark before the alien activated light beams at the palm of his gauntlets. "This should help."

"How convenient," Linka sassed.

"They were heading this way-" Klaar eventually came to the perimeter- a temple- and stopped when they saw the settlers here pinning Caroline down in front of one of the walls.

"Guys, they've done something to my body! I- I can't move any part of my body!"

"Alien knight, stop this!"

"I am not within my jurisdiction-"

"FUCK YOUR JURISDICTION AND SAVE-" Linka lost her words when Caroline was let go, and the pack of aliens dispersed and disappeared from the gang. "Yeah, you'd better run!"

"You're all terrible people!" Caroline crawled back to them, slapping her hands on Leven to hoist herself up. "Yeah, give me a hand too late."

"He told us not to-"

Klaar moved past the Terrethian gang, taking notice of the rocky wall ahead. No, taking notice on the illustrations drawn upon it. From left to right, a drawing of white figures were bunched together like a mob. Lucky, Linka and Caroline took their eyes onto the wall. Going further, right where Caroline had been, a single illustration of a figure with a yellow- blonde- set of hair, and where her body was, a stick figure painted pink. Klaar noticed the solo figure slowly and then faced the trio again. "Do you know what this is?"

"Shitty caveman art?" Linka joked.

"Long ago, a prophet Calagitorian had a vision," the metal knight began to explain. "The vision, believed to be a true prophecy, tells of a Terrethian being that comes into contact with Sauhlerstraam."

"Sauce store?"

"Sauhlerstraam, the godly essence lingering in the blood of the Silver Legion beings. It is not meant for those of mortal states, that is why I do not believe a mere Terrethian can wield immeasurable power."

"What else was in that vision?" Leven moved right, following the drawings to come right to the third one; a figure in red with a faint brown-gray patch right on the head. He knew this was the stick figure's hair color- or they whom the figure represented. "Who is this?"

"The foresight also tells of a younger Terrethian who acquires an object forged out of the Sauhlerstraam, made to resemble a contraption you call a watch."

"A watch?" Leven continued on, looking closely. There was no fourth illustration, however. "So, some girl- What, does she get this power too?"

"Yes, but to a limited degree. Both of these Terrethians are fated to engage in a battle that decides the fate of the entire universe."

"Fated..." Leven rubbed his chin. "A battle for the-"

Linka lifted a hand, fingers pressing against the simple drawing of the woman in pink.

"What do you make of this, sis?"

Linka's eyelids split widely apart, followed by her lips pulled apart from each other.

"A?"

Linka stood still in the middle of a crowd, of familiar and strange faces running towards another crowd- mob?- of shining, chrome-like beings. And then, there was one that stood out. One that dared to defy laws of physics by being suspended in the air, floating away like this one was a god- no, a goddess above them all. This one goddess was pink and of blonde hair like the painting, but it was no unrecognizable face. This was-

Next that followed; a surge of multiple scenes- memories or visions, she didn't know- of some future. Or... Maybe it wasn't a future. Maybe it was of another Linka.

Linka stumbled over herself and fell back while a voice had entered her mind to give her an order. Pause yourself, you will be chased by another for the SCX chip. Pause yourself... Pause yourself, Linka.

"A!" Leven panicked in a motherly fashion and helped his clone sister up. "What was that?"

Klaar pieced it together fast enough. "You, you have seen something here, what is it?"

"What- What do you mean she saw something?" Leven eyed the wall with skepticism. "It's just art."

Caroline merely scoffed, rebuking this ridiculous claim. "There is no way-" She touched it. And saw something for herself. "No... Why me?" she so carefully whispered in dread.

"H-hey..." Leven began to tremble. "You can cut the shit now...!"

"Do not touch it," Klaar advised.

Leven raised a hand, but hesitated briefly. What had they seen if they had seen something? The future? A dark, twisted fate? Maybe... Maybe their fall? "What does that do? What did it do to them?"

"Do not, young Terrethian."

He plucked up courage and slammed his hand onto the pink figure.

Leven found himself in a world of darkness. Him and Linka standing behind him, who had called onto him. "Huh?"

"I'll be okay, Leven."

"Huh?" But he was solely confused, and it all went away when Linka's skin became a cold-blue tone, as if she was being exposed to a rigid hypothermia rapidly. Her breath was visible, but her movements had begun to slow on her. "A!"

"Just for a bit..."

"WHAT IS HAPPENING?!" He thought to reach her, but Linka had started moving backwards- but she was not actually moving. The ground between them spread apart, and Linka was taking off- "LINKA!"

Leven blinked. And he turn to see Linka again; she was there. And he saw something just as her, but did they share the same vision? Wait, what was this? What horror...? "You're okay..."

Caroline, having turned away from them, had been weeping. "No, don't let it happen, don't let it happen to me-" She went off of her marbles, frantic and quaking about. "Don't let them get to me."

