The Road Back Home
The princess was in a coma, but her mind was active, filled with different images, like movies being shown to her.
“Hurry, people, embark the ships. The satellite is about to strike the planet!” “Oh my God, we will all die!” The satellite strikes the planet, in such a speed that it creates a crater hundreds of miles deep. Part of the surrounding lands collapse to fill the big crater. Thousands of people are swallowed by the crater. “Let´s hurry, in hours it will be impossible to take off!” “Save the life of my child!” “Oh, where is my daughter? Please, wait for her!” “We have to go now!” “Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” “The air is on fire, we all will die.” “Take off, take off, or we will die now!” “Don´t leave us here.” “It is raining fire and rocks.” Soot and rocks are launched on the atmosphere and block the light from the star. Waves hundreds of feet tall hit the coasts, washing away people, buildings, everything in their way. The planet gets cold, all the people that did not die at the first events die from cold and starvation. A fleet of spaceships eventually escape from the dying planet safely. But the cries and pains of people who perished are deafening. “Mother Brain, why have you forsaken us?”
….....................................
“Beware, he is dangerous.” “No, let´s defeat him, he is the cause of all evil.” “Do you think you are powerful enough to defeat me?” The black-robed man casts some magic at the group. “He is very tough.” “We will defeat him!” “Beware” A black energy wave hits the brown-haired woman, who jumped in front of the blond boy, in order to protect him. “Noooooooooo....” “It is no use, no one can save me...”
…........................................
A brown-haired woman has a sword through her body, from her back to her belly. Blood pours from her wound, forming a waterfall falling from the pedestal where she lays. She is on her knees, with tears flowing from her green eyes. “Save me! You are the only who can do it! Save me!”
….......................................
A castle is abandoned. The walls are charred, there are many cracks on the walls and many fragments of stone fallen. There is no one inside. There is no one alive in the city. The cries of pain are still in the air, in form of energy. “Ahhhhh, stop that!” “Traitors, you have told us you´d not fight with us and then you send your machines to kill us.” “Help us! We will all die!” “Let´s abandon the city, let´s go south.” “You have taken my daughter, she was the only thing I had in my life. Now you can take my life and end my pains, heretics!” “By Laya, someone must help us!” “Oh, Laya, why have you forsaken us?”
…................................................
The golden-haired girl caresses the face of the princess.
“She is so pretty, so sweet. I feel something strange in her presence.”
“Me too. I feel something driving me to her.”
“Isn´t that strange? She has so much love on her. I´ll never forget the love in her eyes when she revived me.”
“Neither will I. It is the most beautiful thing I´ve ever seen in my life.”
“I can´t resist her...”
“Anna?”
The golden-haired girl kisses the princess, who had just opened her eyes two seconds before.
“Hmmm. Hmmmm.”
“Oh! You are awake! Thank God!”
“What were you doing... Anna...?”
“No no nothing...” The golden-haired girl gets her usual somber and serious expression in her face.
“You were kissing me! What is up with you all?”
“Oh, Marlena, you are alive! We feared for your life!”
“How long it has been since we returned?”
“Five days.”
“Wow! Five days! I had almost died, I don't remember anything.”
“Thank God you didn´t die, I could not live knowing you died to bring me back to life.”
“Ah, I´m so glad it all went well. Anna, I´m so glad you are alive.”
“Thanks.”
“Thanks for returning her, Marlena. Did you know I knew her when we were alive in our times?”
“The telemental told me that, Nei. Talking about that rascal, where is him? I´d punch him in the face if my body didn´t hurt so much. I almost died and he doesn't seem to care.”
“Let´s call that weird man. He promised to answer all our questions.”
“Do you still believe that liar, Nei? Anyway, call that scoundrel here.”
“Marlena.. princess... is this man Lutz?”
“No, I think he is like Lutz, but not Lutz. Once we met a guy named Rune who claimed to be Lutz, but the telemental said he was not like the original Lutz, so I don´t know.”
