Author's Note ~
Does every fanfiction, especially those we come to enjoy, start to die off since no new content of that show is being published? I have noticed that a lot of the creators or stories that I have read from certain movies or TV shows have begun to slowly die down.
I hate growing up…
Speaking of growing up, my grandma passed after being a part of my life for 22 years and so only one chapter is being published this month, hopefully 3 will be published next month.
HAPPY FEB 29!
Mother's Day
The moon shined brightly above the Tarron house, a small blue light glowing from inside as Mother spoke. "Mother's log. It's been 42 delsons since we crashed on Earth. I am still, as the humans say, grounded… as in incapable of flight." Her small blue figure floated through the quiet house where Varvatos was sleeping with Luug in the living room, and Aja and Krel were resting in their beds, Aja being the only one to smile in her sleep.
"You know, for as much as we watched all of this, hearing all the new words, I am still confused about what seconds, minutes, hours, and even days are in Akridion. Like, has anyone else struggled to make it make sense and forget?"
"Good, because I thought I was the only one."
"You know, I think I'm starting to figure it out," Eli bragged as the crowd groaned out.
"Of course you are."
Mother studied Krel for a moment longer before floating through the actual ship, stopping when she made it to the control room, numerous photos surrounding her once she stood in the center of the room. "Since our arrival, I have scoured my databases for information to better understand human emotions. From love to anger. From hurt to hope. But I did not understand the importance of human connection... until today. Let me start this story from the beginning with last night."
Toby gasped, noticing what he was intentionally looking for. "Look, I see Jimbo and Claire! I miss you guys so much, even you, Blinky."
Jim and Claire smiled, "we miss you too."
"The fact that you had to add myself in is rather disappointing," Blinky slightly teased.
From a happy family photo, the scene changed to the streets of Arcadia, covered in the darkness of the night. Besides the electricity that bounced between each street light, crackling as it traveled and left cars blaring from the power.
"When trouble came to town…" The power traveled through lights and connection wires, leaving Jerry in a darkened diner, causing him to gasp as lights around Arcadia began to vanish. "With trouble can come heightened emotion such as frustration or fear. These feelings can tear a family apart."
Speaking of a family that had begun to serve dinner, whatever was causing the outages had ruined their happy dinner, once it went dark, the kids jumped from the table, running frantically and screaming while the parents glared at one another.
"I thought it was your turn to pay the bills!"
"Same old excuse!"
Even though the light was dissipating in another home, which was Barbara and Walter's home, they didn't react with anger. While Barbara continued shushing a baby, Strickler lit a candle and wrapped his arm around Barbara as NotEnriquie helped the numerous kids.
"Or it can bring a family together through love and cooperation." The babies giggled as NotEnrique pretended to enjoy the bottle, but the happy scene turned into a troubling scene as the force continued to move through Arcadia, stopping on the rotating teeth above the dentist and appearing in Toby's sight, causing him to scream as the lights flickered.
Jim smiled at the screen, watching his mother taking care of kids while her own had fled Arcadia, glad that Strickler was genuinely with her and finally treating her right, even seeing NotEnrique taking care of them was heartwarming.
"I'm glad you are happy, Mom," Jim stated, turning to face her.
"I'm happy, happy that my son is a hero and saved those kids, that I found love despite everything, but no one can replace the happiness I felt with you around."
"And my royals were about to be tested yet again by trouble." The dentist didn't understand his screams weren't because of him, even ignoring Toby's frantic and muffled chattering as he pointed to the skylight.
"Hey, don't worry. I can do this with my eyes closed." Toby continued to mutter as the lights flickered on and off, all the dentist did was smack the wall for the lights to react, but didn't mind the darkness that was left. He continued to work as he spoke. "It's a what? It's probably just the laughing gas…" Toby's vision was distorted but he still saw the beast standing tall on the teeth. "...playing tricks with your mind."
"Yeah, playing tricks. I play tricks, too. Magic tricks... Huh?" Toby muttered before the tools around him began to shake on the metal tables as they all seemed to come to life. The dentist was unaware as Toby's head turned in every direction, watching each machine, yelping in shock while the man sang in Spanish.
Suddenly, the blurry figure of Tronos appeared in front of Toby, grinning before he turned to look at the distracted dentist who was holding a small machine, never turning to look back at his patient.
"My hygienist used to handle my utility bills," the man spoke before continuing to sing in Spanish, much louder than before. Toby whimpered as Tronos focused back on him, holding up the three photos of the bounties. Once Tronos studied them, he scanned Toby, the boy continuing to whimper.