"Carol?" Leven held onto Linka, leading duo to the blonde. "Hey... What did you see?"

"I wanna go home, I wanna go home..."

"Caroline?"

"Guys?" Here came Carly, being late to the party. "Sorry, but I got scared being alone."

Linka disregarded Leven and sought comfort in Carly. "HONEY BUNCH! OH, MY GOD, YOU DIDN'T SEE-" Immediately, Linka forced Carly into the wall, making her see her own vision. "TOUCH! SEE! SUFFER AND DON'T MAKE ME FEEL CRAZY THAN I ALREADY AM!"

"Okay...?" Carly touched the rock wall- and never reacted. Never seemed to have seen something. She waited for something to happen. "What am I doing here?"

Leven and Klaar looked on in curious wonder.

"You... Don't see anything?"

"I see you, and these... Hieroglyphics."

Linka took a deep breath. "Are you joking?"

"You're being crazy again. Hey, N-"

"You don't see anything?" Leven asked this time.

"Uh... No, I guess not..." Carly shrugged her shoulders. "Weirdos."

Caroline wiped her face, noticed by Carly. "Don't pay any mind to me."

"What's with her?"

"Nothing..." Leven looked at Linka, trying his hardest to form a smile. "Are we done here?"

And just as Klaar was about to lead them away, to take their battle into the Royal Palace, he saw it; Carly's own eyes sparkled the bright silver that only belonged to that of a member of the Silver Legion. "Hey, your eyes-"

"My eyes?"

"HOLY SHIT, WHITE EYES!"

"Delay this, I made a serious mistake bringing Terrethians here-"

"Wait, what?" Leven didn't understand. "But we are here-"

In the distance, faint explosions and flashes of light gained their attention, and Klaar grew fearfully concerned now. He had known what this was, and he had a theory on what he had just seen but it could not have been right. It might or might not have, but it was enough for him to turn it back around. Wash his alien hands free from it. "Forgive me and my attempt to end this war here-"

"What is that over there?" Linka focused on the dots that suddenly appeared in the sky. "Are those stars?"

"Quickly! Back to the ship!"

"What is that?!"

"NOW!"

Leven seized Linka's and Carly's hands, running off from the settlement after Klaar. "Caroline, come on!"

The one single sentence from that voice still played in her head, saying, you will give your life to the cause and you will die, but this is not the worst for you.

"HEY!"

This is not the worst for you... Caroline scratched at her temple, never taking her hand off. "I don't want it..."

"A, Carly, await me at the van!" Leven rushed back for the blonde girl. "WE HAVE TO GO!"

"Can you tell me what's going on?!" Linka pointed to the dots high in the sky, and the dots then became lines, as if the sky had been dripping white paint droplets on a dark canvas. "LOOKIELOOKIELOOKIE!"

"A, we get the picture!" Carly jumped into the back of the van, falling over right beside the large turret. "Close! Close!"

Linka jumped in behind her and swung the back shut. "He knows what they are! He's scared!"

Leven led Caroline to the passenger seat roughly. "Get in and buckle up! We're leaving!"

"Okay... Okay... Okay..." Caroline mindlessly looped. You will die... You will die...

"WHAT ABOUT THE MISSION?!" Linka inquired, spitting her words.

Leven started the ignition and reversed to the oval spaceship. The craft rose into the air already, and Leven drove right under the ship. He put his head out and yelled, "BRING US IN! BRING US INSIDE!"

The van had never taken off from the ground. What happened instead was the ship had been struck by a white beam, and in the next second, it was gone. The knight as well, along with it. Leven stared up and gasped- a Silverhead had been looking down at him from fifteen feet high before it landed. "GET OUT! GET OUT!"

Caroline merely opened the door and let herself fall on purpose; her head was not right. Carly jumped out and hid for cover. The tall silver being touched down, its position facing straight at the back. Here, Linka manned the turret and giggled girlishly, opening fire on the sliver alien. And all the bullets that ripped out like a buzzsaw did nothing to the thing. And Linka had soon run out of ammo. "Bruh."

"A, get out of there!"

"I don't ask to be put into these type of fics..." Linka moaned. "How about a little more lemon? Eh? Eh?" Needless to say she got out just before the van took a beam, exploding to become wreckage. Carly had sprinted into a run with Leven behind her, and Caroline had only crawled lifelessly away from the explosion. "So... How big is that T-1000's dick?"

Linka met the alien and stared at its crotch area. "My man has no balls!"

"A!"

"Pleasure to meet you, alien!"

The Silverhead merely knocked Linka away, having no interest in her. It moved slowly and swiftly to Caroline, picking her up and placing its own hands on her head. She was still lifeless, eyes dreary, sleepy even. For one faint second- But Caroline's eyes went open again and she emitted a fearful scream. The being let her go.

"What did it do to her?" Carly cowered behind Leven, scared.