“No problems. He has yellow eyes, he gives me creeps.”
“I'm worried too because he is very powerful and seems to be doing something wrong. I think we should be careful.”
“If he tries something, he will taste the blade of my slasher. Marlena... princess...”
“Just Marlena, please.”
“Thanks. Excuse for the kiss, I don´t know where my mind was. It was like a strange force pushed me towards you...”
“Don´t worry, I´ve already forgotten that.”
“Thanks. There is something else. Nei lent me some of your dresses and shoes because I didn´t have any clothes to wear...”
“Don´t worry, you can use them as if they were yours.”
“Thanks, you are so sweet.”
The purple-haired girl returns to the room, the telemental following her.
“Hey, the sleeping beauty is wake again!”
“Man, that was very mean! Can't you see there is no reason for making fun of my situation? I have almost died.”
“Don't be angry, it was just a joke.”
“You surely need to improve your social skills.”
“I think I'm fine the way I am.”
“Oh, Laya, why did you put me in the hands of a mad man?”
“Let's stop this bickering. You... I don't know your name yet, telemental, but you promised to answer all our questions, so you'd better start if you don't want to taste the blade of my slasher.”
“Alright, Anna. Calm down and, please, take a seat.”
The girls sit on the bed, one each side of the princess. The telemental goes to his chair at the corner of the room.
“Who will start?”
“Me me me!” The purple-haired girl is excited as a child.
“So ask me what you want.”
“Please, tell me what happened with this planet. Why there are biomonsters alive? Why the climate is so hot? Was my sacrifice useless?”
“I think it is time for Anna to tell a bit of her story.”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“I don't like to talk about myself.”
“Not about yourself in particular, but about your quest, with Rolf and the others.”
“Ah, well, let's see... Nei, after you died, all the biomonsters vanished, but there were some abnormal things still happening in Algol. Later, that same year, Palma was struck by a satellite and every Palmian died.”
“Maybe not everyone.”
“Does people still live in Palma?”
“No. Gravity pull shattered the planet afterwards. It just doesn't exist anymore.”
“My God!”
“But maybe not everyone died.”
“How so?”
“It is not the right time to answer this question.”
“Hey, don't interrupt me! If you want to answer her questions, just answer them. If you don't want to answer them, let me talk.”
“Sorry.”
“We went to Dezoris. There we met a man of great wisdom, whose name was Lutz. He took us to a spaceship. There we fought an evil entity named Dark Force and then Mother Brain, which was causing all the harm to Algol.”
“Mother Brain? Is that true, Anna?”
“Yes, it is. We destroyed Mother Brain. Then, we discovered a group of people like us living in the spaceship. They have told us they were refugees from a planet called Earth, which they rendered uninhabitable by messing with the environment, just like Mother Brain did. These refugees sailed through the stars until they have found our star system. They decided to take our solar system by force and created the Mother Brain.”
“So Mother Brain was evil?”
“Yes, it was work of those evil men.”
“And then?”
“Then we fought them to prevent them creating another Mother Brain. They were going to kill Rolf, I couldn't let that happen, so I shielded him from a fatal blow with my body and died.”
“Anna, I can't believe! You sacrificed yourself for my brother!”
“Yes...” The golden-haired girl closed her eyes and silenced herself.
“I wonder what have happened after that...”
“May we tell them?” The princess asks the telemental.
“Yes, please, tell them.”
“Nei, I've been to that spaceship and it was terrible. Everyone inside was dead.”
“Really, Marlena?”
“Yes, Nei, the Earthmen and...”
“And...”
“Your brother and his group. Sorry to say that, Nei...”
“My brother... sacrificed himself for the good of the solar system... Oh, Rolf... I knew you would do that if it was necessary. Wherever you are now, Rolf, I want you to know I'm proud of you... I miss you so much, Rolf...”
“Me too... Rolf...” The golden-haired girl is weeping silently.