Krel groaned, sighing as he watched someone else hunting them, "are we ever going to get a break from running for our lives?"
"No, trust me, as my time as a Trollhunter, it never seemed to stop," Toby mentioned, turning to Krel.
"At least you're defeating them and surviving still," Claire added. "Not fun fighting for your life, but you're surviving."
"No core detected," Tronos spoke in a deep tone.
"What?" The dentist asked, turning around right as Tronos turned into nothing but a ball of lightning and disappeared. "Sorry, repita, por favor." Tronos sucked into a nearby electrical outlet, toasting the wall which the dentist noticed once the lights turned back on. "Uh, m-maybe I need to lay off the laughing gas."
"Bad alien!" Toby yelled, slowly moving to the doorframe and holding on as he moved sluggishly. As Toby continued to try and run, he fell to the floor with a loud thud.
"Get back in that chair!" From that, the scene changed to Kubritz who stood in a dark lab as someone walked up behind her, clipboard in hand.
"Colonel Kubritz?"
"I said no disturbances. Understanding this machine could be the key to protecting Earth from an alien threat," She hissed.
"While scanning for the Durian's spacecraft, we found something significant. An electrothermal anomaly not far from where we found that. Do you think it's extraterrestrial?"
"Fascinating," she said, turning her serious look into a big smile as she took the tablet. "Load up the ops van. We're going to pay Arcadia a visit." Her smile was unmistakable as the scene changed to Krel, working on the controls while Mother floated above.
"Good news, my royal. Four gamma sensors are functional."
"I'm only seeing three functional sensors, Mother."
"Oh. You are correct, my royal. Three sensors. My apologies."
"An error? You have never made an error before. Are you feeling all right, Mother?"
Mother let out a laugh, "Perfectly normal. To err is human, after all."
Krel tilted his head at Mother's strange behavior, never realizing she had much emotion, even comparing herself to more of a human figure. It was throwing him off and he wasn't sure how much damage was done to her.
"I hate when machines become more aware and feel more, that means they're smart and one day, they'll be taking over the world."
"Mother's good though?"
"STILL!"
"Seklos and Gaylen. Is there any chance you'll be able to fly again?" Krel asked, seeming to react weirdly to her response.
"If I only knew." Krel let out a sigh before the door opened, revealing Zadra.
"My king, I just received word from the Resistance. Morando is well on his way toward rebuilding the armada." While she spoke, Luug was barking frantically, trying to get Zadra's attention.
"And the good news keeps on coming," Krel stated sarcastically.
"What is the status of your repairs?" Krel turned to look at Luug who stood on his hind legs, trying to climb up Krel as he barked.
"Not now, Luug." A loud yell from Aja startled Krel and he moved quickly to get out of the way of her flying back, seeming to have lost her footing. "Seklos! Aja, what are you doing?"
"Varvatos can tell you what she's not doing," Varvatos said as he joined the room, running at Aja and their blades collided. "Paying attention to her surroundings like Varvatos instructed her." They both shouted as they attacked, Krel watching with his body slumped and seeming to be over all the distractions.
Some found it humorous that Krel could not focus without being bothered. It was much like every household, yet, usually the parents would be sharing the annoyed expressions. "Yeah, laugh it up, I'm so glad my pain is humorous."
"Not your pain being humorous, just watching how much bad luck you have is amusing.
"Who could blame her? Hard to trust the strategic advice of a confessed traitor," Zadra spoke, crossing her arms. Krel regained himself and continued to work on Mother's controls as Aja popped up behind, wanting the room to herself.
"Are you almost done in here? This is the only deck with a working training simulator."
"I'm sort of in the middle of something here, Aja."
"Incoming call from Tobias of House Domzalski."
"Please, more interruptions," Krel hissed before Toby appeared on the screen, his voice muffled.
"Guys, you need to come quick! There was electricity and it was scary…"
"What a peculiar human dialect," Varvatos spoke as he continued to attack Aja while listening to Toby mumble frantically.
"Not consistent with any I'm able to translate."
"Can't understand you. Don't have time for this. Good day. Ay, yi yi!" Krel spoke with a bitter tone, eyes narrowed as he wished to finish his repairs, and hung up the phone, not focusing on Toby screaming as he ran off-screen. "You need to give me some space! The ship is broken, possibly beyond repair. And if I can't figure out how to fix it, we'll be sitting larvoxen when Morando returns."