Linka picked herself up and circled the Silverhead. "I'll pretend that didn't happen, mmmmkay? We're gonna try this again-"

"Terrethians, you are forbidden to enter this Quadrant," it finally talked, but telepathically. "You will be returned to your home planet post haste, but this will only be your only warning. Heed this warning."

"We're... We're being let go?" Linka dragged Caroline away from the alien just as the Silverhead lifted and spread its arms apart before it clapped. And with the clap, a great bright light filled the entire world and maybe even beyond.

Earth

Linka, Leven and Caroline came out of the metal pods, coming into contact with two teenage girls- Lyra and Lynnette Laude- walking toward them in the middle of some field, and not the same one they'd left either. "Hey, it's the clones! Lyra, look, these are the clones I've told you about! And that girl with the freaky arms!" Lynnette looked to be utterly happy that she had proven to Lyra that her X-Elites claim was no fabrication, it had credibility here.

Immediately, Linka Loud recognized Nnyl Duol when she saw her. And she feigned ignorance yet. "Sorry, who are you?"

"Who are-? What, don't you remember me? We ran with the X-Elites? The general guy? Uhhh, these two were with us, and that one guy- Lemuel and another one-"

"What the devil is this mental patient prattling about?" Caroline turned away from them, moving away. "I'm not going to have this from any of you today, I'm leaving."

"Wait, honey bunches of totes!" Linka used Caroline as an excuse to not see Nnyl's mugger; the blonde zoomer was still due for her part in... That. "I'll do your bidding for a nip slip!"

"Why do you look like Lynn Loud?" Leven looked at Lynnette from top to bottom. "She didn't have a daughter, did she?"

Lyra panicked and pulled her sister away. "Sorry, this woman is delusional!"

Linka stopped before she reached Caroline, a nasty fire bubbling inside of her. Fists forming, and with a degree of the Hive Bond having been granted for her the moment she had touched the wall with the prophecy, it ignited with full force. "Hey!" she called to Lynnette. "I do know you!"

"See?" Lynnette grinned stupidly, breaking away from Lyra. "I told you they knew-"

No one expected Linka to strike a heavy punch to Lynnette's face. And no one expected the other one, either. "YOU'RE UNBEARABLE, NNYL!"

"Hey, what is the meaning of-?!" Lyra tried to step in, but a word that came out of Linka after made her stop.

"DON'T GET INVOLVED, LYRA!"

H-HOW DID SHE-? Lyra grew nervous.

"Lyra...?" Leven cocked an eyebrow. "And... Nel?"

"What the fuck is your problem?!" Lynnette rubbed both cheeks. "I thought we were on good terms!"

"THEN YOU'D BE WRONG!" Linka snapped. "NOT AFTER GRIMMTOWN!"

Lynnette cracked her knuckles and prepared to fight. "Don't know what that is, but if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get."

"BRING IT, CARBON COPY!"

Lyra and Leven stepped foot in between both girls and said in unison, "Not today, dang it," and acknowledged each other with a firm smile. A faint hint of Lincoln Loud in these four, but of both sides of the coin.

Linka violently moved about in Leven's arms. "DON'T LET HER GO! SHE'S A VILLAINOUS SCUMBAG! QUICKLY, WE MUST KILL HER! SHE IS A TRAITOR!"

"Stop this nonsense, A!"

Caroline centered her eyes in the sky. "How come that Carly chick hasn't come back yet?"

"Huh- Oh-" Leven and Linka gave it some notice, Linka stopping her fidgeting. "Where is she?"

"That's my wife that's missing!" Linka cried. "Did that thing do something to her?!"

"I'm sure she's fine-"

Pod Number Four tore from the sky, penetrating through cloud, crashing into the earth just behind the clones. The minute it opened, Carly limped out of it, taking three steps before losing balance. "Hey, help me! My leg- I hurt my leg!"

"Here," Leven offered her aid and bent down, "I'll carry you."

Carly allowed herself, blushing not so covertly. "Hnnnng..."

Oh, I see how it is- Linka rolled her eyes.

"Where do we go from here?"

"We... Have to regroup with the sisters," Linka announced. "We add to their group, we're bigger in numbers."

"Considering we're the ones who put them in the position they are now, you think they'll welcome us?" Caroline had doubts for the clones.

"If we don't try, we won't be, right?"

"Bigger in numbers..." Leven nodded. "Bigger in force. Can you track them?"

Linka made a funny frown. "Oh... Yeah, hang on..." He looked back to the teenage girls only to find them gone, which only brought some sense of curiosity and wonder. Them and how Linka had seemed to know them- Or she just went crazy. No, wait, this was Linka he considered. Could only be the latter. "They're northeast and we're in the west right now."

"Eastward we go, then."

"Double-K car coming soon."

The quad started walking off along the road, for the journey ahead was longer than the relationship Lincoln and Ronnie Anne had.

AN: Going on a brief break here, the world is falling apart, internally and externally. Goodbye for now.