“Anna?”
“It is so painful for me...” The princess holds the golden-haired girl's hands and make a soft caress on them.
“Oh, Anna, I've never seen you crying.”
“Nei, it hurts... to know... he died...”
“I know...”
“I loved him, Nei.”
“I loved my brother too...”
“No, Nei, you didn't understand. I loved him in another way...”
“Anna?”
“Yes, I loved him...”
“I didn't know that, Anna! That is why...”
“I sacrificed myself for him...”
“Anna...” The purple-haired girl stands up, goes to the other side of the bed and embraces the golden-haired girl. “I didn't know that! Oh, Anna...”
“I've never loved another man before...”
“Anna... I'd be so happy... you and Rolf together...”
“Can't you revive him? Please...” The golden-haired girl addresses the princess.
“Oh, Anna, I'd love to revive him...”
“That is forbidden.” The telemental adds, harshly.
“Why... why did you revive me so?”
“The future depends on you. And on Nei.”
“Alright! Enough of your talk, start explaining me everything. I can't stand you anymore, telemental! You took me from my home, I almost died for you and you treat me like someone unworthy of your time. What do I have to do with all that? Can you take me back home now?”
“Not yet.”
“Why not? Just tell me why!”
“Cool down, princess! I'll tell you what you need to know.”
“Come on, start saying!”
“Princess Marlena, you don't know that, but you are attached to this solar system, to these girls...” Both the purple-haired girl and the golden-haired girl focus their attention on the ongoing discussion.
“How is that?”
“Have you ever heard about Palma?”
“Yes, Nei told me about the planet. Wasn't it the one which was destroyed, Anna?”
“Yes, it was, Marlena.”
“But as I've told you before, not everyone died.”
“How?”
“Palmians were ready for a planetary catastrophe. They had built large spaceships which could harbor thousands of people indefinitely, just in case their planet was destroyed.”
“Interesting.”
“So a large fleet of ships left Palma when disaster struck, saving the life of millions. Unfortunately, the same evil force Anna fought was present in the ships, so many were destroyed.”
“By Laya, it is amazing that so many people was saved, but what a sad thing to know that for many it was useless.! Hey, I remembered something strange...”
“What?”
“While I was unconscious, I had a strange dream of a planetary catastrophe... There were ships leaving the planet, many people dying... It was so real and it looked like the catastrophe that happened on this planet.”
“The circle is closing. A certain ship wasn't destroyed. A ship where someone who is in this room lives in.”
“Do you mean...”
“Yes.”
“My planet is a spaceship?”
“Yes. Have you never noticed how Physics in your planet are strange?”
“I have noticed that, but I have never thought...”
“What a great thing to know, Marlena! You are a Palmian descendant, just like us!”
“That is why I thought you were Palmian!”
“By Laya! That is why I've dreamed so many times of a green planet being destroyed. I have to return home and tell people all the truth.”
“No, princess, your words would fall in deaf ears. There are people there who already know the truth.”
“But we could return the ship back...”
“It would take at least a thousand years.”
“Well...”
“That is it.”
“I don't know what to think...”
“There is a problem. Motavia is facing a great crisis. The evil force has returned. It returns every 1,000 years. Maybe it has returned to your spaceship as well..."
“Really? So I must return home immediately!”
“No, Marlena...”
“Do you want me to stay here while my home is facing a great crisis?”
“That is because I have something else to ask you...”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“There is someone else...”
“There is someone else you want me to revive?” The princess is furious. “Do you want me to revive another person, isn't it?”
“Yes...” The telemental answers shyly.
“What for?”
“The future depends on this person.”
“Again? I revived Nei and she was not enough. I revived Anna and she is not enough as well.”
“Because there is something else...”
“Then we arrive there, there is a gorgeous girl for me to revive." The purple-haired girl and the golden-haired girl blush. "After reviving them, you don't do anything, you just leave them here, living at your home. Do you want me to revive them just because they are pretty? Are you some kind of necrophile?" The telemental swallows hard. "Please, take me home! I have had enough of you!”