Toby frowned slightly but understood. Krel turned to face him and gave an apologetic look, which Toby instantly smiled. "Those darn mouth-numbing drugs, I have done that to Jim once and he must know me well because he raced over."
"It must suck to lose a best friend," Aja said, looking at Jim who seemed focused on his best friend on the screen, reminiscing.
"Yeah, I hate spending my days without him, but he's a hero, a guardian, being with the trolls is something he has to do, especially since he is one now. Knowing my best friend is out there, accomplishing something amazing, it makes me proud and happy."
While Krel had yelled and caused everyone to freeze, even Luug no longer frantically barking, Mother had floated down beside him, speaking up.
"Might I make a suggestion? After studying the history of these humans, I've noticed that working together has a higher success rate than working independently. Together, the human population built great bridges and cities and even went to the moon."
"So? We were there last week," Krel stated.
"Varvatos agrees! We should cease all further operations and work together to fix the ship."
"Thank you, Varvatos. I…"
"But we can't stop preparing for battle. Morando could come back any delson," Aja spoke up.
"I agree with Aja," Zadra stated simply.
"Only because you refuse to ever agree with Varvatos."
"For once, I agree with you," Zadra hissed, turning to face Varvatos and the two glared at one another, growling slightly.
"Commanders, please. I strongly urge you to work together."
"Maybe it's best to split up. We'll work faster apart," Aja said, moving in between the two and breaking up the glare.
"Excellent, divide and conquer," Krel said, wanting quiet more than anything.
"My royals, if you would just listen…"
"I'll check in with Stuart, see if he has any leads on these parts," Krel started, hopping down from his platform. "Zadra, you take Aja out. Continue her training."
"And what exactly is Varvatos supposed to be doing?" The said guardian asked, Zadra, crossing her arms with a sigh. He soon got an answer when Luug sniffed the wall right before lifting his leg and firing a hole into the wall. After the release, he wiped his paws and stepped away from his destructive business.
"Looks like Luug is due for his afternoon walk," Zadra replied before everyone stepped out of view.
"Despite my best efforts to bring the family together, anger and frustration would continue to pull the Tarrons apart." Mother narrated as Varvatos tried to catch Luug right before he fell onto his face and groaned in annoyance.
The Akridion family listened to their future, seeming to feel bad for Mother as she was only trying to help them figure out their issues. She was looking after them and they were so caught up fighting and trying to separate from one another that they paid no attention to her.
"Someone needs to apologize to her, especially because she has feelings now."
"Trust me, we will."
"Dog walking," Varvatos hissed before the scene changed to the disconnected head of a robot that was placed onto an awaiting body. The Taylons spoke in an alien language as they stood by the robot, building it.
Loth had stepped up to the men building the robot, speaking up. "Now remember, these Omens need to be constructed with the utmost precision. Take your time."
From behind, a guard stepped up to Loth, calling for him. "Sir!"
"You bring word from the Galactic Scholars?"
"As King Morando requested, they've been scouring the ancient texts for any references to this "Urrrrth."
Loth took the digital copy from the guard and let the hologram open, finding a massive galaxy in front of him. "Gaylen's core! Oh, the legend is true."
The Akridions sat up instantly, staring at the screen in shock but also disbelief. There was no possible way it could be true, yet, seeing a so-called hiding spot, they couldn't help but believe it either.
If it was true and Morando had got his hands on it, everyone would be begging for mercy.
"So, the story that your parents told you before, was true?" Eli asked.
"I guess so," Aja answered.
"Where could it be on the planet, you'd think we'd notice a strange gem?"
"Shall I prepare a report for the king?"
"No, no. Leave this to me."
"Are you certain, sir?"
"Yes! Oh… This information stays between us," Loth spoke, turning his back on the guard and letting him walk away as the two robots continued their work, not seeing the glare from Loth.
Back in Arcadia, at the dentist, the man was no longer working on Toby, another patient in his chair as Kubritz and a man had been detecting the strange burn mark on the wall. "At first, I thought it was the laughing gas messing with my head. Not that I would ever take laughing gas for recreation."
"This life form's clearly not from around here, and that makes it dangerous," The woman spoke up, walking out from the dentist as her partner responded, following her out.
"Nobody's seen anything. Not that they're admitting, anyway." The scene changed smoothly as guards walked off and on the screen, moving from people being interrogated at the diner, to the school, and around town. "I checked the diner, the school. Nobody's talking."
"Probably because they didn't see anything, or at this rate…care."
"Right, here she is thinking she is some hero and saving us from aliens when we almost died from trolls."
"It's making its way all around town like it's looking for something."