“Princess... I needed the new-one, the guardian, but I also need the healer...”
“The healer is me. I had revived them.”
“No, you are not the healer. You haven't healed them.”
“Great. so you are the healer. Heal yourself from your madness and take me home.”
“Princess Marlena, I swear you, just one more before I take you home.”
“No, it will be after you take me home. Regardless who is this gorgeous girl you want to be your third wife, she will have to wait. After all, she must be dead for a million years, a couple of weeks more won't damage her pretty face.”
“Marlena! This time you have gone too far!”
“No, you have already made me go too far from where I should have never left. If you don't take me home now, you will never hear from me again!”
“Well, what can I do against such a nasty temper...”
“Girls, do you want to come home with me?”
“Us?”
“Please, please, take me with you, take me with you! I want to know new and exciting things.” The purple-haired girl couldn't hide her joy.
“Well, considering I don't know anyone but you, that is not a bad idea.” The golden-haired girl reasons coldly.
“Hey, who said I can teleport you three...”
“Don't you consider yourself the most powerful man in the universe? It is your chance to prove it.”
“Oh, well. Let's get ready for our journey...”
“Yeah Traveling!” The purple-haired girl jumps and claps her hands in excitation.
“Traveling... the last thing I wanted to do now.”
“If you want my help, shut up and accept it. It is my turn to deal the cards.”
“If you want to play with me, then go ahead.”
“The journey is about to begin. What do you advise us to do, mighty telemental?”
“First, arrange food for me. You will be sleeping during the teleport process.”
“No way! I want to see everything, I don't want to lose a second from it.”
“Nei, it is dangerous. Besides that it will take more than 3 days to get there.”
“It doesn't matter, I'll go awake.”
“Me too. It is the chance of a lifetime.” The golden-haired girl was unusually excited.
“I won't let you make me sleep again. After what you have told me when you brought me here, I don't trust you anymore.”
“That was only a joke, princess.”
“A joke or not, I don't trust you. Don't forget, I still hate you.”
“Marlena...”
“Well, girls, so prepare food for us. You will be my special guests.”
“Guest of a princess? Oh, that is so exciting, Anna, isn't it?”
“For sure.” The purple-haired girl and the golden-haired girl leave the room.
“Princess Marlena! See what you have done? Now they think teleport is something cool, to be used for trivial things.”
“I can't help it, at their time, teleport was really a trivial thing.”
“Oh, princess... why do you hate me so much? If you knew what I feel...”
“I know what you all feel and that is what scares me most.”
The princess left the room slowly, with her entire body aching. The telemental was left alone with his thoughts. We seemed worried. Now the situation has got out of control and he had the three girls he needed against him. Besides that, he needed so much the help of the princess because there was still one more person to bring back to life. He had an additional worry in his mind. Even if he could bring the last person to life in safety, the way the things were going, he would not be able to accomplish his goal. “What can I do? What can I do to change her mind?” Then he left the room and the cottage. He went to the marble pad to prepare the teleport process.
Meanwhile, the girls were chatting in the kitchen.
“I can't stand this small cottage, the food the telemental provides us and I don't like him either. I hope at your home I can feel myself more comfortable, more at ease.”
“Well, there is something I have to tell you, Anna.”
“What is it?”
“I don't know what you were accustomed to, Anna, but in my world there are not machines like those you have here.”
“Seriously? I always thought Palmians were more advanced than us, after all most of the inventions were made by Palmians.”
“There has been a planetary war a long time ago where more than ninety percent of the population died. We know only legends about it, but they talked about fascinating machines. Maybe all this knowledge was lost after the war...”
“Well, maybe. As the telemental said, your world is, in fact, a huge spaceship, so the machines must be there somewhere.”
“The only machines we have seen recently were the combat-robots made by the damned Orakians.”