"But what? Nothing seems to connect these read-outs." The detector beeped as Kubritz had pointed it upward, following the lines.
"Nothing except… the power lines."
Mother began to narrate once again as darkness fell on Arcadia, Zadra, and Aja leaping roof from roof. "As the colonel and sergeant searched for the cause of the town's frustrations, my royals created their own."
"Ugh! Can we stop running and get to the cannon-blasting, back-flipping part of my training?" Aja groaned as she stopped, causing Zadra to stop as well.
"I do not trust that the traitor Varvatos trained you properly. We must start with the basics." She ran off the roof, flipping into the air and landing on another roof, sliding back until the tip of her red boot grazed the side. "After you've mastered that...then we can move to advanced tactics."
Varvatos frowned and turned to face Zadra who gave a small angry smirk. She knew how to bother Varvatos with her sick comments and he was irritated already that she continued to think of him as a traitor.
"I'm a fast learner and swift as a larvox," Aja spoke confidently before running and leaping off the roof. "Ya! Whoo-hoo!" When she realized she wasn't making the full jump, she let out a "Kleb!" Right as she smacked the side of the building, grunting and coughing from the impact.
"Yeah, our ribs would have been shattered!" Aja blushed in embarrassment as some students laughed at her hitting the wall, it wasn't her finest moment. After all, it was in the future times, however, knowing that she wasn't as good with her training as she thought she was, was also a small ego bruise.
She gasped and struggled to keep herself dangling on the side, right before Zadra helped her back onto the top of the building. "You were right."
"In battle, a warrior must be prepared to save herself. Your compatriots might betray you, and you will be left to fight alone."
"We're no longer talking about the battlefield, are we?" Aja asked before Zadra caught the sight of electricity moving through the power lines, crackling as it went on, the two now noticing the movements.
"Seklos and Gaylen."
"It's only a power failure," Aja said hopefully.
"That looked like an electrothermal life-form. They manipulate electricity, travel through it. The Taylon Phalanx fought one once. An entire battalion was turned into "burned bread"?"
"You mean cooked bread?"
"Stop messing with their heads! They'll never want to visit!"
"You mean "toast." We need to stop it before someone gets hurt."
"Negative. We shall return home and ensure the mothership is secure." Zadra turned her back on the girl, which was a bad decision because Aja had leaped out of view and Zadra instantly took notice, but only after she could stop her. "Princess Aja! She always did excel at running away."
"And following her was not a good idea? Just let her run free?"
"Well, knowing Aja, even on our home planet, she was hard to track, I wouldn't doubt on a planet I am unsure of."
As Aja chased the ball of energy, Mother once again narrated. "My young royal let impatience and arrogance guide her, and, I feared, straight into danger." Aja stopped at the museum, watching the ball of energy suck itself inside. Soon, she was searching the building, weapon raised. However, she had caught the sound of a large whoosh inside the building, growing more alert and backing up as heavy footsteps echoed around her.
Her back collided with Toby, dressed in his armor and his weapon raised. Toby let out a scream at the sudden touch, his and her weapon colliding with one another. "Toby? What are you doing here? There's a bounty hunter on the loose!"
"Yeah, I know. You would have if you hadn't blocked my call. I figured as the sworn protector of Arcadia, someone had to track this guy down." Aja no longer paid attention to him, looking up at Aaarrrgghh's large figure that stepped behind Toby.
At that, Jim and Claire both gave Toby a high five, smiling as they heard how fast Toby was to react to protecting Arcadia.
"Yeah, the hero is on board!"
"Toby, run," She stated, pushing him out of the way as Toby let out a scream. "Stay back!" She cried to the large troll as Aaarrrgghh began to feel threatened, roaring and slamming his fists.
Thankfully, Toby stood up and stopped her from harming the troll. "Aja, wait. This is Aaarrrgghh!"
"No need to scream, Toby. I'll protect you," Aja said, pulling Toby away.
"I'm not screaming. His name is Aaarrrgghh!"
"I protect wingman!"
"No, she's Aja. She's a friend. Everyone, stop protecting me. I am a protector. I am a protector!" As Toby stomped off, Aja put her weapon away, smiling nervously as Aaarrrgghh calmed down.
The crowd laughed as Toby seemed to stomp away, wanting to protect others, yet, instead he was being protected by two others and it really didn't help his self-esteem.
"Oh, okay, sorry for almost killing you. Aaarrrgghh!, is it?" Aaarrrgghh studied her, sniffing her hair curiously.
"With three Rs."
"I'm Aja Tarron. Just two Rs. You are one magnificent creature."
"Thank you."
"Okay, good intros. Now that we're no longer trying to kill each other…" The electricity crackled, causing Toby to let out a scream, whimpering as he held his hammer close to him.
A haunting voice echoed out, causing Aja to turn around fiercely, blade pulled out. "Aja...Tarron." The ball of lightning bounced from each metal piece of furniture in the building, and the outline of Tronos was becoming visible before he landed behind Toby, fully appearing.
Toby yelped when he turned to face the enemy, falling back onto the ground. "Maybe we can try to kill that?" Aaarrrgghh roared as he jumped in front of Toby, Aja joining his side and keeping her weapon raised.
"Who are you?" Aja asked right as Tronos moved around them.
"No one special, unlike you. You are worth billions."
Toby gasped, "You are?" However, Aja didn't bother answering the question as Aaarrrgghh kept up his defense, standing beside them and growling.
"Stand back. He's here for me," Aja stated.
"And I'm here to help," Toby replied as Tronos roared, readying himself to attack. "We should take him…" Before Toby could finish, Aja already shouted, leaping off of Aaarrrgghh and moving to attack. "...together?"
Krel listened to what Toby said and started piecing together everything that Mother had been trying to say. He hated that there was a lesson behind this, but didn't realize how much faster things could work if he started figuring out things with everyone else.
Yet, how could he when there was no silence in that ship at all?
Tronos was quick to react, firing a blast of electricity at Aja and pinning her against the wall. However, Aaarrrgghh did not like the sight and glared. "Protect new friend." Aaarrrgghh threw Tronos' concentration off, causing the beast to fire at Aaarrrgghh who managed to push through the blast, roaring.
When Aaarrrgghh got closer, his large hand forced Tronos' mouth shut and the robot reacted by wrapping his tail around Aaarrrgghh. The two battled, dodging and landing blows on their opponent before the duel was seized as the two held one another back.
"What are you?" Tronos asked.
"Made of stone," Aaarrrgghh answered before slamming Tronos into the floor, Toby finding the scene enjoyable.
"Oh, my gosh, an alien fighting a troll. Awesomesauce! I gotta call Jimbo." As Toby pulled out his phone, Aaarrrgghh lifted Tronos above his head, the hunter acting quickly and turning into a ball of energy, sparking Toby's device, the outlet, and burning the wall.
Jim smiled at his best friend, "Next time get some pictures. I'm glad I'm seeing this but you couldn't leave me hanging."
"Oh, of course not! I got you, Jimbo."
Aaarrrgghh took a moment to study his empty hands that sparked before stepping toward his friends, Toby staring down his ruined phone. "You okay?"
"No! That was, like, my seventh phone! Who was that creep?" From Toby's question, the scene changed as Tronos fled, Mother narrating for a moment as the gang found themselves back in the mothership.
"Soon, they returned to the mothership and asked me to identify this bounty hunter." A picture of Tronos appeared in the center of the room as everyone gathered around while Mother explained the information she gathered. "He is Tronos Madu, an electrothermal life-form from the planet Voltar."
"Voltar? That planet still exists?" Zadra asked before Mother showed an image of the planet that was no longer a perfect circle, instead breaking apart with fire pouring from the openings.
"Barely. It's been mostly reduced to rubble after a keltons-long war."
"I saw this guy at the moon outpost. He was drinking, gambling, killing Foo-Foos. No class," Krel added.
"Sounds like he's got an addiction problem."
"Krel just casually insults him."
"Krel also didn't care as he was being dragged away every five seconds."
"Your valiant rescue of Commander Vex would explain how this bounty hunter tracked us here."
"Forgive me for not thinking it was worth it," Zadra spoke up as Toby listened nervously, knowing the mixed feelings.
"Perhaps now would be a good time to work together. Tronos is a dangerous predator."
"And he travels through electricity," Aja stated.
"Hence the power failures. He's no doubt using the power lines to infiltrate the grid," Varvatos spoke up, but the simple sentence would cause a disagreement between Zadra and himself.
"I came to the same conclusion myself significantly earlier."
"Perhaps you should have 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 yelled, getting closer to Zadra as the two stared one another down. This time, Aaarrrgghh was the one to stop them from getting any closer while Toby stepped in.
The crowd listened to the argument, feeling awkward as if they were in the same room at that moment. Seeing two people fighting could be entertaining at times, however, depending on who was doing the fighting, it could get awkward at times.