“Who are these Orakians, Marlena?” The purple-haired girl stops packing food and joins the conversation.
“They are people who follow a legendary man whose name was Orakio. They are longtime rivals of our people, Layans. I have lived some time among the Orakians and they are just like us. It is something about prejudice, I think.”
“I know a lot about prejudice, Marlena. I was almost killed just because I am... the way I am.”
“I understand, Nei. Let's not talk about that, it is a painful chapter of my life I don't want to remember...”
“Sorry, princess Marlena. I didn't want to make you remember that. I just hope your home have some comfortable beds to rest in. My back hurts.”
“Now that you mentioned it, Anna, where did you sleep while I was convalescent?”
“We slept...”
“On the bed...”
“With you...”
“Hey! Did we three sleep on the same bed?”
“Well, the telemental has suggested that...”
“We were sleeping at the same bed, Marlena, I thought you would not mind...”
“It was so cold at night...”
“I wonder what you two have done while I was unconscious between you.”
“Nothing.”
“No... nothing.”
“Marlena! How can you think such a thing of us?”
“Nei, I really like you both, but from what I have seen from you, it is my right to get suspicious.”
“There is something about you, Marlena, I can't explain...”
“Me too. I'm not what you think I am. I only loved a person in my whole life and you know who he is, I have told you.”
“Hmmm, maybe that is why that young rascal wanted me...”
“Who are you talking about, Marlena, the telemental?”
“No, Nei, someone else. But that is buried in my past. Let's get those things ready before that weird rascal storms the kitchen shouting at us.”
“Yeah, let's hurry.”
The girls finished packing the food and left to the backyard, where the telemental was waiting them. He advised the girls to take some extra clothes just in case they take more time than the planned to reach at their destination. He asked the girls to bring the weapons recovered at the spaceship.
“We are ready now. Let's begin the teleport. Before starting, I'll advise you girls to never leave the plasma circle during the teleport process, otherwise you will be destroyed. Once the teleport process start, we will be surrounded by a translucid plasma bubble. Don't leave it, otherwise you will be destroyed as well. Don't talk too much with me, I must be focused on the teleport spell.”
“At our time, teleport was easier and safer.”
“I know, Anna, but your time is long gone. The trip will be lengthy, so be ready.”
“Alright.”
“Before we start, let me do something.”
The telemental points his finger towards the princess' forehead in order to touch it. When the princess discovers what he is trying to do, she pushes him away.
“Hey, hey, you promised you wouldn't do that.”
“I'll not make you unconscious, I'll just cast a spell that will slow your metabolism. You all will still be conscious, but you will not be moving too much and you will not need to... well, you know...”
“Alright, alright. I don't know why I still trust you.”
“Because you know I love you.”
“Everybody loves me these days...”
“Let's begin the journey. Take care, girls.”
The girls enter the marble pad and stay quiet while the telemental casts the spell. Slowly, a white smoke rises from the circle the telemental has drawn on the floor. Soon, a plasma circle is formed surrounding the telemental and the girls. The circle grows and then there is a huge explosion, that burns the surrounding sparse plants that grew on the rocks in the deserted cottage's backyard.
“We are flying!”
“Amazing!”
“How beautiful is Motavia from here! I have never seem a picture like that!”
“I've already seen Motavia from the space when we went to Dezoris, but the planet was much different than it is now! Impressive!”
“Ladies, save some of your excitation, the journey will take three days.”
“But it is so beautiful! I will not sleep a second, I don't want to miss anything.”
“You will be so bored when we leave Algol that you will wish the trip was shorter. And what about you, Marlena, what do you have in mind?”
“Many things. I am relieved to be returning home, but there are some images in my head which are disturbing my peace of mind.”
“I see. Don't worry too much about them.”
The purple-haired girl and the golden-haired girl were very excited at the beauty of Algol seen from the outer space that they couldn't stop talking. They chatted for a long time, commenting about the scenery and other things. They had lots of things to talk, after all they were friends before. The princess occasionally joined the conversation, but she was unusually quiet. The telemental noticed that and wondered what was happening inside of the princess' mind.
After some hours of exciting chat, both the purple-haired girl and the golden-haired girl grew bored of the uneventful trip. Once they have distanced themselves from Algol, there was nothing new too see, just distant stars. They started complaining about the boring trip, as the telemental expected. Then they grew tired and slept. The princess slept too, but she dreamed a scary dream.
“Help me, help me.” A brown-haired girl screams. She is impaled by a sword, with blood dripping from her wounds. “Don't forget me, you are the only who can do it.” The girl starts collapsing, her green eyes losing vivacity. “Don't be late, please, don't be late. My time is running out... Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
The pained scream rung so loud into the princess mind that she woke up startled.
“Save me!”
“What? What is this voice? Is it you, isn't it? I know you can speak right to my mind.”
“Me? What? Sorry, princess, I don't know what you are talking about. I was focused on my teleport spell...”
“Save me!”
“Again! There is a voice inside my head!”
“I can't hear it.”
“Of course, it is inside my head.”
“No, I mean, I can feel some kind of energy. That's how I've found Nei.”
“Yeah, after digging a thousand holes...”
“I'm talking seriously now. I should feel something...”
“You are making me feel scared.”
“Why?”
“Maybe it is someone evil...”
“What exactly happens to you?”
“I've already dreamed with the same scene before. A woman dying and asking for help.”
“Right.”
“But this time I heard her voice again on my head after I had waken up.”
“Well, princess, don't worry too much about that now. If this keeps happening again over and over, then we start worrying.”
“If you say so...”
The rest of the trip was uneventful. The girls were getting more and more bored by the lack of things to do. The princess and the telemental remained silent, thinking about their own problems. After 3 days of journey, they saw a faint silver object at distance. As they traveled, the object grew bigger and bigger. Soon they could see the lines of a spaceship with seven domes.
“Welcome home, princess.”
“Is this my home?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Incredible! This spaceship is so large. No wonder you believe it is a planet.”
“Yes, Nei, it is very large. I´ve never thought it was a spaceship. It is so beautiful!”
“I´m proud of our ancestors. To build such a spaceship. There is no star nearby. Do you have day and night, seasons, these things?”
“Yes, we do, Anna.”
“Amazing!”
“Girls, redouble your care now, we are almost there. I don't want any accident.”
“Finally, I´m so bored!”
“Back home! I can´t believe it!”
The group approaches the spaceship and soon they are passing through the domed structure. Then, a circle of plasma appears on a clearing in the middle of a forest. The circle grows, grows and then it is mixed with the plasma bubble that was carrying the group. The environment grows colder as the plasma materializes and after a loud crack the group finds itself on Layan lands. The telemental touches the girl´s foreheads and they return to the normal state again.
“It is so good to be back home! I´m so happy!”
“Palma is so beautiful! It reminds me Motavia at our times. But it is cold here!”
“This is so full of life! I can hear the birds singing, the wildlife...”
“Calm down, Nei, you will have the time to see everything. Now, let´s go home.”
“Yes, let´s follow the princess. I´m deadly tired and need some rest. You made me spend all my energy to teleport you here.”
“Stop complaining, telemental. Enjoy your vacation.” The purple-haired girl sticks her tongue out of her mouth.
The group start walking on a steady pace. The princess leads the group, as she knows Cille roads very well. After they walk a few hundred yards, the princess starts growing uneasy.
“There should be people around here, but it is so quiet.”
“Are you sure? I can´t see your castle from here yet.”
“I´m sure. These roads were always patrolled by guards. Something has happened.”
The princess fastened her pace. The others followed her worried. As she took another road who would take them to the castle, she staggered.
“By Laya, what happened here?”
“What is it, princess?”
“The castle... the castle... is in ruins...”
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