"Hey, hey!" Toby laughed nervously, "We're all on the same team, right? Guys? Come on, this hurts." He said when they didn't let up, end up squeezing him between the two while they stared one another down.
"Guys, we have to stop him," Aja spoke.
"How? He's lightning-fast, making him impossible to stop."
"That's it! The guy moves like lightning. And who's captured lightning before? In a bottle? Huh?" Toby said happily, moving over to Aja and Krel while Zadra and Varvatos looked confused. "These guys! Back with Jimbo and Claire. I still got the bottle thingamajig! We could capture him in that."
"Huh, for a human, that is, shockingly, not a terrible idea," Krel stated.
"Ha! "Shockingly," am I right? That was a nice one." Toby raised his hand to receive a high five, however, Krel copied his action but looked confused. "No? Okay. It's okay, buddy."
"Wait, why do humans make bad ideas?" Mary asked.
"We're humans, look at some of the stuff we do."
"Oh, yeah."
"Toby, you go get the thingamajig. It's time for some dividing and conquering," Aja said as Toby lowered Krel's hand. Mother, on the other hand, let out a deep sigh.
"Dividing and conquering is not what I meant by working together," she said before everyone left the room. She was left narrating as the view of the house was seen, an entire day passing. "Obviously, my royals still didn't want to listen to me. But what's a mother to do?"
"If we want to capture Tronos, first, we have to corner him," Krel said, standing in the mothership as Aja stared at the power grid.
"We'll shut off all the power to the city except for one spot. We can light the place up to draw Tronos in," Aja added as Zadra watched as every light within the city turned off, leaving Arcadia in nothing but darkness.
"Where we'll be waiting for him with a newly modified…" Krel started.
"Lightning-bottle-blaster-suction-thingy!" Toby yelled as they placed the bottle on a blaster on the serrator. "We need a new name for that."
"Now, to test this out, it should pull all electricity into the container," Krel pointed the weapon, aiming and firing, sucking every ounce of electricity in the bottle while Aaarrrgghh watched in shock. From outside where Zadra was watching, the lights in their hiding spot had turned back on.
"Dude, you're an engineering genius!" Toby yelled out excitedly as Zadra turned to look in another direction, hearing the electricity as she noticed it traveling fast toward her.
Inside, Toby and Krel were setting up their battlefield. "Think you could build me a flying bike? I never liked pedaling. How about a wormhole between my house and yours? Imagine the sleepovers."
Krel laughed, "I can't even fix our ship, much less open up a scientifically impossible quantum gateway." Before Toby responded, the garage door opened, and Zadra appeared in the doorway.
"That would be so cool, but could we use that wormhole? I always wanted to travel through one!"
"Guys, I cannot just figure that out in less than the time we have," Krel said lightly.
"Target approaching!" Everyone ran toward their hiding spot, ducking behind crates and as Aja pressed herself against a crate, she was breathing heavily as she listened to heavy steps and the electricity crackling, the light fading as lightning cracked all around the room.
Tronos appeared fully as the room was left in darkness, staring at his surroundings and moving slowly. "What is this place?"
While not seen, Zadra yelled out, "Aja, now!" The young girl moved from her hiding spot and aimed her weapon, the serrator charging up its blast and she fired at Tronos. Lighting surrounded him as he roared and struggled, Aja straining and trying to stay rooted in her spot.
She didn't give up, managing to suck him into the bottle and leaving nothing but lightning trapped in the bottle.
"It worked!" Aja said happily, leaving everyone to laugh and celebrate, cheering at their easy victory.
"Yeah, no, I should have noticed that the entire thing was way too easy," Toby mumbled. He remembered from the past that things that were too easy, were never finished.
"Yeah! That's what I'm talking about," Toby cheered loudly, yet, Krel's smile dropped when he noticed the light nearby flickering. Krel moved and gently tapped on the singular bulb, confused right as the power turned off, leaving them in darkness.
The bottle shook in Aja's hands, flying from her weapon and clattering on the ground, right before Tronos let out a scream, leaving the bottle and bolts of electricity bouncing all over the room. "He's everywhere and somehow nowhere!" Aja yelled.
"It's like he's beyond physics. This shouldn't be possible," Krel stated before Aja and Toby were thrown to the side from a massive blast. Glass shattered as Tronos attacked, throwing Aja and Krel across the room and against the door.
"Prepare to eat stone!" Toby threatened but Tronos was moving fast, knocking a fist into Aaarrrgghh and then attacking Zadra, throwing her to the ground. Tronos was ready to throw another blow, fortunately, Varvatos had delivered a punch, throwing the enemy off to the side.
"Vex, what are you doing here?" Zadra asked as Varvatos helped her to a stand.
"Varvatos already lost one family. He is not prepared to lose another." Before they could fully prepare themselves against Tronos, the robot blasted them off their feet before charging at Aja and Krel who were holding their heads in pain.
Tronos plucked the two off the ground before vanishing, Toby crying out the moment he noticed. "Oh, no!" The gang moved fast, chasing Tronos as they moved outside, watching him bounce from light to light.
"No! No!" Varvatos cried. Inside the powerlines, it showed Tronos running through, carrying the two.
"I have the royals! The bounty is mine!"
"I know you two get captured, but seeing how he is traveling through all of that, is super cool!"
"I guess it is rather cool," Krel said, shrugging at their capture.
The surge moved quickly as the soldiers stood ready, Kubritz staring up at the power lines. "Here it comes. Set your neurometers to maximum."
"Take out the pole!" A soldier yelled, firing at the wooden pole and knocking Tronos off his track, freeing the royals.
Tronos roared as every headlight from the trucks turned on, nearly blinding him as Kruberitz smiled.
"Now!" She commanded and numerous blasts fired at the beast
"No! No! The royals!" Tronos screamed through the numerous blasts as the siblings moved to hide behind two trucks. "The royals!"
"That's our cue to leave," Krel spoke as Tronos finally collapsed.
"Get him to the lab. We've got a lot of tests to run," Kubritz commanded right as Krel and Aja snuck around, unfortunately, unnoticed as Kubritz heard metal clanging as they tried to escape.
She raised her gun and moved around the truck, finding Aja and Krel who were dressed in their human attire and seemed afraid.
"You saved us! That thing, it…" Aja stammered.
"It attacked us!"
"Costas, we have some civilians to…" Kubritz said, turning away, but once she turned back, Aja and Krel were gone. "Process?"
"I'm sorry, that was possibly the dumbest thing you guys could have done. I know she was tracking your noises, but there are woods like ten feet to your left. Now she is probably suspicious about why two people just ran."
Back on Akridion, there was indistinct PA chatter as horns honked, almost seeming like a normal day. Loth paced back and forth in an alleyway, noticing a hovering vehicle approaching.
"Get this intel to the royals at once," Loth spoke, moving to hand the man the device.
"Has Morando seen it?"
"Surprisingly, not yet, Counselor," Morando suddenly said, appearing from his hiding spot.
"Go!" Loth cried, handing the man the device as two omens reached to grab him. "Save yourself!" The man took off, ready to flee but Omen's hand disconnected, grabbing the man by the throat and Morando ripped the device from his hand.
Morando stepped away, snapping his fingers and the man was dropped. "No!" Loth cried.
"Mr. Saborian, you dare betray me?"
"Your Excellency, I... I can explain."
"This stolen text will be explanation enough," Morando spoke, opening the hologram to see what the message conveyed, Earth also appearing in view. "This cannot be. The legend of Seklos and Gaylen is... it's true. And Gaylen's core is on Earth?"
"There was a reason it was hidden away. No one life-form should wield such power."
"And a reason the mothership took the royals to that planet. Take him to the prison bay. He can still be useful."
Krel and Aja raised an eyebrow. They weren't just hiding on Earth because of it being a place to blend it, also because some legend was hiding out on the planet as well, meaning that their kind had been there before and stashed it somewhere.
"There's no way Mother knew and didn't tell us anything?"
"I don't know, I guess we just have to wait and see."
The omens dragged Loth away as he screamed. "No! Please, I beg of you! Please!"
"Thank you for your cooperation, Loth. You've just handed me the key to ruling the galaxy." Morando said, staring at the hologram.
Back on Earth, within the confinements of Area 49-B, Tronos roared, banging on his chamber as Kubritz stared down her recent capture.
"Rubber walls and silicon glass. You're not going anywhere."
"What is this place?"
"Humanity's first line of defense. I've dedicated my life to hunting down alien technology, to protect Earth from invaders like you," she held up Tronos' mask that left his face bare.
"You make for a poor hunter."
"EW! HIS FACE! PUT IT BACK ON, PUT IT BACK ON!"
"Who is inside the cage, you or me?"
"You let the true prize get away. The younglings you saved from me are from one of the most advanced planets in the galaxy."
Kubritz picked up Tronos' device, finding a hologram of Aja and Krel who went from alien to human. "It's them, the ones who infiltrated my base. It would seem our objectives are in alignment. Perhaps we can come to an agreement."
"I told you it was a bad idea!"
"Well, we are screwed aren't we, how many times has this happened to us?" Krel stated.
She pressed her hand against the controls, letting the door open to Tronos' cage, the guards raising their weapons automatically. Kubritz handed him the mask, and Tronos slid it back on before agreeing.
"Keep their tech. I just want their cores."
"Then help me bring them in, and you shall have your freedom." Tronos laughed as his eyes lit up in fury. The scene changed to the Tarron household, Varvatos walking home in his human attire with Luug following close behind.
"Come on, Luug," Varvatos spoke. He sighed as he walked in, seeming frustrated right before he lifted his head, everyone around the table and Zadra standing to wait for him.
"My royals survived the battle, but there was still anger and frustration inside the house."
"Uh... why is the table set for a ceremonial banquet? Has someone died?"
Mother appeared beside both Varvatos and Zadra, "You haven't been working together as cohesively as you should be. I thought it might be smart for everyone to participate in an Earthly bonding ritual known to foster interpersonal connection."
"The humans call it dinner family," Zadra spoke up.
"Who's hungry for Mom's famous meatloaf?" Lucy asked, suddenly appearing with a steaming loaf.
"No, thanks. I'd rather eat my own face," Varvatos hissed while Aja and Krel looked disturbed at the sight.
"Easy does it, big fella!" Ricky spoke, holding a glass.
"Count me in! This smells delicious," Stuart said happily.
"Everything smells good to you," Aja laughed.
"And better than you," Krel added.
"Now, now, my royal. Be nice."
"Sorry, Mother."
"Delicious! Oh!" Stuart said happily while Zadra tried to avoid looking at Varvatos for a moment.
"Perhaps it is unwise to keep questioning your loyalties. You have proven yourself loyal to the royal heirs, and I'm... um…"
"I believe the human expression you're looking for is "I'm sorry."
Varvatos looked shocked that apologizing had even been a thought, even after all he's proved, he finally received an apology. When he turned to face Zadra, she seemed a bit shocked as well but seemed to be considering her decision.
She had gone against him numerous times, never agreeing with him and never finding a reason to believe him for wanting to be better. However, since she seemed to apologize in the future, maybe seeing him justify himself would help her get more comfortable with him around.
"Let's not be hasty, Mother."
"Varvatos knows a thing or two about making mistakes himself, but it's about how one makes up for those mistakes that matter."
"How about a toast? Cheers!" Ricky cried, holding up his glass. The table joined together and held up all their glasses.
"A toast," Lucy said.
"Mazel tov!" Ricky added.
"To fighting together," Aja mentioned.
"Na zdraví! Salud!" Ricky interrupted.
"And not each other," Varvatos chuckled, looking at Zadra.
"Kanpai!"
"Huh, you know, Varvatos thinks maybe this "dinner family" tradition isn't so bad."
"While we're making tributes, let us toast to my scientific genius," Krel stated. "We're going home!"
"You fixed the ship?" Aja asked excitedly. "Mother, you can fly?"
"Not likely. I fear my flying days are over. I'm sorry." She responded with emotion.
"Oh, Mother, we don't love you because you can fly. We love you because you're... you. You're a part of the family."
"We call you "Mother" for a reason," Krel added.
"Thank you. I... I don't know what to say, my... my children."
"It's okay. I do. We cannot fly, so we're going to walk home instead," Krel said.
"Walk? To Akiridion-5?" Zadra asked.
"More like into Akiridion-5," Krel chuckled. "One of Toby's overenthusiastic ramblings actually proved quite useful today. I might be able to build a wormhole connecting Arcadia to Akiridion-5!" A hologram of his plan and both planets appeared while Stuart fought over the meatloaf with Luug.
Toby grinned, turning to Eli, "see, I am smart too, helping them out get home."
"Alright, Toby, I get it. Your rambling can help as well."
"What? I thought such a scientific feat was impossible," Varvatos wondered.
"It might be, but now, it's our only chance to return home."
"I've seen you do the impossible, little brother. If anyone can build this, you can."
"We can figure this out together," Everyone clanged their glasses together in celebration.
"Mission accomplished."
"To going home!" Varvatos said happily.
"And that is what I learned today… the power of not only human emotions but the need for human connection. What a family is like, and what it feels to be a part of one, and what it means to be... Mother."
"OH MY GOODNESS! IT'S A HAPPY ENDING! WE FINALLY GET TO SEE A HAPPY ENDING. WHO OWES ME 10 BUCKS?"
"Crap."